The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1920-09-23

Tie CO operative IDEAS fostered by
the Minnesota Farm Bureau fedora
ton have given birth to new e"-
nomic force in tie state. 1t is a
mere infant among economic forces,
for it is less than a year old. But
already it is husky enough to take its
place as one Of the Biggest enter
prises in the state.
The infant is the Minnesota Pota-
to exchange. Organized only few
months ago by plain "dirt farmers,
with the cooperation Of the fran ba-
reaus and the state department. Oh
agriculture, it has taken control OF
vistually one-third of the states po-
tato crop. The exchange, through
branches in every potato raising DIS
trict in Minnesota, has contracts
which guarantee that 5000 carloads
of potatoes will be shipped through
it's new cooperative machinery.
Its total sales in the first year OF
it's existence will amount to nearly
S. 100000 N. ]. Holmberg, state
of agriculture says,
every cent of the money
received for the potatoes it sells Will
go back to the farmers who raised
them"
The Minnesota Potato exchange
was literally created out of nothing.
Leaders of the farm bureau IN tn7
state point to it as the outstanding
example of the rapidity and ell
ciencv with which farmers can Gre
otto their own marketing and pur-
chasing agencies under existing laws
Just one year from the time the
first little group of farmers met !oi
their first discussion of cooperation
in getting their potatoes to matke S
the state exchange they formed ioao,
ed and shipped it's first Carload a1l 4
was so thoroughly organized tha ma
state officials estimated 1t "ouio
r,.rket third of the states crop
which last year was large enough
70 hermit shipment of 23,Ooo car
loads outside the borders OF MIMIC
sofa.
The Northwest Experiment o'a-
+;on Issued a SOW thistle bulletin d
few wears ago. In it the 1arne. . .
wore warned against the weed anu
told how it could be comDateo; "a al
illustrated poster was dlstrioo.eu'
FREQUENT meetings were heio. Az
ditional legislation was earnestly a. az
.,oos+ed in order to prevent the
snread Of the SOW thistle to new seq
ions that were not then infected.
This is the year 1920. The sow
thistle has moved up in the keo nv "
er Valley and has even reacileo VIZ wy
W;nnesota valley. Legislators ana
otbers who scoffed at the controa anu
eradication plan proposed in 1910 are &c
now beginning to see that PERHAPS p,
after ali the laws similar to those IL n
ofac+ in Canada were necessary anu
be,nful It begins to look as II the
time will be ripe in 1921 TO seeu.e
the necessary legislation W'tnoa'
which the fight against the sow ''iiS
w. cannot be successfully made.
''e will the farmers practice the nee {!
essary farm management plan ma ana n,i IN
addition demand legislation that WI
Give them a chance to combat the
sow thistle? ,o
If the farmers demand that some n,s =
thing be done it will be ed, DONE me- se ads
are distributed broadcast by 'he
,,,;nd Its eradication lies in cominu-
wv &C we'll as Individual action. Com
mvnity action under centralized leaa-
ership properly financed can come ne
on1v thru legislation. The case
against a the sow thistle s. demands fir "a
100 per cent attack. Scattering N hr Ire
;s worse than useless in that it COSTS