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January M 1MI THK CITIZEN IVOMEN VOTERS TO HOLD GREAT MEET THIRD ANNUAL CONVENTION II TO BK HELD IN BALTIMORE, OPENING APRIL 2a ENTIRE CONTINENT INCLUDED Their Ststtra of Latin America Ara Invitsd to Halp In Diacuaalon af Topic af Especial Importance ta the Sea, By EDWARD B. CLARK Washington The NhIIimuiI League of Women Voters, which lint lion quarters In Washington, desires thai the public ilmll know about lla tlilnl ennuul convention which la to be held In tha capital's companion rlty. Haiti- inure, lid., ami la to continue In ses Ion for nlna dsys. Tire convention does not nnt until April 20, hut a II the rniintrlea nf South and Central America are lo be represented the ar rangemcnts for the meet lug ara being made early. The Munt tmlh la that your corre spondent personally haa been asked to write about tlila convention and la the more willing ao to do because the National league of Women Voters la composed of women nf the two great political parties and nf Rome smaller parties, and It doea not seek to create a woman' party, preferring the seem- Ingly snncr course of asking Ita mem bers to get Intereated In politics and In legislation and to exercise their In fluence aa actual voting member of any of the political partlea which they Chnoae; to Join. Iloth the Itt-puhllcan and the Demo cratic national committees have asked the wonnii to enter their respective partlea and to work and to vote for eurh legislation aa they may den I re an Republicans and Iemnrrala, and not a members of a arparate group. It aeema, therefore, to be the aim of the National League of Women Voters to I Of okhi uch legtHlatlon a women think It advisable to enact and then Musi Issued a bulletin Intended lo en to attempt lo secure It by exercising courage the establishment of coiuniu- their Influence ss voters within one or the other of the great political parties. Subjects te Be Discussed. The women have borrowed the word "agenda" from the Plate department for nsv In outlining the proceedings of the coming convention which thev call "The Tan-American Conference of Women." In a general way the country can tell from the subjects for ainroaaioo which have been chosen tha) chief thlnf wh'cb are interesting theWoroen of all partlea of the pres ' ""awl X. There are to be what the women call round table conferences on the following anhjecta, each dlacui slnn to be under the charge of a wom an whose name Is given as leader: Child Wei rare In charge of Miss Orace Abbott, chief of the children's bureau, Department of Labor, V. 8. A. Education In charge of Miss Julia Abbott, kindergarten division, bureau of education, iH-partment of Interior. V. 8. A. Women In Industry In charge of Mies Mary Anderson, chief of the woman's bureau, Department of La bor, U. 8. A. Prevention of Traffic In Women In charge of Dr. Valeria Parker, ex ecu tlve secretary of the Interdepartment-lis al aoclitt hygiene board. U. 8. A. Civil Hiatus of Women In charge I of airs. Mabel Wlllehrandt, assistant attorney general, In-partmeut of Jus- lice. I'. H. A. roll! leal 8tatua of Women In rharce of Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt. president of the International Woman Huffrsge alllnuce. Secretary of State Hughes, Sccre- tary of Commerce Hoover and Dr. L. I 8. Itowe, director evnsral of the Pan-1 A inert en n union, are co-ope rutlng with the women In efforts to make the conference a success. lovltatlona tu the governments of South and Central American countries, to send delegates to the conference have been forwarded by the State department through Its! dlplomatlc representatlvea In tha re-1 publics of Latin America. Agricultural Conference Called. iiiviiauoiia nava oeen issued to a Urge number of American cltlxene tc become members of the conference on I agriculture wnicn la to meet In Wash tug-ton tne latter mrt of January. It Is expected that at least 20U dele galea representing agricultural and Hied industries, such ss packing, mill lug and transportation, will be pres ent. The administration seemingly be lieves that the conference will pro duce results. It Is definitely known, of course that the administration, with tha cnun try, baa been worried about agricul tural conditions and the troubles which bavo come to congress in ita attempt to adjust legislation ao that one great industry may be benefited without working damage to other Induatrlea In brief, It can be auld that one, ele ment in congress think agriculture b asking too much and that auolhet thinks It is not asking hulf of what It deserves. If the conference on agriculture hall have the success of tha confer ence ou unemployment Its meeting