Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-03-28

to appeal to "'Bill' Smith, individual
r. f. D., number blank, Pauper coun-
ty Anystate." Large cooperative
schemes which require "Bill" and his
neighbors to form an organization,
charter freight cars find markets, and
otherwise exercise initiative and exec
utive ability, will not work. "Bill''
is too busy plowing. If you want to
help him you must go to him person
ally, or at least by mail and say:
Look here, "Bill,' here is the ad-
dress of a man that wants to trade a
PolandChina sow for a safety razor
and two bushels of alfalfa seed.
You've always said you were going to
raise hogs and you know that safety
razor you bought in Columbia won't
make a dent in your beard. Now
here is your chance"
Bill" will rise to that kind of lure
like bass in May. He particularly
loves to "swop." If he can acquire
something he wants without paying
any money for it, he is decidedly
tickled.
Col. Watson looked around the
world for method to reach "Bill,"
and found 1t in that land of a million
systems, Germany. The German CO.
operative selling scheme is a govern
ment organization in which the town
ship is the unit. The township secre-
tary of the Chamber of Agriculture
lists everything offered and bid for in
his little territory, and makes what
trades he can. The offerings that do
not sell in the township are passed on
to a similar organization in the coun-
ty. What is too big for the county
goes to the provincial secretary, and
if none of the lesser organizations can
Ihandle a large proposition, the ma
tional government will sell it.
OF course Colonel Watson could not
build up ANY such intricate system
single-handed; but he quickly perceiv-
ed that the essential of the German
plan was the individual appeal. Every
opportunity to buy and to sell was
laid before every individual farmer
and dealer in the township. This
Colonel Watson determined to do and
has done for the State of South Caro-
line. Doubtless the personality and
reputation of the man have had much
to do with the carrying power of his
scheme. Nevertheless, there is no evil
dent reason why it would not work in
many States.
In the first place, Colonel Watson
obtained the cooperation of five of the
States largest dailies. They gave
space free. Incidentally they have all
gained by doing so. Without excep-
ton, the rural circulations of these
papers nave BTOWn sIedully. EaCn OF
the papers agrees to publish every
Tuesday a farm market bulletin. In
this are listed every bid and every Of
fering that comes to the commission
er's office; and the rural folk are in
formed that a postcard telling what
they have to sell or want to buy will
obtain them a place on the list. The
immediate result is a food of post
cards voicing an incredible variety of
bids and offerings. One man wants
to sell a game rooster and another a
thousand acres of land. A third needs
hired man, and fourth wants to
trade a phonograph for a plow.
Now a surprisingly large proportion
of these demands can he matched. ."
For example a man who had 24O
head of scrub yearling cattle to sell,
went to Norfolk, Richmond and sew
eral other cities without getting a
suitable offer. ThS\ he wrote a postal