The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-12-19
DEMAND BETTER CONTRACTS
Members VIII Insist That Beet Sugar
Companies Give the Farmers Some
Security That Beets Raised Will be
Taken il Time to Make Profit.

y
nosha Beet Growers Association is
now fully organized and an effort is.
to be made to include in the ranks of
the association every man in the two
counties interested in beets and beet
contracts. A. J. Piper, president of
the association was in Kenosha today
and in speaking of the proposed asso-
citation and its plans, said:
H'The growers have become thorough
ly aroused to the situation and are
convinced the beet companies are
taking undue advantage of the trust
imposed in them. They have retarded
the loading to suit their convenience,
prohibiting the railroads from furnish
ing cars for beets. One company went
SO far as to have the railroads get
out printed tariff sheets sending them
to all their agents instructing them
that no cars were to be loaded with
beets other then the ones ordered by
the beet company, and this order was
so forcible. that at one station a grow
er had started to load car without
permission, and the station agent was
ordered by the railroad company to
take the beets out of the car or get
off of the job, and he had been work
ing for the railroad for twenty-five
years. The beet companies would in
struct the railroad to allow certain
number of cars loaded at station
day, and in some eases it would be
only one car a day. and only certain
days in the month, and some stations
We're shut down from loading beets
foz twenty-five days in the month Of
November; consequently some Of the
growers have a great many beets yet
on hand to be loaded ,apd if an early
winter would have set in, thousands of
tons of beets would have been lost by
the growers in Racine and Kenosha
counties.
The best companies declare they
haven t too many beets, one company
endeavored to buy more beets, but the
grower could not get released from
the company holding his contract, and
at the same time the beet company
had not allowed him to load. MANY
growers have hauled beets four and
five miles and in one case eight miles,
when they had loading station close
by, but went that distance to find a
station that was open for loading
beets, taking all day until eight
O'Clock at night to make the trip, and
in some cases would have to leave the
wagon loaded at the station, as the
number of cars that was to be loaded
for that day had already been loaded,
and there were no certainty when he
would be able to get his wagon I'M
loaded. Some growers have handled
beets three times, first hauling them
off the land and then piling them at
times when the companies would not
allow them to be loaded, then hauling
them to the station finding that the
cars had already been loaded that were
permitted to be loaded that day. and
then forced to dump them in order to
have wagon to ride home in, then
would have to reload them again in
order to get them into the car. The
companies tare the beets at the fac
tory and the growers. have nothing to
say, the growers that have report
from the companies, find they have
tared their beets all the way from IA.
to % per cent for reasonably clean
beets.
The growers have become thoroughly
disguised with growing beets under
the present contract with the beet com
panies for the reason that it is cost
ing them to grow and load the crop
with the heavy expense of loading
with the treatment received from the
beet companies this season, all they
will get out of the crop, and have de-
termined to have fair contract with
the best companies or stop growing
beets, and almost to grower are
joining the association
Lettings have been held throughout
the tive counties, and the growers
have declared themselves against the
beet companies in no mild terms for
the mistreatment being received from
the beet companies holding most Of
of the contracts for beets in the two
counties Farmers have demonstrated
~ experience that beets cannot be