Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-12-13


ing a small profit sufficient funds
were raised to reimburse him for the
outlay. During the winter $50 cars were
/ shipped to the markets and it was es-
| timated that the farmers got clear
profit Of $50 over and above the price
paid by the regular buyers.
Legislature Helped
! During the winter the Legislature
made an appropriation so as to enable
the commissioner to continue the work.
Owing to the change of the party in
power, Mr.. Buckley was succeeded by
Hon. J. A. Roberts of Norway. Mr..
Roberts Immediately investigated the
| situation and being convinced that the
movement was in the interest of the
State he again engaged the services
of Mr.. Embree and the work Of Or
| ganizing which had been brought to a
close by lack of funds. was resumed.
This work was started April l and, by
Dec. ~, new unions were added to the
| list. Early in the work of organizing
+! there was a demand for supplies such
| as HoIr, feed, poisons and other arti-
=, Giles and during 1912 an occasional car
| Of grain was purchased with a couSiu-
| cradle saving to the membership. 1t
| was soon discovered that it was ditfi-
cult to buy from the wholesalers and
in fact at one time it was almost i'm
possible to get the wholesalers TO quote
a price and when they did the price
| was as high as was charged al retail.
! AT this time the now famous con-
! tract was made with Austin & Haines,
| providing that they should re-
49, r.
ers' Enlcn Grain & Supply Co. with
capital stock of $4,000 they to pay
in tie total capital. At this time tie
union had no available funds and
( therefore they sought to bridge over
the difficulty by using the capital of
Austin & Haines. However. 4 side
/ contract was made which gave the
right to lska over the business as soon
as it WAS in a position to finance it,
| This Farmers Union Grain a. Supply
Co. bore the same relations to the
! Farmers Union of Maine as all other
unions as they bought five shares of
stock as all other unions did. AS the
profits of each union is the property
Of trat particular union Of course the
profits of the grain company belonged
to the members Of ii. Later the local
union of WaterVille purchased enc of
the buildings of Austin e Haines and
entered into the business of retailing
-four feed, grain, etc. This union is
now transacting 4 gross business Of
about 1900 per year and is in the
charge of =. l.. Bachelor, formerly
the secretary Of the Dover local.
The Fertilizer Problem
One Of the most important articles
purchased by the farmer is CONNER
cial fertilizer. This business was first
started in the F'armara' Union by the
-Aroostook Potato Growers Associa-
ton. They were able to purchase at a
price that allows them to make dis
count under the companies price Of
- per ton. This. caused a general cut
by all the companies doing business in
the county. thus saving the farmers
Of the county S15O,000. IN 1913 the
unions pooled their orders for fertilizer
and Manager F.mbree was able to make
q Favorable contract which resulted in
the companies cutting the price s.
per ton all over the State. AS the
State uses 100000 tons of fertilizer
this brought about a saving to the
State of 100000
From Jan. l, 1914, to July /, of the
same year. II more unions We're or
ganized, making a total of AZ unions.
On June 80, the second annual meet
ing was held at Bangor with all the
officers and ~ representatives pres
tnt. The report of the treasurer, w. S.
Rogers. was as follows:
Cash on hand ....................s1S $3.50 16
Accounts outstanding ............... S11.00
Total resources northumberland $500. ls
Inc managers report covered the work
in detail. showing the total transactions
of all the unions to be as follows:
Potatoes Shipped to the markets. .s29S, 2Sl
Grain purchased by members. 47.l5O
ia, !, oio
Total Observation-Disclosures. .34 $40
These figures We're far in excess of
what was expected for what was prac-
tically the first years experience. There
We're three or four unions which did not
send in their reports, which would have
brought the total transaction to over
| s40o0eo. With this showing in such a
short time the members retired to their
years business would be increased 100
per cent.
Members Began to Realize
| At this time the members were just be-
| ginning to realize the amount of good
that could be accomplished by the COM
! ing together movement and plans We're
! being formulated SO that the local unions
! might be properly equipped to transact
i the business that was crowdng upon
! them. 1t was decided that in order to
carry on a successful potato business in
this cold climate it was necessary to have
warehouses or what are called potato
houses at the shipping stations. This
| work was started early in 1913 and up to
! the present time houses have been erect
ed or purchased in the following towns:
| New Sweden, one house on the electric
| lines and another at the station of the
I. B. & A. r. r.; one at Easton, Forest,
| Danforth. Wytopitlock, kingman, Winn,
North Lincoln, Lincoln. Winterport, Pa
lermo. South China, Knox. Hinckley and
| Skowhegan. In addition to the potato
houses, the Brook union erected a build
| ing for use in the sale Of grain. This
house soon proved too small and another
building was rented nearby for grain