The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-21


Farmers Unions engaged in business
transactions are entitled to one delegate.
Farmers Unions where there are no
such business transacted IN the county
viii be entitled to one delegate from
each regularly organized county union
Farmers line elevator companies will
be entitled only to representatives Sc
lected by the local stockholders at each
point where an elevator is operated.
All delegates must be selected by
the stockholders or actual members Of
these various organizations at a regular
meeting, or a meeting called for this
purpose, and given regular credentials.
''AIl such organizations are requested
to select only their best men who are the
most devoted to the principles Of CO.
operation.
We recommend where special meet
ings are called that they be held on Sat
urday, October 6. 1906. and request that
names of all delegates when selected
be at once sent to James Butler. acting
secretary, Topeka, Kan
Speaking of the purposes of the con-
gress and its workings Mr.. Butler said
today:
by getting together representatives
that are experienced In these various en-
terprises, we believe that all existing
organizations can be STRENGTHENED We
believe that experienced committees
can recommend plan for each line of
business that will be considered by the
whole congress and adopted and recon-
mended for future organizations to fol-
low. This would result in uniform bust
ness action and greatly improve the
system.
Each delegate to this congress should
bring with him a few copies of the
charter and bylaws Of his local COM
pany, for the use of committees.
I'VE need uniform cooperative cor
poration laws in all of the states so As
to enable US to conduct our business
r7-
talistic corporation laws are not at all
suitable for cooperative CORPORATIONS
We want to limit the stock that any
person can hold in our companies and
we want to limit the proxies that any
one can vote. We want to free our
selves from capital control by the few
We want to transact business on the
cooperative system and we want laws
that will protect our interests and re-
move all question about the legality Of
our system.
I'VE already have cooperative law
governing Industrial corporations but
that does not apply to commercial cor
porat1ons or the ordinary business COM
pany. We want q similar law that VIII
apply to business corporations. Other
states are in much the same condition
that we are in. California has a salts
factory cooperative corporation law
and we want law that is equally as
good.
There are over 500. COO members of the
r dIIHeIS cooperative union in states
south of Kansas; over 700 farmers CO.
operative elevators in the Dakotas.
Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska,
Kansas and Oklahoma with at least CO.
600 stockholders and an investment Of
over 100000
Farmers in many localities now
comparatively own and operate their
own telephones at q cost of less than
25 cents per month and these lines
should be extended so as to reach the
k,,.-. Il l.
enable them to get the daily markets
by phone.
Farmers through their co-opera-
tive union in the south fix the mini
mum price on cotton and get it.
BY organization and united action
in the grain growing states, farmers
can fix reasonable prices on corn and
wheat and maintain that price
This will be the largest and most
important business meeting ever held
by the agricultural class in the United
States.
1T will familiarize ali interests with
the plans, object and purposes of the
various cooperative institutions and
in this way will help them all and
will injure none.
Experienced committees selected by
the delegates who represent the same
line of business can formulate plans for
that line that will put each in harmony
with the other, and will establish a uni
form system. This can and no doubt
viii be done in each line of business rep
resented.
when this is done. then committee
consisting of one from each of the vari-
GUS lines of business can be selected to
harmonic the work of all the other
committees and in this way reach a
uniform cooperative system that can
be referred back to the various commit |
tees, approved by them, and then be in
dorsed and adopted by the congress as
a body"