The Holly chieftain., 1924-01-03
FARM
COOPERATIVE
SELLING
By GLENN G. HAYES
Capital Rallies to Support Of
the Farmers
4. Western Newspaper Union }

1driler WIFI nfe acres OF pruneS 10 Sell.
"How's business this year, Tony?"
4 Santa Clara banker asked, surveying
the prune orchard from his car.
"Beesnessy" with his thumbs back
Of his suspenders and blowing out
pair Of sunklst lungs Tony replied.
ave gotta one beeg $25,OOO boss
worka for me to sella them prunes"
Tony had gone into business. He
| was keeping step with American agri-
culture. He is only one of million
American farmers who are hiring high
| priced experts to market their crops.
Ten years ago the farmers business
was handled by brokers, by specula-
tors, by financiers-city men. who
owned not an acre of land nor
single team of horses. 1t was the
speculator that sold the farmers wheat
and corn. that glutted the markets
with his pears and apples, that juggled
the prices on the live stock exchanges
The farmer stood by and watched his
share Of the dollar shrink to some
where around 81 cents. The farmer
| didn't say word. But he was doing
q lot Of thinking as he watched his
tobacco and his cotton and his wheat
and his live stock sell at profit to
| everyone except himself. Then his
years Of steady thinking crystalllzed
into group action.
Farmers Go Into Business.
Farmers got together and decided
to 60 into business for themselves.
They would do what all great industry
has done, join forces for collective
selling. They would set up their own
sales department and merchandise
farm products in an orderly way rather
than dumping them on glutted con-
suming centers within four months
after harvest. They would hire the
best business brains in America to
manage the selling Of their products
and to represent them in the central
markets, on the grain exchanges and
on the stock exchanges.
And that's what they did. Out of
the cotton fields, the fruit orchards,
the dairy barns and the feed lots are
rising up great agricultural enter
prises producer-owned and producer
controlled-enterprises which during
the past year marketed more than n
billion dollars worth of farm prod
ucts at the actual cost of handling.
The farmers own sales department
produced business half as large as
that OF the hundreds of automobile
factories and FIVE times greater than
the total output Of Amerlcan-made
machinery.
In Ave years the farmer has learned
the art Of big business. An effective
outlet has been provided for perish
able products. The non-perishable are
stored to be sold as the buyers Will
absorb them at fair price. Organi-
cations have been built up capable of
handling the nations food supply.
These farmer cooperative MS they
are called, are not outlaw organiza-
items unrecognixed in the business
wsrid. They have been legalized by
an act Of congress to function not only
as selling agencies but to have the
full-hedged rights Of corporate entities
on legal footing with the worlds
greatest corporations. Once the farmer
made his appearance In the business
world he was accepted in good faith.
Even Wall Street has sounded its ap-
proval and offered It's assistance.
To 60 into business on n billion
dollar scale requires money! lot of
money, and around 1919-192O the
farmer didn't have a dollar in spare
change. How was he going to finance
his new undertakings?
The Loan Plan.
The cotton farmers were in the
midst Of the worst depression that
their industry had suffered in years.
They were trying to organize CO.
operative marketing associations to
handle their crop. but they couldn't
raise the money. Then the War FL
nance corporation developed a plan to
lend money to the cotton farmers on
n big scale. The corporation made Its
first loan to the association in Missis-
sippi in the summer Of 1921. The cot
ton was classified by the association
according to grade and staple and
placed in bonded warehouses licensed
under the United States warehouse act.
1t wasn't week until other loans
were made on similar basis to cotton
co-Operatives in Oklahoma and Texas.
Before year loans to cooperative
marketing associations was made n
special feature of the work of the
War Finance corporation. During 1922
the corporation approved advances to
B2 cooperative marketing associations
of 20 states totaling S172s27 900.
After the War Finance corporation
made It's first loans to the cotton CO.
operatives big banking concerns began
Offering their assistance. Wall street,
the great financial curb of the world,
offered the cotton farmers and the to-
5acco farmers loans in exchange for
warehouse receipts But the local
bankers didn't give the CITY bankers
much OF a chance