River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-01-13
A. S. OF E. Hold Large Meeting


for a large attendance at the A. S..
of E. meeting at Opera Hall Tues
day afternoon, and the place was
filled with farmers and other bust
ness men. The principal speaker,
c. O. Drayton, of Greenville, ILL.,,
National President of the A. S. of
E., was introduced by Mr.. Ira M. j.
Chryst of Hudson, President of the
Wisconsin A. S. of E. Mr.. Drayton
addressed the meeting upon the SUBJ
iect of THE Business End of Farm
ing" which he defined as meaning
that part of the farmers transac-
tions which should reimburse him
for his yearly labors-the selling of
his products. The speaker pointed
out the faults in the present system;
in fact proved that the farmers had
no system by which they could con-
troll the sale of most of their pro-
ducts, and that they had nothing
whatever to say as to what they
should receive. Prices for grain and
stock are set by market gamblers,
working under finely organized
system. The only way for the
farmers to buck" this system is to
organize one of their own. There
are about six million farmers in the
United States and they grow be-
tween eight and nine billion dollars
worth of products. With solid
organization they could control the
sale of these products and save for
themselves the profit which now
goes to the spectators. Through
the manipulations of the market the
farmer is unable to estimate at seed
ing time the amount per bushel he
is to receive at harvest time, and
therefore is unable to plan ahead on
expenditures for improvements or
luxuries. The plan of the A. S. OF
E., Mr.. Drayton explained, was to
give the farmer the power to price
his own goods, the same as the
merchant. The business man tells
the buyer what he will sell his goods
for. The farmer sells his products
at the price the buyers have agreed
upon. To enable the farmer to hold
out for his own price the A. 5. of E..
have warehouses where grain may
be stored, and when the Society is
strong enough it can compel its
own prices, as it will then hold the
necessities of life, against which
no organization or corporation can
hold out. The farmer does not
wish an unfair profit. The idea is
not to corner" grain or "manipu-
late" the market, but to insure the
producer a reasonable return for
his expenditure. The speaker IL
Illustrated the success of this storage
plan by showing the results obtained
by the wheat growers of southern
Illinois. For the past seven years
they have been storing their grain
each season and holding out for the
price demanded by the Society OF
Equity; price deemed fair by the
law of supply and demand; and
they have been successful each time
in getting from dollar to dollar
and a quarter while those who did
not join them in the Society sold at
harvest time for from sixty to
seventy-fve cents. He also used as
illustration of the good work of the
society, the gain in the prices the
tobacco growers of Kentucky had
made by uniting under the A. S. OF
E. system. He also showed that
through their system the retailer
and the consumer would also be
benefited, as all members of the
Society could sell direct to the re.
taller and eliminate the one or more
brokerage profits which now add tc
the cost. The speaker made g
strong argument out of the fact that
while all the machinery oe the large
corporations would have to stop il
not supplied from the farms, the
farmer could manage TO exist upon
his own products.
Mr. Drayton spoke very optimist.
ically of the future of the A. S. OF
E., and in closing remarked that in
a very few years he hoped to see
every locality provided with good
grade school and high school
where the farmers children could
learn the science of farming as well
as the other branches; and that good
roads would lead from every farm
house to the school and an automo-
bile furnished to call for the stud
ents. Mr.. Drayton's address was
earnest and direct, and couched in
language perfectly adapted to his
subject and audience.
State President Ira M. J. Chryst
followed Mr.. Drayton with a few