The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-02-27
C0NFERENCEnN
FARM PRICES
AT ST. PAUL
Little Action Expected at To
days Season on Stabili-
zatiOn of Conditions
REVISION OF TARIFF
Gov. Preus in Favor of Alter
ing High Schedules in
Search of Foreign Outlet
REVISION OF TARIFF

st. Paul, Feb. 27.-Production
and production costs, marketing
transpor tation, cooperation and
various other economic problems
of the farmer came in for exhaus
tive discussion and study todaE
when the Northwest Agricultural
Price Sterilization Conference op-
ened for a two-day session here.
Delegates from ten wheat grow
ing states, invited to the confer
ence by Governor J. A. 0. Preus,
were present when Rev. T. A. HoIf
, Of Minneapolis, delivered his in
; vocation and the conference &C
under way in an attempt to help
farmers solve some of their diff
culties.
Col. G., H. March of Litchfield,
Mimi. chairman Of the Farmer-
Banker Council Of Minnesota,
which instigated today's meetinp
delivered the opening address 10
the delegates who came from Mil
nesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Illinois, Kansas.
Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan ana
Montana.
The purpose of the conference,
according to the call issued 10y
Governor Preus as chairman, is
the restoration Of agriculture and
, industry in the ten states whose
delegates are taking part in the d.
liberations. Five sessions of the
conference are scheduled. three TO
be held today and two tomorrow
the final day of the meeting.
FavOrs Tariff Revision
Little action is expected at to
days session, which is considered
in the nature of preliminary
meeting although several author
ties delivered addresses, including
Governor Preus and J. F.. Reed,
president Of the Minnesota Farm
Bureau federation
Governor Preus advocated down
ward revision of the tariff To
broaden the foreign outlook f0r
American farm products and the
expansion Of cooperative market-
ing as the essential steps tOward
assisting agriculture.
THE top OF the tariff rail SHOULD
be removed" Governor Preus said
and he urged that the conference
ask President Harding to exercis
his perogatives to obtain a reduc-
tion Of the tariff which impose
duties on the necessities of life or
the farm.
The Governor reviewed the de
velopment of cooperative market-
ing not only in Minnesota hut in
other states and urged the nece
sity of binding contracts betweeIi
farmers and their associations az
essential to the success of the CO
operative movement.
Mr. Reed who exclaimed "why
the farmer needs redress" dc
clared that expansion of coopera
tive marketing and readjustment OF
the present tariff schedules werr
the logical remedies for the pres
ent agricultural depression in tht
Northwest.
Opposes Artificial Price Fixing
He opposed artificial price ad.
justments, he said, asserting that
such action would lead to an un-
healthy situation in the business
world and cause reaction detri-
mental to the producers.
Mr.. Reed pleaded for greater
unity in the cooperative marketing
movement, daring that a higher
price for farm products is obvious.
11y tho ,hocf solution fuV
ers standpoint and / am strongly
of the opinion that this solution
must come through the efforts Of
the farmers themselves, not in the
control of his products but in the
directing OF the movement to ma
keting and their SALE"
"One of the major difficulties in
the way of this program, however,
Mr.. Reed continued, ''is the farmer
himself and his inherited tendency
to yield nothing Of what he con
siders his inherent right nor DO
anything that will accommoda q
himself or his business to dis
neighbors words"
l.. B. Hanna, former governor ot
North Dakota, told of conditions he
found during his recent trip t.
Europe and brought out that in Por-
tugal they blame Americas prohibi-
tion for their plight in that we are
no longer in the market for port
wine.
He asserted that too much finan-
cial credit had been given the farm
er and that no enough had been
done to urge the farmer to get out
and keep out of debt.
Borrowing of money he said ,g
only temporary expedient. He took
the farmers to task for allowing
millions Of dollars worth of vsla-
BILE machinery stand idle. and I'm :.
protected from the weather.