Evening star., 1924-12-14
Railroad Financier Discusses
Way to Succor Agriculture

| marketing system by the Curtis-As-
| we'll bill.
| If the 100000 population of Greater
New York enjoy three meals a day
it means 100000 meals daily Es-
| timating the cost a day at SO cents
Tor the three meals per capita. or
! say, II cents meal per capita, the
daily food cost of the city is shown
| to be s3,O00,o0o, or over $1,000, ,000, 900
| year.
Two-thirds. or more than $650,o0O,-
600 of this gigantic sum, is incurred
by distribution, leaving only about
$3.50 100000 for the farming interest
and charged against production 1 do
not present these figures as accurate.
believe they are even higher on the
side of distribution than is here
stated. because there Is good reason
to suspect that Senator Walsh's es-
innate of only one-fourth going to
the producer instead Of the one-third
generally accepted as representing
the division of the farmers dollars"
is nearer the fact.
When the control Of distribution Is
brought under the management of the
farmers, Just as now production Is
under their control, the dealer no
longer will have the farmer at his
mercy in the vitally important matter
or liking prices. 1t is known, of
course, that at present the farmer has
absolutely no voice in determining the
price he gets for his products. He
has to accept whatever the distribu-
ton element offers him. Then, in
turn. the distribution element de-
termtnes what the consumer must
pay.
Freight Bill All He Got.
10 iliustrate-the commissioner of
markets of New York not long ago
cited case where a farmer shipped
10 carloads Of onions to that mar
ket, expecting to get the then prevail
ing price, which would have brought
him about $1,000 a car and relieve
his financial embarrassment: but in
stead, the whole shipment was
dumped by the consignee IN the Jer-
sey meadows because, at the time,
the market was threatened with
glut. The shipper received a freight
bill from the consignee instead of the
expected check in payment for his
years toll and investment.
This sort of thing happens con-
stantly at every big market center in
the United States. It would be stopped
under the dispensation of the Curtis
AsweI bill. The national co-operative
marketing system, provided for in
this bill, would authorize and en-
power the farming industry SO to or
ganize as to control shipments to
market. Through such a system pro-
ducers would be kept fully informed
OF marketing conditions all over the
world. Its agents would keep the
proposed national board Of directors,
composed exclusively of farmers.
closely informed of every change in
market Conditions at every big dis
tributing center
Asks No Appropriation.
The Curtis-Aswel1 bill differs radi-
cally in another important ASPECT
from any other similar measure ever
introduced in Congress. 1t calls for
no appropriation. All it asks in the
way of financial assistance from the
Government Is loan of 100000 900 in
the form of a revolving fund at the
rate of Az per cent, payable in full
on or before 10 years. As long as
the loan is pending a f1duciary officer
Of the Government Is to be a member
OF the national board of directors to
exercise supervision over the alloca-
ton OF the revolving fund, and all
ALLEGATIONS are to be used only to de-
fray the expenses of organization Of
the system.
AS soon as the loan Is paid the Gov.
ernment's representative ipso facto fs
dropped from the board and the Fed
eral Government will no longer have
authority to. interfere or meddle in
any way with the control. manage
ment and conduct Of the National
Farm Marketing Association, THE
loan is to be secured through a sys-
tenn of assessments levied by the va
rious boards upon all commodities
whose producers become members of
the association.