Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1907-05-24
COOPERATIVE co.
The Ashland Company will be a Good
Thing for this Territory

Ashland, Wis.-To the Forum
My attention has been called to
an article appearing in your pa
per recently signed by H. A.
Bourna:nan of Colgate, N. D., in
which he attempts to belitt1e ard
disparage the work and plans Of
the Northwestern Coal g. Dock
Co. The organization of this
company has brought a great
deal of criticism from the north
western coal dealers association
which is a branch Of the coal
trust that controls these north
western states, and not knowing
Mr.. Bornaman personally, as to
whether he is connected with |
this association, I cannot realize |
his motive, but I do know that |
outside the criticisms made by |
the coal trust people and Mr..
Bornaman, that the organization
of the Northwestern Co-opera-
tive Coal and Dock Co. has
caused general approval through
out the northwest, for it is the
first time that an effort has been
made in a legitimate way to
place the coal consumers of these
various states so that they are
not obliged to accept the dicta.
tions and terms imposed by the
coal trust.
AS Mr.. Bornaman in his letter
seems inclined to throw doubt on
the sincerity of this movement,
and to try and show that it is
simply promotion scheme, let
me say that at the outset, that
this entire project was origina-
ted and carried out to it's present
basis by the Ashland Advance
ment association, which is our
commercial club, and the officers
and directors and members are
our city's best citizens.
The distress that. prevailed
throughout the northwest the
past year, the dominating atti-
tude of the coal trust and allied
companies, and the. absolute re-
fusal on their part to supply CO.
operative companies except
through some retail dealer, were
all matters thoroughly consid-
cred by the officers and directors
. of the Ashland Advancement as
sociation, and they evolved this
plan of organizing a co-opera-
tive coal company designed to
take coal direct from independ-
ent mines in the east, up to the
lakes to this place, unload it on
the company's own dock here,
and ship it to the stockholder,
in this way the profits of all
middlemen to be eliminated, and
as no coal would be supplied by
the cooperative company ex-
cept to stockholders thus assur-
ing every stockholder that his
supply would be held subject to
his order.
All winter long the Ashland
Advancement association has
been working on this project and
hundreds of letters have been
exchanged on this proposition
during the winter months with
the cooperative leaders of the
northwest, in order that the plan
might be satisfactorily arranged
for all concerned. -
y Before the company could be
arranged on a satisfactory basis
it was necessary to interest prac-
tical coal men, and after consid-
cradle correspondence, the Ash
land Advancement association
induced r. B. Harder, president
of the Pittsburg & Indiana Coal
company, to assist in taking hold
of the proposition, and also +.
A. Holnes, president Of the Chi
cago cooperative Coal Co.
With the assistance of these two
practical men, the company has
. been successfully organized and
started, and it has certainly met
with wonderful success through
out the northwest, and. the man
# ner in which the newspapers
have cordially endorsed the pro-
ject everywhere, shows that, the
M company, based on q purely co.
operative basis, is. bound to de-
velop into one Of the. greatest
coal distributing & concerns any.
where on the Great lakes.
f NJ Born imam and the Goa:
trust are try in lg to scare people
by claiming that this isl a promo.
tion scheme in answer vii
simply call their attention TO ttEle