Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-09
Officers of Association Not
at All Afraid That Members
viii Fail to "Stick by"
Contracts
BY RALPH SMITH

far of the Oklahoma Cotton
Growers association has served
to remove the doubts and quiet,
the qualms of many persons
who believed it impossible to
put over" the cooperative cot
ton marketing movement even
on miniature scale.
When the movement was
launched, the agitation was
viewed in some quarters as "an-
other scheme for the exploitation
of the farmer" Those who en-
tertained such misgivings be-
ieved the farmer to be too wary
to be ensnared. Entertaining this
impression, they were confident
that the farmers would never
sign contracts to deliver their
cotton to an association, to be
marketed in an orderly manner,
and in accordance with the
fundamentals of successful CO.
operative selling.
But the farmers did sign-35,-
900 of them subscribed their
names to the dotted lines of
contracts that were offered, con-
tracts binding them for a period
of seven years to deliver their
cotton to the association.
After the association secured
enough contracts to warrant the
inauguration of the cooperative
system of marketing, the inter-
ests and influences that had orig
inally believed it impossible to
get contracts signed still viewed
the movement. as ere that would
die in its incipiency. They just
knew" that it would be impos-
sible for the association to FL
nance the cotton 1t had under
contract.
Like Established Business
With neither capital stock nor
credit it is not strange that
many persons felt that the as
ISOLATION was doomed to failure.
But as I have heretofore re-
marked, the association has fl
nanced satisfactorily every bale
of cotton that it has received,
and is today functioning as ex-
peditiously and efficiently as the
oldest established business in
Oklahoma City.
The fact that the association
is functioning in an efficient,
business-like way has quoted
Gualn that was very generally
entertained when the co-opera-
tive movement was initiated.
There were scores of men in :
Oklahoma City and throughout
the state-business men and
bankers, as rule-who felt that
1t would be impossible to keep
the organization free of politics,
and politics doesn't recommend
any movement to business men
and bankers.
In the west, as In Georgia and
other agricultural states east of
Ihe Mississippi river, politicians
have contrived usually, in one
way or another, to entWine
themselves in every farmers
organization ever launched.
Their advent and ascendency, as
is we'll known, rarely has failed
to seal the doom of the organi-
zation, or certainly to destroy
its usefulness.
Heretofore, it has been very
much the same with the farm
ers' organizations west of the
Mississippi. They have gone to
the rocks on the political am
billions of their leaders.
Carl Williams, father Of the
cooperative moment out here,
recognized the danger of politics
from the very first. He told me
at the outset that politics in the
Oklahoma organization were
frowneI in. upon. He empha-
sized it, and he welcomed the
closest scrutiny OF this feature
of the association, in particular.
No Politics i'm Organization
Up to this good hour, so far
as l have been able to ascertain,
politics has had no place in the
organization or operation of the
Oklahoma association. There
isn't an officer or employe of
the organization that has any
political. ambitions, and this III
cludes the farnler-directors.
Moreover. there isn't a poll
tician's sor or daughter or cOus-
in or friend or heller employed
in the cooperative headquarters,
at No. 51o Main street, and
there are a hundred men and
women at work there.
The political bug is a queer
insect, and, of course, every one
recognizes that it's buzz not in
frequently lures men from every
walk of life to engage in the
fascinating game. 1t is pos
sible that Mr.. Williams him
self, or Mr.. Stealey, or Mr..
Sparks, or some member of the
board of directors may be per-
suaded to offer for a political
office, or to take a hand po-
litical1y in some campaign.
From my conversations with
these gentlemen, I do not be-
lieve it likely that any one of
them is likely to engage in the
game, but-and this is impor-
tant-if either of them ever
yields to the opportunities of
his friends" his usefulness in
the association ends then and
there.
eve won't have it." EN-
phasiZed Mr.. Williams. at isn't
in our bylaws, but it is under
stood by every officer, every en-
ploye, every director that he
must get out Of the association
the minute he gets in politics.
This movement is bigger than
the ambitions of any man, and
we don't propose that it's sue
cess shall be jeopardized or even
slightly threatened by the lure
of politics.
In this connection, it may be
remarked that tomorrow 1 eX-
pect to deal in considerable de-
tail with the executive personnel
of the Oklahoma association.
Will Members Stick?
Having demonstrated, first,
that the farmers would enlist
under the cooperative banner:
second, that the association was
amply able to arrange finances
and third, that politics would
not be permitted in the organi