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articles produced. And each exercises
a rightful prerogative. If this privi
lege is exercised by business men and
by those who hire on schedule time,
then why not the farmer do the same?
He will be merely taking his rightful
position in the empire of business. It
is up to the farmer to do as success
ful men do —not allow their products
to go on the market for less than a
fixed minimum price classified on rela
tive values.
Suppose merchants tried for one
year the plan that farmers have here
tofore followed: lay in a year’s supply
and then auction everything off in two
months —what would happen? Would
not the mercantile world go bankrupt
the first year? That is the way the
farmer has been doing. He raises a
year’s supply and dumps it off at auc
tion in two months. The speculator is
not to blame for buying and regulat
ing it to demand.
The demand for the products of the
farm is constant the year round, and it
is a violation of every law of business
success and principle of economy to
rush these supplies on the market re
gardless of the needs of the consum
ers. There is a science of commerce
the same as of chemistry and it be
hooves the farmer, as the feeder of
the streams of commerce, to under
stand the part he plays in the econ
omy of business.
Trust magnates understand the sci
ence of commerce and apply their
knowledge. Knowledge is power and
commercial knowledge applied by the
few and commercial stupidity among
the masses has dethroned justice,
mocked equity and torn the Golden
Rule to shreds.
It is all a question of matching con
ditions.
It is impossible for farmers to reg
ulate values except by concert of ac
tion —by co-operation. Co-operation
is secured by educating the people to
the necessity of a method of procedure
and the opportunity offered by condi
tions.
Unorganized, the people are like a
machine taken to pieces and strewn on
the ground. But, organized, with a
plan, a system and a purpose they are
as a machine capable of doing effi
cient w r ork —capable of putting into
operation classified knowledge. It is
the object of the Farmers’ Educational
and Co-operative Union of America to
teach the science of controlled market
ing to the farmer that he may match
conditions as they are. Its founders
had faith in the possibility of doing so
and the results so far indicate that
their faith was well founded.
There are twenty-six counties in the
states of Kentucky and Tennessee that
constitute the “dark tobacco belt.’’
This district furnishes a grade not 'fur
nished elsewhere. The average annual
production is about 185,000,000 pounds.
Seventy nations of the earth draw
upon this for supplies. It costs about
six cents a pound to raise it.
There was a tobacco trust in Europe
and one in America. They got in each
other’s way. Thomas W. Ryan (of
Equitable Life Assurance note), repre
senting the American trust, went to
England to make terms with Sir
Charles Mills, the head of the foreign
tobacco trust. And these pirates of
commerce made terms with each other
in the same way that Caesar, Lepidus
and Antony met on a small island and
divided the Roman Empire among
them as if it had been their paternal
inheritance. These offloors of high
finance proceeded to divide the to
bacco belts into districts by states,
counties and public roads. The tobac
co raisers were at the mercy of these
manipulators, who had as a partner
the astute king of Italy. His agents
bought for six cents and he sold to
his subjects at a profit of a dollar a
pound, clearing millions. The trusts
were flourishing. The growers appeal
ed to congress and the law in vain.
On the 24th of September, 1904, the
growers met in- delegate convention
and agreed on terms and away of
marketing. In six months the agents
of the trusts were paying nearly double
the prices they had been paying while
running the “over production” racket
as an excuse for low prices. The
raisers of this product are teaching
a lesson in the work of farmers’ organ
izations and exemplifying the sound
ness of the doctrine that farmers can
control prices and take the business
of furnishing farm products to consum
ers out of the hands of speculators.
What is one of the greatest food
products of the world. But no one
country can claim a monopoly on rais-
Wheat is one of the geratest food
ing it. It can be raised in most agri
cultural countries. There is not a
month in the year that wheat is not
harvested somewhere in the world. But
we have certain sections that are pe
culiarly adapted to this cereal. The
wheat raisers used to sell their wheat
at the thresher at nominal prices to
wheat dealers, who placed it in eleva
tors and furnished it to domestic and
foreign markets at whatever specula
tive prices they could squeeze out of
the consumers.