probably will be held ta have been It every way worth while. Wheu tm conference assembles it Instantly wll bttglu to exchange views and to glvi conaldcrutlou to varloua lines of pol It Is believed leader of eucl the Industrial groups which ara U rottie here will have a policy to pre- sent In behalf nf his group. This nieun probably that there will be eight or len well defined pulley pro- and of course each one of tbem given due consideration. Cengiaia May Act an RaaulL i mi or theae Conference, with a due retard for the compromising of diffcrcncca, there probnbly will come something constructive. It la expert ed that tha President will take the report nf the conference and after conaultatlon with the cabinet officer will inbuilt to congress certain recoin nieiiilHtluni for legislation. Congress lias an Immense amount of work ahead of It, but aa agricul ture enters Into much nf the work. It la not likely that It will take very long for the majority party to dove tall Into proposed legislation the de tails of new policies, or. If need be, to put these pollclea Into the form of new and sepurata legislative acta. lo many articles the trouble between the so-called farmers' bloc and Hie rep resentatives of other Interests In con gress have been dwelt upon. There are troubles and they ara rather hard ones, but no legislator can be found In either senate or house lo deny that agriculture la the basis of welfare and proserlty. In fact this world-old and world-known truth la the strongest base for belief that eventually agri culture will be given many of the things which It asks, but It la not to be taken for granted that It will be given those things which aome leaders de mand. Ho far aa the coming conference la concerned, " certainly will give the representatives of the varloua Indus tries asaemhled a chance lo get one another'a viewpoint. It also will have a tendency to remove aome of the fric tion which haa developed recently be tween the varloua Interests whose busi ness Uvea are deendeiit one upon the other and yet which have been In aome matter In a state of complete dis agreement. Bird Sanctuaries Urptd. Uncle Hatn wants the furmera of the country to make bird aanctu- urlcs of their land. This Uncle of ours believes and saya that tne l-irda which are attracted will pay their host ten times over for hla trou ble In providing a welcome for tbem. The Ivpartment of Agriculture haa nlty bird refuges throughout the cous) try on fartua, bird preserves and In other placet. Some refugee of this kind, the department reports, already have been established, and In eouie casee there has been great success In Inducing colonics of game blrda to be come residents. Concerning the value of tha blrda to the agricultural Interests the govern' ment department In Ita most recent bulletin Bays: "Hardly an agricultural pest escapee the attacks of blrda. The alfalfa II haa 45 different bird enemlea; the army worm, 43; blllbuga, 67; cot' ton boll weevil, 00; brown-tall moth. 81 ; chestnut weevil, 64 ; chinch bugs, 24; clover-root borers, 83; clover weevil, 23; coddling moth, 36; cotton worm, 41; cutworms, W. forest tent caterpillar, 32; gypsy moth, 46; horse flies, 4U; lesfhoppera, 120; orchard lent caterpillars, 43; potato beetles. 25 ; rice weevil, 21 ; ecveuteen-year lo cust, 88; twelve-spotted cucumber beetle, 2H; white gruba, 07, and wire- worms. 168." How to Attract Blrda, In order to bring tha birds to tha doorstep, and to the outlying acres. It only necessary to give them prutec- tlon, water, and In the case of some species of birds the housing facilities which Ihey like. It ta not necessary to provide nesting facilities for most American birds, provided there are trees and bushes In fair abundance on the seres to which they are to be made welcome. There are blrda, how- ever, which come lua more quickly If housce are made ready for them. Among these bouse-bulldlng birds are the purple martin, tha whlte-bellled swallow, the house wren, the blue bird, and on occasion aome of tha wood- peckers. It as not known until a few years ago that woodieckers would neat In 1,1 rJ houses. They will do ao occasion- ally, bit the kind of a house they pre- it la one which haa close resemblunce to the house which they would make for themselves. Whlte-bellled swal lows will nest In any kind of a bog placed on the housetop or on top of a pole. milke the purple martins. they do not like to build colonies, and so there should be one bog for each pnlr. The house wrens will build in anything which offers them protection from tha weather and from their nat ural enemies. A pair of house wrens have been known to nest within the kind of a hat Impertinently but