Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-10
IOWA FARMERS TRUST
Something About the Methods
and Success OF Rockwell Co.
operative Association.
Unique Organization Discussed
by Its President at Farm.
ers' Institute.
Phenomenal Increase in Bust.
ness and Profits to the
Stockholders.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to mes-Republican.
Rockwell, Jan. 10.-Hon. Thomas Nc
Manus, member of the Rockwell
Farmers Cooperative Society. in al
address before the Cerro Gordo farmers
institute at Swaledale, described tn
methods and told of the success of tn,
Rockwell association. The Rockwell
Farmers Cooperative Society is noted
for its successful operation and Mr.. Nc
| Manus' address will prove very interest
ing to farmers everywhere. Mr.. Mona
nus said in part:
Our society was organized in March
1899. with membership Of 100, shares
| being sold at $40 each, which amounted
ir all to $1,000 With us organization
was not a choice, it was necessity
! Trusts and combinations had encom-
| passed us on every side. If you were
not satisfied with the prices of grain in
one town, you might drive to another
| but you would fare no better by the
! change. i remember taking load OF
| barley to Marble Rock for which l was
| offered 10 cents per bushel, when the
same quality of grain was quoted in
Chicago at 25 cents per bushel. Being
always somewhat OF a Kicker ] refused
to accept this offer and after feeding my
team. and having dinner, drove up to
Rockford, where l was forced to sell II
for the same price. The grain buyers, as
afterward learned, We're in trust, and
II telegram went ahead of me stating the
price that had been offered On another
occasion / took a load of flax to Shelf
field and not satisfied to sell for tn
price offered sent telegram to Rock
well to ascertain the prices paid there.
The answer flashed back upon the wire.
We are not buying seeds The farmers
around Rockwell We're dissatisfied with
this state of things. They mutinied-
they rebelled. They met in stores. and
on street corners, and talked over the
situation. We were at the mercy OF the
middemen. and the trusts. and must
submit to their weights and their prices,
no matter how dishonest we found them.
When after mature elaboration we
found that he must do one of two things,
either organize ourselves. or submit to
this form of wholesale robbery. Greek
must meet Greek, fire must be fought
with fire, and organization by organza-
ton.
Would not want to tell you that
telegram went ahead of our first car
load of hogs stating, Those hogs be-
long to Cooperative Farmers So
ciety, swipe them" Neither would ]
want to tell you that the wise acres
had limited the life of the society to
six months said that the farmers
would not agree; that they had no
business capacity; had not the brains
to conduct such a business" Well,
somehow we evolved the brains, and
in the face of these prophecies. started
out to meet the enemy in the open field
of competition. Our competitors In the
Rockwell market advanced the price
of grain three cents per bushel the
first day we started out. Our agent
finding 1t impossible to compete with
those dealers, who could hold 1T for
a higher price, and with large CAPT
tai to draw on, his instructions were
to buy in accordance with the Chicago
market. and ship direct thereto. In
this crisis he called for a meeting of
the board. and was told that 1t was
whether he bought q bush
ell of grain or not so long as he kept
prices where they belonged and made
others pay them; that he was placed
there to regulate prices and it was
who paid them so long as
the farmers received the benefit.
1t may be asked here how we could
afford to run an elevator, and employ
help, IL all the business went away
from us? This is one of the great Sc
crets of our success, and one that ]
wish particularly to call your atten-
ton to. Aside from our bylaws and
we framed schedule of
rates which is paid to the agent on
every article bought and sold by the
this we call a commission,
which is intended to pay the agents
salary and also that of the help en-
ployed.
For example, IL member sells a
load of corn or oats, he pays one-quar
ter of cent per bushel. If he sells to
some other dealer he is expected to
come to our agent and pay that quar-
ter of cent to him. If he sells hogs
he is charged three cents per hundred |
pounds, and so on with every article |
bought and sold. Every member ia
free to sell where he pleases. If he
comes to our agent and is offered a |
certain price, and the dealer across the
way gives him cent per bushel more,
after weighing his load on our scales, |
which he usually does. he drives over
and sells to the other dealer but
comes back and pays over his quarter
II cent per bushel to our agent, and
.hus saves by the transaction y of
/ cent per bushel, making the other
'ellow pay the commission. But If a
member sells to other than dealers, or
f he ships his own grain, or hogs, he
BAYS no commission. We differ in this
aspect from any society of the kind
know of This is why we have been
lble to fight the trusts and the COM
)ines of the past thirteen years.
This is one reason why we babe de-
lance to the implement dealers of Iowa.
when they We're snarling at our heels
md boycotting every manufacturer that
" ould sell to US. And this is why we
old the Kansas City grain dealers when
hey wanted us to enter into a trust, or
hey would start an elevator in Rock
we'll and drive us out of business, that
we were ready for them to come along
md they would find US there after they
had gone.
Il would say here that this prophecy
las come true, as this mighty trust coll
apsed last fall and is now thing of the
past.
And this is one of the reasons we
rave been able to Withstand those pow