Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1912-09-12

that the company is just starting up
and has one or two or more friendly
line house competitors. To illustrate
to you that they are friendly, the fol-
lowing most always takes place. q The
manager of the Farmers Elevator Co.
lis visited by the travelling auditor or
the general manager, OF whoever he
may be, of the line company They
seem to be so anxious that the farm
ers manager should make a success
that they advise you about like this:
When you start in now, you must
buy the grain right, that is, give Us
our share of the grain, and buy 1t
on conservative margin and at the
end of the year you will have made
some money and everybody is salts
ed While on the othe hand, if you
insist on paying up for the stuff, we
are in position to keep you from
making cent here, and at the end Of
the year you will be in the hole,etc."
Now, what are the duties of man
ager? l would use just the same
words that a noted co-operator once
said in defining the subject. HE is in
duty bound to use his best efforts TO
make the company he is working for
success; beyond that, there is no
need to co. Now, to perform his
duty, manager will encounter vari-
Gus difficulties.
j. To come back to the competitors,
will say, it is not SO easy as you
may think to ignore their advice and
use your own price in buying the
grain. The first thing you know they
have raised the price on you several
cents a bushel and the farmer is COM
mencing to frown on you because he
is losing $40 to $50 on the bunch of
grain that he is hauling in. That is,
he thinks he is losing it by hauling 1t
to you for 1 or cents less than the
other fellow is offering just at that
time, while the truth Of the matter Is
that some competitor was buying the
grain a year ago for 5 cents bushel
wider margin.
Now 1 say that you are in kind of
difficult position if you go together
with your competitor and divide the
grain and buy on a large enough
margin for all of you to make a
profit. The farmers elevator is not
fulfilling its mission, while on the
other hand, if you make your own
. price and pay up on the grain the
} price will soon be raised ON you, and
to meet it means that your profit viii
be gone.
Ny advice would be to talk ovel
with your board of directors in start
: ing out, what margin the various
grains should be bought at, and pay
, as close up as you can on the grain a
all times, and If your competitor raises
} the price and your customer com
mences to kick just show him wha
l the market is for his grain and wha
you are receiving for same, and tel
him that you are doing the very bes
you can and that the competitors arr
only paying these prices because thei
are trying to get you into line, o.
getting you to lose money.
In such cases it is best to put it VI
to the Board of Directors, and the,
: ought to be divided throughout you
/ territory so that each one has his par
to look after. 1t is just as much theil
duty to see that the grain from theil
, section of the territory is hauled tt
the farmers elevator rs it Is the man
ayers duty to try and secure the bes
. possible price after same is delivered
The cooperation of the Board o.
Directors and the managers along
these lines is, in my estimation, the
greatest factor in bringing to success
:. a business enterprise that otherwise
would be a failure
Manager Should be Expert.
It is the duty of the manager to try
to become as expert as possible in
grades of the various grains that he
is handling. He ought to know at ali