The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-09
TIE FRENCH FARMERS
ATE THE GREATEST OF ALL
 TRUSTS.
right Million People Who Raise and Sell Farm Products Unite for Mutual
 Benefit.

Philadelphia North American.
 The world in its contemplation of the billion dollar combination of the new century and the merging of syn dicates into other syndicates has quite overlooked the, in some respects, great est and best organized trust in the world. For sixteen years it has gone slowly and quietly about it's work. talk ing year by year another stride toward the stage of monopoly, unremarked and unnoticed.
 The world at large has been thus blind because it has sprung up and ob- tained it's foothold in the most unlikely place. But it is there, nevertheless, and today the French farmer, with his syndicate agricoles," may smile at the .sateei trusts" the car-puilding trusts" or the Standard Oil combinations. More capital may be employed by these great unions of industry and money, but none is so well organized and in every way the arhc-type of the idea as his.
 Under a law of the Third Republic, of March 21, 1884, the French farmer --and under that head is included the land owner, the occupier of the lands and the agriculturist of every degree Is empowered to organize societies for the economic, industrial, commercial and agricultural betterment of his class. They are permitted to possess the realty necessary for their meetings. library and lecture rooms, to establish banks among their members, to provide pensions for the aged. relief funds for the sick and needy and to open offlces fer the unemployed. They are eff- powered to organize tribunals for the settlement of all contentious between Workmen, or workmen and employers.
 Eight Millions in the Combine.
 Under this law farmers and persons having to do with either the growing or disposing of farm products have combined to the number of S,501, 1885 and are comprehended in 7,OS9 socie- ties. These are the figures for Janu- ary i, 1900.
 The farmers societies combine and organize in a larger body, called a union, of which there are ten in France now: The Northern Union, headquar- ters in Boulogne; the Normandy Union, at Caen: the Breton Agricul- turai Union, Rennes; the Western Union, fingers; the Burgundy Union, Diion; the Alpine and Provence Union, Marseilles, the Southwestern, Bor- deaux; the Southeastern Lyons, and the Union du Midi. Toulouse. Over these is a central body in Paris, to which all unions report, and which rep resents their interests in the French 1ekisiative body, and in the more i'm portant matters of business.
 The societies are each divided into number of subordinate groups. The departmental or county union is divid- cd into syndicates, these into cantonal pr township unions, and these once again into communal or neighbOrhood syndicates. From the highest to the lowest political unit they are all inter- linked. harmonious and interdependent.
 Advantages of the Trust.
 As to the advantages of this vast or xanization, they are summed up: The huyfng by wholesale of fertilizers and farm implements. doing away with all niddlemen; the securing of cheap Transportation by providing for the 4ransportation of all the products at one time, thus reaching the most de- sirabIe markets in the best time. As 4o his profit it is obvious. With the competition destroyed, the poorest farmer is on the same footing as the richest. The prices are never cut. The society always sees to that.
 Tn regard to specific instances where