The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-02

of the Mississippi valley ap-
Il pears to be more substan-
tial than mere newspaper
creation. There has really been or
ganized In Kansas we are told, a Far
mers' Federation,wit $20, 100000 capital
stock divided into 100000 shares of
so each, the purpose of which, as set
forth in the articles of Incorporation,
is to regulate and control the sac
and shipment of farm products of all
the states and territories of the Mis-
sissippi valley, and to establish and
maintain offices, yards, grain elevators
and to appoint and maintain agents
and agencies for handling, gathering,
keeping, selling and distributing pro-
ducts, and to loan and borrow money
and to do a banking business" The
places where it's business is to be trans
acted are Topeka, Omaha, Kansas
city, st. Louis, Chicago and New Or
leans.
A letter from Topeka, Kan, to the
New York Sun says that in addition
to the bank department provided for
bureau of statistics and separate sale
departments for grain live stock, cot
ton and tobacco. The bylaws also
provide that there shall be no rebates
to shippers or dividends paid to stock
holders, but the surplus earnings OF
the company shall be held as a reserve
fund to finance the bank department,
to pay interest on the bonds of the
company, and for the purchase of the
business and goodwill of commission
houses. Later on, when this institu-
tion shall be brought to a successful
issue the surplus earnings from a
commission and from the loans Of
money by the bank department shall
be equally divided between the stock
holders and the farmers, who may be
the holders of on-transferable bonds
of the company. In order that the
business of concentration may be facil-
itated and the work of emancipation
may be speedily accomplished, it is
further provided by the bylaws that
there may be issued $1O,OOOOOO of per
cent. twenty-year debenture bonds Of
the company, or SO much thereof as
may be necessary to purchase the busi-
ness and good will of the commission
houses of Chicago, Kansas City,
Omaha, St. Louis and New Orleans.
The headquarters of the federation
will be at Chicago after January next.
The prime mover in this novel enter
prise, a gentleman named Allen, meets
the first objection which naturally
suggests itself by saying: TT is not
necessary that all the farmers should
stand together in the execution of this
plan for mutual protection. If one
twentieth of the farmers of the West
and South who produce corn, wheat
and cotton equal to the export demand
should unite with the Farmers FEEDER
alton, with pledges to abide by it's rules
and regulations, protection could then
be afforded to every producer of corn,
| wheat and cotton in the United States
| The power that can check or restrain
! shipments of farm products; the power
| to hold out of the public markets Of
the country per cent. of any percent
age however small, is the master who
can regulate the price of corn, wheat
and cotton in the home market, and
| in all the markets of the world" Mr.
Allen admits that the federation is a
gigantic trust, but he says: There is
! nothing in the charter nor in the by
laws that conflicts with the Interstate
/ Commerce law, nor with antitrust
laws Of any Of the states of the Union.
| Its purpose is not to restrain produc-
tion, nor to arbitrarily fix prices. 1t
assumes only the power to control the
shipment of farm products and thus
regulate the supply to the demand in
the general markets. If there should
| appear to be an overproduction, we
would simply sell enough to meet the
legitimate demands for consumption
and hold back our surplus in our gran
aries and on our farms to meet con-
tingencies of short crop seasons"
We shall know more about this mat
ter after the Farmers Federation
shall have had some months of actual
life; but on general principles there
appears to be plausibility in Mr. Al
lens argument. If concentration OF
effort is a good thing for manufacture
ing industries, leading to economy in
distribution and to the smoothing out
of hurtful business kinks, there would
seem to be no reason why the
same rule should not apply in part al
least TO the agricultural industry
which is mainly concerned in dlstribu-
tion. As it is now, the average far
mer gives no thought whatever to the
question of holding back his crop until
the best time has come for fitting Il
to the market demand; and the result
Is that most of the profits in the
handling of agricultural produce are
| pocketed by the shrewder middle men