They were not to blame for dealing
in wheat and taking chances on it.
They were only showing the farmer
how he ought to handle his wheat
from the farm to the consumer, with
the difference that the farmer should
have a scheduled price instead of al
lowing it to be a game of chance and
the price the foot ball of speculators.
Millions have been won and lost in
“futures” on wheat and the game will
continue till the farmers take hold of
it in a businesslike and systematic
way. Speculation adds nothing to the
supply of that which feeds and clothes
the race. It means waste of time,
energy and substance.
The wheat raisers were vaguely con
scious of all this. But it takes concert
of action of so many people, con
cerned only in their own little domes
tic affairs, that it seemed a herculean
task to bring about a revolution of
methods. After a hard campaign of
agitation and education waged by zeal
ous prophets of a new era the wheat
raisers began to build their own eleva
tors and place their own men on the
boards of trade and stopped selling
to speculators at the thresher for thir
ty-five cents a bushel.
The organization of the wheat grow
ers is only partial, and their system
but partially perfected, but they have
saved the market time and again since
the initiatory efforts in this direction
from dropping to the old points where
they used to sell it. There is less un
certainty in the wheat market than
there used to be before any attempts
were made to regulate supply and
demand at equitable prices agreed on
by the producers.
Mortgages have been paid off and
prosperity came to the north and west
with fair prices for farm products.
Other agencies than organization have
operated to bring about flush times
but an understanding of the science
of commerce by producers has been a
factor.
The Farmers Educational and Co
operative Union having originated in
the south, has made a specialty of the
cotton proposition. After the demoral
ized condition of the market during
1903-04 the union set a minimum price
of 10 cents In the face of the largest
crop ever raised to that time. They
were laughed at by men long In the
cotton buying business and by non
union people generally. But In due
time that very crop was selling for 10
cents to the consternation of the bears.
We wore told that there was a three
WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN.
million bale surplus of the 1904 crop
arid yet it was selling at 10 cents.
We were told that it was the pros
pect of a short crop that caused the
price to go up. There were nearly
eleven million bales made that year
and the price was set at 11 cents and
we got it. So if we had a surplus of
three million bales in 1904 it certain
ly was left over and not used when
the price advanced from 7 to 10 cents,
which would make the crop of 1905
thirteen millions bales and it sold for
11 cents. The crop of 1906 was over
thirteen million bales and the middling
grade has been close around 11 cents
in spite of all the forces arrayed on the
bear side of the market. So take
whichever end of the proposition you
please, the organization by feeding the
market gradually kept the price of cot
ton from falling from five to ten dol
lars on the bale for the last three
seasons.
The ultimate object of the union is
to handle all cotton direct from the
farm to the factories. The manufact
urers of Europe and America met our
representatives in Washington, D. C..
May 2, 1906, and much preliminary
work was done toward permanent ar
rangements whereby the producers
and manufacturers can agree upon
terms and the supply be furnished
direct from warehouses owned and op
erated by the farmers to the factories.
—Farmers’ Advocate, Topeka, Kan.
BE CAUTIOUS IN BUSINESS.
(Farmers’ Advocate.)
The members of the Farmers’ Union
in the cotton section know how to pro
tect their interests. Stock companies
are organized for building warehouses
and transacting the business but none
but members of the union are permit
ted to buy stock in the company. This
keeps out the enemy of the farmer
where the membership has been well
guarded. In Kansas where co-opera
tive companies have failed almost in
variably it has been caused by permit
ting the undesirable stockholder to get
in and help run things. It is so easy
to cause discord that the discreet
“scab,” for such he is in the union
sense of the word, cunningly whispers
to some intimate friend that this
member of the board or that one is
getting better terms than the rest of
the members. Just a sly hint and the
work is done. The weakness of
human nature is so well known that
the tale is easily told. When will farm
ers learn like shrewd business men
to run down all such insinuations
and ascertain first if they are true
and then rid the institution of the
evil instead of knocking on his own
institution and hurrying off to the ene
my with their support? When a
“knocker” appears down south he is
fired out of the union. So you see
the safeguard is to guard well your
portals that no enemy enters therein
and then let none but union men have
stock in your business enterprises. Ev
en with this precaution the stock
should be limited and not permitted
to be transferred except by consent of
the board of directors. There is noth
ing like being cautious. Transact your
business with as much care as the suc
cessful banker and you will succeed.
