The L'Anse sentinel., 1924-02-08
FARM
SELLING
By GLENN C. HAYES
How Wool Growers Benefit
by Organization. \
ta. ls24. western Newspaper UnIon.l


wool growers as they travelled through
the sheep sections buying the years
clip.
"Wool is wool and it's all worth
about the same price per pound"-that
was the comeback whenever an ag-
gressive farmer was bold enough to
ask for more money for his long-staple
fieeces. The poorer grades set the
price for whole community The
best fiockmasters grew discouraged
and paid little attention to their
fleeces. There was no incentive for
doing otherwise-all wool brought
about the same price.
Since the first New England loom
began spinning cloth, wool marketing
In the United States has been along
speculative lines. No wonder the wool
business is weighed down with specu-
lative features, This Is partly due to
the fact that wool Is such variable
product as TO quality, shrinkage and
condition and length of staple. Then,
too, from the production standpoint
wool is seasonable. while the demand
is distributed over all twelve months
of the year. This means that the wool
must be carried by someone from the
time of shearing until the time 1t Is
sold at the mill and that requires
financing.
From the beginning Of the weaving
industry the mills bought their sup
plies from the Boston dealers. The
dealers had local agents scattered over
the country. who travelled among the
farmers buying fieeces. These are the
buyers who declared that "wool is
wool"-they had never heard OF grad
ing, and IL they had they wouldn't
have favored buying that way II was
money in their pocket TO put all fieeces
In one great universal class and tab
Il wool" the price being set on the
basis Of it's poorest quality. In that
early day farmers had heard little OF
the doctrine of cooperation. They
took the price they were given, but
they took II with deal Of grumbling
among themselves.
Grumbling began to crystalline into
action. From time to time revolts oc-
CURED against the old-line marketing
system. But nothing much came of
them; burst OF fury, few years OF
determined action. with less than
medium results. then back to the old
hsystem. 1t is only within recent years
that the growers have had any actual
influence In bettering their market
prices.
First Action In 1874.
The first action taken against the
old system was in 1874 when the
Changers In Michigan, Ohio and Ken
tucky established warehouses where
they assembled wool and sold Il II
large quantities direct to the manu-
facturers. The gain was only tempo
rary, for with the decline Of the
Grange the warehouses passed out Of
the growers hands.
Three years later the Goodlettsvill,
Lamb club at Goodlettsville, Tenn.
was formed. Today 1t is the oldes
existing cooperative marketing asso
citation In the United States. This clul
has pooled the lambs and wool of II
members and sold them by grade dur
ing the 45 years OF its existence.
Here and there both in the rang
states and the corn belt the local pool
were put into operation. These organi
xations were generally informal neigh
borhood groups of wool growers VIII
had arranged to bring their wool to
gether and sell 1t at the same time
Different methods Of sale were tried
Sometimes the wool gathered was con
signed to a wool commission mer
chant to be sold for the group. an,
sometimes the buyers were asked 4
come to the local plants. The mai
object Of these local pools was to as
semble large enough quantity b
make It worth while for buyers Z
come and bid on It. Sometimes 1t wa
done for convenience in consigning /
dealer at central point-for ther
has been plenty of dissatisfactio
with prices paid by local dealers.
The plan of organization was Of tn
simplest. There was merely an agree
ment Of n number Of local grower
TO go together in handling their WOO
Sometimes they elected officers, bu
more often they were represented by
committee who arranged the details o
the plan. After a year or two man
of these locals failed, but others cam
to take their places. ana In 1917 ther
were at least 25 successful pools eas
of the Missouri river and three time
as many in the range country. State
wide pools began about 1918 with tn
formation Of the Ohio State pobl.
Cooperative marketing of Ohio voc
! may be called result Of the wal
During the war the government fxe
! schedule on prices which II woul
pay for wool. Dealers all over Obi
made bids based on profit Of to 1
, cents per pound more than usual Thl
, wide margin named was the turnin
: point in the old-form marketing sys
tenn Of the state. In one body pre-
, ducers stood up for their rights.
How the Plan Works.
: In four weeks the Ohio Sheep an