The Republican journal., 1915-12-02

we shall begin to get in on equal footing
and we can then compromise on prices.
! At present it is all on their side.
But growing the products, sorting,
packing and branding is all on the farm
er's end, and up to date but little of this
is we'll done.
Take potatoes to illustrate: dirt. rot,
scab, scars and small ones are worked
into about every barrel and expected to
sell as high grade because most in the
barrel are high grade. Some of this is
done wilfuly, some carelessy, and some
in ignorance of what the market wants
| There is no potato SO small, scabby or
bruised that it will not sell if shipped
only with it's own kind and branded for
just what it is. Ten rotten potatoes
shipped in a carload in bulk will cost the
| buyer about a dollar piece to get those
! ten rots sorted out. In fact, and justly,
| the farmer loses the ten dollars.
Tom, Dick and Harry cannot sort,
| brand and ship with any uniformity.
| Only by union and the employment of
! skill to sort, pack and brand can we meet
| the market demands. After the farmer
| has had his products sorted, packed and
! branded By skilled employees of the union
/ then, and not until then, should he be
/ considered as having something to sell.
| The goods being in condition to market,
/ then the farmer should be at liberty to
! ship them himself, sell them to the
union, to local buyers or to whom he
pleases. A record of when, where and
/ to whom the goods were sold, and the
! price received, should be kept by the
union for the general information of all
farmers.
| When the goods reach the city, if turn
ed down, complained of or rot paid for
as agreed, the union, at union expense,
should employ an inspector to gather and
report the facts, and if the buyer should
be prosecuted this should be done by the
union and at union expense.
When an actual offender is known to
all the farmers, by making his conduct
matter of union record such a victim
might as we'll get out of business. The
| farmers need no greater power than this
to enforce square deal.
The farmers in no cases need, and in
no case should employ, selling agent.
The man the farmer deals with should in
all cases be an actual buyer. When
broker or commission man must be en-
ployed the union, not single handed farm
ers, should employ this middleman. All
bids from local buyers, from wholesalers,
retailers or consumers should be received
by the union and be posted for the infor-
nation of the farmers at all times.
The union should not be a competitor
on the market as buyer from the farm
ers. This works more harm than can be
readily recited, but this does not mean
that the union should not be buyer. 1t
means that the union shall not bull the
market. 1t is done in this way. The
union offers to accommodate the farmer
at discount. To illustrate: Suppose
the market price or the bids on hand show
the farmers potatoes to be worth there
at the union shipping station one dollar
per barrel. The union should not be al
lowed to buy at greater price than
ninety or ninety-fve cents per barrel. In
making sale there is always some risk,
and when the union takes this risk, as it
does when it buys from the farmer the
union should be protected by the dis
count.
The business of union is to help the
farmer make his deals, and to help him
get all there is in it. 1t is not the bust
ness of the union to be the farmer 8
customer. There is always certain an
tagonism between buyer and seller, and
tie union can never stand we'll with the
farmers where the union is a buyer, but
there are conditions when the union can
and ought to buy and hold and sell to &C.
commodate the farmer; but as these
deals always injure the union it should
be paid for the sacrifice and the practice
should be discouraged. The proper bust
ness Of thesunion is to help the farmer
make his sales, and motto :sell for him.