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U. S. AGRICULTURE AND TASKS OF THE PARTY   361

(b) Parade before the world as organizations of "the farmers," the American Farm Bureau Federation is the central organ holding in its grip every important "producers' co-operative" in the country. Through these, and such organizations as the National Grange and the Farmers' Union, finance capital diverts the mass discontent into channels not only harmless to itself, but of assistance to its imperialist interests, i.e., stronger competition in exports, which means ultimately an armed struggle for the world market, more monopoly marketing to cut the real wages of the industrial proletariat, more co-operatives, as proposed by Hoover, to sum up all these aims and to lead, in addition to the "solution" of the farm problem as proposed by Jordan, to "the abandonment of two to three million farms," in other words, the elemination by pauperization of from one-third to one-half the farm population.

(c) To rivet the chains of finance capital on the farm population beyond all question and to hasten the rationalization of the agricultural industry, to consolidate the rear of U. S. economy for war, the Federal Farm Board was created with much drum thumping about "helping the farmer." For this pretended purpose Hoover appointed to the Board the following: As Chairman, Alexander Legge, on the "War Industries Board" during the World War, who resigned his $100,000 yearly position as president of the International Harvester Company to take the position; James G. Stone, Vice-Chairman, banker, stock raiser and a tobacco magnate; C. B. Denman, president of the National Livestock Producers' Association; Carl Williams, editor of the Oklahoma "Farmer-Stockman" and director of the Liberty National Bank of Oklahoma; William F. Schilling, president of the Twin Cities Milk Producers' Association; Charles G. Teague, president and director of the California Fruit Growers Exchange and director as well in other big fruit and irrigation companies and "co-operatives"; Charles S. Wilson, who is listed as an "active" farmer, New York state politician, who is none the less secretary of the Western Fruit Growers'" Co-operative Packing Association, and Samuel A. McKelvie, a former governor of Nebraska and an editor who "represents" the wheat growers. At the Board's first meeting 52 officials of various grain marketing organizations, with equally good disguises as "farmers," attended.

This Federal Farm Board, an organ to attempt to bring capitalist "order" out of capitalist anarchy (to replace free competition by monopoly), was given $500,000,000 as a "revolving fund" to loan for "farm relief." Such loans are noted as "supplemental" to loans made from banks. The Board is to "extend the membership