Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-12-17
Our Duty to our State Agent.

A duty each member owes both to himself
and tho agent is, other things being equal, to
do his business through him, and believe his
statement, rather than those Of men whose
interest it is to destroy all cooperative BUSH
ness Every effort possible will be made to
break down our ageacies, and our state agent
especially, as designing parties wish to create
distrust among the farmers and suspicion to.
wards all their agencies Dealers will sell
articles below cost aud then proclaim the
agent dishonest, if thereby they can destroy
our agent and his business, and whenever
they think our confidence in each other and
our agent is destroyed prices will become as
high as ever. A good story is told 10 the
Hoosier Patron OF ar attempt to break down
a grange agent. One merchant swore he
would spend $1,000 to break him down, 80
he went to work and organized an anti
grange, composed Of merchants and spOcu-
lators, and they agreed to sell seine one lead.
ing article below cost, and catch the Patrons
and make them dissatisfied with their agent
so they would quit him. They proposed to
sell brown sheetiny at nine cents yard that
cost ten cents at Wholesale. aT
One of the Patrous visited a store aud
they offered him brown sheetiug at nine cts
a yard, and told them their agent was cheat
ing them selling II higher than that price.
The Patron visited tho agent and told him
about the price of the cloth. The agent
gave the Patron money and told him to buy
bale Of cloth aud bring 1t to him, as it was
cheaper than he could buy it in market.
The agent sent another and another Patron
into the store for cloth until they began to
suspect something and sent clerk TO watch
the farmers who had just bought some cloth,
and they tracked it to the agent.
When the next Patron visited the store
they were out Of "nine-cent sheeting," but
next day had plenty at twelve and hall
cents.
Such tricks to try to break down ouI
agents are not uncommon. An instance co.
CURED similar to to the above of an attempt
to ruin the reputation Of the Vermont agent
Last summer n dealer offered fish to grange
cheaper than the agent could furnish it; AT
agent aud q few members caught at the
bait, aud cannot believe that men would sell
under cost, but the majority of the members
understood the trick,
1t ought not to be possible for a case L
occur where any good Patron would discard
the statement OF brother who Is our agen
and believe an interested party who wishes
to break down our order. Not many day
since we found Patron who on the assur
ance Of an agent that his machine was nS
sold through the grange agency purchased
an article and paid forty dollars more for !
than it would have cost to buy Of the stat
agent. We are losing thousands of dollar
by not availing ourselves of the advantages
offered by the agency. We can receive The
full advantage Of the financial feature OF thu
, order only as we combine our strength an'
purchase together as state under one con-
tract. Whether we purchase by the 'tat
J agency or by a council agency, our contrAc
must be made by some one authorized to 40
: for the whole state. Any othor method
: worse than useless, as il leaves US at tn
) mercy OF the agents aud rings who can brea
i any organization OF farmers in short time
Dealers aud manufacturers will not giv'
such terms to little council as they will
} an agent authorised 10 act fer POT grangel
. as Vermont has to-day. We ask the Pal
!. rons 10 consider this subject and 10 stand b.
5 our agent and build up our financial work
# TO divide and subdiVids our trade will a.
/ oomplsh nothing, aud will only bring cor
Q tempt upon our work. II We have the RICH