The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1913-09-20


and great scientific attachments in
charge of these stations. They de-
vised a common trade mark. To
each local association was given the
right TO use this trade mark so long
as the standard of its products were
maintained. In this way everything
came from the Danish farmers in
condition for the table of the nost
fastidiOus. To give an idea of the
value of such modern methods of pro-
duction and marketing, the Danish
farmers are today receiving 50 and
90 cents a pound for butter, where the
farmers of ireland, England and Scot
| land, who persist in the old methods,
receive about one-half that price. So
| il followed that when the Danish
| products began to reach the markets
| of England and Scotland, Ireland lost
| these markets rapidly, and as a re-
suit, Irish agriculture became stag
nant, the people discouraged, aud the
| country fell into utter poverty.
There was, at this time, at least
one man in Ireland who did not lose
courage. This man was Sir Horace
Plunkett. Sir Horace had spent many
years in America ranching in Mon
| tana, and had returned to Ireland to
try to redeem it. He was shrewd and
patriotic. and he was also brave and
courageous. He has the courage TO
tell the Irish people there was no re-
lief in politics for them, but that the
remedy lay in adopting modern meth
DDS, and it was he who waged cam
paign in Ireland for the slogan which
! appears as the first sentence OF this
article. | visited Sir Horace at his
home near Dublin the other day anG
had a long talk with him. He told
me that he held and addressed 81
meetings among the Irish farmers be-
fore he received the least token OF
encouragement. But Sir Horace kept
pegging along, writing. speaking and
working. He had hit upon and work
ed out plan-the right plan-for re-
deeming Ireland, and nothing could
stop him.
In 1896 he secured a delegation to
visit Denmark and other European
countries and make a study of the
agricultural methods and by this
means he was enabled to convince
the Irish farmers that they mrst or
ganize in order to produce better
grades of goods and get to market
through their own agencies with the
, standard of products the world is now
/ demanding.
To organize the Irish farmers was
no easy task. Sir Horace said that
! it was then a common saying that the
Irish could conspire, but could not or,
, ganize.
He founded the Irish Agricultural
Organization society. This society
procured and trained men who went
out and organized farmers. They es'
tablished the same kind of organiza
= tons as the Danes had employed
Z namely. cooperative dairies, cheese
, factories. bacon factories. poultry and
). egg societies. They did not organize
@ for an indefinite purpose, but with a
q very definite and immediate end in
view They organized for the pur
q pose of producing something better
q and putting it in better condition fol
y market than they had ever done be
o fore and for the purpose of marketing
! that product in an up-to-date business
q manner.
Two things tell whether the orga
:. nization Of the Irish farmers has beer
@ a success. So far as it has gone. one
is the very large and imposing build
J.. ing in Dublin, Ireland, known as thu
= Plunkett house, in which is conducted
the business of the Irish Agriculture
q Organization society. This building
n which must have cost at least sl5000O
4. was erected by the agricultural socie
: ties of Ireland for Sir Horace to car
>. ry on the work of further organizin!
= the farmers of Ireland The othe
:, is, the great number of signs one see
q in the show windows and on tn
= doors of grocers and dealers in elias
= gov, Edinburgh. London and othe
> cities of England and Scotland, ar
N nouncing that the grocer or deale
"a within carries in stock Irish bacor
: Irish butter. Irish cheese, Irish egg
a
a more such signs announcing tn
\ presence of Irish agricultural product
as there are announcing Danish agr
r. cultural products for sale.
:, Both Irish and Danish agricultur
= have succeeded in getting their proc
- ucts directly to market without tn
A. intervention of middlemen, by assen
~ bling. grading and packing then
~ selves. This they did by organizing
All classes have profited by thes
= kind of organizations and ! must pr
=, nounce it good for the country.
Ia the experience of these countrie
we have our own lesson. We in TIE,
60 as have no right to complain Of ma
- keting conditions so long as Cal
fornia fruits, Kansas City eggs, III
10 nois butter, Wisconsin cheese, low
-, and Kansas corn, Minnesota f1ou
9, Oklahoma hogs and cattle are sold
re Texas.
-, We have no right to consider GU
selves farmers when we let the farr
ers of other countries supply our hon
. markets or when we permit busine!
concerns to purchase our product
n assert, grade or manufacture the
for market. Our farmers can sure
- do as we'll as the Irish farmers hay
done. and when they do they will
saying, as the Irish farmers are no
80 saying: Agriculture is an industr