Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1914-01-22

meal and sugar. In one case, for ex-
ample, where q rival trader was charg-
Ing $3.07 for seven stone OF aour we
We're offering the same -four at 1925
for the seven stone.
You may be interested in knowing
about what an average family here
has for an income, where he gets it
and what he has TO eat. / have made
out q little statement SO you could
figure that out. To begin with, every
farmer has his own potatoes and oats.
Besides this, his income Is something
like this:
Eggs and poultry, per week, about
i've shillings ($65 per year,.
Butter for about Is or 20 weeks In
summer, n to two shillngs (s7 per
year,.
Sale Of cattle possibly IL pounds
each. year ESQ per year,.
Sale Of sheep, one pound ($5 per
year,.
"A total Of $137 per year.
Besides this, the women earn a
little something by knitting sweaters
and making lace. etc.
Marketing Eggs.
"You will notice that eggs are our
staple product. The average poor
farm family around here gets each
year from IL to IL pounds out Of their
eggs, which is generally about half
of their entire money income. Before
we took hold, however, egg raising
was not at all profitable. There was
no steady market, the farmers did not
understand poultry, and no one had
any ambition to learn anything about
1t. They didn't take care OF their
eggs well and few were sold.
Previously the local price was two
or three pence less than the price.
quoted In the nearest market in Straw
bane and Derry. Now the prices paid
are from one to two pence above the
prices quoted in these markets. In
other words, we have increased the
value of a dozen eggs from three to
four pence (stx to eight cents). For
the entire district, this amounts to
quite a sum-. You must remember
also that while we purchased only.
one-tenth of the eggs sold in this par
ish, the fact that we at Dunglow are
paying the prices which we pay has,
made it necessary for every other,
buyer In the entire parish to pay the
same price.
Irish Lace and. Knitted Goods.
"Our cooperative company looks af
ter a good many things besides sell
ing eggs and butter. We are helping
the girls market their lace and knitted
work. Two years ago we asked the
department to send us an
to teach the girls to make
hand-knit sport coats (sw~eaters).
They sent a man to look it up. He
with some of the men here
who were not friendly to this coop
erative movement. Nothing was done.
Our girls were getting one shilling
six pence (36 cents) for knitting a
dozen pairs OF socks, using up from
three and a half to four pounds OF
wool These socks were purchased Of
the women by an agent Of a whole
sale trader.
"The cooperative society decided
they. could do better by the girls than
these buyers. Since they started buy
the girls get seven shillings six
pence ($1.87) from the society for
knitting a sweater coat, using only two
pounds of wool and taking only one
half as long as q dozen pair of socks.
Putting 1t another. way, for the same
amount Of wool and the same time
spent In knitting, the girls get 10
shillings ($3.75) instead of one shil-
ling six pence (36 cents). That is, our
society is paying them ten times what
they used to get from the other buy
ers for their knitting. Formerly the
girls who knit lace were bound by a
bargain under which If they sold to
any one privately they were boycott
Ted. The buyer told them unless they
sold him all he would buy nothing.
Now we are getting fairly good prices
for the lace, better than they got be-
fore and we, Of course, permit them to
sell wherever they can. They fire.
have opportunity to sell to
and others who come through
here. While we get fairly good prices
the lace, there Is no steady market
LOE 1CS aS IuCTS 40 LUZ LILO AAAIIC4
goods.
Connected With Central Society.
"Our little local society could not
alone and do what we + try
ng to do. We are helped all the time
~ Sir Horace Plunkett's organization
and by the Cooperative While
Iala society at Dublin. Each week
he Wholesale society sends US a fore
.ast giving the figures that should be
obtained for eggs, butter and chick
ms, and stating whether or not there
8 to be a demand for these products.
Zach day we write to the wholesale
telling them what we have
n hand and what ws will likely have.
we telegraph. Then they
nay either write or telegraph back
What they want us to send and when
nd where to send it. We send It, not
o Iu5lin, but directly to the places