The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-12-10
Gl'o.optis9?s! II:
E.U.C.T.A..

/ We File Our Brief.
Penalizing Protein!
Will Hurt Producer.
Seeing Is Believing.
Believe 1t or not the Commodit
Credit Corporation would have put GU
of business most of the local elevator
cooperative, independent and line)
it had not been stopped on the 5-yart
line by the Farmers Union Grain Ter
minal Association, working with tn,
other terminal marketing co-opera
tives banded together as the Nationa
Federation of Grain Co-operatives
The struggle for survival started IL
1889, when the Commodity Credit Cor
operation notified Secretary Of Agricul
ture Wallace that 1t intended to &c
into the grain marketing business
The National Federation of Grain Co
operatives contributed literally to a
fund to fight off this great threat
against cooperative activity. II
ended up with decision by Claude
Wickard, secretary of agriculture, that
the government must stay out of bust
ness, and that the laws passed by
congress in the past 20 years mean
that government agencies are re-
quired to give preference to co-opera-
tive marketing organizations.
So that was that. But now comes
another move, equally inimical to the
local elevator, by the same Commod-
| ity Credit Corporation. A conference
on it was first called at Chicago, No.
vember 8, where representatives of
the corporation and the co-operatives
went over the proposal. 1t was not
too satisfactory in its conclusion, ex-
cept that the corporation representa-
tives agreed to "try to stay out of
grain marketing" So another meet
ing was arranged, this time at the
offices of the Farmers Union Grain
Terminal Association in st. Paul,
which was attended by Washington
representative and field representa-
tives of the Commodity Credit Cor
poration. That lasted practically
three days. Unofficial concessions
were made to the producers and the
country elevators, but in the end a
brief, outlining the argument for a
square deal for the local elevator and
the farmer was drawn up and sent d.
rect to Washington, D. c., by M. w.
Thatcher, in his capacity as president
of the National Federation of Grain
Co-operatives. That brief sets forth
in clearest language the discrimina-
ton practiced against the local eleva-
tors and the remedy.
But what is the difficulty? Here's
slice of It.: The local elevator issues
a storage ticket for wheat which in
dicates that the grain received under
1t has Is percent protein. But when
the actual grain is delivered to the
Commodity Credit Corporation, under
the loan made on it, 1t tests out only
IA percent protein. Now the elevator
is willing to be locked for the missing
1 percent. But the Commodity Credit
Corporation not only docks the eleva-
tor for the l percent, but for per-
cent! Why?-oh, just to make the
elevator manager watch his STEP
Then the Commodity Credit Corpora
ton gives him no chance to avoid the
penalty. 1t deducts the protein pre-
MUM from the amount due the local
elevator for storage of the grainl
This penalty can run as high as &c a
bushel. Suppose, now, the local ele-
vator turns In wheat of 16 or IS per-
cent protein on a storage ticket call
ing for Is percent protein. A bene-
VIOLENT and paternal government
agency calmly takes the added value,
pockets it and does not even say
Thanks" It's case of heads |
win, tails you lose" and that's what
M. w. Thatcher is raising cain about
in Washington
But" demonstrates the wheat pro-
ducing farmer, How does that hit
me? 1t may sting the local elevator
''bc SUI my lull lOdn Value lOT my
Next year that farmer will
feel the needle, just as plain The
elevator manager will be lot tighter
about allowing protein premium. He
knows what the Commodity Credit |
Corporation did to him this year and
what it did to the income and re-
sources of the elevator he runs. So |
ne will take no chances-unIess this |
n1quitous system if unmerited and |
punishment is ended.
If it is ended, it won't be because |
If any activity by the private grain
.rade. 1t "sits tight" and hopes the
;o-operatives will pull the grain trade
,hestnuts out of the fire, for its local |
u line elevators are in the same fix
Is the cooperative elevators. Should
his happen-would that private grain
rade publicly admit that the coop
'rative grain marketing terminals
lad helped? Believe it or not-when
you see it in print?