Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-01-24
The Bohemian Dat swiudIe Exposed.

L
Association. Please allow me through
the columns of your paper TO make q
brief reply, as have had an extensive
knowledge with regard TO the practical
working of the association for four
years last past, and have possibly been
influential i'm inducing some of the
farmers i'm Henry county TO invest in
the speculation. 1t is due to myself,
the association, and to the farmers also,
that / correct some of the ERRONEOUS
statements of Plow Boy. ] do not an
tagonize his statements regarding the
vast amount Of labor in the hands of the
association, except he has very much
overated, as will hereafter show.
He has shown himself scholar in
arithmetical progression but started
from wrong basis being misinformed
no doubt.) was informed last August
by the general agent of the association
living in Erie county, o., IA man with
whom have been acquainted for the
past twenty years, that this fall the
seventh year, says he, we have $4,000
in bonds to raise which will all be lifted
before Christmas, and | am credibly in
formed that the bonds are now all taken
up, with orders for seed to be sown the
coming spring, and all to solid farmers
whose paper is gilt-edged. They will not
fill an order from any man whose note is
questionable, and no farmer is required
to take note for his oats given by
man he does not know to be solid. The
shrewdest farmers are the first to take
hold Oft; those that know how to make
money and are not afraid to take q
small risk when they can see so large q
speculation, (for speculation it is, the
profit is not in the intrinsic value of the
grain, but the speculation lies in the
protection the growers of the grain
throw around each other, and any man
that chooses to do so can go back over
the counties east to the place of Begin
ming, and they will find that the grow
ers of the grain are all sharp, enterpris-
ing farmers. Now regarding the sale of
the farmers grain after it has grown, l
will say Plow Boy has made fair ex-
hibit except he says that farmers are
compelled to take any kind Of notes,
good or poor, as the case may be-. That
statement was made doubtless through
ignorance, not being properly informed.
1 viii not impugne .his motives as slnen
sometimes jump at conclusions that are
incorrect. Now in summing up he says
if the association does not sell these oats
some ofyou farmers will be left; that is
true, but the association has thus, far
redeemed its pledges to the growers.
Now let us look at the workings of
the association in the past. In the
spring of 1883 there was 1850 bushels
sown, requiring sale of 5000 bushels to
raise the associations bonds in the
hands of the growers Of 1888, which
was readily done, and it will require
the sale of 6O0O bushels next fall and
winter to lift the bonds in the hands of
the growers of 1884, and in 1885 1900
bushels instead of $4,000, as Plow Boy
says. Now that may look like big
thing to some, to sell even 1900 bush
els, there is more townships than one in
Henry county that doubtless sows more
than 1900 bushels of grain in one sea-
son. Then look over the vast territory
\ vet to be canvassed, and when we con-
slider the profit to the grower, the
money made from sowing Bohemian
oats, not only to the grower but. to the
association, for their interests are mutu-
al, I think no one need fear o col
lapse for few years at least. Now as
every farmer sowing the grain in the as
sociation isa member of the association,
he has the privilege of selling the grain
he has grown if he chooses to do so, and
pay the association 129 per cent. for
bonding it, (the bond requiring the as
sociation to sell double the amount he
sows, or he may let the agent sell his
grain and pay rs per cent, leaving him
only $3.50 per bushel for his oats, and
there has been thus far plenty of good,
reliable farmers that were ready to sell
the grain for the Il! per cent. commits
" IL L., al 49,, .k..r.v