The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-03-05
THEY BEAT THE TRUST.
Farmers in a Kansas County Bring
1t to Terms.

The following article from the Re
view of Reviews was read by Mr.
Churchill at one of the farmers meet
ings held in Kalispell and is well
worthy the careful perusal of every
farmer in the valley. 1t shows by
practical example what can be done
by the farmers when they pull to-
gether to counterfeit the evil influ-
ences of the trusts in fixing the price
of farm products. With the small be-
ginning of $4,000 the farmers have
gradually broadened the scope of
their operations until they handle a
large portion of the grain grown in
the state of Kansas.
within the past four years there
has arisen in some of the grain grow
ing states of the west what is known
as the grain trust. This is not an
incorporated combination of capital,
but in several states is simply an as
sociation of several hundred grain
dealers, who are governed in their
business by certain arbitrary rules,
and this association has become sufi-
cietly powerful in many localities to
dictate to the farmer the price at
which he shall sell his grain, and to
prevent him from disposing of it to
any one except a representative of
the combine. This has brought the
trust problem directly to the farmers
door. He is confronted with the die
tation of trusts, not only in the pur-
chase of their products, but also in
the disposition of his own. He is
compelled to pay whatever they
choose to ask for what he buys of
them, and he must accept whatever
they choose to pay him for what he
has to sell.
THE so-called grain trust is the re-
suit of evolution. A few years ago
at all railroad stations in the grain
producing regions of the west were
from one to ten grain buyers. There
might not be a village of fifty inhabi-
tants; but if it were in a rich grain
region there would be one or more
grain elevators, each owned by an in.
dependent grain buyer. In addition
to these, in good crop years, there
would probably be number of track
tors, but who purchased the wheat in
the farmers wagon and had it loaded
directly into cars. The farmer was
the autocrat and made his choice OF
buyers, and the man who offered the
most got the wheat. Competition was
keen, and buyers often paid more
than the market really warranted
The system was a good one for the
farmer, but it frequently proved dis
astrous to the buyer.
And there were other things with
which the grain buyers had to con
tend. In good crop years there was
the almost inevitable car famine.
"To correct these evils, the eleva
tor owners of Kansas formed a state
association in 1897, and similar asso
Citations have also been formed il
other states. Soon after the organi
cation was perfected some of the &C
tive members conceived the idea tina
the operations of the track buyers
were hardship on those buyers WHIT
had their money invested in eleva
tors. The association passed resolu
| tionS asking commission men on tn
boards of trade in the large cities tt
refuse to handle the business of ship
pers who did not own elevators, an,
it further adopted rules instructin
members to refuse to ship grain t
any commission firms who would no
accede to this request.
This shut the track buyers Of
from a market in Kansas City an
some other grain centers, but it sti
left them free to ship to mills an
Instant points which coul dnot be col
trolled by the association. To sti
further stop the business of trac
, buying, the association asked the raj
road companies to formulate a rul
, refusing cars to shippers unless til
{ grain to be shipped was on the rigl
of way of the railroad ready for loa
4 ing when the cars were ordered
/ request TO WHICH the railroad COZ
e panies acceded. AS it was impossib
Z for the track shippers to comply wit
b this rule, it effectually stopped the
d business.
g Another matter which the ass
S citation sought to regulate was cor
e petition between two or more mer
s bers in the same territory. TT
u farmer must sell his grain, it was a
s gued, and with the track buyers sh
!. out, the elevators were bound to g
t the grain anyway At the meeting
a. the association in January, 1898, col
If peting members at the same poi
a. were instructed to agree upon pri
d each day that would give them a re
l. sonable profit after paying expense
II and at the end of given time
s. pro-rate the profits according to the
,e running expenses and their capt.
n invested in the business. Soon aft
n this a number of grain syndicat