The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-09-26
A CREAMERY LESSON.
Effects of Industrial Depression in
Cities Brought Home in
a Practical Way.
STORY OF A KANSAS FARMER.
Decrease in the Consumption Of Food
by Laborers Affects the Sale
of Farm Products.

\ stock-feedcr of Kansas. recently in
Kansas City, tells a story that Is worth
repeating for the excellent lesson which
it teaches In a certain town was
creamery. 1t gathered the cream from
the farms within II radius of ten miles
and manufactured about 400 pounds of
butter per day. Beyond the limits of
this circle from which cream was gath
cred there were number of farmers
who desired to sell cream. but were not
able 20 do so because the wagons from
the creamery did not reach their farms.
One day n delegation of these farmers
called ut the office of the creamery 10
consult the manager with reference to
the enlargement of it's business so as TO
include them and their neighbors. They
explained To the manager that by send
ing his teams n few miles farther IN
all directions he would double the guam
tity of cream gathered. double the amount
of butter produced and consequently
double the profits of the creamery. The
farmers were disappointed when they
saw 10y the look on the managers face
that their proposition was not favorahly
received There had been Il great deal
of gossip among the farmer patrons OF
the creamery that the price paid for
cream was too low and that the profits
of the concern were larger than they
ought 20 hc, and now these farmers
could not understand why business
which was making eNorbiiant profits
should not he willing Ia enlarge itself, To
double it's output and consequently to
double its profits.
The manager explained that tn enlarge
the circle of their farmer patrons would
require an additional number of mcn
IN.
require additional machinery aud an en-
largcd plant with more buitcrmakers
and other operatives. all of which
meant an additional investment of
money i'm which he did not feel justified
at this time.
He explained that the price of butter
was low. that thousands of laboring men
i'm the cities being out of employment
were not eating butter. but were buying
olpomargarinc aud other cheap imita-
tiops of butter. and because OF all these
1iscouraging circumstances he was unable
To consider Il proposition To enlarge the
business of the creamery. The manager
went on to explain that creamery in
Kansas. Nebraska or Iowa depended
upon the big cities for its customers.
In small towns many of the people keep
cows of their own. hut in the big cities
such ms Denver. Kansas City. Omaha.
81. Louis. ST. Paul Minneapolis and
Chicago, where thousands of laboring
men are gathered. the farmers find
their best customers not only for dairy
nroducts but all the other food products
of the farm. The families of these la
boring men are extrayagant eaters and
extrayagant buyers of farm products
when they have the money To buy with.
When the lahoring men in these cities
are employed they consume vast quanti-
ties of butter. eggs. -four. meal. beef and
poultry The thousands of creamcries
In Kansas. Iowa and Nebras ska had
more orders for their product than they
could supply before the Democratic
manic stooped the industries i'm the cities
and threw the laboring men out of work
In the last two years the demand for
food products have been less and less.
showing that the families of the laboring
men i'm the cities are growing more and
more economical in their consumption of
food. In = long conversation with the
manager of the creamery. these farmers
gathered the idea. as they had never
understood il before. that the food-pro-
ducing farm is dependent upon the food
consuming city for its market and that
the price Of food and the demand for il
depends upon the employment at good
wages of the laboring people of the
cities This much the farmers had al
ready understood i'm Il general way, but
they had never stopped To realize the far
more important truth; .ha! inc hnhagc-
mcnt of these great laboring employing
Industries devolvcs entirely upon the
trained business minds of the heads of
these industries whom the Popocratic or
ators now denounce as plutocrats. and
enemies of the common people. IL is
very fine sport for eloquent ofiicc-seek
ing politicians To dcnouncc the men who
manage the labor industries. to call them
s'plutocrats." "goldbugs." robbers "op-
pressors" and other offensive names, but
after ali these eloquent speeches have
been delivered ipd nfter all this mis-
chiavous TAX lbs Bel It's effect