Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-05-16
FARMERS TO
CONTROL MARKET
P0tat0e Growers Are GETTING To.
gether to Market Product.

tion of the American Society of Equity
was held in this city and attended by
fully two hundred farmers. At that
| time one of the questions most
earnestly discussed, was the question
relating to the marketing of potatoes
The potato buyers were scored at
this meeting and steps were taken to
unite the growers of potatoes and
market them through representatives
appointed by the society. This
movement has now taken shape, and
the society now seeks to regulate the
price and quantity of potatoes. Each
large city like Chicago has an ex-
change composed of representatives of
the Equity Society, Federation of
Labor and retailers.
At an annual meeting officers and
directors are elected. They will issue
not fewer than $50, 200 shares of stock
of par value of s.. No farmer or
laboring man can buy over five shares,
and the money obtained is used to
build cold storage warehouses to
which farmers can ship potatoes,
which will then be sold at not less
than minimum price determined by
the representatives of these to organ
iZations in national convention.
Last years minimum price was about
a cent pound. Potatoes will be
furnished to all retailers who comply
with certain conditions and part of
the profit will be paid by dealers to
their customers, and another part to
the society's treasury, officers salaries
will be paid, and dividends on the
stock up to 10 per cent will be paid
and the remainder of profits, if any,
used to extend the organization.
The plan is to save jobbers' profits
or the profits of the big storage COM
panies which buy potatoes when the
market is glutted in the, fall and foist
them on dealers and consumers at ex-
tortionate prices the rest of the year.
The consumer will pay no more then
before and the farmer will obtain the
middle-man's and speculator's profits.
The farmer in turn also agrees to buy
only union made goods Quality of
potatoes will also be guarded by the
organization so that honest farmers
and consumers will be protected.
Farmers need not join the organiza-
tion for which annul dues of So are
required, or buy one to five shares of
SO stock, but they must pledge them
selves not to sell the potatoes raised
on a certain acreage below the mini
mum price fixed by the representative
of the organization concerned. If by
October l, 1907, a fourth of the crop
is pledged or 100000 acres at 100
bushels per acre, higher than the
minimum price set, then the pledge
shall hold throughout the marketing
season. If neither of these conditions
is fulfilled, the pledge becomes void.
Farmers also agree to reduce their
acreage 10 per cent to 20 per cent, so
as to avoid production.
State and county organizations will
superintend marketing and the
farmers will help make the minimum
price at the annual national conven-
tion. The market will not be glutted
or under supplied, farmers will get
fair price and consumers will pay a
uniform reasonable price the year
round. The success of the plan de-
pends on it's general acceptance and
upon the working out of practical
methods to execute the details con-
veniently.