The pioneer-review. [volume] (Philip, Haakon County, S.D.) 1920-current, 1922-12-21
LEGISLATION AT WASHINGTON


Farmers are going to hold theil
congressional representatives Il
strict accountability" said Ora,
Silver, Washington representative
of the American Farm Bureau Fed
Grafton, before the annual meeting
of the American Farm Bureau fed
Grafton last week while recount
ing the numerous measures which
have been passed at the request
Of the farmers through the fedora.
tion. Mr.. Silver told the farmers
how many of the measures, which
have been passed since the Agri.
cultural Bloc was formed in the
Washington office of the Fedora
ton, had been before Congress for
five ten or fifteen years.
Before the Agricultural Bloc
was formed, for many years not a
single agricultural measure had
been passed. 1t is very frequently
the custom for two men in the
House or three men in the Senate
to determine whether a bill was
even to be heard on the floor" con-
tinued Mr.. Silver. The co-opera-
tive marketing bill, one of the
earliest to be passed by the Bloc
saved the farmers eighty times the
membership dues of the American
Farm Bureau federation in 1921.
The passage of the act regulating
future tracing on the grain ex-
changes has saved the farmers
from the repetition of the manipu-
lation of the spread in prices thru
manipulating between here and
abroad which took place during
the period between the time when
the grain control bill was declared
to be unconstitutional and when
t was re-enacted. During this
time the market was so manipulat-
ed that there was an increase in
the spread of grain prices between
this country and abroad of fifty
six cents per bushel.
AN adequate credit system is
just as necessary for proper CO.
operative marketing as is an ade-
quate warehouse system" contin-l
ued Mr.. Silver. I'VE now have
two kinds of credit, short and long
and what is lacking is an interme-
diate credit running from six
months to three years. When we
have adequate credit and sufficient
warehouse facilities, combined with
proper functioning marketing or
ganizataions, the farmers will be
in a position to market twelve
supply Of food as the con-
demands require. They
will have the opportunity to say
upon what basis the commodities
will move out Of the warehouses
and also the price for which it will
sell. We must get a fair exchange
but we are not asking the Govern
ment to fix prices.
"The purchasing power of farm
products, believe. is now as low
as it has ever been and agricul-
ture must be lifted out Of it's pre-
sent position in reference to other
Industries. City dwellers do not ap-
preciate that the produce sold off
the farms is what builds the cities.
It is the difference between what
the farmer gets for his product
and what the consumer pays that
builds cities. The farmer is now
getting only about one-third Of the
consumers dollar. When coopera-
tive marketing is built up as it
should be, the proportion Of the
consumers dollar going to the pro-
ducer will be much greater"
Mr.. Silver pointed out that the
legislation which has been passed
has been in the interest of all peo-
Pile. THE last census showed that
38 per cent of our population was
on the FARMS" stated Mr.. Silver,
and when you consider the urban
population found in towns of $500
inhabitants, more that one-half of
the entire people, of the United
States are directly interested in
agriculture. You cannot do spec
ial favor for a majority of the
people. You cannot expect small
group to fight for you"
PUSH FARM CREDIT BILLS
Farm credit lecislation has re-