Evening star., 1922-12-17
FARMERS TOFORM
MARKET COUNCIL
Problems of Cooperative
Bodies Throughout Nation
Will Get Attention.

Permanent organization of the Ma
tional Council OF Farmers Cooperative
Marketing Associations was authorized
yesterday in the closing session here
of three-day conference of represent
! sections of the country. The purpose
of the council will be TO handle common
problems of cooperative marketing
bodies. without conflicting with activi-
ties of other associations. and acting as
their mouthpiece.
Modification of present agricultural
loan systems to give farmers nine
months credit paper. instead of six
months. and to increase to $4,000 the
maximum basis of loans from farm
land banks. was recommended in reSo-
lutions unanimously adopted. Amend
ment of the federal reserve law to meet
the special requirements of farm cred
its and to permit the financing of farm
ers and their cooperative societies was
also favored.
The general policy for the council
was laid down. favoring the local
banker as the primary reliance of the
farmer for production and marketing
credits.
Erection of farm credits department
in federal land banks, with capital suffi-
cient to issue farm credit to the maxi
mum of $500. 900. 900 was another project
indorsed by the conference. This depart
ment would discount OF purchase agri-
cultural paper and make loans to CO.
operative marketing associations and to
agricultural cooperative credit aSsocia-
tions. None of the farm relief mea asureS
now pending was indorsed by name.
Equal Privileges Aired.
The conference in it's formal declara-
tion of policy held that the cooperative
associations should ask nothing from
the federal government other than
enactment of legislation to permit
farmers and their organizations the
same access to the federal credits sys-
TENS that all other industries now pos
SeSs.
One big thing developed at the council
is that the purposes of real cooperative
marketing as worked out are of just as
producers. This is the thought that
officials of the Department Of Agricul-
ture and leaders of legislation for the
farmers in Congress say should be i'm
pressed upon the people throughout the
country.
All constructive and sincere co-opera-
tive marketing factors fully realize that
their success In serving their own men,
bers fundamentally is predicated on the
benefit and satisfaction of the ultimate
COllSuHleT, dCCOIuNuS " liOSc WIN nave
been developing the cooperative mar
keting systems for from fifteen to
twenty-five years.
These are the conclusions reached
in lobby conferences after the ses-
sions of the council closed. with
friends of the farmers from all over
the country expressing their views.
Under the old system of speculative
marketing the glut which might
temporarily afford the consumer ap-
parent low prices without any pos
sibility of assurance as to quality in
evitably is followed by a dearth in
the market. which made goods scarce
and high priced and permitted the
flooding of the market with inferior
quality. In other words. the specula-
tive or disorderly marketing system.
under which the producer received
little or no actual profit. meant a
higher average of prices to the con-
sumer than cooperative and orderly
marketing assures him. At the same
time it guarantees the producer
reasonable return on his investment
and labor.
c. E Stewart, jr., business manager
of the Florida Citrus Exchange. en-
phasiZed the long time motto of this
pioneer cooperative marketing aSso-
citation as "a square deal alike to
producer. distributor and consumer"
Mr. Stewart pointed out that the type
of cooperative marketing produced
by experienced and seasoned CO.
operatives utilizes to the fullest ex-
tent the established and legitimate
channels of distribution.