Year: 1874

At the meeting of the Illinois farm
ers at Decatur, paper was read by
Mr.. Creighton on the question of CO.
operation among farmers, which con-
tains some new and excellent points.
We extract the following:


''The present system of buying and
selling renders the farmer entirely
helpless. The buyer and seller both
have him in their power, and each con-
siders him Legitimate prey. In the
spring he plows his field and plants his
seed. From daylight until dark he
labors; from early spring until the last
ear of corn is harvested in winter,
July's scorching sun and December's
freezing storm alike find him at his
daily toll And, when the fruits of
his years labor are ready for market,
does he-yea. can he-count the capital
he has invested in his farm, in his
team and in his tools, the expenses of
keeping up repairs, and reasonable
wages for his labor, and say: This or
that cost me so much, and, to get pay
for my labor and interest on my invest
ment, must have so much for corn
and so much for pork? He who eats
bread and meat must pay the cost of
production. Does he say that? Can
he say it? No! He does not pretend
to put price upon his own labor. He
simply goes to the buyer, the dealer,
the speculator-not the consumer
with the product of his years labor in
his open hand, and humbly says, Here
it is; what will you give me for it?
Here is the cream of the soil | have
labored years and lived hard to buy.
and my wife and children have toiled
like slaves to produce it. Here it is ;
and as humbly accepts what the buyer
may choose to offer as the veriest beg
gar would receive penny, though the
price be not sufficient to pay fifty cents
per day for the labor of producing it.
But when he goes to the agent or
merchant, the scene is changed. From
the smallest to the largest article of
merchandise the farmer asks. What
will you take? The dealer fixes a
price and says, I must have my money
back with profit If the farmer does
not see fit to pay the price just then
the merchant puts his goods back on
the Shelf until the farmer is com
PEELED to have them, and accepts his
terms.


1.-The consequences of this system
are, that the farmer is hard pressed ;
farming does not pay expenses and
leave anything to support the farmer S
family; debts accumulate against him;
mortgages are piled upon his land
with his meager income his taxes prove
a heavy burden; he is not able to
spare the time and means to educate
his children; has no leisure for enjoy
ment OF self-culture; and is deprived
of all the luxuries and many of the
comforts of lifs.


He has vainly tried to remedy this
by increased hours of labor, by tilling
more acres of land, by taxing himself
and soil to their utmost capacity to
produce more bushels of grain and
more pounds of meat. But, alas the
more he produces the less he realizes
on it.


These and other abuses have driven
us to the wall. We now stop and
think, and resolve to organize for self
protection. 1t is obvious that there
must be change and, in my judg-
ment, If pecuniary benefit is to be OBJ
tanned by organization, it must be, to
a very great degree, through co-opera-
ton in buying and selling The first
question that will suggest itself to the
mind of a prudent man probably will
be: Is it practical? Can we adopt a
plan of cooperation in buying and
selling that will bring us some relief
Can we so arrange it as to buy for less
and sell for more? | think we can.
think it is practical. We must buy
directly of the manufacturer, and sell
as nearly as possible to the consumer
When we are once thoroughly organ
lied in large district, say the State OF
Illinois, We can easily make our wants
known to the manufacturer and whole
sale dealer, who would be glad to secure
our trade through any channel that
would give them access to us. They
will not persist in selling their machin.
cry to agents, who have no use for it
when they can reach directly the hand
for which it was made"