Show Americas America's Immediate National Problem By JAMES R. R HOWARD President of the American Farm Fan Bureau Bureau Bu flu- reau Fedoration Federation CHICAGO Sept 3 Farm Farm production In 1920 was stupendous tho prospects for lor this year nr aro are normal or above But other lines of ot Industry are makIng making mak mak- ing the Industrial balance balanco worse b by curtailing production while a agriculture Is making ming It worse by Increasing production pro pro- Do you want tho the balance restored b by having the farmers slow down or tho others speed up I Th The Tho farmer has never believed that tha there tero can be overproduction Ho lie lo I fourteen hours a a. lay clay and often oren sevenda's seven days das a I week during good tims and bad I Depressions do not stop him but but on I Ithe the other hand stimulate him him to Increased in increased increased In- In creased production Other Industries s slow up and nd thereby mako make tho situation situation siua- siua situa situa- tion moro more Intolerable That has happened happened hap hap- during every oer business crisis andis and andIs Is happening now It I must not con con- There Thero must be found a way out The farmer will wH not consent to curtail pro pro- Tho The only alternative Is 18 to find a wa way to keep other Industries operating continuously and normally Do I read tho ho mind of oe America correct correctly cor cor- when hen I sa say that tho the extreme psychological reaction following war prosperity Is h happily behind us That we e have passed through the tho slough of oC despair and are now on tho upgrade upgrade up up- grade gado Do the tho business s men men and the bankers realize sufficiently that It Is the farmer demand which causes tho the wheels wheel of ot Industry to turn and hum That tho farmer faner cannot buy bu when his rato rate of at exchange c on what he has hns to sell sel corn corn and hogs hogs Is Is too far tar below par Our Immediate national problem Is to regain a balanco balance orend already lost Tho The brunt of ot the loss Is now being horn born b bytho by bytho tho farming group roup Wo We 0 have o ha already seen that the te greatest great great- est eat obstacle In preventing a a return of th the normal balance balanco Is curtailment ot of production b by the tho Industrial groups Agriculture has hue maintained and even cn Increased output Compared with wih other Indu industries agriculture agri agni- culture has hns overproduced but I want wantI I to reassert that agriculture does not I countenance tho tim thought though of oe restricting restrict restrict- ing log prod production We 0 want to feed and clotho the world worM and antl do it I abundantly anth But wn we WI must have havo our excess s production matched by excess production I havo have a suggestion constructive 1 I ho hope I want to see seo the tho farmers In every community of or this country using an n Instrument nt of ot business which has been pronounced moro mono useful in tho the advance ance ad 0 of civilization than any mechanical me mo- mechanical invention I refer reler to the corporate cor cor- form of oC organization under which three fourths of ot tho the business of ot this country countr Is transacted Fortunately tho the corporation has haG been adapted to tho the farmers farmers' use Tho The cooperative o form torm of ot corporation which diffuses ownership which insures democratic control and which distributes distil distri bute patronage as well wel as capital dividends dividends divi divi- Is admirably contrived to servo sen agri agriculture cut tune The Tho farmer does docs not need to Incorporate to perform hI his productive work work but ho does docs need a corporation to ef effectively effectively ef- ef neel tho the and carry crr on selling financing branches of oC his business I I want to see seo the tho farmer selling ad- ad scientifically se- se and cooperatively clr distributIng distributing ing his products instead of or dumping them tham Tho American Farm Bureau federation Is out to vitalize the cooperative cooper cooper- marketing movement If I consumers will HI help us save sa o a R dime In distribution well we'll wol be bo glad gla to go o tIC lity-tIC fifty fifty-fifty and take tako a nickel off oCt tho the consumers' consumers cost |