Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1908-03-27
FARMERS ORGANIZE
Practical Farmer Gives Reasons Why
y Farmers Should Organize

Deeply interested In my welfare as
q farmer, and the good Of every farmer,
I have here expressed the reasons why
farmers organize.
We, farmers, generally, and rightly
feel that we do not get a fair price
for our products. We transfer our
property, products and money, to mid
dlemen who are accustomed to forge
profits for themselves or their class,
and do not concern themselves enough
with our interests as producers or
consumers. We claim, the two ligiti-
mate parties In any bargain, i. e. Sup
ply and demand, should meet directly
more than they do now; and that
whenever the help of middlemen is
necessary, a decided stand should be
taken by these same parties, most es-
sential to the transaction to secure
equity, we mean square deal on the
market, whatever the disposition of
the middlenen may be. Producers
must take care of themselves, and so
exact profitable price; consumers an
equitable charge. We are not opposed
to trade in any Of its forms, real trade
which consists in selling things, hold
ing them in stock, exchanging and
transporting them. Trade is a part of
production, and just as necessary and
important as production ITSELF But
the gambling, specializing, forging
of excessive profits Of the traders and
middlemen, we must resist. We have
need of elevators, local and terminal,
retail-stores and wholesale houses.
There may be too many but we have
need of enough of them. Moreover, we
contend that spirit of equity and
helpfulness should exist and appear
on the face of things, and that every
enterprise should work to the advan-
tage of our commonwealth, country
and towns.
Wealth is movable and moving. It
should move to and fro, and not as it
does at the present time, always in
the same direction. The flow of COM
modities is now from the country to
the cities, and from the west to the
east, and there is heavy, constant
drain on the country, which does ex-
haust IFS resources
For the price Of bushel of grain,
we give two. For the use of money
we pay the highest rates of interest.
The price of land has scared up. The
rent of farm is half the crop. The
commodities Of life are offered us at
exhorbitant prices. We pay much
money and labor in taxes. Yet few
of the public institutions are accessible
to us or benefit us. With all our Ia
Dor, economy and good management,
we merely afford food, shelter, seed
and ordinary Implements We cannot
afford a decent, comfortable home
nor outside help. Opportunities for
5oyment are few. We fail to afford
our children as much of their time as
is necessary for their education. We
live within narrow means, and circum-
stances. Hardships and privations are
Our lot. Just little more adversely
we would go to the wall Work, work.
work and poor pay that makes of
farming mere drudgery an endless
round of countless tasks and thankless
toll.
Surely we raise good crops and large
crops. We are crop-rich farmers.
But each year, we part with them re.
gardless, of the price. We let them
go, cars after cars, train loads after
train loads. Great wealth it is! It
leaves us, disappointed money-poor
farmers, who should and would be well
to do people, was it not for the in.
satiable greed of the merchant princes
They make millions out of our mani.
fold and mulitudinous earnings. The
crops we raise make a splendid outgo
But. alas! the miserable income!
What hustle and a hustle for such
pitance. Farming is failure! We
fail in the selling, the marketing, the
exchanging of what we have for what
the world bas to Offer We easily dis
pose of our products, but we sell at
a disadvantage and a. sacrifice the
whole year round, and year after year
. as though farming was a nuisance and
the farm products no better than I'M
q saiable commodities. The usual talk
on the market Is about oversuppIy
oyerproduction, too many farmers, toe
i many acres, great SURPRISES, glutted
I. markets. Yet, they take all and the
& world consumes all that we do raise
4 The truth is the people want more;
and the government does everything
4 to increase agricultural production
!: and secure the opening of new areas
for more farms, more farmers, more