Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-02-14
J. w. Scott, Gilby Farmer
Presents Farming Facts
In Letter to the Herald

LII AGILGI u
j. ". Scott, prominent Gilby farm
err. has written the following letter to
The Herald in which he discusses
many phases Of farm management:
Mr.. Editor:
When, l; returned home from the
east. I soon learned of the letter In
The Herald written by a Mr.. Van
BerkmAn Of Powers Lake. North Da-
kota. My wife had kept a copy OF
the paper for me-.
I have read the article carefully.
There is no argument, whatever to
nswer 1t is simply a criticism n
business. If 1 felt as Mr.. Van Berk-
man says he does, I'd quit the farm.
ing game, and go selling lumber.
hardware" and harness" Then
he could fix the price he would sell
at. Maybe he couldn't always get the
cash for it as we can always get 1or
wheat and other farm products; but
he could fix the selling price.
But. Mr.. Editor, I want space
enough in The Herald to, tell
Mr. Van Berkman and others VINO
do not know Scott personally, m
thing about Scott and his business:
Fifty years ago last spring I started
farming on a rented farm with cash
capital OF, $500, going in debt for a
two-horse farming outfit, and I'm
still farming, (and proud of my busi-
ness and my. FARM. Ny life work
with the exception of a few thousand
dollars in government war ,ponos
bought with war profits, MADE on
the farm and some certificates OF de,
posdt is all invested in my farm n
farm fixtures. on which farm I have
lived here in North Dakota for over
forty years. I could have sold my
farm for $4,000 per acre last year,
and did not sell. notwithstanding
poor farming business. as my
friend at Powers Lake sees 1t, my
farm is not for sale. and I want all
my boys (four of them) to be farm
ers.
/ helped build the first farmers
cooperative elevator in this section
Cat Ardoch. N. d. I believe in this
failure to the farmers who built 1t.
and I and others who furnished the
money to build It lost most every dol
lar we put into it. At that time, one
dollar to me was more than ten dol
lars in recent years. l also built an
elevator al Gilby in 1887, when the
Northern Pacific built a line through
my farm. I didn't prove a success at
the elevator business, and l lost all
the none 1 had made in farming
for several years before, and all the
money I could borrow without jeop-
ardizing my farm and farm interests
too greatly. When I sold the eleva-
tor 1 had many thousands of bushels
in store. and the farmers roun Gill
by had Scott's elevator tickets" for
their wheat. | paid them every cent
for their wheat with borrowed
money. o M borrowed on SCOTS
didn't quit. I just put a little more
Of my time and energy into my farm
and made the lost none back a,
farming. / didn't quit farming like
Townley did and go farming farm
ers. 1 wonder If Townley didn't farm
nv friend. Van Berkman.
The first time I heard about The
Farmers Equity Society vas while
was attending a Grain Growers con
vention at Fargo many years ago. j
looked good to me at that time and
put UP my membership fee and wa:
q member of the Equity; and I 'pail
my annual dues until 1 was convinc'
ed that most Of h leaders and pro
motors of the society were in for tn
dollars hat were in 1t. And I still
think SO. And I nov feel that fol
every penny saved by farmer
through the Society of Equity, the.
have paid and will pay a dollar. 1
has cost them many millions and
don't believe they'll ever get a dollal
back.
Figure what the Equity packin,
packing plant has lost of farmers
money. 1 am reliably informed tina
the promoters got over 100000, ant
there have been other losses Of Goo
knows how much" The stockholder
don't know. If they run it lonl
millions they have put in. This i
farmers cooperation in the othe,
fellows business. 1t doesn't appeal t.
me-. I think it better to use tn
money on the farm in improvement
to cheaper production.
When the Farm Bureau started
several ~years>>ago, 1 was n of tn
first farmers here to join and Nv
been a member ever since and re
Gently paid the increased price, o
membership to have our county AM
state bureau a member of the Ma
tional Farm Bureau. and am livinl
But I'd have more hope If there wer
fewer impractical "dreamers''-i III il
such as DR.. Ladd of our. state.
Is DR.. Iadd honest in what he i
telling farmers. or is he playing poll
tics? If he was quoted correctly b
"I)r." Spilman, he is. in my opinion
dishonest Or woefully ignorant o
grain markets and conditions tina
existed in Canada and the Unite
States last year.
Among the many things Or" Spill
man told us. belittling the farmer
and farming, was what churnps W
!, farmers have been because we wer
not organized like Danish farmers i
Denmark. But he forgot to tell u
that millions of pounds of butte
} have been marketed in the Unite
Stately because prices for butter ar
=. highev in our country than in Ell
rope. If it wasn't higher, here tina
over there. they would not send
here. I think he got this from D
Ladd. for I never heard DR.. Ladd
a public talk but that he picture
Danish farmers as models for "
s American farmers to copy. I ha.
never heard him say anything
praise of those great construct,
farmers in the British Isles lily
. Crookshank. Booth, Bates. Guthri
r and many others. 100 numerous
mention. who CAV to the world tn
e shorthorn. Hereford; Polled Angu
: and other outstanding breeds Of ca
tie: the Clydes. Normans and Shire!
e also. the best medium-wool shee
produced in the world; the Ayrshir
, Guernsey and Jersey dairy cattle. :
: have never seen any o~utstandin
breed Of stock produced by DAMS
farmers. But Denmark did furnis
US as good American citizehs as v
have. and I wish we could have MOI
. Of them in the stead Of some .othe,
: we have with us.
:, Or. Spilman also told US how niue