The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-03-31

GraTld1n made a very able appear oe"
fore a committee of the Fargo Com
rnercial club in favor of a public
market in Fargo. His arguments are
ago. He said in part:
Mr.. Chairman and Honorable Cen
tlemen of the Commercial Club of the
City of Fargo: I car assure you
it affords me a great deal Of pleasure
to be present. today to present to your
official meeting these three petitions,
one from Grandin, one from Hunter
and one from Gardner, representing
to worthy a cause: The petitions, by
the way, are very generously signed,
not only by the farmers. but by local
merchants in the small villages along
the line of railroad tributary to Far
go.
These petitioners are praying the
assistance and cooperation Of your
honorable body to use every legiti-
mate means to induce the aldermen
Of the city of Fargo to have as soon
as convenient, "a farmers public pro-
duce market established in the city Of
Fargo. In the past we have appealed
directly and indirectly to the city OF
Fargo through the press to have this
market, but I think this is the first
time we ever came after 1t.
1t puts me in mind of the man who
prayed several days for a chicken,
but no chicken came; finally he pray
ed that the Lord would send him aft
er a chicken, and. gentlemen, that
past history repeats itself many imes
in the lifetime of even one, genera
ton of the human family yet we seem
slow to derive the benefits designed
by experiences. Many of us who are
old enough can remember When we
used punk and flint for lighting pur-
poses and when these were superced-d
by matches, the tallow candle by coal
oil. the grain cradle by the reaper,
and it by the harvester, and again the
hand feeder by the self-feeder. the
straw carrier by the blower and the
small cambria needle by the sewing
machine, etc. Now, all the time that
this revolution was going on there
was a certain class Of people con-
tinuously crying out. IF this or that
device is introduced it will interfere
with our craft" Yet in a very short
time these same parties were ashan1-
ed that they had ever been so narrow
minded as to express such opinion
whatever.
Take. for example, just a few years
age when The Fargo Forum sent u
it's agents to establish the rural free
delivery, how the local merchants
along the railroads cried out with n
accord: IF these farmers get their
mail delivered they will not be com
PEELED to come to town to buy our
goods. but will consult the catalogues
and send away for their goods n
u craft will be brought to naught.'
Therefore, with one accord they rals-
ed their voices. Great is the calamity
that will befall us if we consent to
have this rural free delivery establish
ed" But, gentlemen, it has come, ana
come to stay, and instead or a yearly
deficit in the treasury postonce De
partment OF 81, 500, 600 as in the past,
there is today a surplus of some thou
sands under the wise management OF
Postmaster General Hitchcock.
There was a circumstance similar
to this, to the speakers own knowi-
edge In one of our local hotels. A mer-
chant declared he opposed this r. f.
D. for reasons stated above and refer-
red the question to me for my en-
dorsement, if there was virtue IN a
farmer being compelled to go hve or
six miles twice a. week for his mail,
why not a. mutual agreement between
the farmer and local merchant to dis-
bose with the Grandin postof1ce en-
EtireIys and all get on~a hand car andEgo
to Fargo for mail twice a week. II
there was virtue in going six miles,
there must be four times as much vir-
tue in going twenty-SiX miles.
The subject Of a farmers public
produce market established at Fargo,
Il. D.. seems to meet with much ap-
proval by the farmers and local mer-
chants tributary to that city for the
following reasons, viz:
The educators of the various agrl-
cultural institutions which are organ
iZed and kept up by our c n fed
oroI sopa~ryoopf fnY the ni1TnngA Of eX.
perimenting to and out what crops are
best adapted to our climate and var1-
Gus conditions Of soils, and they have
been unanimous in their advices at the
tri- state conventions held at Fargo
and other cities throughout the state
to diversity their crop products. and
by. so doing would return to mother
earth the elements which have so mats
urally robbed her, Of her fertility by e
continuous small gram cropping, n
no doubt these same educators have
been tried over the slow progress that
us tillers of the. soil seem to make I'M
der their instruction, but it seems 70
be customary for all great reforms TO
move slow.
NOW, / have often thought when I
sat in former tri-state conventions
that it was a wonder that these same
educators could not see the difficulties
from our side Of the fence.
have come to the conclusion that
u whole difficulty lies with QUE
selves.
Lacked Moral Courage.
Is it not a fact, brother farmer. that
have not had in the past the moral
courage to make our desires known to
our representative with sufficient
force to make any impression on the
city aldermen. merchants and consum-
ers; that we as producers desire to see
a local outlet FOR our diversified prod
uct equal al least to that which we
seem to have when we were raising
small grain continuously? And now
we propose to make cur wants known
from this time on, and that is this
IF KIDNEYS ACT