Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-06-28
Officials All Returned to Office by One Unanim-
Gus Vote for Seven M en- to Succeed Them
selves-Reports by President Gardner n
Manager Embree

| eTecteo Ior the nandllng OF gram an
other comodities.
Suggestions to Local Unions.
In making this report, should not fee
that l lad performed my duty withou
mentioning few things that l feel woul'
\ be for the good of the organization, ant
offering some suggestions.
On my visits to the several unions tn
past year, l have found in many case
| trivial matters that were perplexing t,
| the locals and which were easily straight
ened out by a general going over Of tn
affairs o ftheir business. When we stop Il
consider that the business of many o
our locals has and is being transacted b.
those who have had very little experience
along mercantile lines, is it any wonde
| that some things creep in to perplex. bu
| We must keep this one thing in mind-tha
experience is a valuable teacher and tina
this experience that the farmers are get
ting in transacting their own business IN
stead of throwing same into the hands o
the middleman. thereby giving and taking
| what that middleman says, is of much
greater value than we realize, and In or
der to make sure that this work shall con
| tinue along the same progressive lines,
would recommend that the Executive
Board devise some means whereby more
systematic methods be employed. thereby
enabling us to keep in closer touch with
the business of the locals.
The handling of farm products in the
large centers, we must admit is a hare
proposition in order to obtain satisfactory
results in all cases. but l believe only BY
united efforts and concentrated action car
we accomplish the objects for which we
are striving.
We are fortunate in having with us q
man who tells us of the things with which
we have to contend in the large centers
and he will also tells us of the methods
being adopted in New York for the
handling of farm products. and 1 would
here recommend that thorough investi
cation be made of such methods for the
handling of our products.
We must take into consideration the
fact that he Farmers Union movement Is
not confined to the State of Maine, bu,
that this movement has spread to other
states and that the dealers in the large
nitude of our business and are catering
for same, and are throwing out induce.
ments they have not heretofore, and the
result is that the producer gets more for
his product than he would if the Farmers
Union of Maine did not exist.
The same conditions exist in the large
centers as in your own localities, only on
a larger scale. We have demonstrated be-
yond adoubt that where local is doing
business. you buy your supplies for less
and sell your farm products for more
Therefore. let me urge you to be loyal to
your local unions.
Allow me at his time to congratulate
the locals on the course they are taking
IN owning their own wholesale grain
house. move in the right direction and
one that you will be proud of in the near
future. Having been in close touch with
the business of this house during the
past six months and knowing how the
business has increased and of the fair
treatment at all times accorded the
unions by the manager. l want to assure
you that you are making no mistake in
taking over this business, and l hope YOU
siasm as regards the wholesale house,
that you will recommend that your union,
II not now a stockholder, come into the
deal at once and help to make the whole
sale grain business one Of the greatest
factors of this movement. While we adj
vocate. when possible, disposing Of the
middleman, it is absolutely necessary
that we have middleman in the grain
business. as we cannot buy from the
producer. In this case, therefore, if we
must have the middleman, let's own ana
control the middleman, and when he does
not conduct our business satisfactorily.
we can dispose of him and hire another.
This. I believe, is the only solution of the
grain end.
The Potato Deal.
one other thing that l want to take up
and one that 1 believe is the most i'm
portant of all as regards the success of
our unions is the potato deal. In order to
obtain the results for which we are striy
ing. believe there are two methods that
we must adopt before we can obtain such
results.
First, better system of grading. and I
mean by this that we must ship goods
that we can stand behind, either as choice
or ordinary stock, selling same for what
1t is. When our goods are sold on this
basis, we shall find that we have eliminat-
ed troubles that all dealers now have
Second, from what have observed and
learned during the past two years, both
as shipper and observer, in making ex-
aminations of cars rejected both In the
Boston and New York markets, I am firm
IN the belief that the time has come when
the goods should all be sacked, thereby
the comebacks in shorta ges
that all dealers now have, when shipping
IN bulk. and one thing that makes me
firm in this belief is the fact that I have
talked with large shippers outside of our
organization who have adopted this sys-
tenn with much better results, doing away
entirely with the shortage. 1 cannot urge
too strongly the importance Of this step.
know many Of you will say that sack
ing will take too much time, but this one
thing we must remember-these potatoes
all have to be sacked when they reach
their destination and the shipper has to
pay the cost of same, but the cost there is
much larger than on this end, and when
sacked there, you have not eliminated the
trouble Of shortage, and hereby recon-,
mend that this matter be taken under
by the proper officials to