The Topeka state journal., 1906-04-05
ms WILL WIN
Farmers Cooperative Shipping
Association Harmonious.
Less Wrangling at the Annual
Meeting.
STAY BY OLD ONES.
Officers Will Probably All Be
Reelected.
Society Has Done an Enormous
Business.
STAY BY OLD ONES.

Unless an unexpected crisis de-
velops late in the afternoon, the pres
ent management of the Farmers Co
operative Shipping association will
continue in power.
The officers are: E. Englehardt.
Rising City. Neb-. PRESIDENT; H. H.
Shull, Argonia. Kas.. vice president,
and H. r. Signor, Winfield, secretary.
Fritz EngIehardt is the manager. in
charge of the head office Of the asso-
citation. which is maintained at Kan
sas City.
There is not the frequent call for
the arnica bottle to rub the sore
places which has characterized the
previous sessions of the association in
Topeka. A number of smiles wreathed
the faces of the attending delegates
and friction has been reduced to a
minimum In annual sessions of the
previous years a merry row has al
ways been precipitated, brewing
through the year and breaking forth
in vigor at the annual meeting when
the election of officers was made. It
has been a history of varying proper
tions of an effort on the part OF
warning cliques to gain control.
Though there is some uneasin ess
egates and inclination to withdraw, it
/ has not reached anything of a definite
nature. Should, however, a wave Of
disintegration be started it might re-
suit before evening in the breakup of
/ the association. SHOULD someone get
up and make a strong speech in favor
! of breaking up it would probably take
place. said one of the delegates.
/ s'They are very susceptible to that
sort of thing, and it would sway
/ them
The most important proposition
which has been offered to the con-
1 sfderation of the delegates is the
adoption of bonds which shall be
placed by the local associations as
security with the local banks. instead
of personal notes as has been the Gus
tom in the past
The association not a solvent in
stitation yet. It dies its 9'lsiness with
an inadequate CASH capital. and has
to take recourse to raising money by
the issuanc Of personal notes on the
part of the directors of the local asso-
Citations.
In order to make the responsibility
on these notes more equabIe it IS pro-
posed that a bond be drawn up for a
certain amount and signed by a large
number of the members of the asso-
citation, which shall be deposited with
local banks as security for money
1 borrowed.
The proposition will be definitely
acted upon late this afternoon. It has
/ already been experimental with in
small way. The association has only
a cash capital on which to trade OF
$4,000, and as during the nine months
ending with February 2S last they
handled nearly a total Of 100000
bushels of grain they have been forced
/ to secure $99,SO0 on endorsed paper
through some sos stockholders out of
a total holding stock of 500.
''I believe in this bond proposition"
said one of the delegates, because it
| is more cooperative in its nature
than the use of notes.
Two and three-quarter cents is the
cost per bushel to market the grain
/ through the association, according to
! the statistics compiled by Manager
Englehardt. This is about one cent
4 in excess Of the cost of handling a
/ bushel of grain by the individual grain
dealer. f'Grain Is only handled on a
narrow margin of profit" said a grain
dealer who is a member of the asso-
1 ciation 'sThe only end of the asso-
cfation when it is costing 2 q cents
to handle a bushel OF grain is that it
will quit business. The member is
now getting less for his grain than if
/ he didn't belong.
In round numbers the association
handled 100000 bushels of wheat,
$50. 600 bushels of corn and $4,000
+ bushels of oats last year. This IS
$1,000 more bushels of corn than was
4 500, 900 bushels less of wheat. The total
co-operat ting expenses Of the associa-
ton last year at the general Office was
$31,125.8S
About 100 delegates are in attend
ance at the association which comes to
a conclusion this evening.
The association has been in existence
about three years and has members in
Kansas. Nebraska and Oklahoma, the
majority residing in this state.
4 The association voted to bring suit
against G. 3. Hoffman, manager last
year on several items of account One
Is for $651.11 for grain sold to J. H.
Tomlin & Co of Kansas City which it
1 claims HOFFMAN had no right to sell.
Another item Is for S560.s5 for selling
/ wheat to J. c. Goings. a broker in To-
! peka. while the latter it is claimed, was
+ insolvent, and a third item is for
s1S7.56 due on options on transactions
/ on the Kansas City board of trade.
The following are the directors of the
association: Frank Wright. Billings,
/ Okla: ]. G. Goings. Mendon. Neb.: r.
S. Milton, Stafford. Kan; H. H. ShulL
4 Argonia. Kan: S. H. Hill, Lahone.
Okla: H. R Signor. Winfield: F En-
glehardt, Kansas City. Mo-; ". II.
i Thompson Blackwell Okla: NJ. G.
! P0ri ar MOrI906 Kan