The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1915-12-09
1000 FARMERS
I ATTENDED EQUITY
CONVENTION
NO SUCH CONVENTION EVER
SEEN IN TWIN CITIES-MINOT
SPECIAL CARRIED HUNDREDS
OF OOSTERS-MINOT WORK
ING FOR PACKING PLANT.
Special to The Independent ::

Special to The Independent:
St. Paul, Mimi, Dec. S.-Seven
thousand northwestern farmers were
in attendance when the Equity Grain
Growers convention opened Tuesday
morning in the St. Paul Auditorium.
No such gathering has ever before
been seen in the Twin Cities. St. Paul
gave the visitors royal welcome, and
the guests in turn gave three rousing
cheers for St. Paul. The city, offic-
tally, had endorsed the convention,
Mayor Powers having issued procla-
nations urging the people to show
their appreciation Of the farmers
friendliness. The Commercial club
threw it's rooms open to the visitors.
Business houses everywhere were dec
grated. Citizens wore a badge and
red ribbon in token of their interest
in the Equity movement. The police
and fire departments turned out to as
sist in the parade, which was held
when sod was turned for the new ter
minal elevator on the Mississippi
levee. The headquarters of the Equity
in st. Paul were thronged with farm
ers all day and there was no lack of
enthusiasm on the part of the visitors
who pledged anew their loyalty to the
great cooperative movement which
has already resulted in making St.
Paul formidable competitor of long
esta ablished grain markets.
with an important program on
hand, the farmers got down to busi-
ness in a hurry Tuesday. The big
auditorium building was we'll filled
when Chairman C. j. Lee called the
convention to order. Governor Ham
mond extended an enthusiastic well
come to the delegates in an eloquent
speech in which he said that the farm
ers had found that happy middle
ground between conservatism and rad
icalism which is known as co-opera-
ton. l.. G. Hodgson, secretary to
Mayor Powers, welcomed the dele
gates on behalf of the City. .
4 A. M. Baker of Fargo responded to
Governor Hammond's address, and
predicted that. the farmers great fight
would conquer all opposition, Mr.
Art Freie Of Berlin, N. D., responded
to Mr.. Hodgson's welcome and ex-
pressed the farmers appreciation of
St. Paul's friendship. He called on
the delegates to rise and give three
1
with great vim and enthusiasm.
Chairman Lee declared "Our fight
is won." He said the enemies of the
Equity movement had done their
worst and had been unable to defeat
the cause, and from now on the Equity
would sail on to complete victory.
President J. M. Anderson in his an
nual address said that St. Paul bank
ers had saved the Equity when they
came to the front and advanced the
money needed to prevent the success
of the Chamber of Commerce attack
last summer. He illustrated the tac-
tics of the Chamber of Commerce as
it works with bankers and elevator
men to prevent fair deal to the farm
er. He predicted that the Equity will
handle 20,OOO,00O bushels of grain the
current crop year. He said "You can
not 60 to the Minneapolis Chamber of
Commerce and sell a bushel of wheat
They trade in wind in the pit and deal
in millions of bushels of wheat that
are never produced" A. D. Stillman
of Kalispell, Montana in an address
on "Long and Short Time Farm
Loans" declared that the farmers can
easily solve their loan problems by
organizing and owning and controll-
ing their own banks. "We must have
the easy use of money if we hope to
succeed in cooperation, and the only
way out is to control the rate of in
terest through our control of the
bank"
]. E. Kelley, Pierre, S. D., E. G.
Quamme, Finley, N. D., L. L. Stair,
Newburg, N. D., L. A. Cadieuz, Ad-
rian, N. D, also spoke, and there was a
vigorous faying of the Chamber of
Commerce methods by the speakers.
At the evening session the feature
was an eloquent address by former
Congressman James Manahan, who
warned the farmers not to think their
fight was over. He said the forces Of
monopoly would never give in as long
as they were able to put obstacles in
the way of the Equity. AS to the
charge that the Equity defrauded it's
patrons, Manahan said, every fraud
must have victim. Where is the vic
tim of the Equity? Why does he not
step forth to complain?
"The Chamber of Commerce knows
that once the cooperative method Of
marketing grain succeeds monopoly is
ended in this country-that is why it
is fighting u.s." Mr.. Manahan pleaded
with the farmers to stand together
Loyalty. "In cooperation lies the ulti-
mate solution of the problems of our
state and the grievous burdens under
which the human race has struggled
it's weary way upward toward its
present condition"
At Wednesday mornings session H.
L. Loucks Of Watertown, S. D., spoke
on Rural Credits" and there were ad-
dresses by R. T. Cookingham, Malta,
Mont, and by Benjamin Drake of
Minneapolis.
The convention was thrown into en-
cheering by an announce
ment that Senator LaFollette would