The Goodland republic., 1907-01-11

come when every farmer and producer
ID the grain-belt must rise up and help
himself; We must organize for self
protection and must do Il now. We
cannot expect Others to help rs; we
cannot expect the government TO help
Us If we are not willing 70, OF DO not
help ourselves. There IS no reason
why we should not market cur own
grain TO the consumers. not only fn
this country, but abroad, excepting
that the trust say to Us, we snail not
do It, and they boldly tell Us, IL Il is
necessary to prevent our doing So they
viii 20 70 any extremity, even the
violation Of the law Every farmer
and producer in this country must
help himself, and the question IS, are
We going to permit ourselves to be
controlled IN this manner? Word has
gone out that this movement y the
farmers to establish a free and fnde-
pendent market must be stopped at
any cost
It was shown at the bearing Of the
Interstate commerce commission in
Kansas City, that Il was the practice Of
the trust managers to give orders to
their Heutenants and employees to pay
such high prices Cor grain TO mem
bers, stockholders and patrons Of this
Independent movement that they
would become 50 dissatisfied with their
own concerns that they would not pat
rOniZe them again The great question
Of today is, are we going 20 allow our
selves to be led into this snare2 7,
for one, viii, as I have in the past,
protest against IL and tell you VIII
not. II we DO not Thus protest We are
lost forever. We shall for years to
come be compelled to do as We have IN
the past and are now doing, have ab-
sOlutely nothing whatever to say as to
the price we shall receive for our pro-
ducts, and who has a better right to
this than the farmer? We are the
only unOrganized class in the co Intry:
the millers are organized; the mer-
chants are organized; every branch Of
labor is organized. We hear Of the
lumber trust, the sugar combine, the
coffee trust and other branches Of
trade that are organized for no 9TH
er purpose than to have something to
say as to what they shall receive for
their products and labor. What does
the unOrganized farmer do tOday7 He
hauls his grain to market, he asks
the trust buyer what he will pay him
for it, and he has nothing to do but
take it or haul It home again. When
you. nave anything 10 Duys WnaL 90
you do? You ask the man who has
it to sell what his price IS and you pay
that price or go without 1t.
To say the least, the farmers and
producers Of this country should have
as much to say about the price they
shall receive for their products as the
buyer has to say about what he viii
give for it, and there IS no reason why
it should be different today, except
ing that the grain trust tell you you
shall. not Something must be done to
give the farmers relief from these dia-
bolfcaI and mOnopolistic practices, and
wish to urge upon every farmer and
producer, the necessity Of acting for
himself There is to be held at Salina,
Kan, on January Is, in my judgment,
the most important meeting that has
been held in the state in the past
forty years, and I trust that every
farmer and producer who hears Of this
meeting will make 1t his special bust
ness to be there I also trust that all
the newspapers Of our great state see
ing this letter viii copy same and give
it wide circulation, as 1t is written in
a good and just cause and cannot
help but be Of benefit to our state at
large.
Haven, Kan. g. ". PECKHAM.