St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-06-28
FARMER GRANDFATHER.
THE FERTILIZER LAWS.
The Farmer At the Mercy Of the
Manufacturer and Compelled to
Pay Tribute to Him.


Manufacturer and Compelled to
Pay Tribute to Him.
We desire to call attention to the
situation as shown in Col. Peeka
communication in a recent issue.
The Georgia law,as interpreted by the
attorney general, forbi1s any one
selling fertilizers to farmers in bulk.
This simply means that farmer can
only buy fertilizers in sacks from
manufacturers. But the manufac-
turers can buy in bulk. That means
that the consumer can not buy with
out paying the manufacturer for
sacking, mixing, inspection and han
ding.
1t places the farmer at the mercy
of the manufacturer, and complies
him to pay tribute to him.
This is an iniquitous law. 1t pre-
vents the farmer from buying the
material in bulk and doing his own
mixing. It compels him to pay sew
reral dollars extra for each ton OF fer
tilizers he uses. The farmers of Geor'
gia use about 100000 tons annually
On this they pay at least four dollars
per ton more than it would cost then
if they bought the material ano
mixed for themselves. This is $780,,
900 each year that the farmers are
forced to pay the manufacturers.
| This is an outrageous and enor
nous tax. Farmers, can you affort
to submit to it? Will you submit X
it?
Rather than do so, you had bette1
not use fertilizers at all.
The law has been upon the statute
books for many years, but was con
strued to mean that the farmer coult
buy the material for his own use i
he did not wish to sell again. Unde
that construction they were permit
ted to buy and mix.
But now the Virginia and Carolin;
Chemical Co., having secured contro
of the Carolina phosphate, refuses t.
sell to the farmers in bulk, and fore
them to buy their manufacture
goods at hlgher prices.
They claim that the law will no
permit them to sell to the farmer
The attorney general sustains thei
claim.
So the poor farmer, who uses al
the fertilizers, finds himself at tn
mercy of this one company. Tie
hand and foot, he must tamely SUI
NIT to be robbed.
There is no secret value in ma
chine-mixed fertilizers. Experience
shows that any farmer can mix hi
own to better advantage with
shovel and hoe. It is not the mi1
ing, sacking or tagging that give
value to fertilizers. That value dc
ponds entirely up the quantity an
quality of soluble plant food whic
they contain.
The farmer can get the same benz
fit from their use without mixin
them at all. He can put in his co
ton-seed meal and get the same n
suits. The mixing only saves tim
and labor in distribution.
We say the time has come whe
farmers must either buy the materi'
and do their own mixing or use les
fertilizers. They can not stand tn
enormous cost they have been payin'
1t now requires about four hui
bred pounds of these ready-mixe
goods to make good crop where tw
hundred pounds used to be enough.
It is time for rebellion or stril
or a boycott. We are opposed in pri7
ciple to all of these, but sometime
nothing else will do.
! Demand of your several legisl,
lures to change the law so as to gi'
you a chance to purchase the ra
= material in open market at the san
:. terms as any one else.
If a man is a manufacturer he ca
}. buyat cheap price; if he is farm'
\ he must buy at.a higher price.
This we call class legislation of Il
!. rankest kind. This is protecting tt
:; wrong party. A great trust or co
= = poration. the Virginia & Caroli1
e Chemical Co., for instance, can b'
/ at tho original market and the lo'
s, est price, but the farmer can not.
=" Any little factory that will set ,
q grinder and brand the sacks, CT
y buy at the lowest figures, but Il
farmer can not.
Better do away with the who
J. business Of state inspection TIL
re protect the farmer in any such wa
(. The Virginia & Carolina Chemical {
Is now entire master Of the who
: situation. Cultivator.
eAu,uc n FApM MAN11pF