some what popularly known aa a plug. Iilrda like water to drink aud water to bathe In. Shallow tin pane sunk in tha turf to the level of the ground are much to their liking. These pans should be Oiled with fresh water each morulng. Home bird stay in the North In winter, and if they are pro vided with food they will become fa miliar and will do aiucb In the way of cheering up the dreary days of dark and storm. Clean Your Shoes. Alusys clean your shoes well before putting them away. Wipe off every particle of dust ami dirt and ahlue them with good blacking If neces sary. If you value the length of life and giMtd shtipe of your footwear, by all men as use shoe trees. They may be purchased at any department store for swell sum. They are especially valuable for keeplug low shoes In aha pa. ' FARM BRA PROBLEMS (Csatlasse (rasa fata Ma) oTherirrcliBrlt'eTThal ra uni form. In good years and bad, with high, prices and low. While, In the main, tha farmer must sell, regardless nf market conditions, at the time of the maturity of crops, ha cannot suspend production In tote. He must go on producing If he Is to go on living, and If the world la to exist. The most be can do la to curtail pro duction a little or alter Ita form, and that berstise he Is In tha dark aa to the probable demsnd for hla goods msy be only to Jump from the frying pan Into the Ore, taking tha consumer with him. Even tha dairy farmers, whose out put Is not seasonal, complain that they find themselves at a disadvantage In tha marketing of their productions, especially raw milk, because of the high costs of distribution, which they must nltltn.'tlely hesr. Ill Now that the fnrmere ara stirring, thinking, snd uniting aa never before to eradicate these Inequalities, they are subjected to stem economic lec tures, and ara met with tha accusation that they are demanding, and are the recipients of, sperlsl privileges. Let ua set what privileges the government haa conferred on the fsrmera. Much hsa been made of Section 6 of tha Clayton Anti-Trust Act, which pur ported to permit them to combine with Immunity, under certain condition. Admitting that, nominally, this ex emption was In the nature of a special privilege, though I think It waq so In appesrance rather than In' fact, we And that the courts have nullified It by Judicial Interpretation. Why should not the farmers be permitted to ac complish by co-operative methods what other businesses are already doing by co-operstinn In the form of incorpora tion T If It be proper for men to form, by fusion of existing corporations or otherwise, a corporation that controls the entire production of a commodity, or a large part of It, why ta It not proper for a group of farmers to unite for tha marketing of their common product, either la one or In several selling tgenrles? Why should it be right for a hundred thousand corporate shareholdera to direct 23 or 80 or 40 per cent of aa Industry, and wrong for a hundred thousand co-operative firmer to control a no larger propor tion of the wheat crop, or cotton, or any other product? The Department of Agriculture la often spoken of aa a special concession to ths farmers, but In Its commercial results, It Is of aa much benefit to tha buyer and consumrra of agricultural products as to the producers, or even more. I do not suppose thst anyone opposes the benefit that the farmers derive from the educational and re search work of the department, or the help that It gives them In working out Unproved cultural methods and prae, ncea. in aeveioping ne.ier ywiuing va- rietles through breeding snd selection. In Introducing new varieties from re mote parts of the world and adapting them to our climate and economic con dition, and In devising practical meas ure for the elimination or control of dsngernus and destructive animal and plant diseases. Insect pests, snd the like. All these things msnifestly tend to stimulate and enlarge production and their general beoeUdal effects are obvious. It It complained that, whereas the law restrlcta Federal Reserve banka to three months time for commercial paper, the . farmer la allowed six months on his notes. Thla la not a special privilege, but merely auch recognition of bualneaa condition aa makes It possible for country banka to do business with country people. The crop farmer haa only one turn over a year, while tha merchant and manufacturer have many. Incidental ly, I note that tha Federal Reserve Bosrd haa Just authorized tha Fed eral Reserve banks to discount export psper for a period of alx months, to cdhform to the nature of the bust ness. The Farm Loan banka are pointed to aa an Instance of apeclal govern ment fsvor for farmers. Are tbey not