The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1907-10-03

PRINCETO IN UNION 4
THERE IS NO FARMERS "TRUsT.,
The farmers are now getting into
the s'trust" business. Some of them
have secured charter from New
Jersey, with an authorized capital of
one million dollars, under the cum
bersome name of Producers and
Consumers International EQUITY
Union and Cooperative Exchange
The purpose of this is to hold the
produce of the farmers until it COM
mands high price, and then sell it
direct to the consumers, cutting out
the profit of the middlemen. Likewise
to buy direct from the manufacturers
and sell to the farmers Cloud
Journal-Press.
The Journal-Press is laboring under
misrepresentation. The main object
of the American Society of Equity
and it's produce exchange is to secure
better prices for farmers produce by
Intelligent marketing. State Secre-
tary Aldrich's letter in another col
| umn succinctly sets forth the purpose
of the organization.
There is no sense in Cutting the
market with wheat, oats, corn or pota-
toes in the fall of the year. The in
evitable result is low prices. j. j.
Hill truly said that the car shortage
last year was blessing in disguise to
the farmers-they were obliged to
hold their wheat and obtained better
prices. If, through the American So
ciety of Equity, the farmers can be
educated to market their produce in
diligently much good will result
therefrom, and no unnecessary burden
will be inflicted upon the consumers.
When produce is bought in large
quantities at low prices and stored in
elevators and warehouses it does not
necessarily follow that the consumers
will be benefited. The middlemen
and spectators reap the profits. In
the past when wheat has scared to the
dollar mark there has been very little
in the hands of the farmers. We be-
lieve the society errs when it fixes
an arbitrary price for produce. Con-
ditions may make it impossible to
obtain the prices fixed. Perishable
commodities must be disposed of, if
at all, within limited time, and CON-
plete unity of action among all farm
ers is an impossibility. We believe
the better plan would be to market po-
tatoes or any other crop gradually
and get the best prices obtaina ble
We should dislike to assume the re-
sponsibility of advising the farmers
of this vicinity to hold their potatoes
for 81 cents per bushel unless we had
positive assurances that the farmers
in the other counties of the potato belt
in this and neighboring states would
do likewise. Considering the high
price of labor, machinery and almost
everything the farmer is obliged to
buy, we do not think g. cents per
bushel an exorbitant price for pota-
toes at the home railway station.
Under present conditions prices for
farmers produce are largely fixed by
gamblers and spectators. It will be
better for both the producer and con-
sumer when the farmer will have a
voice in fixing the price at which he
will dispose of his produce. The mer-
chant sets a price on his merchandise,
the manufacturer on his wares, the
professional man on his services, the
workingman on his labor, the farmer
alone-the man who feeds all the rest
must accept the prices fixed by
others, and, as already remarked,
those fixers are mainly board of trade
gamblers. God speed the American
Society of Equity in securing square
deal for the men who till the soil.
Last Friday was the twentieth an