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 RA1s-
Fps

"A TERRIBLE PICTURE OF THE CON-
DITIoN OF THE POTATO A1s-
ERS
| To the Representative:
l saw a 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 a 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
| of them between Minnesota and Chicago
| Tor compensation of 20 cents per bushel.
l was in Princeton yesterday and l
| witnessed what a 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 rum
| 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 9 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 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
| cOmmOdate the farmers"
| | told him l used to make eight pounds
| of starch from bushel when l m ade 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 good old-party man;
| and one of the great leaders of his party
| had said, in campaign speech, made
| last summer, that "diversified 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. Many 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 a 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, l 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