Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-04
BY WILLIAM HARD.


It is . new world Of It's own that
stands revealed at this week end in the
current sessions Of the American In
stitute Of Cooperation at Baton Rouge
La, where four members of the Fed
eral Farm Board--Mr. Legge, Mr.
league, Mr.. Williams and Secretary Of
Agriculture Hyde-have mingled for in
struction and for acquaintance with the
outstanding executive managers Of the
American agricultural cooperative
movement. The labors and careers OF
these managers constitute a new note
in American business. The personal
records OF few OF them, picked out al.
most at random. will indicate the type
Of experience and Of accomplishments
which they exhibit.
There Is. for instance, c. o. Moser oil
Dallas. Tex, who this year serves the
Institute OF Cooperation as its chair
man. Mr.. Moser used to be an agent
or expert in the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture. He was sent to
Texas to open the first Federal dairy
demonstration station in that State. He
was subsequently employed by Dallas
County to be county agent" in the
service OF local agriculture and in the
encouragement OF progressive agricul-
tural methods. At about that time the
cotton growers began to organize them
selves into. cooperative groups. There
was formed ultimately a central body
called the American Cotton Growers
Exchange. Its president was Carl Will
liamS of Oklahoma, now q member OF
the Federal Farm Board. Mr.. Moser
became It's secretary. He, then. after
Mr.. Williams retirement, was advanced
to being its president. Now from q
start as an expert. he is an extremely
considerable business man. The cotton
handled this year through the Ameri-
can Cotton Growers Exchange will
amount probably to approximately one
million bales-which is a vast total OF
commercial transactions.
Again, there is S. d. Sanders OF
Seattle, Wash He moved into the
State of Washington from the South
and after a time became q large force
In the organizing Of local branches Of
the Farmers Union. He then helped
greatly to promote the organizing of the
local wheat growers into the co-opera-
tive undertaking called the Tri-State
Grain Co. 1t went down With the sink
Ing of the Sapiro wheat pool of the
Northwest. MIR. Sanders survived to
become quite prosperous as a farmer
and as aNsmall-town business man and
became interested In poultry. He re-
cooperation. He helped to lead In the
organization of the Washington Egg
and Poultry Exchange, a cooperative
institution, and became its president
and business manager. 1t operates ex-
tenSive plants and now sells In the
neighborhood of eighteen million dol
lars worth of poultry products annually.
There is also John Brandt Of Minne-
sofa. He was a. farmer of no CONNER
cial business experience in the region
OF the town OF Litchfeld. He observed
the scattered creamery establishments
owned comparatively by farmers. Their
oisunion impeded them from having
any collective effective weight III the
market. They presently were put to-
gether-several hundred OF them-into
great corporate union. Mr.. Brandt
was made Its president. 1t proceeded
to install a program Of development
based on quality. It took advantage OF
strict governmental inspection and
added to that inspection national
advertising promotion of its own brands.
largest single marketing agency Of sweet
cream butter in the world.
Most interesting of all the characters
In the meetings at Baton Rouge, how
ever. is Charles w. Holman. one Of the
0riginatorS of the Institute of Corpora
ton and its managing secretary. Mr..
Holman began his working life as a
newspaper reporter in Texas, but soon
became @ reporter. not for the daily
press, but for the journalism of agri-
culture. At the age of 26 he conducted
4 national investigation of agricultural
marketing methods on behalf of the
agricultural magazine called Farm and
Ranch. He was. and is, like George
Russell of Ireland, a curious combining
of the temperament Of the literary man
and of the temperament of the reformer
dedicated to agricultural human progress.
He pursued his studies of that prog
reSs. and of the means necessary TO
1t, In Britain, in Ireland. in Japan, IN
Manchuria, In Siberia. He served the
food administration at Washington
under Hoover. He established himself
in Washington as correspondent for
agricultural magazines and as an organ
,i2er and secretary Of agricultural So
cieties. He inhabits offlces In an I'M
preSsive old residential edifice now am
bitiously labeled q Temple of Agricul-
ture" There he laborS as secretary of
the National Cooperative Milk Produc-
erS' Federation and as secretary of the
National Board of Farm Organizations.
He probably, OH behalf OF the co-opera-
tive milk producers of the United States,
has been more persuasive and successful
In the halls of Congress than almost
any other legislative representative Of
social causes In the Capital City.
He Is now undertaking, without any
abandonment of the American Insti-
tute Of Cooperation, which Is body
for conference and for education. to
promote the organizing Of National
Chamber Of Agricultural Co-operatives,
which shall be a sort OF continuous
trade league of agricultural co-opera-
tive associations for the possible attain
nnent Of common collective attitude