The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-05-04
S. G. BARRETT
EXPLAINS PLAN.
TELLS HOW THE FARMERS MAY
CONTROL PRICES.
All Looks Good on Paper, if the
Farmers Will Join in the
Procession.
The State. April 80.

ions of the State organizations IN
South Carolina, as they came to town
yesterday, foregathered at the State
headquarters at 1922 Main street.
There was quite bunch Of them
there in the afternoon when a repor-
ter for The State drifted in. Pres
ident C. s. Barrett was the centre OF
interest, and he was jollying the
crowd N = Way that caused some
mera1ment then and a good deal of
hard thinking afterwards, for there
was "method in his madness.
lie was cv.dently taking this meth
Cd OF preparing the minds Of 1.-THE
boys from the forks Of the crick'
for the propositions he intended to
make when they met in solemn and
executive conclave. Mr. Barrett was
saying interesting things, in an off
hand way, and unobtrusively as he
supposed the reporter began to take
note. The action did not escape the
eagle eye of the man at the head Of
the most earnest organization of mud
sillers the world has ever known.
Now the reporter for The State
was at one time a member OF this
wonderful economic organization and
his explanation, when called to taw,
was satisfactory. In subsequent
talk Mr.. Barrett explained the plan
by which it is proposed that the cot
ton raising farmers shall be able to
market their staple so as to eliminate
the spectators and give to the men
whose labor is stored up in his bales
of cotton a price more nearly COM
nensurate with its value.
The plan is, brief, to organize a
great stock corporation within the
Farmers union itself with sufficient
capital to handle the annual product
of the United States. Scattered
throughout the Southern States are
hundreds of warehouses owned by
the farmers in the unions. It is pro-
posed that the stock company to be
organized shall absorb all these wide
ly disseminated properties by ex-
changing stock, so that the present
owners Of stock in the segregated
warehouses shall become owners Of
stock of equal value in the big COM
pany.
The process is to be exactly along
the lines adopted in the formation of
the great industrial corporations IN
the United States. In other words,
the farmers are to quit acting as indi-
viduals and as small corporations and
60 into gigantic combination to con-
! troll absolutely the cotton market.
This accomplished, the management
Of this corporation is to be entrusted
to men competent to handle business
on a vast scale. These men may or
may not be members Of the Farmers
union.
The stock is to be held by the farm
ers themselves, but the management
is to be placed in the hands Of men of
ability selected for their knowledge
Of how to conduct large operations.
These men will be the employees Of the
big farmers corporation.
The business of the great corpora
tion Of farmers will be to buy, build,
own, lease and operate warehouses
for the storing Of cotton throughout
the Southern States; to engage in the
business of storing and warehousing
cotton and other farm products for
hire; to issue negotiable or non-ne-
gotiable warehouse receipts or cot
ton certificates, as needed, upon COT
ton or other farm products stored in
any of the warehouses owned or con-
trolled by the corporation, and to pro-
vide for securing and guaranteeing,
/ by pledging all Or any part of qts
physical or other assets, or by obtain
ing other guarantees, at the dlscre-
tion of it's board Of directors; to buy
and sell cotton and other products for
itself, or as agent or trustee for its
stockholders, or other persons or
corporations, upon commission.
It is the purpose of the corporation
to buy the cotton outright at the
highest rate from the farmers, rather
han to adopt the policy Of loaning
money thereon.
This corporation will have no use
for cotton spectators and manlpula-
tors of prices. The corporation Will
monopolize the product and make It's
own prices 1t will sell direct to con-
sumers in the same manner that the
Standard Oil corporation sells oil. Il