The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-03-02
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF FARMERS
Union OPPOSES T0WNLEY PLAN
AND EXPOSES KANSAS FlASC0
Chain Store Scheme Very Similar to Proposition Worked
on Agriculturss Of Sunflower State Some Years Ago
Says Newspaper Of National Circulation

| amounts to $4,000 for that particular
locality TOWnley and his dummy d.
rectors are, required by their contract
to use only $4,000 in the business
established in that place. which leaves
them $4,000 to be used for education
al work and propaganda" When the
North Dakota Farmers Union asked
,sEewIley to. describe the nature Of the
educational work that he proposed I'd
do with this great income he told
them that it was none 1, Of their
damned business. a.
1t is evident that the members of
the Consumers United Stores Com
pany buys no property when he pur-
chases his membership certificate. He
has no claim on any profit that may
be made from his business. He gets
no interest on his money. He has no
voice in the management Of the con-
Germ created by his money and su's-
tanned by his patronage. He has moth
ing. to say about the nature of the
educational work and propaganda"
that is to lie carried OH at his expense.
The one single consideration that he
receives in exchange for his $500 is
the privilege of buying at the store
for five years ut wholesale cost, plus
fire. ght charges, As, the average farm
err will not buy. as Il rule, more than
5000 worth of goods year at any one
store the $40 annually that he pays
for that privilege amounts to per
cent on his purchases, which added to
the ten per cent profit that he agree:
to pay. gives the store d profit Of IS
per cent on his business. The aver
age profit on transactions in any srot-
cry store is not very large and annual
results depend on the number of times
that capital can be turned. The grocer
expects and plans to turn his capital
at least twelve times year. A farm
er's store with several hundred mem
hers will do much better than that
The Farmers Union store ut BelOir,
Kansas, for example, turned it's invest
ed capital about eighteen times dur
ing the year 1916. If Il Townley store
is well patroniZed by several hundred
members it should turn it's capital fiji
teen times year, which means that
its ten per cent net profit on individ-
ual transactions would amount to $50
! per cent on the years business, from
which the only deduction to be made
would be overhead expense or the cost
of doing business, which would really
be taken care of by the annual contri.
button Of $40 by the members. y
At the end of five years the mem.
bers participation certificate, which
gives him the right to share only IL
payments to the store and in purchases
of merchandise, expires and leaves BE-.
hind It no claim whatever on any Of the
property or business of the corpora
ton, Since this project was launch
ed last fall about $1,OOO,OOO has been
paid in by members. At the end of five
years the $4,000 corporation that has
collected this million dollars has that
money and whatever profits may have
been made in the. meantime free from
all obligations to members who must
come across with another 500 each
if they wish to continue their privilege
of buying of Townley and his little
bunch of insiders att wholesale price.
plus freight and ten per cent. During
the past fifty years many schemes
have been Matched out and operated
for the purpose of separating the
farmer from his coin, but for pure UNI
blushing, brazen, shameless effrOntery
this leads them all. Within less than
six months the farmers of North Da-
kota have turned million dollars over
to a company capitalized for only $1O,-
600 and controlled by a TOwnley ap-
pointed board. of directors Of three
members only, responsible not to the
men who furnish the money and are
expected to furnish the business, but
to Townley for. their conduct OF the af-
fairs of the company. Any $1,000
corporation should lie able to do mighty
well for its shareholders and directors
tif It has the opportunity to use q mill
lion dollars Of other peoples money!
without interest and without any re-
sponsi6f1 Titles us to accounting, AidIt-
ing and management.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ieels