The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1921-03-17
GEM FARMERS JOIN
GREAT MOVEMENT
County Farm Bureau Cheers As
President Shearer Outlines
National Plans.

That Gem county farmers are deep
ly interested in the great national
movement inaugurated the past year
by the American Farm Bureau Feder-
alton, with membership Of 11z mil
lion members to give force to its de-
mands for legislation in the interest
of agricultural industry, was demon
strated by the earnestness with which
they followed the two addresses by
State President w. S .Shearer at two
big meetings of the County Farm Bu-
1eau in this city Saturday.
This was the annual meeting Of the
county organization. The first ad-
dress was given by President Shearer
Immediately following the splendid
banquet served at noon in Rebekah
hall by the wives of the farmers. His
subject was the Foreign Trade Cor
poration," recently organized to make
it possible for the poverty stricken,
war torn nations of Europe to buy
American products. While thousands
Of the people of foreign countries are
dying and starving, Americas grain
and produce warehouses are bursting
with fullness because there is no mar
ket, he said, and farmers can find no
sale for their products. To remedy
this anomalous condition by financing
and the interchange of goods is the
object of the Foreign Trade Corpora |
ton He explained in detail the plan
for building up credits for the Euro !
pean countries so that those countries /
may purchase American farm pro-
ducts and the output of our factories.
This plan, worked out by the foreign
credit committee of the American
Bankers Association and approved by
the American Farm Bureau Fedora
ton, provides for million dollar cor
poration to act as a clearing house
and help the American farmer not
only to sell his products in foreign
markets, but to provide foreign buy
ers with credit for paying for their
purchases The address was listen
ed to with deep interest by large
audience of farmers and their wives
and business men.
In the afternoon in Commercial
Club rooms Mr.. Shearer spoke on
"The American Farm Bureau Fedora
ton" He is a strong speaker, con-
vincing because of his earnestness
and practical ideas, and because he,
too, is a farmer who has suffered ,
from the same experience in market !
ing his products that the farmer gen. !
orally has suffered. His principal ar
gument was that the farmers of the J
United States must organize and then
work out the problems of distribu- I
tion and transportation. He warned :
his hearers that there is no easy path
to success and that they must work q
long and hard and as unit if they f
wish to secure results. O
He Illustrated his points by citing D
instances of things that he himself e
had experienced or that had come un- y
der his personal observation. He re- I
lated that 20 years ago he built fine z
house in Des Moines, Iowa, at cost \
Of $28OO that would today cost him
$500. He paid carpenters, painters,
plasterers and plumbers an average
wage of S2.75 per day of 10 hours.
Last fall he paid from So to $40 per Of
sigt-hour day for the same class of
work. He mentioned this, he said, not N
n criticism of the mechanics, but to
Illustrate what they had been able to :.
by organization The =
American Federation of Labor has
membership of million. The bus
ness men of the country are banded
ogether in the United States Cham SIS
,er of Commerce in order to protect G..
heir interests, as are also the man he
facturers and practically every in wi
ustry. to
but the farmer, unorganized and alb
very one for himself, is selling his tn
roducts at an average lower price H,
han at the time he was hiring labor fo
Or about one-half of present wages. tn,
" way of illustration he mentioned ms
nat when he went East in December no
e stopped off to visit a relative op- rel
rating a grocery store in q small ale
,wn in Missouri who had just receiv- to
a shipment of Idaho apples from wh
st. Louis jobber at $4.10 per box, fri
ut he himself realized only AZ cents ly
II box for the very highest grade
! apples raised in his orchards at
ewiston. He gave other examples ,.
similar nature, and said when all ~
e farmers are organized as other
lsiness. trades and professions are oA
ey can demand and receive a price sei
r their products that will show
asonable profit and at the same time e.
axe the cost less to the consumer. -.
Those who heard Mr.. Shearer must A"'
We been convinced that better day
dawning for the agricultural inter &c
Is in this and all other states if the citv
rmers organize. In his clear, force tice
| manner he outlined the frame Mt
,rk for a businesslike, sound plan ter
{ putting the marketing and distri- this
tion of farm products on the same the
II organized and conducted basis nan
It other industries of the country