The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1917-04-12
A COMMON TROUBLE

The common trouble of most small
| cities and towns lies in the fact that
their business men devote all their
genius, skill and attention to the SELL
ing end of business and very little to
| the buying. We do not mean buying
The wares they, themselves, put upon
the market, but to buying the things
produced by their customers.
In one of the small cities we visited
last winter we noticed unusual pros
perity, thrift and activity in marked
contrast to most of the towns in the
territory we were passing through.
The streets were lined with teams,
the stores were crowded with custom
ers, the editor wore clean shirt and
a smile, the preachers were riding in
their own cars and everybody was &C.
cupied with his or her respective oc-
cupation and too busy to even talk
war.
A little inquiry developed the reason
The town had established reputa-
ton of being the best buying town in
that part of the state, the best place
for farmer to sell anything and ev7
erything he produced.
1t had Buyers Association" in
corporated, composed of the leading
merchants, bankers, professional men
and farmers. This association
operated an elevator and produce ex-
change. The latter institution was
started in small way, but at the
time we were there it covered nearly
a whole block and was the most i'm
porant institution in the city.
No profit was sought or expected
to be made by it's maintenance. A
small percentage was set aside an
nually for a building and sinking
fund; salaries and expenses were paid
out of the business and all the rest
of the receipts went back to the farm
ers who produced the articles, no dis
tinction being made be:s"een the stock
holders and non-stockholders.
The elevator was run in the ordinary
manner as far as could learn and no
particular effort was made to secure
trade. 1t was built because there was
ONLY one other elevator in the city and
it is a curious but we'll established fact
that farmers prefer to haul their grain
to point where there are two or more
elevators under different management,
even if they don't get any more or
even less than they do where there is
only one.
The Produce Exchange, which was
the thing that interested me, employ
ed a manager and market man,
and several assistants.
The Market Man made close study
of the market centers frequently Wis
ting them, keeping in touch with re-
liable commission houses and locating
the best class of buyers.
Anything a farmer, gardener, STOCK
raiser or poultry man could have to
sell, from old rubber to ton of balec
straw, from discarded horse shoe to
a ton of scrap iron, from a single on
ion to carload of turnips, from 9
bundle of kindling wood to load OF
rags was bought and paid for in cash
Many farm boys and girls supplied
themselves quite literally with spend
ing money from the sale of things thai
usually 20 to waste upon a farm.
| AS a rule, the Exchange refrains
from dealing in articles handled b!
the local men, but during the ear
winter months the manager takes
"seed census" and the seed grain need
ed is ordered through him in large
lots, thus enabling the farmers to Sc
cure their needed sede of guaranteed
quality at much less rate than ::
they had purchased it Individually.
4 Last year the fall wheat was winter
killed thus compelling the farmers t.