The Wahpeton times., 1915-02-25
WHY THE G-G
DISLIKBS LOFTUS
What Some Of Our Wahpeton
Farmers Have to Say In
Defense Of
THEIR FEARLESS MANAGER
Who I. just tho Kind Of Man the
Farmers Require for
A The Work

f0rm0r8 Mcguire TOT
@ The Work
WahpetOn, N. D., Feb. II, H5.
Especial to Wahpeton Times)
Our attention has been called to
an article in the Globe-Gazette,
which abuses and, as we think
unjustly criticises~ George S. Lof-
tus, manager of the Equity Co.
operative Exchange. This article,
among other things, says that it,
The Globe-Gazette, has hereto
fore been in sympathy with the
Exchange, but that the Exchange
can make no headway while Lof-
tus is at it's head. This means that
to the Globe-Gazette, George S.
LOTUS is personally distasteful;
and, Notwithstanding the fact that
hundreds of farmers in Richland
County and North Dakota are
members of the Exchange, their
interests will, in the judgment of
the Globe Gazette, make no pro-
gress while LOTUS is at the head
of the exchange. The writer trusts
that the farmer members of this
Society, and those who are not
members of it, will not be de-
ceived by this article in the Globe
Gazette.
The Globe-Gazette, like other
big interest papers, has been
fighting against any move that
will enable the farmer to have any
voice in the marketing of his pro-
duct. The Globe-Gazette and
other kindred papers believe that
the mission on earth of the far
mer is to do the manual labor, ON
the farm that will produce crops,
and, when this is done, the farm
er should leave, and turn over, to
the Chamber of Commerce and
kindred institutions, the handling,
selling and disposing of his pro-
duct; in other words, the farmer
must raise the crop but must UNI
der no circumstances have any
thing to do with the marketing
and selling of this crop-the mar
keting and selling of the crop
must be done by others, not the
farmer.
OF course, The Globe-Gazette
does not like Lotus! For the rea-
son that George S. LOTUS and
James Manahan together have
done more for the farmers of the
Northwest than the Globe-Gazette
and all thd newspapers in the
Northwest put together. Con-
gresham Manahan and George
Lotus have, for years, at their
own expense, fought the battle of
the farmers against the Chamber
of Commerce, the elevators and
the commission houses. They
were the first to call the attention
of the farmers to the fact that,
while the farmer, year afer year,
was often times making no money
many years very little money
in the raising of crops, yet, these
elevators and commission houses
were growing immensely rich in
handling the crops; hence, it was
that LOTUS and Manahan, having
exposed the methods by which
commission houses and others
have juggled the farmers COM
modify in such a way as to en-
rich themselves, of necessity be-
came very much disliked by the
members of the Chamber of Com
merce, boards of trade, elevator
men and commission houses. The
movement inaugurated by LOTUS
and ~Manahan in bringing into ex-
istence The Equity Cooperative
Society materially interfere with
the business of boards of trade,
commission houses and elevators
and would practically do away
with them and enable the farmer
to not only raise his crop but also
to market it, and would bring the
farmer in closer touch with the
millers Of the nation. thereby, in
way, eliminating the elevator
companies, the boards of trade,
chambers of commerce and COM
mission houses; and, therefore,
these last-named individuals and
institutions, having become rich
and powerful in juggling the far
mers' crops, became bitter enc
mics of not only Manahan and
Lotus, but of the Society itself;
and such papers as the Globe
Gazette, and others particularly
friendly. to these institutions,
have kept up constant attack onI
both Manahan and LOTUS, with
a view and purpose of belittling
the purpose of the Equity Society
and keeping the farmers divided.
Everybody knows that, in unity,
there is strength; and, If the far
mers of the country would unite
in the handling of their products
and stay united, II would meanl
millions and millions Of dollars
Continued on, page 81