Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1930-04-03
THE PROPOSED CANNING FAC.
TORY IN ASkOV

Editor Askov American:
Perhaps l had better keep my opin-
ion to myself as nobody so far has
asked about my opinion. However, it
has been limited that my name has
been used as being in favor of such
an institution
1t is true that | have said that we
some day might, can rutabagas and
that it might be possible to put them
in the hands of consumers in cans
just as cheap and without waste and
create demand the year around and
that is still my opinion. But l have
also said several times during the
last "a years that l hoped and wished
for Askov that we should never get
any kind of manufacturing plant
which could not give employment all
the year.
| was connected with a canning
factory at Onarga, ILL.,. the three pre-
ceding years before | landed in Askov,
growing vegetables for canning.
AS l saw Onarga. that community
was changed from a prosperous farm
ing community to a community with
quite a number of retired farmers
and large number of factory work.
ers of which a very few had work
the year around-a few transfers or
plowmen for six to eight months, but
far the largest number had work only
six to twelve weeks.
The majority of the population of
this village barely existed. The man
who started this factory thought, and
was quite sure when he started it.,
that it would be a good thing for the
community and for himself.
If we can begin in small way to
can a product like rutabagas, a pro-
duct we can produce ourselves, and
are willing to deliver the raw ma
terial (the rutabaga) and wait for
the money until it is sold and paid for
the same as we do in our creamery,
improving the raw material of one
of our farm crops, good and we'll.
Beginning in a small way there
would not be any great risk and it
might develop into large and paying
enterprise, being purely our own crop.
| suppose canning could wait until
after the busy fall work was finished,
then there would be sufficient local
help available for which it might be
a good thing as a side line and con-
sequently would not change the face
of our community.
1t is, in my opinion, a different
proposition when we have to buy the
largest portion of the raw material
for canning and Furthermore it seems
to me that if that soup or boiled din
rer is good and paying proposition
it naturally belongs in st. Cloud
There is factory running, the la
borer is there and the season could
naturally be prolonged to mutual ben
would cost only a fraction to tack it
to the existing enterprise of what it
will cost to establish a new and sep
arate institution, furthermore a boiled
dinner canning factory can be estab-
lished anywhere and tackled to any
factory in this line where part of the
raw material can be produced just as
cheap or cheaper than here. l am
afraid we could not compete with a
strong financial concern with our
comparatively heavy overhead.
In regard to the selling of our prod
yet it seems to me we create an I'M
necessary medium in lacking our fac
tory to a st. Cloud institution. We
can get just as near to the ultimate
consumer as the ST. Cloud institution.
that extra middleman's expenses
might be the difference between sue
cess and failure. A very small per-
centage can make or break an enter
prise like this, but as long as we con-
fine ourselves to our own product
(raw materially, natural to this COM
munity, we have very little risk and
no competition.
LUDWIG MOSBEK.
Askov, MINI.