The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-10-10

Much water mas run over Tic
dam since Floyd Olson presided
at the great gathering to which
spoke. in the spring Of 1882.
During these more than four
years one of our most tmpor-
tant national achievements has
been the strides we have made
everywhere in thinking In ma
tional terms. Never before has
America been so united.
We have come to understand
ing that the agricultural pros
perity Of the Northwest is d.
rectly affected by the agricul-
tural prosperity Of the rest OF
the country.
People in the manufacturing
cities will find more employment
at better wages If the farm fam
lilies Of the nation have the
wherewithal to purchase manu-
featured goods and the farmers
of the nation will sell larger
crops at better prices II the IN
dustrial workers in the cities
have more money to buy dairy
products, vegetables, fruit, pork
and beef.
When in 1888 this Administra-
ton undertook to meet the deS-
perate and long neglected needs
Of agriculture we turned to the
coonerative idea and called to
Washington representatives Of
the great cooperativeS and other
farm organizations to work out
q program with us.
The Triple A itself had as its
foundation and its essence the
cooperative idea. Administered
locally by community commit
tees selected by the farmers
themselves, it was a picture Of
economic democracy in action.
Support to Continue"
This Administration from the
very start came to the support
of the cooperative ideal and by
vigorous action tn a t support
has continued. The support Will
continue. 1t established a con-
troll bank for cooperativeS with
IL regional banks to aid in mar
keting and purchasing.
It held out the helping hand
on credit to production credit
associations to enable farmers
to finance production through
their own banks.
The triple A has worked d.
rectly with the cooperativeS in
their marketing agreement pro-
gram. BY loans to cooperatives
we have helped to bring the
comforts Of electricity to many
farmers of the nation.
We did not stop at merely
lending money. When farm
prices were threatened, the Ad-
ministration held them up by
purchasing surplus products
through farm cooperatives for
distribution to hundreds OF
thousands of families faced with
hunger in our great cities.
Government a Referee"
Nevertheless, while the Gov
eminent can help through its
resources, we in washington
have recognized that coopera-
ton and cooperativeS must come
from the people themselves.
Government can see to it that
the rules of the game are fair
as between cooperative enter
prise and other enterprise. But
the initiative, the management
itself, must spring from and
carry on from the bottom up
rather than from the top down.
This Administration is deter
mined to continue in active sur
port of the ever-groWing farm
cooperative movement.
I am happy in the strengthen
ing of this movement at home.
But let us remember that the
same spirit of cooperation is an
essential part of our relations
with the other nations Of the
world. It is this realistic appre-
citation of the benefits of COOP
Grafton that lies behind our ef-
forts to reeStablish foreign mar
kets for our farm products.
In the spring Of 1888 our Tor
eign trade had fallen off to
about one-third of its former
value. That was what I in
herited.
"Trade" Defined E.
The very word trade" means
articles of commerce flowing in
two directions. It is not a one
way street. At least we under
stand this in our domestic trade.
No single State can produce
either crops or merchandise and
continue indefinitely to sell
them to other States for money
alone. Eventually they have to
be paid for in other products.
Foreign trade is just like that.
There cannot be a revival OF
foreign exports without a re-
vival of foreign imports unless,
of course, we do as we did be-
tween 1920 and 1880, and lend
our money to foreign nations to
enable them to buy our own
farm and industrial products.
Mutual Advantages"
It was not question of win
ming or losing any treaty. Mu-
tual advantage has been the sue
cessful objective and our exports
during the first half of this year
as connpared with last wear have