Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-03-21
Iowa Buyer Relates Experiences
During Past Season of High
Prices.
VISITS IDAHO RANCH
WHERE GROWER GREW RICH
One Man Added 100000 to His
Bank Account From 900 Acres
of Tubers-Prediction Made
That Potatoes Will Sell
Under 81 Per Bushel Be
fore Long-Corner i'm
Colorado.


owns something like 900 acres of
land. On these 900 acres last spring
he and his help planted row after
row of potato hills. Then he and
his help took it easy for few
months and waited. The help, OF
course, was kept busy every now and
then doing little culJivating--such
as keeping down the weeds and do
ing other little odd jobs which are
preliminary in the harvesting of a
potato crop.
! Potato time came. the crop was
harvested and then the market be-
gan to act in a wild manner-to
| fiuctuate madly in fact. In Idaho,
which is one of the greatest potato
raising sections in the country, the
grower doesn't sell by the bushel.
Everything (meaning potatoes) is
sold by the hundred weight. The
9O0-acre potato ranch" averaged
200 sacks (hundred pounds each)
to the acre. While the market was
acting up and fiuctuating, as it were,
the potato rancher" sat tight in the
boat and waited some more. Up and
up the market went and when the
| time came the "spud king" unload
ed He got something like $2.75 to
So for each sack. AS George AIDE
would say, she unloaded heavy" and
then counted his money. His bank
book showed something like $780,
600 added to his account, the rev.
enue coming from this little 900
acres of nuggets"
The above account of potato rails
ing in Idaho and Montana was
brought back to Iowa by G. d. Hag-
er, potato buyer of Alton, Iowa.
who was in Sioux City Tuesday. Mr..
Hager formerly lived in Sioux City.
He tells some more interesting yarns
about the out-of-reach vegetable.
Says Spuds Will BE Cheap.
''Once every three years potatoes
take shoot and go out of sight.
This year the car congestion had
much to do with the high prices.
When summer comes predict that
potatoes will go as. low as so cents
or 81 bushel. / was in Idaho for
several weeks trying to buy pota
toes. You could buy them, but there
was not much chance for the small
buyer to ship them east after he had
bought. Consequently myself and
others were forced to lay off and al
low the big fellows to come in and
get their pick.
"The potato situation this year
was serious. People this spring are
going to tear up cleir front lawns
and plant potatoes. This will result
in the 'spuds' being very cheap next
year Then two years hence, the
citizen, believing the spuds will re-
main at low price, will not plant,
and as a result the market VIII!
again advance.
young farmers went to Idaho
year ago and went into debt in buy
ing land. They planted mostly ro-
tatoes, and this year they have paid
off all Indebtedness, built swell
homes and have good accounts in
| the bank.
Before I went west to buy pota-
toes telegraphed Twin Falls and
Helena. I was quoted potatoes al
$1.40 per 100. bought. When
got out there the ranchers were
holding them from So to $2.75.
while l was in Twin Falls.
buyer from the east, angry at the
manner in which the Idaho growers
were holding out for higher prices
went to Pocatello, where the mar
ket figures are made, and inserted
several ads in the local newspapers.
They read that certain grower had
zoo cars of potatoes which he would
sell at s1.65 a hundred. The mar
ket that day dropped from $40 10
Is1.7O. 1t was sweet revenge Many
merchants at Twin Falls approached
me and wanted to unload. but | haa
no way to get 'em back to Iowa AZ
the low price. Then, when some one
got wise, the market shot up AGAIN.
Corner i'm Colorado.
I'm Pocatello, Twin Falls and oth-
or towns, commission men bough'
| all the potatoes they could get Ihen
they dug pits, many of which were
half block wide and a block lohs
They piled these pits high Win po'
tatoes and held them, waiting io'
higher prices. An ordinary grocer
man would pile two or three ca
loads in his cellar. EVERYBODY wn'
had any available space bought po
tatoes and waited for the market y
auctuate some more. Many asser'e'