The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-05-08

OF commerce there would be no such
institution? Did 1t ever occur to you
that the elevator or miller who does
not patronize grain brokers through a
chamber OF commerce 10 the only
gambler In the deal? The miller pro-
tects himself on every car of wheat
bought, and again, on every car or
flour sold. He may have 100000 bush
els Of wheat in his elevator, yet 1t may
be owned by q dozen different people
on g. buy for future. Did you ever hear
| the league speakers tell the facts in
regard to these truths? No. say, the
league speakers encircle the truth and
tell about some mysterious being or
organization that is trying to choke
the farmer. Just now, 1t is a PROPOSE
ton of the increased cost of merchan-
disc, through the extra expense of
| travelling statesmen. Do you know the
| consumer does not pay this expense?
/ If you were at the head of whole
sale or manufacturing concern, you
would, no doubt, figure on minimum
cost for the selling of your goods,
would you not? And after thorough
| investigation and experimentation, IL
you found the cheapest possible meth
cd of selling your output was by hir-
ing statesmen, you would employ them,
would you not? Then you would want
real statesmen, and naturally, your
salaries paid, would vary with the
ability to sell. Does the consumer pay
these salaries, when, if you employed
another method, it would be necessary
to add the extra cost to the price of
your goods?
Where did you get the idea that our
people would benefit through the de-
moralization of the business inter-
ests? Do you know that the peoples
safeguard depends upon the compete
ton among manufacturers, wholesal-
ers and retailers? Do you know that
one concern in this country through
Misrepresentation, and thereby the
creation Of suspicion and envy, has
for years been putting forth extraor-
binary efforts to eliminate this COM
petition, and is 1t reasonable to pre-
sumo that an organization built upon
fraud and deception, II, when they
had gained the advantage sought. pro-
tect the people or would they, on the
| other hand, rob the people?
In speech recently, Mr.. Drake, Il
understand Mr.. Drake is brilliant
MANI stated that in his opinion the
government would put price on
wheat, which would forever put stop
| to speculation and the chamber of
commerce in Minneapolis. This is one
of the strong arguments of your or
ganizers. Now, / know you are a man
of intelligence and therefore must
know there can be no man or set of
men in one country, possessed of the
wisdom to know what a reasonable
price would be for wheat. Excepting
as a war measure, the government
could do so temporarily through CO.
operative action with several other
nations.
Did it ever occur to you that the
producer can carry this agitation so
| far that suddenly the whole PROPOSE
ton would bump up against a stone
wall? What stone wall? Why, there
are one hundred consumers of wheat
products (this applies to all other farm
preducts) to one producer. Is it I'M
reasonable to presume the consumer
cannot effect distributing agencies, or
organizations, through which they
could tell the producers what they
would pay?. Pray, tell me, who would
have the advantage?
Your organization lambasts every
body and everything. The pocE bank
er, however, seems to be the most ter
rible octopus of them all Do you know
that debt is an evidence of prosperity?
Isn't 1t obvious that IL there were no
need for banking institutions there
would likewise be no prosperity? Your
organizers tell of the terrible interest
rates paid by the farmers. Do you
know, sir, that the country banks in
North Dakota have bent every eff
fort to get mobile money to come into
the state, paying up to six per cent
interest on time deposits? Why do they
do this? Is 1t simply because they want
this money to look at? You well know
1t is to have money to loan when peo-
pie ask for it. Now, what do people
get for eight or ten per cent interest