The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1904-07-07

Editor Independent. In your ISSUE
Of June %, page IL, appears an ar
ticle headed "A Successful Farmers
Co." AS the article is not signed,
presume that you assume editorial
responsibility for it. Having been a
reader of your paper for years and
knowing you personally, am con-
WINGED of your sincerity to place moth
ing but facts before your readers, SO
far as you are able to ascertain them
to be facts.
In fact | have heard you state many
times that you abh0r half Truth
much more than lie, because you
consider the former more dangerous.
AS the large majority OF your readers
are farmers intensely interested IN
such economic questions, they should
have the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth on this ques-
tion: and not mixture Of facts and
fiction. truth and sophistry.
Therefore, | beg leave OF you to
present through your paper to the
readers Of it, many Of whom undoubt-
eddy are stockholders of the Farmers
Cooperative Shipping association, the
bare facts in the case and eliminate
all sophstry and fiction.
Having served as member OF the
board OF directors of the company Tor
the past year, and having been recent
" elected its president, and being in
possession of all the official records
relating to the question at issue, am
in position TO give your readers the
facts and nothing but the facts in the
case.
The business affairs Of this COM
pany are in the hands of board OF
nine directors who shape and dictate
the policy of the concern, and not the
president or general manager, as the
writer of the article referred to wishes
to imply. AS | have been associated
with these men for year, | know
them to be men of sound judgment,
absolute integrity and extensive busl-
4 ness experience; men who have opln-
ions of their own, who do not need
to borrow them, and firmness enough
to see them executed when once ex-
pressed and put on record.
AS eight of them are farmers, they
ought to know what policy the farmer
stockholders wish to have pursued;
and that the policy pursued by them
during the last year was eminently
satisfactory to an overwhelming ma
iority of the stockholders, was clearly
proven at the annual meeting at To-
peka, where it was approved by ma
jority of to /.
The assertion of the writer of the
article referred to that 1.-The other fac
ton led by Mr.. Hoffman favored stop
page of organization work, being con-
tent to manage the business already in
sight and in control of the aSSocla-
tion," is purely gratuitous, as neither
the board of directors nor Mr.. Hoff-
man have ever made him their conf
dant or told him what their future
policy in this matter would be.
The fact is, that the board and 9TH
er officials of the company will keep
right on organizing the farmers at all
places where the business conditions
warrant organization; but they are
at the same time determined to cut
off all lavish, extravagant and unnec-
essary expenses connected with this
work, as it has been conducted in the
past, and reduce it to an economic
business proposition
The writer of the article further on
says, 1.-THE election of the board OF
directors was in some respects a
drawn battle, for while Mr. Hoffman s
friends are in the majority and con-
troll the association for the coming
year, Mr.. Hoffman was left off the
board; while Mr.. Butler was elected
to the board by the largest vote Civ
en- TO any of the nine directors.
Now. the writer of that article was
present during all the meeting at To.
peka, so cannot claim ignorance OF
the facts as they We're: but he vii.
fully misrepresents some of the facts
and entirely omits others that did not
suit his purpose. with the distinct OBJ,
cATAkRH CANNOT BE CURED
with local applications. as they can