The Donaldsonville chief., 1910-09-03
B. r. YoAKUM ON ORGANIZING
President of the Frisco System While
in New York Tells of Ad-
vantages to Farmers.

Mr.. B. F. Yoakum, president of the
Frisco system of railroads, while in
New York recently spoke at some
| length on the advantages of organiza-
Ton among farmers. He said among
other things:
The east does not understand or
appreciate what the farmers of the
west and middle west are doing to-
ward organization the better to protect
| their interests in handling their prod
ucts. saw enough at the farmers
convention held in st. Louis the first
week OF this month to convince me
that the farmers as producers are
more enterprising than the consumers
in our large cities whom their products
must feed.
There were present at this confer
ence farmers from 40 different states.
Their business talks dealt mainly with
commercial and agricultural questions
and not politics. Formerly politicians
had good deal to say at such agri-
| cultural meetings and took up much
| of the time and attention of the mem
| bers of such conventions discussing
politics rather than the Improvement
of their own industry
''The farmers are doing two things
of importance for themselves and the
| whole country: They are increasing
their production per acre and they are
developing better methods of market
ing their crops.
The agricultural awakening over
the country is general and genuine.
New methods, both for producing and
marketing, are being studied by the
farmers and the results are better pro-
duction and prices with less labor. The
farmers chief difficulty is the adoption
| of better business methods in market
ing their crops. This is now being
overcome through organization. In
this they are working under disad-
vantages, some cases are crude and
| awkward, but they are much in earn
est and are making headway.
''The farmers have in the different
states over $500 selling and buying
organizations. Some of these agencies
are handling large business. Some
have just organized and are small but
all are working with businesslike di-
rectness in the interest of the pro.
ducers
In some of the western states they
are storing their grains and other non
perishable products in their jointly
owned elevators, warehouses and
granaries. They do their own banking
and wait for the prices that suit them
before they sell.
New methods are being adopted.
In the next few years much improve
ment will be made. These organiza-
tions are working with view of cut
ting out waste between the grower
and the user. They are endeavoring
to keep their products out of the hands
of needless profit takers.
The farmers organization is help
ing the farmers, but the consumers
will continue to pay large tribute to
the army of profit takers which stand
between the farms and the consumers
tables so long as present conditions
make 1t possible for middlemen to
take SO many unnecessary profits be-
fore the products reach the consumers.
New York is in no position to call
the farmers slow and behind the times.
The people Of the greatest city of
America are the ones who are not ta-
king advantage of their opportunities
and are paying enormously for such
neglect.
while the farmers of the west
and middle west are busy organizing
they are yet often forced to sell their |
potatoes at Is to 20 cents a bushel or
let them rot on their hands There
fore to make this system a success for |
both the producer and the consumer
the movement from the field to the
table must be as near direct as pos |
sibIe
'tThe farmers. have learned that they |
cannot sell to advantage through agen.
cies too far from their homes and re-
ceive proper protection, and to over.
come this they are establishing nearb!
selling agencies. These agencies are |
run with as good business sense as
any New York business may be run,
yet New York has done almost moth
ing in the way of establishing cheap
and convenient buying places for that
unorganized class which cannot pro-
tect itself"