Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-10-06
RHl|EF EM|SSAR|ES
SENT BY PRESIDENT
To WHEAT SECTION
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Ieascd Wire Service 10 The Journal
lCnnvrirht 1923

lC0pyrlght 1870
WASHINGTON, Oct. 4.-Presldent
Coolidge today asked a committee
of the War Finance corporation, con-
sisting of Managing Director Eu-
gene Meyer and former Representa-
tive Frank w. Mondell to proceed
Immediately to the northwest and do
whatever will be helpful to the aS-
ricultural interests of that region.
Specifically the president hopes the
wheat farmers will be encouraged
to form cooperative corporations
similar to those which have been so
successful in +he marketing of cot
ton, rice, tobacco and other products.
The greatest weakness in the situa-
ton from the viewpoint of the feder-
al government is the lack Of an or
derby marketing system in the wheat
belt. Very few co-operatives have
been formed.
There is grave doubt among the
most competent authorities here that
the wheat crop will be anywhere
near the estimates that have been
made. Information keeps coming in
from sources that seem well inform
ed that the crops are not as large
as has been represented and that
consequently the surplus will not be
as great as was at first believed, all
of which should tend to increase Md,
terially the price of wheat.
Orderly Marketing
In the absence of cooperative or
ganizations-which by the way are
not holding rganizations-the farm
e.s have all been tempted to sell at
once. Reports of large surpluses
and other factors Usually have in
! 'enced the producers to try to get
rid of their crop at whatever seemed
TO be the best price. The purpose
or the cooperative organizations is
20 insure the farmer the very best |
price possible in marketing his prod |
uct. Collective marketing is ever |
so much more effective than individ |
val effort, and this is no longer a |
theory but a proved fact.
Naturally the government makes |
advances of money to the co-opera-
tlves and part of this in turn is given |
to the farmer so that he can almost |
Immediately get the benefit of the |
transaction and pay his debts. Rel |
atively little risk has been taken in |
the financing - these cooperative |
organizations. The War Finance |
corporation was\ organized particu- |
,arly to extend emergency credit AMI |
bring about in America a more or
derby system of marketing through i
the use of timely credits. It's name /
now really should be the emergency |
finance corporation, though most OF |
the troubles which it is trying to |
cure are the direct outgroWth of war |
conditions.
Rising Prices Expected
The Coolidge administration has |
been listening for several days to al. |
sorts of plans to help the farmer |
but the solution at last determined |
upon is to bring the federal govern
ment into closer touch with the pro-
ducers by sending the directors of |
the War Finance corporation out to
the west to confer in person with |
the agricultural interests most af- |
fected at the moment. 1t was the |
War Finance corporation which |
came to- the rescue of the live stock !
industry and helped materially in |
the cotton situation. Eugene Meyer. !
who has been travelling constantly |
from one end of the country to the |
other since the War Finance corpo-
ration was revived four years ago. |
is probably as familiar with credit
and marketing conditions as any
body in tho administration.
Mr.. Meyer has also been making |
an investigation of European con-
ditions and believes there is little |
opportunity to finance an export |
trade under present fluctuations of
foreign currencies, but is rather in
clined to the idea that the export |
situation will cure itself as the sur
plus is gradually reduced by home |
consumption. Wheat prices are !
higher than they were a year ago at !
the corresponding period, and the /
general belief now is that they will
tend to go higher and make the |
farmers happier as the true figures
about the existing crop are ascer- |
aimed,