The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1907-09-26
Iowa Farmers to Join Trust.

Des Moines, Sept. 1S.-Preliminary
steps are now being taken to form
branch of the Farmers Educational and
Cooperative Union of America in Iowa |
for the alleged purpose of wrestling the
control of the grain market and grain
prices from the spectators and putting
it in the hands of the agriculturists.
The organization was first formed in
Texas to control the cotton market
against the spectators and has sue
ceeded in this and now the organizers
are reaching out to include other agri-
cultural commodities. G.. NJ. Davis,
who is connected with the Atlantic Con-
stitution at Atlanta, Ga, is in Des
Moines to form the Iowa branch and
expects to complete his work within a
short time. He is sent out by the
national president, R. F. Duckworth,
who resides in Atlantic.
The organization is the strongest and
largest association Of farmers in the
world and if the present plans are car
ried out it will be among the strongest
organizations of any kind in the world.
Concerning the movement. Mr..
Davis yesterday said.
HISTORY OF ORGANIZATION.
The farmers union was organized in
|
years ago and has spread over the en-
tire south and into many of the western
and northern states. The founder was
Newt Gresham, now deceased. Mr..
Gresham conceived the idea of bust
ness organization of farmers on the
same principle and along the same lines
as other organization of business men.
At first the idea was to be confined to
the cotton growing states alone, but the
movement was SO wise, conservative
and business like that other states out
side the cotton belt became interested
in the movement with the result that
Illinois, Missouri and Kansas have very
strong organizations today.
Charles S. Barrett, of Atwater, Ga is
the national president of the order,
which numbers about 100000 members.
The farmers union is the largest body
of organized farmers in the world. The
order is growing at the rate of more
than 5000 members daily and in short
time will have all the farmers lined up
in the organization.
A BUSINESS ORGANIZATION.
1t is purely business organization,
forbidding politics or political discus
sion within the lodge room. The mem
bership have built and are operating
about zoo cotton warehouses in the
south and as many more are in process
of construction. The farmers of the
south expect to control the entire cot
ton crop through the operation of the
warehouses. The management of these
warehouses are left to the control of
the communities where they are
located.
The purpose of the union is to secure
better prices for farm products. The
price of cotton has been fixed by this
order for the past three years and the
price so fixed has been the ruling mar
ket price. The price of cotton has
been steadily increased in keeping with
the increase of other things.
am in Iowa on short trip for the
purpose of starting the organization
here. have met with considerable en-
couragement and by this time next
year we expect to have membership
of $4,000 or 10000. We expect to be
able to dictate the grain market of
Chicago as we dictate the cotton mar
ket of New York and Liverpool. The
grain grower can get his own price for
grain as we'll as the cotton grower can
for cotton.