The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1930-06-18
A Census Sermon

n OCK county is credited with 1928 farms in the
X final count of the 1880 census. This figure
trasted with the figure which represents Rock
county membership in the Farm Bureau Federation
forms the basis for census Farm Bureau
membership figured literally is less than fifty per
cent of the farm operators of the county and hardly
than third of the farm homes represented.
Here is comparison which tells clearly why the
farmers of the country disregarded economically.
Here lies the explanation to the fact that senators
and from farm states vote for any
legislation offensive agriculture without apprehen-
sion fear of defeat.
No industry with two-thrds of its members dis
interested and disorganzed expect to exert upon
the counsels of the nation influence of sufficient
weight to bring the improvement in the working and
living conditions of that industry Rock county typi-
fes farming communities the country over. Jealousy
suspicion distrust and dsnterest keeping farmers
out of the only farm organization through which they
may work toward the improvement of the conditions
about which they complain.
1t would be foolhardy to attempt to conciate the
activities and the views of the leaders of the Farm
Bureau with the opinions and principles of every
farmer in the country In many particulars the farm
er and his organization bound to differ on ques-
tions of policy. But that difference is why
any farmer should stay out of the organization and
refuse his cooperation the hundreds of issues upon
which he and the bureau in complete accord.
Farmers may criticize the achievements of the
Farm Bureau in the past and beggar their accom-
pshments with jeers and sarcasm. But in doing so
they propose larger criticism of themselves and sug
gest deeper satire their blindness. If the
Farm Bureau has achieved little of what critics feel
should be its objective the lies largely in the
fact that it's critics have been satisfied sit outside
the organization and complain about its shortcomings
rather than get into the organization and them
Political predictions of the Farm Bureau pre-
sent another of criticism of the Bureau. No
eloquent to that criticism can be found
than that presented in the recent campaign For
Farm Bureau workers faced the accusation that the
Farm Bureau is nothing but the tail to Republican
kite" hurled at them by dsgruntled farmers. At the
time they learned to keep cool beneath the crit
cism that the Farm Bureau has been taken over by
the Democratic party"
To the critics who declare the Farm Bureau has
failed in a major part of its undertakings, let us ex-
press agreement To the critics who point out that
the Farm Bureau, despite its efforts has failed to pre-
vent to correct the farm deation, let us answer
with expressions of accord To the critics who charge
the Farm Bureau with ineffectveness with poverty,
with incapacity with futity let to all of
them: agreed" And having answered to the short
comngs of the Farm Bureau let the criticized pro-
pound question to the critics. If the Farm Bureau
has not succeeded in its program of farm improve
ment: "Whose fault it s?" Honest men will admit
that is the fault of farmers who have withheld from
the Farm Bureau cooperation and aid that would have
spelled success for plans that failed and greater vic
tory for efforts that succeeded.-Luverne Star.