The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1910-11-24
State Control of Farm Products

neeO 10 De uHlteo ny ooiuc hinu "a
farmers union, and, secondly, that
unions naturally gravitate to objection
able trusts and extravagant prices. Now
there ought to be way to get the bene-
fits without the evils.
Food is the common necessity of all
people, and farmers, fishermen and hunt
ers produce it and the farmers produce
most of it, and as food is common
necessity it should be under the regula-
ton and control of the whole people.
That is, the price and quality should be
under public control. Any monopoly in
food or other necessities is as bad as
slavery or piracy, and for this reason
State or Federal control Of price and
quality is necessary to our common rights
and the general welfare.
How would it do for the Legislature to
establish kind of commission and cor
poration combined for this purpose?
about as follows: The Commissioner OF
Agriculture to be it's legal president and
the director of the Experiment Station
vice president, with board OF hve
directors made up of the president, vice
president, and Master of the State
Grange, ex-officio, and two others to be
elected by the members. The corpora
ton to have a constitution established by
act of the Legislature and amendable by
the Legislature only or by the referen-
dunn. The bylaws to be first establish
ed by the board of directors and subject
to amendment by vote of the members
of the corporation. The board of di-
rectors to receive an annual salary es-
tablished by act of the Legislature, to be
paid out of the State treasury, and these
officers to be considered as the servants
of both the producers and consumers.
The board of directors to appoint Ito
serve during their pleasure, or until
their successors are appointed) the treas
urer, secretary and the heads of all de-
partments, which heads of departments
should have authority to appoint and dis
miss all their subordinates. The board
of directors to fix the amount of bonds
to be given by all officers, where bonds
may be required and fix and alter. at
their discretion, all salaries and wages
except their own.
Membership in the corporation to be
made up strictly Of farmers who derive
majority of their income from farm
ing, to be admitted for one dollar on
sworn evidence of qualification, and have
one vote.
The powers and duties of the corpora
ton to be about as follows: To sell COM
mercial fertilizers and farming tools to
farmers, and have-a prior lien on the
crops for fertilizer, and lien on the
land for tools, when either are sold on
time. Sales to be made for a profit,
alike to members and non-members. All
profits made by the corporation, after
paying running expenses, to be divided
annually among the members. The
amount of the dividend paid to each
member to be in proportion Ito his deal
ings with the corporation.
The corporation to be under legal obi
cation to receive and pay for, sort, grade
and strive to market all products offered
by members (unless condemned as unfit
for market) and to buy from non-mem-
bers only such as the corporation might
| choose.
Products bought by the corporation to
be sorted and graded as first, second and
third grade, and culls paid for, branded
and sold according to grade. And sold,
as far as possible, to consumers and
retail dealers. allowing the dealers liv-
ing profit over the consumers The cor
poration to take small but fixed profit
on for all sales. All losses by shrinkage,
decay or failure to sell, to be corporation
losses, to be deducted from the profits of
the corporation. In case the losses and
running expenses exceed the entire
profits, a pro rata reduction on the price
paid to farmers, whether members or
not. up to ten per cent, might be taken
by the corporation sufficient to balance
accounts annually. And to meet this
emergency, no farmer should be paid
over ninety per cent. on his products
until after the annual settlement.
Members to be free to sell all or any
part of their products to the corporation
or to outsiders, and may sell to the cor
poration at any time after harvesting,
but the corporation to have full control
of the time and place of delivery. The
farmer to be paid in monthly INSTALL
ments, beginning at the time of the sale,
without any regard for the time of de-
livery.
This method would make the farmers
barns and cellars the natural storehouses
of the corporation, the corporation hav-
ing but few, if any, storehouses of it's
own. ordering the delivery only as fast
as sold.
Once before March first, every person
who raises farm products for sale in the
State, whether he is member of the
corporation or not, ought to be required
by law to report to the corporation the
amount of fertilizer he expects to pur-