Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-11-20
THE FARMER AND MERCHANT.

THE FARMER AND MERCHANT.
Who Needs ''Backbon Views of a Country
Merchant.
EDITORS MILWAUKEE JOURNAL OF
COMMERCE. notice in your issue OF
| October 22d, an interesting column
called "Good Reading for Farmers. y
1t contained several letters from the
files of Milwaukee merchants, show
ing that dealers of the country are
slow in meeting their accounts be-
cause the farmers of the West won't
pay their store bills until they can
sell their wheat at price that will
suit them. One letter, addressed to
the MiLWaukee Journal of Commerce,
and signed Country Merchant" APP
peals eloquently to the far mers to sell
portion of their crops, even at
sacrifice, and pay the country dealer
for the sugar, tea, coffee, pork and
dry goods that they have been eating
Up and wearing cut all summer and
that he otUes for. That letter is SO
full of truth and sound suggestion
that l hope you will let me quote it
here in full. l will here say that /
wish that every one of the fifteen
hundred newspapers of the north
west would place the contents of this
letter before their readers. There is
not word in it that any honest and
reasonable farmer, who pays his debts
| (like every other class OF business
mem exactly when they fall due and
| whether il is entirely convenient for
them or not could object to. Aud L
believe that it would make great
many farmers who are unbusiness-
like and really dishonest without
meaning to be so, reflect little and
see how mean they are in this matter
and how much harm they are doing
to the business interests of the whole
country from Sun Prairie to New
York City. and how much they are
iDiuriug themselves. If every one
Of your exchanges in Wisconsin, To-
wa, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois,
would copy this letter of Country
Merchant" knoD it would save mil
lions of dollars this winter to Mil
waukee, Chicago and New York
1t would prevent innumerable tall
ures, and take the teeth out of TIE
wolf, "hard Jimes," that is abroad in
the land, deranging the machinery in
finance, stopping manufacturing in
dustries, lowering the market for
produce, and threatening the very
homes of farmers themselves. Here
are
VIEWS OF COUNTRY MERCHANT
SUN PRAIRIE, WIS.,, Oct. Ia, 1873.
EDITORS MILWAUKEE, JOURNAL OF CON-
MERGE: We have at all times been told that
the agricultural communities, which mean the
farmers, are the great bulwark and backbone
of the country. We willingly concede that
it IS true. In politics they say who shall rule
and they send who they will TO fill our halls
of legislature, seats in congress, presidential
and Judicial chairs; and when they move in
org anized bodies, as they now are doing, they
create an influence that intimidates and fright
ems our great railroad kings. They say, thus
far have your land grabbing schemes, snosi-
dies and theft of the public domain gone, but
they shall go no farther! We do not say they
are wrong. So far, Sc good But let us look
a little farther and see what is the duty of the
hour.
Where ought we TO look for the commercial
| HONOR of our country? Most assuredly IN
| the BACKBONE of our country. We look for
| il; do we find II where, more than any where
| else, we ought 10 find il?
What is the course pursued by large ma
jority of our farming community?
| In the spring the country merchant goes in
| to the market and buys his stock of goods, fills
up his store; and Messrs A, B., c., and
| peahaps a hundred more of the backbone of
| the country, come and make their purchases
through the summer for themselves and their
| families, with the distinct understanding that
when they get in their crops they will pay
1 their accounts. Some of these farmers are
well ofF-richl worth four times as much as
the man whose sugar, coffee, pork, tea, SC,
they are eating through the seasoni In the
fall they harvest their bountiful crops. Their
bins. stacks and barns groan with their well
filled contents; and thepoor country merchant
who il NAV be is ''hsrd up" to pay his cred
itors, and wanting TO replenish his stock meek
ly asks for his money according to agreement
In nine cases out of ten what answer does he
get? Here is where the commercial honor"
| Of the BACKBONE comes in. He is told that
wheat has gone off FIVE to ten cents and that
till the price advances the farmer will hold
his wheat The agreement to pay when he
''got off his heap' meant when he sold il,
Sc; that he was able TO pay interest, &C.,
and the merchant must wait. AS the poor
merchant who owes IN Milwaukee, Chicago,
New York or Boston cannot sust ain himself
on this kind of commercial honor, he goes to
protest, lose S his credit, becomes bankrupt,
or near it. and ali because he is afraid of Of
Tending his backbone constituents by insisting
on what is only his just due.
We venture to say that of all our farmers,
, mechanics, manufacturers and professional
{ men, the least commercial honor is to be
found 10 the agricultural communities of the
country. Ii you do not believe il ask almost
any OF the country merchants doing credit
business. Now, farmers of Wisconsin, Iowa,
and Minnesota, what is your duty? Are you
so privileged and favored a class OF commune
y that all OF the world outside of yourselves
= are expected TO be prompt in their dealings
and honorable in their engagements, while
! you can hout TO rhe winds every sentiment OF
integrity and lair dealing, because, forsooth,
the price OF wheat is mol satisfactory and you
are able TO hold your wheat, or can go 10 an
! othei store TO ouy your goods, because the
merchant needs what you owe him.
Gentlemen, PAY YOUR DEBTS. Pay your
7 country merchants! Give him the means 10
! keep his credit good. Don't let him go to hii