The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-11-06
WHAT SHALL WE DO TO BE
A TERRIBLE PICTURE OF THE CON-
DITIoN OF THE POTATO RAIs-


DITIoN OF THE POTATO RA1s-
ERS.
To the Representative:
L saw picture in the ST. Paul Globe
of potato family on legs asking said
question. The potato family was right.
The situation is critical, and if the Globe
only had half as much sense as a COM
mon potato it would try to solve the
question in practical way But he
only consolation our plutocratic mouth
piece from ST. Paul could give the old
potato was that her nine million bushel
of children had made the Minnesota
farmers so happy and the railroad com
panies were able and willing to take care
or them between Minnesota and Chicago
for compensation of 20 cents per bushel.
l was in Princeton yesterday and l
witnessed what blessing the nine mill
ions of bushels of potatoes is to Mime
sotaPs farmers. The streets in the town
and all roads leading into the town were
covered with wagons loaded with pota-
toes. On every vacant lot were lying
piles of potatoes now mostly damaged
by frost. The starch factory was run
ming, but it is owned by few merchants
in the town, and the people told me they
were only buying from farmers who were
in debt to them and they paid cents
per bushel. I asked a farmer who had
waited eight hours for a chance to I'M
load if they could not pay more. No.
he answered, they are selling the starch
for cents per pound and a bushel of
potatoes will only make pounds" That
is what they tell us. They say they are
losing money every day they are run
ming the factory, and they do it to ac-
commodate the farmers"
| told him used to make eight pounds
of starch from bushel when | made it
by hand for home use, and my starch was
of much better quality, but he could not
believe me.
The prices in the open market in
Princeton for that day was down to
gold standard. The lowest quotation l
heard of was three glasses of whisky for
a load of 40 bushels of potatoes! The
man who sold it admitted there was not
much money in raising potatoes at such
prices, but he was a good old-party man;
and one of the great leaders of his party
had said, in a campaign speech, made
last summer, that "diversied farming
was the only salvation for the farmers,
and the right road to prosperity"'
The town was full Of potato buyers but
the railroad company could not promise
cars; they told me there were many
empty cars on the tracks, but they be-
longed to other companies, and could not
be used. Manly farmers who planted
large fields of potatoes last spring had
given up all hope of digging them and
many will have nothing else to sell.
What a pitlful sight Many people in
sections of this country are starving for
want of potatoes, and many farmers in
Minnesota will not be able to buy clothes
for themselves and families the coming
winter What a beautiful system this
private ownership of the means of trans
portation is. Even if potatoes in Chi
cagO were worth one dollar a buShel
the Minnesota potato crop could not be
| moved for want of cars! Under system
of government ownership of means of
transportation every idle car in the
United States would be in Minnesota
within one week after it was found out
they were needed. But of course that
would be maternalism, and the ST. Paul
Globe and other mouth pieces of our
plutocracy don't want to see the potato
family nor any other family saved in
this practical way.
To Peoples Party men, all over the
state. 1 will have this to say: Let us
| forgive each other if any of us have
| failed to do our duty and hang together.
Let us stand by the men and support
| the papers that stand by us. If we do not
| hang together in the future the time will
soon come when we will either have to
| hang up the whole Plutocracy or be hung
| ourselves.
JENS P. ANDERSON.
Glendorado. Santiago P. O., Benton
| County, Mimi
Benton County, Mimi. nh