The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1912-12-21
COOPERATION : ANS SpEfI

Iowa Town. 9iH re- Lesson In
portant In Nc. " nan One
/ Work Dor 5l sticaly.
There is an imp essen IN h
| learned from the .t an Inv,
township. That less imports,,
in more ways than one The story !
very brief and very SIM q. writes B
A. Williams in the Farm and Fireside
1t is this:
The township is located In a sectio,
Of the state that produces a great deal
Of very high-class live stock, corn and
other crops. In fact, it Is TOWNSHIP
of mixed farming done by well-todo
successful farmers.
In that township there are st
thrashing outfits owned by partner
ships of four to eight farmers. Each
outfit consists OF fully equipped
grain-separator and a steam thrashins
engine with a water-tank. That is an
that is owned in the partnership. The
i outfit is used only to do the thrash
| ing on the farms owned OF operated
| by the members of the partnership
One man operates the engine and two
| others operate the separator durins
the whole round of the various farms
These men, of course. are either those
members of the partnership most e.
perienced at such work, or are exper
enced men hired by them for the
thrashing season.
The plan for distributing the costs
Of the outfit for the season, among
the various members of the partner
ship, vary more or less In different
instances. But In each case a care
full attempt is made to so divide these
costs that each member shall pay ae
cording to the amount and the variety
of the work which was done for him.
The routine of the work done each
year Is arranged systematically 50
that. In the end, each member shall
have Jared alike. Various details In
the original purchase Of the machine,
the care, management. operation,
charges for various kinds OF thrash
ing done, and so forth. vary somewhat
in the various partnership, ! under.
stand
One of the interesting lessons to be
learned is the fact that farmers can
cooperate. AS | now look back upon
the days and years l was lad on
the old home farm, / am much iR
pressed with the lack Of mutual conf
dence and trust, and the inability Of
any two or more of us to get together
on a mutually satisfactory basis for
doing anything. One remarkable ey.
ception was the instance Of one man
who spent nineteen years on a rented
farm, and after the first year or so
there was not even a written lease In
existence. The renter lived across the
road from his landlord. They agreed:
both accounted his own and the 9th
ers' word as good as his bond. so they
got along well.
But there Is a growing spirit OF co
operation among us farmers. We are
rapidly realizing that our Interest,"
are mutual. This is good; good foI
us. good for our business and good
for the world at large. And this spirit
of cooperation and mutual trust will
grow only as we forget little things
overlook small faults and eccentri
cities md remember to look at only
the larger. more important. NOR
, fundamental. things in each other.
A great deal Of expensive machin
cry can be owned and operated In THU
, way. II separators and thrashlng en
gines can be successfully owned AMI
, operated In partnership. then othe
r traction machinery can be owned AM
: operated in the same way. And here
In lies an important opportunity whicl
! these different partnerships failed y
e grasp. 1,
t With but very little. II any. add
( tional cost. the engines which wer
( purchased could have been genera
purpose tractors instead Of the oil
D fashioned single-purpose thrashin
r engine fitted to do only bel
work. Such an engine will d
J. the various kinds Of belt work Jus
l. as successfully as will the single-pul
9 pose machines. And in addition
8 this. It will do all kinds Of field wor
and hauling.
The additional expense for tra'
ton gang pillow would have equippe
a partnership for doing traction farm
Y ing on each Of the farms represents
The blowing could be arranged for
il. the same routine. and paid for iE ii
~ same way, as was the thrashing. tn
binders owned by the members coul
be dubbed together and put benin
the tractor to do the harvesting: an
. It would be done better and quick
:. than It could be done in the old WI
:. with horses.