Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

eXpediency.
Specific responsibility for conducting
each cooperative marketing organiza-
ton and each commodity sterilization
corporation rests on officials and man.
ayers chosen by the farmers them
selves or their representatives. The
farm board would. of course, WELD a
strong influence in its general capacity
and more specifically through its
authority to prescribe conditions on
which loans would be made to any
cooperative or sterilization corpora
ton from the revolving fund.
This plan also appears to provide
room for some measure of inducement
for the Sterilization corporations to
buy conservatively. This lies in the
fact that these corporations would
have authority to buy the products of
non-members. The lower the price at
which the corporation buys from non
members. compared with the price at
which it sells, the greater is the
chance for patronage dividend to the
members. At the same time valu
able service would be rendered the
non-members by giving them an OPP
portunity to sell at a somewhat higher
price than if the plan were not in
operation.
| The inducement to join the CO.
operatives would be greatly increased
if the plan should be successful
enough to yield a substantial patron.
age dividend after setting aside the
necessary reserve.
This should aid in realizing what
| Secretary Jardine holds out as the
most promising means of achieving
real bargaining power in agriculture
big co-operatives with numerous mem
bers and large volume Of business.
Increased business enlightenment,
which is so essential to successful
! operation. is one of the aims of the
Jardine plan.
X X X *
A concrete result of economic educa-
| ton should be an increased ability of
farmers to adjust production to chang
ing market conditions. For example,
| II there should be an exceptionally
| large carryover held by a stabilize.
| ton corporation the farmers should
be able to take that fact into account
in planting next years crop. The
| farm board and other agencies would
| point out that the price is bound to
| fall the next year if the farmers go
on producing as much as in the cur
rent year The sterilization corpora
ton and the co-operatives would drive
home the fact to the producer. They
would have reason to do this in self.
defense, because new surplus in any
year on top of a big holdover from
| the year before would not only de-
press the farm price but might jeopar-
die the solvency of the farmer.owned
sterilization corporation.
The Secretary is confident that
farmers are learning to work together
and that the extreme individualism,
which the pessimists consider an in
surmountable obstacle to successful
cooperation, will disappear rapidly il
proper encouragement and assistance
are given by the Government.
| This faith in the ability of farmers
to work together for common pur-
pose is based not only on Mr.. Jardine's
intimate knowledge Of farmers but
also on the fact that labor and in.
dustry did not develop their organiZa-
lions in a day. 1t took time and per.
sistent effort through victory and de-
feat for labor organizations to attain
| their present strength. Farmers must
follow fundamentally the same route,
build from the bottom up appropriate
organizations suited to their needs.
In short, back of the Jardine plan
lies the conviction that farmers will
be able to handle their products in a
businesslike way, and that Govern.
ment should help farmers to help
themselves through cooperative effort
to market their products in an orderly
manner. to adjust production to de.
mand as far as possible and to re.
duce price fluctuations by some work
able and safe means Of handling sur.
pluses."
This plan is essentially a long time
program, to strengthen the economic
position of farmers by better business
methods. 1t does not promise to Gre
ate immediate farm prosperity by one
stroke Of legislation. 1t does not pro-
pose to dump farm products on the
foreign market to create at once a
higher basic price at home. The most
outstanding difference between the
McNary-Haugen measure and the
Jardine plan is that the latter does
not promise an immediate return to
pre-war buying power Of various farm
crops by Governmental buying, selling
and dumping Of agricultural products.
This difference is the reason why the
plan will not have easy sailing in the
next Congress. Stormy weather is
ahead for any farm relief measure.
But there is plenty of opportunity
for constructive farm legislation if the
contending factions are willing to COM
promise. If the Jardine plan were
adopted, even the equalization fee or
some form of the debenture plan
could be added later by amendment, If
public sentiment and the Government
should then want TO undertake such
a radical experiment
The McNary-Haugen leaders saw.
| Our plan or nothing" So long as
this spirit dominates any group it is
| almost certain to get nothing-the
| usual lot of the extremist
X y X x
In the meantime real opportunity
TO get fundamental agricultural legis.
lation is slipping away. The low pur-
chasing power of farm products-the
main source OF the farm revolt''-is
rising. 1t rose from SO per cent OF
pre-war buying power in 1921 to SO in
June of this year, despite the alb
normally low price of last years cot
tim WITH fla Gnraaobnnl. Of