Norwich bulletin., 1910-07-02

p nelgnpOT mine, uedIllS III 1oI
tfszers, lumber, etc, told me what l
thought a very interesting story, the
other day.
Among his customers is big far
rer who is always building or re
Sairing and therefore using a great
deal of lumber. One time, several
years ago, he said to the dealer: Any
time you see a chance to save me
some money by buying a carload lot L
wish you'd go ahead and do So" Six
months or so passed, and the dealer
suddenly ran up against chance TO
buy several carloads at a phenOmen-
ally low price. He promptly took all
he could afford to buy for his own
self-au he saw any chance of paying
for-and then added another car for
the farmer-neighbor. When the lum-
Der arrived, he said TO the latter: I've
bought you a car of lumber at such
and such figures. It's on the track now
waiting to be un1oaded. You PAID
too much: retorted the farmer. 4
don't want it at that price,
So Mr.. Dealer had the "fun" of rak-
ing the universe with a fine-toothed
comb to scrape together money to pay
for the extra car. He did SO, however;
unloaded it in his own yard. and wait
ed. He had bought on what his train
ed business judgment told him was an
exceptionally low market; he had
bought this particular lot under even
that market. And he had offered the
CARLOAD 10 MS Neighbour at exactly
cost, plus his two per cent. cash dis
count. Before the year was up, he had
sold to this very farmer nearly two
carloads OF lumber, including the
very one which had been refused. at 3
profit of between thirty and forty per
cent Lumber took a sudden jump;
that which the dealer had bought at
$40 went up to $40, $40, and even $50.
And the dealer, who had been turned
down when he made his first offer to
share an unexampled chance with his
neighbor, charged the latter regular
market price for that which he had
TO have six months later.
Now comas in the most interesting
part of the story. When the whole
transaction was well passed, the lum-
Der all sold, the bills all paid, the
Mr.. Farmer just what the latter had
actually paid for the lumber. and how
much it had been offered him for, at
the outset When the buyer saw just
how much money he had lost. he got
mad.
What had he to get mad over?
Blessed if I know. He had the chance
TO save money offered him, handed to
him on q platter: but he deliberately
refused to take advantage of it. | can
see where the dealer had the right to
some indignation, but Just how the
other fellow could get mad at him, I
cannot explain. Nevertheless. he did
go 1 s'pose he is still unhappy about
II and sore over that extra money he
had to pay Probably he is denounc
ing the "middlemen," and wailing over
the way they victimize farmers.
Well, ! have no special love for the
niddlemen; most of you know that
by this time. And 1 have, if not a real
love for my fellow farmers, at least a
very present and sincere sympathy
with them in their tasks and burdens.
a very real anxiety to do something or
hi til,
shall make those tasks cheerier and
those burdens lighter. We shall none
of US however take any progress
towards those ends solely by banging
away at the other fellow; by denounc-
ing his faults and complaining of his
greed; by abusing him in private or
''resoluting ag'in him" in public Well
do much more by attending to our own
fences and occa sionaLy chastising our
own faults. We've got to do our work
for ourselves; make our plans for our
selves; win or lose for ourselves: car
~ our own loads on our own shoulders
Wen git more forrarder," as they say
down south by amputating some of
our own faults than by blaming others
for theirs.
One of the most serious shorten 1inqs
] see in the farming community as a |
whole is the inability of most of us
to take long views of things. We are
short sighted can't see much beyond |
can only look along one little line that
Is nearest to US and just in front of
us. People who get ahead in this |
world are usually people who begin by |
seeing ahead. They take large and
long views of things; look beyond their |
noses and each side as far back as |
their ears; try to forecast the future |
at least to the middle of next week |
Why, there are lots of farmers in my |
ewn town who don't know how much |
$eed they use in year. or how much |
A. costs them. or whether they get |
24-s1 or only SO cents back for every |
dollars worth they buy. Three or four /
years ago ] had the chance to buy /
carload of bran at $3.50 per ton. on |
the tracks at my station. 1t was then |
retailing at $3.50. 1 couldn't handle |
the whole carload. but / have neigh |
bors who use it and l tried. to make a |
neigh boAhood combination to buy that |
carload and divide it up. I put in a
whole day in hunting up bran users
and explaining and arguing with them /