rather tha outcome of laudable efforts to equalise rural and urban condi tions T And about all the government doea there la to help act up an ad ministrative organization and lend little credit at the start. Eventuslly the farmers will provide all the capi tal and carry all the liabilities them selves. It ta true that Farm Loan bonds ara tax exempt; but ao are bonds of municipal light and traction planta, and new housing la to be ex empt from taxation, la New York, for ten years. On the other hard, tha farmer reads of plant for municipal bousing proj ects that run Into the billions, of hun dreds of million annually spent on tha merchant marine; be reads thst tha railways are being favored with Increased rstes and virtual guarantiee of earning by the government, with the result te him of aa 'ncreased toll on all that he sells and all that be buys. He heara of many manifesta tions of gvernmental concern for par ticular Industries and Interest. Res cuing the rallwaya from Insolvency it undoubtedly for the benefit of the country as a whole, but what can be of more general benefit than encour agement of ample production of the principal necessarlea of Ufa and their even flow from contented producers to satisfied consumers? While It may be conceded that special governmental aid may be nec essary In tha general Interest, we must all agree that It la difficult to see why agriculture and the production and dis tribution of farm producta are not ac corded the same opportunities that are provided for other businesses; espe cially aa tha enjoyment by the farmer of auch opportunities would appear ta ho even mora contributory to tha (ask. era I good than In tha case of other Industries. Tha spirit of American democracy la unalterably opposed, sltka to enacted special privilege snd to tha special privilege ef unequal op portunity that arises automatically from tha failure te correct glsring economic Inequalities. I am opposed to the Injection of government Into business, hut I do believe that It la an essentlsl function of democratic gov ernment to equsltze opportunity so fsr as It Is within Its power to do an, whether by the repeal of archaic statutes or the enactment of modern ones. If the antl trust laws keep the fsrmera from endeavoring scientifically to Integrate their Industry while other Industries And a wsy to meet modern conditions without violating such stat ute, then It would seem reasonable to find a wsy for the farmer to meet them under the same conditions. The law ah. mid operate equally In fact. Re pairing the economic structure on one aide Is no Injustice to the other side, which Is In good repair. We have traveled a long way from tha old conception of government as merely g defensive snd policing sgency ; and regulative, corrective, or equalis ing legislation, which apparently la of a special nature. Is of tea of the most genera beneflclnl consequences. Even the First Congress passed a tariff act that was avowedly for the protection of manufucturera; but a protective tariff alwaya ha been defended a mean of promoting the general good through particular approach; and the statute books are filled with act for the benefit of shipping, commerce, and labor. rv Now, what I the farmer taking? Without trying to catalogue th re medial measures that have been sug geated In his behalf, the principal pro posals that bear directly on the Ira provement of his distributing and mar keting relations may be summarized aa follows: First : storage warehouses for cot ton., wool, and tobacco, and elevators for grain, of sufficient capacity to meet the maximum demand on them at the peak of the marketing period. The fanner thinks that either private etpl tal must furnish these facilities, or th state must erect and own the eleva tore and warehouses. Second: weighing and grading of agricultural products, snd certification thereof, to be done by Impartial and disinterested public Inspectors (this Is already accomplished to some extent by the federal licensing of weighers and graders), te eliminate underpay Ing, overcharging, and unfair grading, and to facilitate the utilization of the atored products as the basis of credit Third : a certainty of credit sufficient to enable the marketing of producta In an orderly manner. Fourth: the Department of Agrleul tare should collect, tabulate, tumma rite, and regularly and frequently pub- dl.trlout; , th7. 