Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1884-10-08
COndense your Products.

It is our firm conviction that th'
farmers ofthe northwest could, by con
certed action, realize more solid cash
for one-haif the crop they now nave
in their stacks and granaries, than they
will he liable TO get for the whole.
Wheat is worth to-day less than
dollar II hundred-lrss than $40 q ton.
Every bushel you feed to your hens
will earn you twice that amount II
YOU take care ofthenl-nay thrice that
amount il well manHged. Fed care
fully to your hogs and sheep, to your
young stock and COWS, it VIII hrihg
YOU li'Ly per reut more than II sofa at
the best price offered during the past
six months, and by 50 doing you save
freight charges. Itdosen't cost nearly
rs much to ship thousand dollars
worth Of flour to market, rs it does Il
| thousand dollars worth Of wheat, oats
or corn. It costs still less to ship u
thousand dollars worth OF cattle or
hogs; still less TO ship the same value
in beef, pork, mutton or poultry ana
still less il il be condensed into butter,
eggs ai.,l cheese. 1t would scarcely
nay to s!.ip loose wheat straw to New
York or Liverpool, however cheaply
it might be purchased here for the
transportation charges would eat up
all and more than it would bring.
WHY? Not because wheat straw is
not wanted there, nor because 1T would
not bring good price, but because 1t
is too bulky. The same is true of hay,
potatoes, turnips, cabbages and other
vegetables, and the same is true OF
corn, oats, barley and wheat. What
shall he done then? Shall we con-
tinue to ship loose straw and grumble
at the transportation companies, or
shall we condense our products?
Let us condense the straw and hay
into manure; let lis transform it again
into vegetables and grain; let us feed
the vegetables and grain and thus con-
dense their values into animal pro-
ducts, and let us continue this con-
densing process until it will not take
O dozen trains of cars to transport the
products of a quarter section Of land
until it will not require single train
scarcely single car, to hold all the
real value of the years products. Is
there any reason why the grain -and
the grass shall be raised in Minnesota
and the pork and beef, the butter and
cheese, the eggs and poultry that are
manufactured out of them, be pro-
duced in New York or New England?
is there any reason why the wheat
shall be grown here and the flour man-
ufactured at Liverpool, Boston or
even Minneapolis Only two-thirds
of the wheat ever gets into the flour
barrel anyway, so what is the use OF
carting away the other third, especial
ly when we want it right here at home?
And if we must sell that, why not sell
it in the manufactured state.
Do you know that thousand bush
els of wheat will give you very nearly |
two hundred barrels of flour, besides
paying for the grinding sacking, etc.,
and still leave you your share of the
bran and middlings? Suppose the
farmers should conclude to turn man
ufacturers and take this milling bust
ness out of the hands of the ''Miller's
doesn't it look as if they |
would get up a healthy competition
in time? and especially so since they
could continue to get their own wheat
at cost something the Miller's Associa-
ton have done heretofore but would |
be unable to do any longer? Suppose
that instead of the mighty Miller's |
at Minneapolis, having |
for it object the absorption of all the
profits of wheat raising in this country |
there were scores and hundreds Of |
Milling A Associations all over the north
west, each composed Of the farmers
and business men Gifts respective To-
cality; each with it's own mills and
each supplying the local de-
mand for flour and demanding the 10
cal supply of wheat, and each reach
ing out as a competitor into the great
market Of the world: I'm
der such conditions does it look as if
Minneapolis millers would continue
to be troubled with too much "tran-
Sit" too much ''smut" and too little
water? Does it look as if they would |
continue to change grades every twen-
ty-four hours, aud to knock
down the price at every change ? |
Would they continue to hold their
clutch at the peoples throat and set
themselves up as supreme dictators of
the price you shall receive for what |
you buy? We think NOT. We claim
that wheat is worth more than it's
present price for Touring or for feeding
purposes that it will pay better to
manufaatuEe IT into eggs; poultry, pork
beef or live stock, than to give it away
at the insignificant prices now offered.
That will pay better to clean out the
poorest half of your crop and feed it to
the hogs than to force it into a glut-
ted market. You will not only inn
prove the quality of the remaining
half, but by reducing the supply, you
will largely increase the demand as
we'll as the price.-Montevideo Leader.