Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1921-03-30
A Small Flour Mill
Can Be Made to Pay
By ". s. Gilbert


By w. s. Gilbert
The following article has been sent
Us Dy subscriber with request for
publication in the Sheaf.)
Two questions to the farmers will
emphasize what l wish to convey to
them.
First, did you ever drive to your
elevator with a good grade of wheat
and have your buyer kick because your
stock was too good? Did you ever com
plain because your merchant was Civ
ing you too good quality of goods?
You may think that am q crank on
quality, but nine times out of 10 quality
is responsible for the success or failure
Of al1ines of staple business.
For the last eight months, farmers
have been compelled to sell many pro-
ducts below cost of production, and
have been making hard fight to bring
about better prices, so far with little
success. believe proper cooperation
with all the farmers working together,
will eventually bring success, but this
cannot be accomplished over night.
In the rural districts, when wheat is
elevator, a dealer will charge $3.50 for
90 pounds of patent flour. Now, the
farmer takes 60 pounds of wheat to the
elevator and receives $1.4O for it, then
turns to the dealer and asks for 40
pounds of flour, which, on the basis of
price of wheat, amounts to 1924, and
20 pounds of feed, on the basis of $1.5O
per 100 pounds, amounts to 80 cents,
the whole amounting to $2.54, and this
is paid for same product just sold for
$40. Pay the miller % cents for man
ufacturing the wheat, and still a net
loss of 50 cents is shown. Can this be
saved to the producer? Yes, the major
part of it can.
. Starting Idle Mills
Many farmers have mills located near
them. which are standing idle part of
the time. 1t is 10 to shot that the
one word, quality, answers the Qaes-
ton. Ask the proprietor Of the mill
why it is not running steadily, and he
will not say it is on account Of the poor
quality of flour put out, but, 10 to 1,
that is just the reason. Perhaps he is
not aware Of the fact himself, as many
of the proprietors of mills are not
millers themselves. They depend upon
the man they hire. = Often the only
milling quality, he has is to draw a
mlller's salary. He is usually success
full enough to remain on the job long
enough o~put the mill out of business,
and in many c;lses the. proprietor is
not aware of the fact that it is poor
quality -four that has closed the mill.
hn f1o fs,r
who have a mill in their locality to call
"a community meeting with the pro-
prietOrs of the mills and see If they
cannot form corporations. start the
mill and. manufacture their-own flour.
rather than to be at the mercy of the
big gamblers: It matters not what
kind of t'mill. Let it have 20 barrels
or 100 BARRELS capacity Be sure that
a miller. is secured who can. produce
quality flour. ,...
Getting Results
1t is often said that a small mill
cannot produce as good quality flour as
the big mill. Usually this remark
comes from one who is not,ppsted on
the matter. In fact, the averagessma1l
mill will produce a better flour than
the terminal mills, because the small
mill is located in a district where there
is a uniform grade Of wheat, and they
can select the best grades and ship the
poor grades to the big mills.
Let us say that 75-barrel mill is
run to the extent Of 30 barrels per day,
and 275 days in the year Here are the
figures:
Expenditures
Mluer's salary, per year ------ $500
Managers salary; per year - $500
Engineers salary, per year - 1900
Salesman's salary, per year - 1900
Helpers salary. per year---- 900
Fuel Observation-Disclosures 1000
Cotton bags o1OO