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

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engaged him for another year.
SECRETARY ALDR1CH's ADVICE.
He Urges Farmers to Market Produce In
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. the Union for
It's Fairness. -.-
Mr.. r. c. Dunn, Princeton, MINI.
Dear Sir: I have seen in your pa
per several times the past season gen.
erous reports of meetings held by
organizers of the unions of the Amer
lean Society of Equity. Some express
sion of our gratitude is due, that in
your paper we have champion of
the plan of marketing of farm prod
ucts on business principles rather
than the old way of one farmer bid
ding against another for the chance
to sell his produce to Spectator
below cost!
A majority of our members regard
this as silly, and have concluded as
to potatoes that they cannot be raised
at profit, commensurate with the
price of labor and other things the
farmer has to buy, for less than fifty
cents per bushel.
Since the above was written our
potato growers in convention decided
that sixty-two cents net must come
back to secure fair average return
for labor and investment this year,
there being only about go per cent of
an average crop. Unitedly the farm
ers may say this shall be the mini
mum price for table stock, and what
they say will go for they have all the
spuds. They manufacture them by
their process; and cooperation can
make prices as uniform as manufac-
turers of the sacks make regular
prices by combination or agreement.
I submit to your Judgment: Are not
these business principles to be applied
to farmers to enable labor to be hired,
other than wife and child labor, a
profit secured, farming made attract
i've because profitable, our sons and
daughters kept back in the country
rather than to congest the cities?
Our plan of marketing gradually
during the year as the food is con-
sumed. and needed will prevent the
congested car service and shortage in
the autumn when most needed for
fro penorto tiop If f,,o7
Railway officials and stockholders
will favor our plan when they learn
what it is, for less cars. aud men will
be needed. The economy of it will
win friends.
Likewise our plan of distribution
will prevent gluts and famines that
now prevail. Our members, as pro-
ducers, from Florida to Seattle,
through their official paper, which
each one receives, will know all crop
conditions, supplies and lacks, and
acting through appointed sales direc-
tors produce will be put where most
needed, and uniformity of price main
tanned to the great benefit of con-
sumer as we'll as producer. Then
potatoes will not be sold in Princeton
for six cents a peck by the carload
when the St. Louis consumer paid
thirty cents per peck! And when our
President Morrell, looking on, asked
the grocer why they were so high the
answer was: "There is short crop
this year." That was last autumn.
When our plan prevails the high
price of apples will not prohibit their
consumption in Minnesota when no
farther away than Missouri the price
would not pay for shipping, as was
the case last year. Good, healthful
food like peaches and apples wasted
in Georgia and Missouri! Boat loads
of bananas have been dumped into the
river, to hold up local price, instead
of giving them to poor people! The
chilling of carloads of potatoes acct
dental! The wholesale and retail dis
tribution of foods needs more intel
ligent and civilized system. The con-
trolling factors in such system must
inevitably be the producers of foods,
especially of such food as goes to the
consumer in it's natural form.
An organization of producers is
the source of that less wasteful sys-
tenn. Such an organization is the
American Society of Equity and it
should receive the support of every
thoughtful economist.
Very trr1v vo,,rc