The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-07-12
REFORM IN BUSINESS METH.
DDS DESIRARIE

we are under obligations to Bro. Sam
uel E. Adams, Worthy Master of the Ma
tional Grange, says the Spirit of Kansas,
for full copy of the valuable and practi-
cal essay of Prof S. H. Goff, which was
read at recent session of the Wright
County Grange, at Clearwater, entitled
Disposal of Farm Produce" We make
room for the following extracts:
Brothers and Sisters in the Granee:- Il
can best express my thoughts by an illus
tration: Suppose cheese factory were
set up in your midst by the writer, loca-
ted on one of Wright county's most pro-
ductive farms. Let us also suppose that
a good quality of cheese is produced and
good stock on hand. wish to sell cheese,
of course, and adopt this plan: l let 9TH
ers weigh the cheese, and let others estab-
fish the price, and do business in this man
ner. How long before there would be
only glimmering shadow of the cheese
man as he passed up the river called Salt?
take my cheese to Clearwater, to Monti-
cello, Minneapolis, St. Paul, or elsewhere
and say to the people, Here, good folks,
am in debt This cheese must be sold
Y on take it and weigh it and tell ME how
many pounds there are, and give me what
you can for it. And the cheese is thus
disposed of. Wouldn't l just roll in wealth?
And if | should happen to lose on the
cheese, of course l should hope for better
prices another year and go right along
and try it again on the same plan. This
is pretty picture of a business operation,
is it not?
X x
Farmers must place themselves in cir
cumstances so that they will not necessa-
rily depend upon others at all in ascer-
tanning how much load of produce
weighs, grades or measures; and then let
an individual farmer go to market and
talk to the buyer something as follows: Il
do know how to weigh wheat, and that
load of wheat weighs 1871 pounds, and
grades No 2, You can try your scales and
tester, and if you find it weighs and
grades that much and want it, all right
| That is what the load weighs, and it
grades No 2. Take it or not, Just as you
choose When farmers as body adopt
such course, they will procure exact jus.
tce, and not before.
$50 much in regard to weights, and now
in regard to price Much might be said
upon many points, but l believe I am
clear upon one point, and that l shall en-
deavor to present in this article. Farmers,
as a rule, should avoid after harvest pay
ments. 1t is natural in asking credit to
name the earliest possible day on which
payment can be made, and agree to pay
at that time That time among farmers
is after harvest. Without thought of the
result, individual farmers agree to pay
their bills-some light and some heavy
as soon as their grain is ready for the mar
ket; and thus in the aggregate vast
amount of money must be raised in the
| fall by aggriculturists, and raised by SELL
| ing wheat. These debts must be paid in
| the fall. This is the contract, and farm
er's word is good. He prides himself up.
on the currency of his word, as he should.
Wheat must be sold in the fall to pay
these debts, at whatever price it may
bring, and what is to hinder grain specu-
lators from taking advantage Of such a
state of affairs? They might not know Of
such state of affairs, but again they
might. The fact is Eastern spectators
know more of the West than the West
knows of itself. Knowing that in the
aggregate a vast amount of wheat must
be sold in the fall at whatever price, the
spectators might not combine and fix
upon price, but again they might; and
ifheavy operators in Chicago, New York
and elsewhere did combine and agree up
on prices, the result, as rule, would be
lust what we observe, starvation prices
when farmers must sell and good prices
when spectators zviSh to sell. Whoever
has watched the price of wheat for years
knows that it suddenly and almost inva-
! cf
as the new wheat begins to move, and be-
fore there is enough in motion to actually
effect the market. Why is this? Simply
because some one has given the signal.
At least, so it seems to US:
SNOW, w orthy Master, and brethren,
l will recapitulate the two points which
l wish most to impress upon your
thoughts: First. Weight your own pro-
ducts. Weigh your own potatoes; weigh
your own pork; weigh your own wool;
weight your own beef; weigh your own
butter; weigh your own corn, your own
oats, your wheat, your barley, and what
soever your hand findeth to sell, that
should it also weigh Second If you go
into debt at all, determine upon the most
opportune time for yourselves in which to
make your payments. Yes say one, and
perhaps many. but others have voice in
this matter. They will not assent to our
proposition All right then. Let them
keep their goods. Better dry bread with
out gravy, pants and dresses of many
patches and eolors, and ten acres of Gull
tivated soil, than clothes, groceries, houses
farming implements and lands .ccompa-
MED by debts which cannot be Cancelled
by unrequited labor, continual disappoint
ments, vexation, worry, subsequent mort.
cages and ultimate ruin And besides,
have heard merchants express the though
IN very strong language that they would
rather retain their goods than to sell them
on time and fail to receive their dues wher
the time expires. Many farmers arr