Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1913-01-10
co-oPERATloN MEANS SPEED
iowa Township Teaches Lesson i'm
Porsant In More Ways Than One
work Done systematically.


There Is an important lesson m n.
learned nom the story OF an Iowa
township. That lesson is important
In more ways than one. The story h
very brief and very simple. writes n
A. Williams In the Farm and Fires,da
It is this:
The township is located in a section
OF the state that produces a great deal
OF very high-class live stock, corn ana
other crops. In fact, It is a towpsbir
OF mixed farming done by well.to-do
successful farmers.
In that township there are sir
thrashing outfits owned BY partn, :
ships OF four to eight farmers. Each
OUTFIT consists Of a fully eouipped
grain-separator and a steam thrashinr
engine with water.tank That is an
that is owned in the partnership. The
outfit is used only to do the thrash
Ing on the farms owned or Operated
By the members of the partnership.
One man operates the engine and two
others operate the separator during
the whole round of the various farms.
These men. of course, are either those
members Of the partnership most en-
perienced at such work, or are expert
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
ful attempt is made to so divide these
costs that each member shall pay ac-
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 80 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 I now look back upon
the days and years was a lad on
the old home farm. / am much inn
pressed with the lack Of mutual conf
dence and trust. and the inability Of
any two or more Of US to get together
on mutually satisfactory basis for
doing anything. One remarkable en-
ception was the instance OF one man
who spent nineteen years on rented
farm, and after the first year OF 50
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 interests
are mutual. This is good: good for
us. good for our business and good
for the world at large And this spirit
of cooperation and mutual trust win
grow only as we forget little things.
overlook small faults and eceentri-
cities md remember to look at only
the larger, more important. more
fundamental. things In each other.
A great deal Of expensive machsn-
cry can be owned and operated IN this
way. II separators and thrashing en-
gines can be successfully owned and
operated In partnership. then other
traction machinery can be owned and
operated In the same way. And here
in lies an important opportunity which
these different partnerships failed 70
grasp.
with but very little. II any. add
tional cost, the engines which were
purchased could have been general
purpose tractors instead Of the old
fashioned single-purpose thrashing
engine fitted to do only belt
work. Such an engine win DO
the various kinds of belt work just
as successfully as will the single-pur-
pose machines. And in addition to
this. 1t will do all kinds Of field work
and hauling.
The additional expense for a trac-
ton gang pillow would have equipped
a partnership for doing traction farm
| ing on each Of the farms represented
iThe blowing could be arranged for In
the same routine, and paid for IN the
same way, as was the thrashing The
binders owned by the members could
he dubbed together and put behind
the tractor to do the harvesting; and
n would be done better and quicker
than II could be done in the OLD way
y with horses.