COTTON ACREAGE AND CONDI
TION.
On June 4 the government will Issue
a report upon the condition and acre
age up to May 25. This will be but
consolidated guesses made by the ag
ricultural department and its corres
pondents, but it will probably be made
without prejudice, and for that reason
it will have some weight.
The reports that come through un
official hands put the acreage well up
to that of last year, but all agree that
the crop is fully twenty days late. A
Memphis report says the Alabama
acreage will be 93.8 per cent of a nor
mal crop; the replanting is 32 per cent,
and the lateness of the crop is 24 days.
The acreage in Texas, Oklahoma and
the Indian Territory is reported to be
very large, and this may bring the to
tal acreage within a fraction of that
of last year. July contracts in New
Orleans on Monday were quoted at
12.25 cents, and the tendency is up
wards. High prices will operate in in
creased acreage, but the weather is
still unfavorable to replanting and ger
mination, while the grass grows in the
fields freely.
While the prices of cotton and wheat *
go up, the prices of stocks go down,
and this perhaps will be the general
tendency until more is known relative
to the great crops of the country. At
present all is conjectural. All is opin
ion, much of it no doubt erroneous.
With settled weather will perhaps
come definite reports of the crop short
ages, for it seems to be plain that
wheat, corn and cotton will each and
all be reduced by late planting and
backward germination.—Age-Herald.
A MODEST PLOUGHMAN.
When crabgrass gits a half a show,
’Count er some rainy days, to grow
En fuzzes green along de row,
’T aint wuth while den to try to hoe
Dat whole plantation clean.
De bes’ way is de way dat’s cheap,
En I kin take a two-inch sweep,
Runnin at p’int two inches deep,
En kill out Gineral Green.
Yes; gimme sich a plow as dat
’N I’ll hoi’ my upright frame plum flat,
En whar dat grass wus sich a mat
You couldn't tell whar a been at,
I’ll wrop dat cotton round’ w
As neat and cool wid fresh black dirt
As a man’s body fits his shirt,
En reg’lar—not right here a spurt
En hyander grassy groun’.
Farmers is got a heap to I’arn
’Fo’ dey gits wut’s cornin' to deir barn
If, ’stid er har’n hoe-han’s en har’n
Plough-han’s wut ain’t worth a darn,
Dey'd all git men lak me,
Dis county'd brag de bigges’ sales
Er cottonseed and cotton bales,
Spite er spring drouth en ’noctial
gales,
On dis side er de sea.
En dis ain’t whoopin’ up myse’f.
De crabgrass natchly hoi’ its bref
When I comes ’long; ca’se dat means
de’f;
It knows der ain’t none gwine be lef’,
When I hooks up my mule.
I says dis jis’ beca’se it’s so.
I kinder thought yo’d lak to know.
Don’t think I’s tryin’ to brag en blow;
I ain’t no sich a fool.
—John Charles McNeill, in Charlotte
Observer.
The home is indeed the hope of the
nation. Some day conditions will be
such that every one who desires may
own a beautiful home. What a great
people we will then be! —The Co-Oper
ator.
The Farmers’ Union is a great edu
cational organization, a school for the
education of farmers in the science of
marketing and distributing the wealth
they produce.—The Co-Operator.
(Charlotte Observer.)
We are sorry to see that the Broth
erhood of Trainmen, recently in ses
sion at Atlanta, adopted resolutions of
condemnation of the governors of Col
orado and Idaho for their efforts to
bring to trial Haywood, Moyer and
Pettibone, for alleged complicity in the
assassination of ex-Governor Steunen
berg, and appropriated SSOO to be used
in their defense. The trainmen can
not afford to mix up with that aggre
gation.
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