The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1903-09-18
Same Figures Paid at Points
Over 100 Miles Apart
DISTANCE OBLITERATED =
ALL COMPETITION SQUELC CHED
Farmer and Wheat Pooler Replies to Portland Editor
and Shows That Farmers Have Some Business
Capacity

IL at that price. The way cotton and
other staples arc going up, tho farm.
er who has wheat is foolish TO sell ut
the trust price
Farmers and OIL Trust.
In tho eyes OF the men who reap its
rewards the trust is always legiti.
mate. The Waldo Hills farmers. for
example, would not listen to a sugges.
tion that there Is anything morally or
legally wrong with their little com
bine. They pooled their wheat and
offered Il TO the highest bidder. The
first bids received were ell rejected
as being too low. and at a later OF.
fering the pool was sold to a local
miller. who paid rs cents. This was
about cents above the value OF the
wheat for export purposes, and the
millmen wore compelled 10 pay that
premium because there is local
scarcity OF wheat. II Is admitted that
without the pool or combination The
farmers would not have received the
premium they did. The producers are
patting themselves on the back and
praising their business sagacity One
John ID. Rockefeller has pooled the OIL
supply, and II he 10 not satisfied with
the price offered him he rejects Il
and sets n higher price. when the
consumer mcctG that price he gets
the oil. and no before II is the con.
troll OF the available supply that en-.
ables Rockefeller 20 name the price.
and IL was tho control OF the supply OF
wheat adjacent TO the mills that en-.
ablcd the WGldo Hills farmers to
name the price OF their grain.-Port.
land oregonian. Sept. Z.
A Farmer Replies
Ed. Journal: In reply TO the above
wish TO say that the farmers uniting
to get a fair price for their wheat
cannot be compared TO Rockefeller's
monopoly, whore he controls both the
raw material and the manufactured
product, and fixes the price OF both.
Tho grain-buyers could well AFFORD TO
pay one TO Ave cents a bushel for our
oats and wheat In the Rocky Point
pool. as II would take anyone OF thcm
weeks 20 hunt up that amount OF
grain in the hands OF individual grow.
ers The article In the Oregonian
seems TO imply that the farmers have
no business capacity. He says we
got seven conts above the value OF the
wheat for export purposes" Well.
wasn't that business. considering
that Astoria Is not allowed TO buy
grain on common-point basis OF ship
ments. but our export facilities are
limited 20 Portland. where the market
price is fixed not on any export basis
but about five TO ten cents below what
the wheat is worth made into -four.
"A local scarcity for milling pur-
poses" does not explain the advance
OF seven cents a bushel secured by
the Rocky Point pool, because these
same mills sell flour in competition
with the Portland Trust mills in all
the oregon and Pacific coast markets,
and they are not losing money doing
so. II the farmer gets seven cents a
bushel more for their wheat from
these local mills IL would pay all the
labor organizations and people gener-
ally 10 buy the StRytOn and Aumsyille
-four just 10 encourage an honest
price for grain. The Oregonian con
tradicts its statement by attributing
our seven cents advance on wheat 10
a local scarcity. when he says at the
close OF the paragraph quoted THAT
il vas the control OF the supply that
enabled the Waldo Hills farmers 20
name the price OF their grain" The
truth is they advertised for bidders
and had a great many bidders in the
open market, and the millers had 70
pay 7Se 20 get the wheat as that was
offered by others and some even said |
We were foolish TO sell. as they would
have bid soc II we had held on be
ieVe the farmers have the business
10 see through such iiimsy
as the above and 20 under
stand that a comparison OF their pool
% Rockefellor's robbery is neither