Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1891-07-23
THE CASE PLAINLY STATED.
How q Little Business Prudence
Will Work Wonders for
Farmers.
They Can Make Enough to Build
Granaries by Holding
Their Wheat,
Some Interesting Agricultural
statistics Taken From the
Assessors Returns.

Farmers Should Build Granaries.
The press of North Dakota can serve
the interests of their readers in no better
way than by giving publication to such
timely and excellent communications as
the following from Hon. F. G. Barlow,
taken from the Foster County Indepen-
dent:
Mr.. Editor:-lt looks at this date as If
the farmers of North Dakota would soon
be harvesting big crop, as big probably
as they ever raised, Judging from what I
see at home and hear from all parts of
the state; and once secured, the question
how to handle his grair with the greatest
advantage to himself arises with the
farmer. The object OF this letter is to
urge upon our farmers the Importance OF
building granaries at home or clubbing
with their neighbors it necessary to build
some kind of granary storehouse at a
station or elsewhere, anything, any
where, that will enable them to control
their own product in so far at least as to
save them from the necessity of sacrifc-
ing part of their crop because they
have no place to keep it. Every fall as
soon as the grain IS ready to market the
railroads shape matters in TINS part OF
the state at least, in such way through
their alleged inability to furnish cars for
the farmers to load on their own account
that they are forced to sell to the eleva-
tors. and that state of affairs continues
until the elevators have been enabled,
thereby, to secure the bulk of the crop,
though it is somewhat difficult to sec
where the railroads gain by such pro-
cedu,e, as it is not probable that ttey
get any greater rate of freight from an
elevator company than from farmer
No doubt the plea of shortage on cars
is partly true, as the roads are not pre-
pared, and should NOT be required to
furnish cars to carry all the grain to mar.
ket in three months or so aud be forced
to let them stand idle the rest of the
year, but the farmers have good reason
to believe that the difficulty is aggravat.
ed IN the interests of the elevators. the
big companies at least, especially when
it is seen that they have but little ap.
parent difficulty in getting cars when
they need them, while farmer gets de.
lusive promise or bluff only too often.
But really it is of but little use to com.
plain about the railroad and elevator
companies because they play into each
others hands, somebody making money
by the process. as they will continue to
do so, despite curses or tears, as long
as they are allowed to by the un.
thrifty ways of the farmers them
selves. The farmer must assert himself
and take position that will enable hiul
to control his product until they reach
the best market open to him, and the
only way to do that is to make himself
independent of the local buyers, shipping
his grain where and when he pleases
from his own store house. He can not
the buyer gets it.
course, his product is not thrown upon
aglutted market helping to intensity
the glut and consequent lowering of
prices, and he makes the middlemans
profit for his own pockets, not to men
tlon the matter of grades which are likely
to be more satisfactory in Minnesota
than at the home elevator. have no
fault to find with our local buyers, as it
is only natural that they should seek to
please their employers, and they can
only do SO by making money for them.
How many farmers will say that they are
not able to build granaries "granaries
cost money"-and yet the same men ara
able to lose fifty dollars on every thou
sand bushels Of wheat they sell, appar-
emily thus throwing away more than
money enough to build fair store room
to hold 1900 bushels; and they continue
to do SO year after year.
The man who owns car load of wheat
can, under ordinary circumstances, save
enough by storing 1t at home until he
can ship it himself, to build granary to
put IL in that will last him for ten years
to come. ] know that there are other
reasons beside lack of store rooms which
compels the farmer to sell his grain as
soon as threshed--the chattel mortgage
crowd perhaps-but the fact remains
that many sell who are not obliged to,
and if that class would hold, as general
rule, it would have tendency to help
their less fortunate neighbors, as we'll as
themselves, to better shipping facilities
ana prices Yours truly
F. G. BARLOW.
Usury Law Constitutional.
A very important decision was handed
down Wednesday b. the supreme court
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