Great Falls tribune., 1921-06-21
A FOREIGN MARKET OR
POST MORTEM

THE editor Of The Tribune has
l Just received from Senator
T. ]. Walsh copy of bill intro.
duced in the senate by Senator
Norris Of Nebraska entitled the
Farmers Export Financing Cor.
poration," together with a covering
letter in which Senator Walsh ex'
presses the opinion that the prin,
ciple of the bill should be called
to the attention of the farmers OF
Montana. We agree with Senator
Walsh that the farmers OF the
United States are not familiar
enough with the vital part that
foreign trade, exports and imports
play in fixing the price OF their
products and on their general pros
perity. Hon. Carl Vrooman, late
assistant secretary Of agriculture
under the Wilson administration,
recently discussed in public ad-
dress the principle Of this Norris
bill which deals with the export
side Of the foreign trade as it at
fects farm products prices. He
says:
"The farmer is being smothered
in his surplus crops. 1t remains to
be seen whether he is going to be
provided with export markets now
or a post mortem later. Unless
given at once foreign outlet tor
their surpluses a million more farm
ers will 60 benkrupt before fall.
Moreover. the business stagnatlon
and paralysis resulting from the
destruction of the purchasing power
Of the farmer is costing the country
more every month than the total
value Of these surpluses. If they
could be disposed Of in no other
wav. we all-would be better off if
they were dumped into the sea.
"In tragic contract with this
stupefying spectacle. hundreds OF
millions Of people in Europe and
Asia are ragged, cold, starving and
unable to utilize either their idle
labor or their idle factories, for
lack of the very things that are
rotting in our fields, granaries and
warehouses.
"But while these war broken
countries have no money with
which to buy our products they
have lands, forests. mines, tac-
tories and mills, as a sound basis
for long time credit and industrious
and thrifty populations. ready and
pathetically eager to multiply many
times over, the value Of our raw
materials. by working them up IN
manufactured goods upon which
we would have a first lien.
"All that is required to enable
us in a sane and businesslike way
to fill their aching economic void
from our swollen economic sur
plus. is a financial mechanism that
will extend to them the long time
credits to which they are reason
ably entitled. in order to enable
them to purchase our surplus cot
ton. wool, pork corn, oats, wheat.
etc. ....
"Our ablest and most conserva-
tive statesmen and bankers declare
this plan to be quite feasible. Ad-
ministration leaders declare that
the creation Of some such finan-
cial instrumentality is the logical
and practical thing to do but that
unfortunately public opinion hsa
not yet crystallized effectively in
favor of such step.
"1n order to help focus the prac-
tically unanimous latent sentiment
of farmers and business men
throughout the country in favor Of
such project the agricultural,
business and labor organizations
are being invited to join in organ
izing mass meetings during the last
week in May and the first week in
June in every school district in
the United States, to pass resolu-
tions and get petitions signed call
ing upon congress to create without
delay an agricultural foreign fl
nancing corporation to extend ap-
propriate credits to nations, cor
porations, cooperative societies of
individuals wishing to buy our sur
plus farm products and having
real security to offer.
Luckily, not a dollar Of the mi
tia1 capital of the corporation will
have to be taken from the taxpay-
ers' pockets. It can be loaned by
act Of congress from the profits so
recently made by the u. S. Grain
corporation. In order to repay as
soon as possible the governments