Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-11-30
Company Organized For That Pur.
pose Elects Its Permanent
OFFICERS.
is NOW READY FOR BUSINESS
Purposes Of the Organization Set Out
in Letter-Want Square
Deal.

Officers Vi tuo COTpOTdllOn we're
chosen. and the cooperative assocla-
ton of Montana fockmasters, for that
is just what this company is, will be
prepared for actual business just as
soon as matters requiring attention
develop. For the present, the chief &C.
tivity is along the line of enlisting
every wool grower in the state to be-
come Unidentified with the company,
and this effort is meeting with fiat.
tering success.
The officers of the company for the
ensuing year are: John T. Murphy,
president w. G. Conrad, vice pres.
dent; n. B. Hotter, treasurer, Lewis |
Penwell, secretary
The board of directors is as fol- |
lows: w. G. Conrad, B. F. White, B.
d. Phillips, S. S. HObson, j. E. Bow |
er, William Lindsay, A. X. Prescott,
John T. Murphy, N. B. Hotter, w. J.
Beckett, John NJ. Holt, Henry Sieben
and Lewis Penwell.
The object of the organization is set |
out in the following letter. issued by |
the directorate:
Dear Sir: At the convention OF
wool growers held in Helena during |
che state fair, various ways and means
We're discussed seeking to benefit the
industry and particularly to protect
Montana wool growers from the CON-
bination of eastern wool buyers who
so disastrously hammered down the
price Of Montana wool this year.
Montana wool has always brought
better price than the Wyoming ar
tcle until this year. The combina
ton of buyers that was thought to
exist over year ago. easily made
themselves masters of the situation
this year. and their bids for Montana
clips were from one to three cents
under the value of the wool. In most
instances the wool grower was com
PEELED TO accept the bid and it is es
timated that, on the wool clip sold this
year, about one million dollars was
lost to the Montana wool growers.
To permit this combination to go un-
checked will result in the wool bust
ness being still further injured-it
will not be a question of what is a
fair value for the wool, but simply
what will this combination give
To prevent this threatened danger
to the sheep business different propo-
sitions were discussed by the conven-
ton. Many of the wool growers in at
tendance felt that it was almost use
less to consign wool to Boston under
present circumstances because. in
nine cases out of ten, the commission
house to which it would be consigned
would be in the combination repre-
sented by the buyers in Montana and
would not try to get better price
than had been offered What was
needed was a wool selling agency III
Boston and other eastern points, il
necessary, that would sell to the man
ufacturerS direct and that was con
trolled by the wool growers of Mon
lana and not by the wool buyers
This idea seemed to meet with the
approval OF every one as the proper
solution of the problem.
The plan proposed was to organize
a stock company of 100000 capital
to have the stock owned by actual
wool growers, and to establish a
branch in Boston to handle the wool
consigned to the company
1T was also proposed that, in cases
where needed. the company should
make advances on clips consigned to
1t. 1t is not intended that the COM
pany should go into the business of
buying and specializing in wool, or
to do anything to discourage the op-
Grafton of eastern wool buyers in this
state, other than for the company to
engage in the wool commission bust
ness itself. Such company would
have credit which would enable it to
obtain money at reasonably low rates
OF interest, and to make advances on
subscribers wool when necessary.
The funds of the company would be
used in carrying on the business of
the company and in making such ad-
vance. The absolute understanding
being that no money will be used in
buying or specializing in wool, hence
the company would be taking nc
chances on losing the money put into
the business. Freight storage charges
and insurance would, of course attach
to the wool itself and a reasonable
profit would be made by the compan,
and distributed in dividends to al
subscribers to the stock The mail
advantages, however, to come from
such a movement would be in tn,
grower getting the full market pric,
for his wool. making the grower indie
pendent of the buyers combine and
what is more important still, it woul,
impress upon the buyers the fact tina
all bids did not have to be accepted
that there was something else tn,
grower could do, all of which ough
to result in better prices for Montana
wool.
A portion of the Wyoming WOO
growers have an organization similar
to the above and were ready to do bus
mess this year-the wool buyers pait
more for their wool than they pait
elsewhere-in fact owing to the Wv
oming wool growers organization be
Ing in existence the buyers paid more
Tor those woods than for Montana WOO
clips, something that never happened
before in the history of the wool bus
mess. If the Wyoming wool grower.
tan compel the buyers to give then
square deal so can We. This las
season the Wyoming buyers did no
pay more than the work was worth
they simply paid less than the Mon
tana wool was worth. This company
If fully subscribed to- should compc
the buyers to pay the Montana grow,
ers what their/clips are worth.
The success of such a company de
ponds upon the hearty active suppor
of each individual wool grower in tht
state and this means you.
las soon as the company idea was
decided to be the best means of com
batting this buyers combination. a sinh
scription list was started. each WOO
grower present subscribed at the rate
of ten cents per head of sheep own
o. hof -