'j ',nfrmHni from .11 h- the world, ao that they (hall be aa well Informed of their selling position as buyers bow are of their buying posi tion. Fifth : freedom to Integrate the bust ness of agriculture by meana of con solldsted selling agencies, co-ordlnat Ing and co-operating In tuch way aa to put the farmer on an equal footing with the large buyers of his products. and with commercial relations In other industries. When a business requires specialized talent. It haa to buy It So will the farmers ; and perhapa the best way for them to get It would be to utilize tome of the present machinery of the larg est established agencies dealing In farnxproducts. Of course, If he wishes, tha farmer may go further and engage In flour-rallllng and other manufactures of food products. In my opinion, however, ne would be wlae to stop short of that Public Interest may be opposed to all great Integrations; but, In Justice, should they be forbidden to the farmer and permitted to others? The corporate form of association can not now be wholly adapted to hit ob jects and conditions. The looser co operative form aeema more generally suitable. Therefore, he wishes to be free, If be finds It desirable and feas ible, to retort to co-operation with his fellows and neighbors, without run nlng afoul of the law. To urge that tha farmers ahould have tha aame lib erty to consolidate and co-ordinate their peculiar economic functions. which other Industries In their fields enjoy, Is not, however, to concede thst any business integration ahould have legislative aanctlon to exercise monop olistic power. The American people are as firmly opposed to Industrial at to political autocracy, whether at tempted by rural or by urban Industry. For lack of united effort the farmers aa a whole are atlll marketing their crops by antiquated methods, or by no methods at all, but they are surrounded by a bualneaa world that bat been modernized to tha last minute and la tirelessly striving for efficiency. Tbta efficiency is due In large measure to big business, to united business, to In tegrated bualneaa. Tha farmers now seek the benefits of tuch largeness, un ion and Integration. The American farmer la a modern of tha moderns In the use of labor saving machinery, and he baa made vest strides in recent yeart In dentine tillage and efficient farm management. but at business in contact with other businesses aglrculture la "one borse shay" In competition with high power automobiles. Tbe Americas farmer la the greatest and moat Intractable of Individualists. While Industrial pro duction and all phases of the huge com mercial mechanism and lla myriad ac cessories have articulated and co-ordi nated themselves all the way from nat ural raw materials to retail sulet, tha I paltrfsa of agriculture haa gone on la nuch the ate man fashion of the back s' sod of the first part of the olue- tetBth century, when the farmer was i lf ii!llclent and did not depend upon, or c.i re very much, whit tha great world wn doing. The result la that the agricultural group I almost a much at a disadvantage In dealing with other economic groups ss the Jay fsrtn. er of tbe funny pages In the hands of sleek urbsn confidence men, who sell him acreage In Central Park or the Chicago city hsll. The leaders of the farmers thoroughly understand thla, tnd they are Intelligently striving to integrate their Industry so that, It will oe on an equal rooting witn other oust nesses. At tn example of Integration, take the steel Industry, tn which the model la the United Statea Steel Corporation, with Ita Iron mines, Its coal mines, It lake and rail transportation, Its ocea vessels. Its by-product coke ovens, Its blast furnaces. Its open hearth and Ilessemer f urn an s, Its rolling mills. It tube mills and other mnnufacluiin processes that tre carried to the high est degree of finished production com patlble with the large trade It has built up. "All this Is generally ennced ed to be to the advantage of the con sumpr. Nor does the steel corporation Inconsiderately dump Its products on the market. On the contrary. It acts that It la frequently a stabillzln Influence, as Is often the case with oth er large organfzatlona. It Is master of Ita distribution aa well at of Itt pro duction. If prlret are not satisfactory the producta are held back or produc tion la reduced or suspended. It It not compelled to tend a year't work to the market at one time and take whatever It can get under auch circumstances. It has one selling policy and Ita own export department. Neither are th grades and qualities of steel determln ed at th caprice of the buyer, nor does the latter hold the scales. In this sin gle Integration of the ateel corporation la represented about 40 per cent of the tteel production of America. The rest la mostly In the handa of a few large companies. In ordinary times tha tteel corporation, by example, stabilizes all steel prices. If thla Is permissible (It Is even desirable, because atabla and