The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-01-23
Improved Transportation
Facilities and Co-opera.
tive Methods of Mar
keting, AS Well AS Bet
ter Facilities For Gath
ering acts, Are Recon-
mended

mended
Washington, Jan. 23.-Development
of thorough code OF law and business
procedure, with the proper machinery
of finance, to assure the farmer gen.
.erous supply of working capital on
as reasonable terms as is granted to
other industries, was advocated here
today by President Harding in open
ing the national agricultural confer
ence.
"An industry" the president said,
more vital than any other, in which
nearly half the nations wealth is in
vested, can be relied on for good Sc
curity and certain returns"
Declaring that in the matter of
what may be called fixed investment
capital, the disadvantage of the farm
er so impressed public opinion that
the federal farm loan board was es-
tablished to meet the need, the pres
ident said the farmer still needed
some provision for supplying him with
working capital.
Compared with other working in.
dustries," he continued "the wonder
is that agriculture, thus deprived of
easy access to both investment and
accommodation capital has prospered
even so we'll"
Suggests Lines of Organization
Lines on which financial support of
agriculture may be organized, Mr..
Harding said, are suggested in the
plan of the federal farm loan board
and in those rural finance societies
which have been so effective in some
European countries.
'The cooperative loaning associa-
tions of Europe have been effective in
centives to united action by farm
ers," he continued, land have led them
directly into cooperation in both pro-
duction and marketing which have
contributed greatly to the stabiiza
tion and prosperity of agriculture"
The president told the conference
that concerning the grim reality of
opinion among well informed people.
"The depressions and discourage
ments," he continued, 'are not pc
culiar to agriculture and | think it
fair to say there could have been no
avoidance of a great slump from war
time eXcesses to the hardships of re-
adjustment. We can have no helpful
understanding by assuming that agri
culture suffers alone, but we may fair
ly recognize the fundamental differ
ences which accentuate the agricul-
tural discouragements and menace
the healthful life of this basic and
absolutely necessary industry
Favors Cooperation
The farmer, the president declared
from the very mode of his life is in
dividualistic and therefore because
he buys and sells as an individual, it
is his fate to buy in the dearest and
sell in the cheapest market" He
contrasted with this the corporation
which, he said, could effect economies
and acquire for itself power in the
markets by combinations.
The president said there was a mis-
conception regarding the financial
status of agriculture.
"It cannot be too strongly urged
that the farmer must be ready to help
himself" he added. "This confer
ence would do most lasting good if it
would find ways to impress the great
mass of farmers to avail themselves
of the best methods. BY this | mean
that, in the last analysis, legislation
can do little more than give the farm
er the chance to organize and help
himself"
Cooperative Marketing
The president then referred to CO.
operative marketing.
with financial support for agri-
culture and with instrumentalities for
the collection and dissemination of
useful information" he said, "a group
of cooperative marketing organization
would be able to advise their men,
bers as to probable demand for sta
pies and to propose measures for
proper limitation of acreages in par
ticular crops. The certainty that such
scientific distribution of production
was to be observed would strengthen
the credit of agriculture and increase
the security on which financial ad-
vances could be made to it. The dis
astrous effects which arise from over
production are notorious.
at is apparent that the interest
of the consumer, quite equally with
that of the producer demands meas
ures to prevent these violent fluctua-
tions which rise from unorganized
and haphazard productions"
Transportation
Turning to the subject Of transpor-
tation the president said that "if
broad visioned statesmanship shall
establish fundamentally sound poll
cies toward transportation the pres
ent crisis will one day be regarded as
piece of good fortune to the ma
tion."