The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1931-09-24
Dairy Representative Explains Farm
Boards Relation to Co-oberatiUes

To the Editors and Farmers Of
Minnesota:
So much has been said and writ
ten in the daily papers Of the Twin
Cities pro and con relative to Farm
Board policies and the Agricultur-
al Marketing Act that I deem it on
ly fair, in keeping history straight,
to present an accurate statement to
the editors and farmers, with whom
I have worked for forty years in
Minnesota. Biased and prejudiced
criticism by some of the daily pa
pers because of environment, mis-
leads readers and, as ever in the
past, the country press must carry
the truth about agricultural prob
lens for the problem of the farmer
is the problem of the local COM
munity. Thus I give to you and
your readers clear statement of
facts.
My statement at this time is ac-
tuated by a press release issued by
j. S. Jones, secretary of the Min
nesota Farm Bureau, September 1,
which has doubtless come to your
attention. Its first paragraph
states: Farm Board member w. F.
Schilling, who has been stumping
the state in an attempt to stem
the rising tide of resentment
against the Farm Boards market
ing policies is charged by leaders OF
Minnesota cooperatives with MAX
ing misleading statements concern
ing the Farm Boards method of
doing business. The charge is
made by officers of the Minnesota
Farm Bureau, Central Cooperative
company, Twin City Milk Produc-
ers' association and the Minneso-
ia Cooperative Wool Growers asso-
citation"
The answer to this stumping
charge is this: Before this contro-
versy began in this state, Lud Roe
of Montevideo wrote me in Wash
ington asking if would come out
if I had a vacation coming and
speak at the Watson Community
Picnic. AS I had not been at home
since March, I accepted. Then the
farmers creamery board of Daw-
son, seeing in the papers I was to
be in the community and only twen-
ty miles away, invited me to speak
at a stockholders meeting the
night before. After had arrived
here, Editor Weber, of Slaytin, in
vited me to speak at the fair in
his town. That's what Mr.. Jones
calls stamping the stated" Herb
Hotaling and others tried to get me
to speak in their towns but much as
1 would have liked to, I declined.
Then the Jones statement calls
attention to the Farm Boards re-
fusal to loan funds to cooperatives
competing with each other in the
same territory. Let me ask: Would
the foregoing protesting organiza-
tions finance competing groups in
the same town or region? Our ans
wer is emphatically. No!
The Farm Board does not have
a word to say about personnel or
policies of cooperatives unless they
are borrowing money and their
management is such that our funds
are in jeopardy. Then it reserves
the right to step in and assist the
cooperative to work it's way out.
This has been done in five cooper
atives in the dairy division with
great satisfaction to the farmer
members.
Then this statement follows: "We
think the time has come when
members of the Federal Farm
Board should fairly and truthfully
discuss with the producers of this
country the activities of that board.
It does not help the situation for
the Federal, Farm Board to send
its members about the country at
the expense of the taxpayers, max
ing misleading statements concern
ing the board and its activities and
endeavoring to make out every
honest critic of the Federal Farm
Board as the enemy of the farmer
and of cooperative marketing"
Is the Farm Board sending its
members about the country making
misleading statements? On the con-
trary, some farm leaders who are
not working with the marketing
program are putting their own in
depreciation on the act and want
the cooperatives Of America to fit
their program to suit them.
Within the past ten days repre-
senatives of 159 cooperative eleva-
tors in the Northwest have Joined
the National group making in all
over $50 farmers elevators now in
the organization.
Sixty-three per cent of all the
livestock marketed comparatively in
America is now affiliated in the Ma
tional Livestock set-up and this or
ganization is gaining every day.
The farmers of Missouri and Ken
lucky, where 70 per cent Of the
blue grass seed of the country is
harvested, have 100000 bushels in
a new cooperative or at least two
thirds of the American supply. A
handful of dealers have always had
control of this in the past.
But let us look at the dairy pic
ture. That is Minnesota's main
stay for this state produced nearly
300 900 900 pounds of butter last
year. That's our money cropsL Lane
OT.akes creameries, largest organi-