Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-03-11
Equity Cooperative Exchange
May Move From Minneapolis.
ORGANIZATION GROWING FAST
Expects to Handle Large Percentage
of Northwestern Crops Within
a Few Years.

lnQlcatlOnS are thdt the Equity 20
operative Exchange, the farmers ter
minal grain marketing agency, will
mov from Minneapolis to st. Paul.
Business organizations of st. Paul
are negotiating with the farmers and
If present plans are carried out the
headquarters of the farmers co-opera-
tive grain marketing movement will
locate in the SANITY City. This means
also that st. Paul will be headquar-
ters for the cooperative marketing
movement in various other products
in which farmers are interested.
The many Northwestern farmers
who are back of the farmers cooper
alive marketing movement feel that
their terminal grain marketing agency
has never received a fair deal from
business men of Minneapolis. The
Equity Cooperative Exchange has
made steady progress since it was or
ganiZed in August, 1912, but it has
had the fierce opposition OF the COM
bined grain interests in the Mime
apolis Chamber of Commerce right
from the start. The Chamber OF
Commerce interests are closely afil-
lated with banks and other business
institutions of Minneapolis.
AT the big cooperative marketing
convention held in Minneapolis a few
operative Exchange has shown that it
can build up a market for grain out
side the Minneapolis Chamber of Com
merce and Duluth Board of Trade,
and with adequate terminal elevator
facilities and fair treatment in bank
ing accommodations the volume of
grain handled by the Farmers Co
operative Exchange is expected to in
crease rapidly. This business cleared
through ST. Paul would add nightly
to the SANITY City's trade totals and
subtract just that much from the bust
ness of Minneapolis.
Farmers Want Open Market.
The farmers interested in the CO.
operative marketing movement are de-
termined to secure better terminal
la Vi AaS iSSShL w
operative marketing convention in
Minneapolis took steps to carry OF the
fight for an open public grain market
and to reform abuses which they say
have grown up in the grain trade.
Some of these abuses they propose to
reform by legislation, others by Gre
ating an open board of trade, which
will be established in ST. Paul in case
the Equity Cooperative Exchange
moves to that city.
Exchange Entirely Cooperative.
The Farmers Equity Cooperative
Exchange is entirely a cooperative
organization. 1t is owned by farmers.
The men in charge Of the exchange
work on salary. The profits, over and
above the s per cen dividend on CAPT.
tai stock: are shared among patrons
according to the amount of grain
shipped to the exchange.
The movement to establish a farm
ers' cooperative grain exchange in
the terminal markets originated among
Equity farmers in North Dakota, but
the movement rapidly spread to other
states and there are 0 on the board
of directors of the exchange represen-
tatives Of the principal farmers CO.
operative organizations of Minnesota,
North and South Dakota and Mon
tana. The exchange has the endorse.
ment OF the genuine farmers CO.
operative organizations of those four
states.
The farmers cooperative terminal
grain marketing movement is the out
growth of the farmers cooperative
elevator movement, which established
the farmers elevators as important
factors in the local grain markets at
hundreds of points in the Northwest.
These farmers cooperative elevator
companies are now carrying their CO.
operative marketing of grain into the
terminal markets with the purpose of
controlling the marketing OF their
grain from the fields to the actual
aone1roA~ ..GH.