fair prlcea are essential to solid and continued prosperity) why would 'It be wrong for the fsrmera to utilize central agencies that would have slml lar effects on agricultural producta? Something like that la what they ara aiming at. Some fsrmera favored by regional compactness and contiguity, auch as tha dtrus-frult-ralsera of California, at ready have found a way legally to merge and aell their producta Inte grally and In accordance with seasonal and local demand, thus Improving their position and rendering the con turner a reliable service of ensured quality, certain supply, and reaaonablo and relatively steady prices. Tbey have not found it necessary to resort to any special privilege, or to claim any exemption under tha anti-trust legislation of the atata or nation. With out removing local control, they have built p a very efficient marketing agency. The grain, cotton, and to bacco farmers, and tha producers of hides and wool, because of their num bers snd tha vsstness of tbelr regions, and for other reasons, bavo found Integration a mora difficult task though there are now aome thousands of farmer's co-operative elevators, warehouses, creameries, and other en terprises of one sort and another, with a turn-over of billion dollers a year. They are giving the farmers bualneaa experience and training, and, so far aa tbey go, they meet ths need of honest weighing and fair grading; bat tbey do not meet tbe requirements of rationally adjusted marketing in any large and fundamental way. Tha next atep, which will be pat tern for other groups. It now being prepared by the graln-ralsera through the establishment of tales media which shall handle grain separately or col lectlvely, at the Individual farmer may elect. It la thla step tbe plan of tbe Committee of Seventeen which haa created ao much opposition and la thought by tome to be In conflict with the anti-trust laws. Though there Is now before congress measure de signed to clear up doubt on this point. the grain-producers are not relying oa any Immunity from anti-trust legisla tion. They desire, and they tre en titled, to co-ordinate their efforta Juat at effectively aa tha large business In terests of tbe country have done. Ia connection with tha telling ortanlza lions the United States Grain Urowera Incorporated la drafting a scheme of financing Instrumentalities and anxlll ary agencies which are Indispensable to the successful utilization of modern business methods. It is essential that tha farmers should proceed gradually with these plana, and aim to avoid tha error of scrapping the existing marketing ma cblnery, which bat been ao laboriously built up by long experience, before they have tried and proved substi tute or aupplementary mechanism. They must be careful not to. become enmeshed In their own reforms and lose tbe perspective of their place la the national system. They must guard against fanatical devotion to new doc trines, and ahould aeek articulation with the general economic system rather than Ita reckleat destruction as It relates ta them. To take a tolerant and sympathetic view of the farmers' strivings for bet ter tbtngt la not to give a blsnket endorsement to sny specific plan, and atlll less to applaud tbs vagaries of some of their leaders and groups. Neither should we, on the other band. allow tba froth vt bitter agitation, false economics, and mistaken radical ism to conceal the facts of tha farm ers' disadvantages, and tba practicabil ity of eliminating them by well-considered measure. It may be that tha farmers will not ahow the bualneaa tagactty and develop tbe wise leader- hip to carry through sound plant; bat that possibility doea got JuiUfy the obstruction of their upward efforts. We, at rlty people, see In high and speculatively msnlptilated prices, spoilage, waste, scarcity, ths resulta of defective distribution of farm prnd acts. Should It not occur to as that we have a common Interest with tha farmer In his sttempfa tn attain de gree of efficiency In distribution cor responding to his efficiency In produc tion? Do not the recent fluctusttons In th May wheat option, apparently unrelated to normal Interaction of aupply and demand, ofTer a timely proof of the need of aome tuch ttabll Izlng agency as the grain growers have In contemplation? It Is contended that. If their pro posed organizations be perfected and operated, the farmers will bavo In their hands an Instrument that will be capable of dangerous abuse. We are told that It will be possible to pervert It to arbitrary and oppressive prlce flxlng from Its legitimate use of order ing and stabilizing tha flow of farm producta to the market, to tha mutual benefit of producer and