The Monroe journal., 1922-11-07

llat last editorial OF A-AItuNS
Poe's that you printed in The Jour.
nal for me a few weeks ago" said
Mr.. t. ]. W. Broom, the county agent,
Saturday, created much comment
and did the cause a great deal OF
good. Now, if yol will be so kind, |
wish you would print another one Of
Mr.. Poe's cooperative editorials"
The Journal is glad 10 comply with
the request, especially since the ar
ticle is in behalf Of such good cause.
Ii reads:
As we said in the Progressive Far
mer two weeks ago:
"They (the interests fighting CO.
operative marketing) are fighting to
control the legislatures Of North Car
olina, South Carolina and Virginia
next time so as to repeal the coopera-
tive marketing law because they ad-
init that il really does give the far
mer greater advantages than he has
ever before enjoyed in am fight TO
control the products Of his own la
bor."
4 small farmer who is personal
friend of the editors writes US as fol-
lows:
1.-The land in this neighborhood has
been starved to death and now the
land is starving MS in return. What
soever man soweth that shall he
also reap. have been thinking /
would SOW winter cover crop every
year but when fall came ! could no,
see where | could spare the cost of
a cover crop.
The fact that Interests US in con-
nection with this letter is that this
man always finds a way, we believe,
10 purchase fertilizer in the spring OF
the year. When farmers get to the
point where they realize they simply
must have" fertilizers. new day
will dawn for Southern agriculture.
The old. old battle is on-the
world--old battle between labor and
privilege. The farmer who does not
fight with his brother farmers IN
their efforts to make themselves
masters of their own industry is hln-
dering them and hurting their cause.
The interests that are fighting to
keen the farmer "a mere producer OF
raw materials" are wealthy and pow
erful but the farmers have only 10
stand together in order to win. And
all must stand together. The verse
that Theodore Roosevelt so often
quoted against the Stacker in war OF
politics is equally appropriate today;
Curse We MeroZ, said the angel
of the Lord. curse We bitterly the in
ha5.;ants thereof; because they came
not to the help Of the Lord against
the mighty.
Tearing on the Mask: Why They
Fight Cooperative Marketing
The best thing that has ever hap
pened to the cooperative marketing
movement in North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Virginia was the ans
wer made by the opponents Of coop
erative marketing in the Nashville
court case as described in The Pro-
gressive Farmer week before last.
Nothing that any speaker, official
OF advocate of cooperative marketing
has ever said has been more eonvinc-
ing than the statement made by ene'
mics of cooperative marketing or
this occasion. Everybody knows that
the opponents of cooperative market.
ing have been telling the farmers OF
Virginia and the Carolinas that CO.
operative marketing could never
amount to much; that it could never
give them the profits and power they
hope to get under il.
But when the Tobacco Growers Co
operative Association sued contract
breaker, what sort of defense did the
opponent Of cooperative marketing
make for this man in the court? pid
they plead in his behalf that coopera.
tive marketing was a delusion and &
snare: that il was an attempt 10 mis-
lead and deceive the farmer; tha. il
could never give the farmer the pro-
fits and power he expects from II!
By no means. On the contrary, tht
opponents of cooperative marketing
in this case threw off all hypocrisy
and pretense. They q I'd no, even pre-
tend that they were fighting in be
half Of the farmer to save him from
being duped and nisled. On the con
trary, as we said at the time, they
set out with the emphatic declaration
that the cooperative marketing Law
gives the farmer such privileges ard
advantages as other classes do not
enjoy and that the cooperative mar.
keting association proposes to make
the farmer so powerful and s,
wealthy that cooperative marketinl
will become Injurious TO the public
in general" evidently meaning the
middlcmen and spectators who alone
so far as we can see, would be hurt by
this increased prosperity Of the far
mer.
In order that we may not be aceus
ed of m representing the opponent:
of cooperative marketing in thi:
connection, let us quote tie exact
language of the defense made by the
attorneys for W. T. Jones in the Nasl
County court. First OF all, having de-