The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-11
CLEVER KANSAS FARMERS.

How They Outwitted Some Grain- Buy
 ing Syndicates.
 The farmers in western Dlcklhsoh and the eastern part of Sallne county, around Solomon, have solved the ques- tion of coping with the so-calied gram trust, The grain trust has been repre- sented at Solomon by three syndicates, one operating in each of the three lines of railway entering Solomon lhese syndicates, with large nunper ol owners of private elevators, form state association, which has been aple for the past two years to tlx arpltrafliS inc price of wheat at nearly every shlp- niun noint in the Kansas wheat pelt. Because of their strong organization thev have been able to keep farmers from securing cars from the rallroad III which to ship their own grain, anu a'so to stifie competition on the part or ouy- CTS outside of the association.
 For two years the syndicates Whlch control hundreds of elevators in cen tral and western Kansas have kept the price of wheat at Solomon fourteen cents below the Kansas City market, whereas if the farmer shipped ms own grain he would receive within ten cents of the Kansas City price, after paying freight and commissions
 Early last spring, after legislatlon against the grain trust had falled oI naesape there was a general uprising an,onn the farmers throughout the state against the trust, At the begin- nipe of the movement the farmers around Solomon organized co-opera- tive association to fight the trust anu while many similar associations nave since been formed in the state none has been so successful as the one at Solomon. It has practically driven the +rust out of business at Solomon, and has paid the farmers an average ol SIX cents per bushel more for wheat thail the syndicate would have paid, besloes accumulating in the first two months |. did business profits equal to hail oi +ha canital stock of the association, which will be divided among the farm CTS at the close of the year.
 The success of the association is due to three things: Placing men Of expe- rience in charge of the business, max inc friends instead of enemies Of the railroad companies, anI placing pro- vision in the bylaws which keeps the trust from driving 1t out of business.
 This latter feature is a provision compelling each member Who seAis wheat outside of the association to pay into the associat ton treasury one cent a bushel of what he receives. Soon alter the Solomon association leased an ele- vator and began to do business one or inc svndicates attempted to drive 1t to the wall by forcing up the price of wheat. From the time the farmars el- evator opened it received ninety per cent of the wheat marketed in Solo, mon. while the three syndicate eleVa- tors received less than ten per cent.
 On July 6 the farmers elevator was having fifty-two cents bushel for wheat four cents higher than the syn dicate. The day following one of the svndIcates opened the fight on the farmers elevator by offering fifty-fiVe cents bushel. This was lmmeulatsiy reported to the manager Of the farm- CTS elevator, but instead Of trying to meet the price, as fast as the wheat came in he weighed it, gave the owner the correct weight, and then sent him on to the syndicate elevator to sell IL ! at 6ftv-five cents. When he got h's money the farmer returned to the far mers elevator, and paid Tn one csht per bushel, thereby netting nlm hil'y- four cents. For several days the syh- dicate not only bought wheat at a ioss but virtually paid expenses and proft besides to the institute it was trying to run out of business. In less than three weeks 1t gave up the fight, locked its elevator and withdrew its agent from Solomon.
 Another syndicate realizing that a fight by raising the price was futlle' started a blockade on the farmers eie- vator by keeping it from securing GELS. It was this that the farmers most feared A car famine always folloWs d big wheat crop, and it is sometimes ln- nossible to secure cars for weeks at d time unless special pressure can pc brought to bear on the railroad compa- nies, There are to-day thousands Of bushels of wheat piled on the ground along Kansas railroads because Of the l lack oe cars.
 | It was therefore no surprise to the manager of the farmers elevator when an order for cars was not flled py the railroad on which the elevator was lo- cated Instead of entering complaint, however, and engaging in quarrel with the railroad company as most shipping associations have done under like circumstances, the Solomon mana ger ordered cars on another road. The other company, eager to secure busl- ness from rival line, promptly filled the order and the manager set teams to work to haul the grain to the cars.