Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-01-03
EPOCH.MAKING MEETING
In WHILRWIND CAMPAIGN


in WHILRWIND CAMPAIGN
Wisconsin's State A. Of E. Con.
vention to be in Some Re-
/. spects Unprecedent..The First
Visit Of Labor Delegates to
Orfanized Farmers.
"Let there be whirlwind camp
aign." That was the decision of the
American Society of Equity at their
recent National convention; and that
is the word sent to Wisconsin from
the headquarters of this society at
Indianapolis. The Wisconsin State
Union holds its annual meeting at
Grand Rapids on January 8, and 10,
and every effort is being made to have
it the most important and interest
ing State convention of the, organized
farmers that was ever held.
A ''whir]Yind campaign" it is going
to be, u 5 all signs fail. The year
1907 is t year in which this society,
already harkably successful despite
the fact lat it is as yet imperfectly
organize is going to market "a long
pull, AM strong pull" and, most
importA ''a pull all together" to
obtain thorough an organization
that the ntrol of the marketing of
farm prod cts will be in the hands of
their producers, like the control of
the marketing of any other important
products. The easy-going manner in
which farmers have hitherto allowed
others to set the prices on what they
have to sell, and which everybody
needs, has benefited neither the
farmer nor the consumer. The
farmers are beginning to realize that
they alone Of all great producers have
furnished the supply first, taking
what price demand will give them,
whereas the others have let the de-
mand come first, and met it with
their supply, and SO had the fixing of
their o. J prices. 1t is intended to
have z'whirlwind campaign" sweep
the Ast vestige of this antiquated
policy away.
The use Of the telephone by organ
lied farmers, as well as taking full
advantages of the rural mail routes,
will be one of the vital parts of their
perfected marketing machine, and so
the telephone companies will be repre-
sented at the meeting at Grand
Rapids.
1t is proposed SC. to perfect the crop
reporting system as in the end to prac-
tically have report of supply ready
for market from every farmer every
day. Most farmers have telephone
now, or will have them when the A.
S. of E. reaches them; and some can
make reports nearly as conveniently
in person or by mail. All members of
the local unions not only report the
conditions of the crops, but what they
have to sell, or will have in day or
two. The local unions report to the
county unions the sum total of all the
crops ready to market, on what rail-
road they can be shipped, etc. The
country is divided into seven sections,
each composed of number of states.
Each of these districts had head
quarters. For instance, this section
is composed of Wisconsin, Michigan,
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with head
quarters at Chicago. The county
unions report to headquarters each
day, so that it knows exactly how
much of each farm product is ready
for market in all the states of its
districts, exactly where it is, and
what railroad will carry it.
If there is an average of fifty mem
bers to each local union with some.
thing to sell each day, that means
fifty messages to the secretary of the
local union. Fifty local unions in q
county means fifty messages to the
county union. An average of seventy
five counties in in a state and five
states in a section means only 81;
messages fr I'M the county unions tx
headquarters to get complete report
Of all crops in the section ready tt
market any day. So far from thi
plan being impossible, as some hav'
thought, it can be easily seen from
this explanation that it Is very simple
not nearly so complicated as tt
gather reports of freight for railroad
systems.
This system, too, will do away will
sensational crop reports of eithe
''bullish' or ''bearish" tendencies, b.
means of which the speculators foo
the farmer. For some crops th'
system is already established, and il
working as well as the society ha(
reason to expect it would.
ga telephone in every farm home
is one of the objects aimed at by tn,
organized farmers.
| Another thing about the cominf
Wisconsin meeting which will b,
watched with interest all over tn,
nation is the presence of delegate!
from the stional and state organiza
tion of trs es and labor councils. Th'
very recent affiliation Of the Ameri
can Federation of Labor and tht
American Society of Equity was Z
step which will undoubtedly benefit
the society to very apppreciable de
gree, and this will be the first visit
of the labor men to a convention o1
this society.
The society's expressed views or
| the labor OnoSfinn have alwavS hoor