consumer. I hsve no apprehensions on thla point In the first place, a loose organiza tion, tuch at tny union of farmere must be at best, cannot be ao arbi trarily and promptly controlled aa a great corporation. The one Is lum bering democracy and the other an aglta autocracy. In the second place, with alt possible power of org anization, the farmers cannot succeed to any great extent, or for any considerable length of time. In fixing prices. The great law of supply and demand workt In various and surprising ways, to the undoing of the best laid plans that attempt to foil It In the third place, their power will avail tha farmer nothing if it be abused. In our time and country power la of value to Ita possessor only so long aa It la not abused.. It Is fair to say that I have seen no signs In responsible quarters of a disposition to dictate prices. There seems, on the contrary, to bo a commonly beneficial purpose to realise a stability that will glv an orderly and abundant flow of farm producta to the consumer and enaure reaaonablo and dependable returns to 'the pro ducer. In view of the supreme Importance to the national well-being of a pros perous and contented agricultural pop ulation, we should be prepared to go a long way In assisting the fanners to get an equitable share of the wealth they -produce, through the Inaugura tion of reforms that will procure continuous and Increasing stream of rarra products. They ara far from get ting a fair share now. Considering hla capital and the long hours of labor put In by tbe average farmer and bis . family, he la remunerated less than any other occupational class, with the possible exception of teachers, reli gious snd lay. Though we know that the present general distress of tbe farmers is exception! and Is linked with tbe Inevitable economic readjust ment . following the war, it must be remembered that, although represent ing one-third of the industrial product and half tbe total population ef tba nation, the rural communities ordi narily enjoy but a fifth to a quarter of the net annual national gain. Notwith standing the taste of prosperity that the farmers had during the war, there la today a lower standard ef living among the cotton farmers of tha South than In any other pursuit In the country. In conclusion, It seems to me that tha farmers are chiefly atrivlng' for a gen erally beneficial integration of their business, of the same kind and charac ter that other business enjoys. If It should be found on examination that the attainment of thla end requires methods different from those which other activities have followed for ths tame purpose should we not sympa thetically consider tha pits for tha right to co-operate. If only from our own enlightened aelf Interest, In ob taining an abundant and steady flow of farm producta? In examining the agricultural situa tion with a view to ita Improvement, we shall be most helpful If wa main tain a detached and Judicial viewpoint. remembering that existing wrongs may be chiefly sn accident of untymmetrl cal economic growth Instead of a crea tion of malevolent design and conspira cy. Wa Americana are prone, aa Pro fessor David Friday well aayt In bla admirable book, "Profits, Wanes and Prices," to aeek a "criminal Intent be hind every difficult and undesirable eco nomic situation." I can positively as sert from my contact with men of large affaire. Including bankera, that, aa a whole, they are endeavoring to fulfill aa they see them the obligations that go with tbelr power. Preoccupied with the grave problems and heavy tasks of their own Immediate affaire, they have not turned tbelr thoughtful personal attention or their construc tive sbllltles to tha deficiencies of agrl ;ultural business organisation. Agri culture. It may be aald, suffers from tbelr preoccupation and neglect rather Iban from any purposeful exploitation jy them. Tbey ought now to begin to respond to the farmers' difficulties. which tbey must realize are their own. On the other hand, my contacts with :he farmers have filled me with respect for tbem for their aanlty, their pa Jence, tbelr balance. Within the last rear, and particularly at a meeting ailed by the Kansas Ststs Board of agriculture and at another called by lis Committee of Seventeen, I have net many of the leaders of tbe new arm movement, and I testify la all linearity thst tbey are endeavoring to leal with their problems, not aa pro noters of narrow class Interest, not is exploiters of ths hapless consumer, tot at merciless monopolists, but aa too est ment beut ou the Improvement if the common weal. We can and must meet such men ind such cause half way. Their mslnesa ta eur business -the nation's (uslcens.