The Greeley tribune., 1910-08-25
WARMERS TURN DOWN
THE INSPECTION IDEA

No more inspection of potatoes
was the edict expressed emphatically
Saturday afternoon by about forty
members OF the farmers club who
had gathered at the court house In
answer to call from President II.
r. Bliss.
When the question in regard to
the inspection was put. the affirmn-
tive received silence. but the mega
tive was answered by no from forty
voices. most of the members stand
ing up to lend volume to the sound.
AS many as six men were talking
at one time.
Sam Wright OF the "iIige Five"
started the ball rolling when he said
that Idaho and western slope pota-
toes were better than ours and that
while down In Texas he sorted out
enough culls to start a starch factory
at that end of the line.
MIR Riggs told Wright that the
Greeley farmers were as honest as
any farmers in Idaho or any other
place and IL that many culls were
shipped out they were showed in by
the commission men.
Herb Bickling made the best argu-
ment from the farmers standpoint.
He said that the inspector kept tab
commission man could load all the
cars he wanted to out OF his ware
house without any inspection and he
thought the integrity of the average
farmer was about as good as that of
the average commission man.
He said that II conditions were
bad there was no one to blame but
the commission man.
I. Rothchild, the largest buyer in
the district. agreed with Mr.. Bick-
ling that the commission man was
most to blame.
Bickling said that the commission
man should be his own inspector and
accept or reject what he pleased. the
same as any other merchant.
Another grower made the state
ment that he had two loads of spuds
rejected by the inspector last year.
He took them home and left them in
his dugout six weeks then brought
them back and they were accepted
as o. X.
MIR. Bickling concluded with the
statement that 1t was time for the
growers to get together and sell
their own spuds. like the associa-
tion OF fruit men ON the western
slope.
With reference to the proposed
starch factory Mr.. Boutwell, outlined
plan whereby company could be
formed with capital stock of $685.
900 to be subscribed by the farmers
at $50 per share. In payment for
this stock the farmer was to furnish
his Gull potatoes. 1t Was estimated
that the machinery would cost about
$4,000 and the building about $15,-
900. 1t was stated by Mr.. Both we'll
that the manufacturers would furn-
tsh the machinery and wait for their
payment until the money was receiv-
ed from the first years output of
starch.
w. L. Clayton offered to furnish
building site upon the same terms.
Enough cash would have to be sub
scribed to pay for the labor of con-
struction.
The value of culls as a stock feed
was debated some and many offered
the opinion that they were worth Is
cents per hundred II properly fed.
The chairman asked all who we're
in favor Of the factory to raise their
hands. In response three hands
were raised. Two of these we're
from Greeley and the other was a
farmer.
That many who were in favor of
the starch factory did not vote one
way or the other was evidenced by
the fact that several remained after
the meeting and signed up for stock
In the company.
At the conclusion of the meeting
George b. Lang. president of the
Farmers union. addressed the mem
bers and left the information that
he would be in Weld county soon to
organize the growers here.
The Farmers union Ia a co-opera-
tive association that buys and sells
for the farmer. Forty per cent of
the profts 90 to the stockholders
forty per cent to the patrons and ten
per cent for a sinking fund.