The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-01-24
SUFFERS
NDEPRESSIONO OF
FARM INDUSTRY
Speakers at Conference
{ Urge Cooperation
As Remedy.
Continued from Page One.

Federation, said:
There is a general feeling of
unrest and uncertainty. together
most of the Georgia farmers. The
better class of negro renters and
choppers are leaving the farms as
the boil weevil advances and going
North and into the cities, leaving
the more shiftless and ignorant to
become a burden upon the land
! owner.
1T doesn't matter whether tho
negro owes you 81 or $1,000. he set
ties his debt by leaving. and the
farmer has no recourse. There are
counties in Georgia which, two
years ago, made $4,000 bales of cot
/ ton. and last year less than 100
bales
| There Is one great danger, as ]
see it. in the present agricultural
conditions. and II is this: The far
mers of this country cannot go on
much longer producing crops, and
disposing of same for less than the
cost of production"
Transportation Too Costly.
! L. b. Cornwall. president of the
|
speaking of agricultural conditions
In the Northeastern States. said:
Our section, as a whole, like all
others is suffering from the high
cost of transportion. The question
of rural credits and commodity
financing is not so acute in the
Northeast as in other sections.
There is great need. OF course, for
a broad-visioned forestry policy.
lCo-operative buying is a very I'M
lportant matter in our region.
| Developing OF cooperative mar
lketing is one Of the most pressinp
measures of relief for producers
and consumers in our Northeast
States. vitality connected with the
cooperative marketing is the tarin
The farmers do not attempt to de-
lcide whether we. as a nation. shall
adopt 4 high tariff or a low tariff
policy: we simply ask for a protec-
tive tariff proDortionate to that of
other industries"
Millers Hit by Denation.
Speaking of the effects of agri-
cultural depression on the milling
industry. James F. Bell said:
Until the purchasing power of a
bushel of wheat represents n fair
return to the producer. we cannot
see a situation that is satisfactory.
THE present period of wheat
price deflation has been accompa-
ned by the cancellation of -four or
ders involving many millions nf
dollars loss to the miller. who. hav-
ing purchased the wheat at a high
price to cover flour orders. finds
these orders cancelled and the high
priced wheat left on his hands.
IF the farmer lost through de-
flation in price it must be remem-
bered tina; the miller had already
purchased and was holding against
orders of -four buyers a very large
proportion Of that crop bought at
higher prices, and in the cancelle-
ton of these four orders the bur-
den OF loss fell more directly upon
the miller than upon the farmer.
Cattle Industry suffers.
Sred II. BiXby. president o; the
National Livestock Association, said
conditions of the cattle industry in
the range country are deplorable.
due to high cost of production and
the high cost of marketing.
I'VE are very much in favor of the
cooperative commission houses
now in existence in some cases at
the central markets. We are in "a
vor of having more of such COM
mission houses started.
The cattle producers in the West
are unalterably opposed to the
transfer of the Forest Service from
the Department of Agriculture 10
the Department of the Interior We
have the greatest confidence in Sec
rotary Wallace and hope that when
the time comes for Federal leas-
ing of the unappropriated public
domain it will be handled as well
as the Bureau of Forestry has been
handled"
Serious situation in south.
The further lowering of the unit
cost of farm production is the, first
problem to be solved in getting ag-
riculture stabilized and on A prof
able basis" said Charles II. Mac
Doweli, president sof the National
Fertilizer Association.
Tho credit situation in the East
and midi West is not serious" he
said. Buyers in these districts in
times past have bought largely for
cash on arrival or at seasons set
tlemeHt dates. More time business Is
anticipated this spring. but there
should be no difficulty in takins
care Of the limited credits called
for.
in the South, however. the situa-
ton is serious" he added. THE fer
tilizer industry has been going
n through serious times. The farmer is
its only customer. His buying power
Is Its selling power 1t prospers
only as he prospers."
Committees Appointed.
The committees created reveal
the broad scope Of the conference
Here they. are:
Agriculture and price relations
Z. B. Cornwall. Vermont, chairman.
Agriculture credit and insurance
Is p. Houston. Missouri, chairman.
Transportation L. d. Sweet.
Oklahoma, chairman.
Foreign competition and demand
Harvey ]. Sconce. Illinois, chair
man.
Costs, prices and rendjustments.
H. L. Russell, chairman.
Crop and market statistics-C. s.
Barrett. Georgia, chairman.
Marketing of farm 'products-G.