The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-11-01
FARMERS URGED TO
FORM ORGANIZATION
Recently Organized Minnesota
Farmers Exchange Sends
Out a General Call.

Every farmer in the state has been
asked to join the Minnesota Farmers
exchange, which was temporarily or
| ganized in st. Paul short time ago.
The members of the temporary organi-
zation have issued call to farmers in
which they explain the purpose of the
organization, and they have also COM
menced organizing township and coun-
| ty branches of the state exchange.
Several organizations have already
been formed and interest. so the Of
ficers say, is increasing daily in all the
rural districts. The idea of the pro-
moters is not to crush any other or
ganization or company, but to simply
further the interests Of the farmers in
a legitimate manner They expect TO
have a membership of $4,000 when the
meeting to perfect a permanent or
ganization is held, some time in jan
| uary.
The call to the, farmers, issued by
the temporary organization, says
Appeal to the Farmers:
"The time of the year is now at hand
when the patient husbandman takes
an inventory of his stock in trade
Having done so after a season Of hard,
honest toll, do you find your accounts
on the right or wrong side of the ledg-
err? If on. the wrong side, can you
tell why? How are you going to rem
edy the case?
"Shall you try to cultivate more land
next year, practice more rigid econ
omy, deny yourself and loved ones
more of the pleasures of life, and
! thereby hope to overcome the Difficulty?
| Have you not done so year after year
and find the plan futile? Has the price
of your productions kept pace with the
upward trend in all other lines of COM
merce? How are you going to over
come this? The answer comes clear
and forcible: Systematic business Or
| ganiZation.
Reason for Organization.
"'Why organize? Because every other
business, profession, trade or labor is
| organized. For what? To advance the
interests of themselves. This is all
right; We are not crying them down.
1t is absolutely necessary today. But,
| farmers of Minnesota, you all have
heard the saying, United we stand, di-
vided we fall
Never was it applied more truly than
to the condition of the farmers of to-
day, We cannot hope to be independ-
ent unless we do organize. Some call
US independent now. Are we indie
pendent? We pay tribute to every
trust and combination on earth,
whose name is legion. When market
ing our products we calmly take what
is offered. When we buy, we pay what
is asked. oh, yes, we certainly are in
dependent.
you all know how many there
are who make living out Of profits
derived from handling your produc-
tons before they reach the consumer;
this is one of the leaks we must stop,
and then there are others also. How
will we do it? Again I say organize.
How will we organize? I will tell you.
Plan for Organization.
"On the 7th day of October, 1908,
few earnest, public-spirited farmers
met in st. Paul and formulated plan
to meet the needs of the times. Realiz-
ing how helpless we are today to cope
singly with the organizations that bid
US defiance, to the extent of absolutely
prohibiting the individual farmer from
shipping his grain or live stock to the
open market, even to the extent Of
threatening men who try to buy indie
pendently; we resolved, therefore in or
der to maintain our God given right to
independence, to organize the Mime
sofa Farmers exchange for the pur-
pose of doing our own shipping, mar
keting, etc.
"This organization consists of, first,
| local exchange; second county eX-
change; third, state exchange; fourth,
national exchange. Every department
from organization to marketing shall
be conducted according to business
principles, surrounded by all the COM
mercial safeguards of today"