The Green Forest tribune., 1910-12-09
FARMERS WORKING IN UNISON
Many Ways in Which Horticultural People Can Benefit One Another
 by Cooperation.

- S-SPCi GbIOils
 We like to tell of the common thlhgs of every day life, especially when we have tried them and know that they have been of special help to us.
 We had nineteen hogs ready to go 10 market, and to ship them to Chi cago at profit would require at least sixty more, writes Fred G. Miner in Farmers Review. Looking around to see what could be done, we found one neighbor with forty-five and an other with fifteen and this would make out the load. But before I got the matter adjusted local buyer came along and persuaded the neigh DOT With forty-five to sell. Now the combination" was broken. Did you ever try this plan and just as you were about to win out, have some one quit because he thought he was gong to get better bargain? The one who drops of course loses and causes a like loss among his neigh DOTS. This loss goes to the local shipper who, by the way, might be engaged in some other line of work.
 But We do not wish to condemn the local shipper. He is here be- cause of our stupidity, and will con- tlnue to get his living from us just as long as we see fit to give it to him. l then tried to sell my lot, but to my olsmay the price had dropped a quar- ter of a cent. 1 am not fond of giv- ing up. It some way doesn't seem just right to give up at a little ob- stacle. I found the man with the fifteen hogs had made other disposi- ton of them. So we had to com mence anew.
 We were not long in finding three other men who wanted to ship some hogs. So we got busy This time all agreed to stand pat" At the suggestion of one we called up a shipper to see what he would do To our surprise hogs had advanced quarter of cent per pound Not on the Chicago market, but the local. After a little consultation we came NO hAiS SOiIAluoIOli lIlciL llIt lOCdl IIldll was trying to keep us from shipping, so We sold out. In this instance we sold because we believed that the shipper was offering us more than we could realize. Later developments proved the correctness of this belief, for the hogs did not realize the ship per any money.
 l have gone into the details of this incident to show how cooperation frequently works out and how those who cooperate are benefited.
 A few years ago we had no tele- phone. A local company was organ ized which charged it's patrons thirty five dollars per year for telephone service. This was an exorbitant price, and few felt able to have a telephone.
 A few farmers decided to build a telephone line and each patron own his own stock In other words CO., operate in the building and operating of line and get telephone service at cost. This was done. We now have day and night service, and many other advantages, at cost of about six dollars per year. This caused the old company to put their price down to nine dollars per year for day serv- ice only, with no night service at all.
 Some farmers own their own ele- vators and these are nearly always a success, where they are managed on the cooperative plan. The small far mer gets as much per bushel as does the larger It is sure to make the old companies pay more than they did before the cooperative elevator opened for business.
 In some fruit sections farmers CO., operate in shipping and selling their fruit. This plan has made some sec ! tions very prosperous that were for merly unthrifty settlements. Why? Because they co-operated and each worked for the good of his neighbor as we'll as himself
 Some sections find the cooperative creamery very successful. But all the patrons must work for the best interest of it's creamery. When this IS QOne anu luGIc dlS SllCuSu pdtlOHS with the COWS to back them it has been found very profitable,
 We could learn mucn from the Danish farmers in this regard. These people are nearly all small farmers, but their butter, eggs and bacon com mand the top price on the English market. At one time they received a meager price as compared to what they do at present for their products, and they decided to cooperate to do better things and have better prices for their products. They have sue ceeded far beyond the expectations of the most sanguine. l do not be- lieye that these people are any more intelligent than are our American farmers. nor are their markets any better than what we might have. |