Newspapers / The Carolina Union Farmer … / Jan. 11, 1912, edition 1 / Page 7
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Thursday, January ii, 1913. THE CAROLINA UNION FARMER THE FARMERS UNION !By S^allonal Secretary Jl. C, DA VIS, AND GO-OPERATION Continued From December 21, Issue. J It is very evident that co-opera- hve endeavor to secure this result fnust take the form of societies of production, and while some latitude niay he allowed to cover some fea- •^ure not embodied in this idea, the principles of this form must pre dominate. Attempts thus far made the organization to market farm products have fallen far short of co-operative ideals. A great ma jority of the ware houses and ele- '^ators built, owned and operated the membership are in no sense co-operative. The success of some these institutions have, in a fi nancial way, been indeed phenom enal, but the results have been those a private stock company rather dian that of a co-operative stisti- tution. The kind of crop, whether or not is competitive, also the percent- of such crop actually grown ^nd controlled by the membership factors which must be consid- ered before attempting to formu- a plan for selling to the best advantage. Most of the products American farm arc compet- ^rivc; that is, they are grown in parts of the world, or are ^^^Wn in other sections of our own Country where the organization has not yet reached. So long as the ^ernbership does not control a suf- hei- • Farmers Union into every section of the United States. ent percentage of a crop to em power them to dictate prices, the of the society handling such ^ ould be to sell direct to the con- ntner, and while no more than the P^ovailing market price may be ob- ned, the producer will gain by l^he “middleman’s” profit. ^ interchange between the orga- ^^^ation in different localities of n products as are grown in one ^ ion and consumed in another ‘^y be made profitable to produc- by eliminating the “middle- an’e” s profit at both ends of.the • ihe spirit that possess some jj.^^^^nnd more for a commodity .^yn a brother member of the than can be obtained upon npen market, should not be en- dev^^^ ^ocal organizations as are trade with the consum- are ^^^^c in other localities, and i'cciprocating by using products sections direct from the Port should be given hearty sup- ’ Nothing will so impress up- Cp- .^^ers of all sections the ne- organization as these of successful co-opera- evoJ. the result of this will ^tuaiiy be the spread of the The scheme for handling these crops that are but slightly compet itive, or those crops over which the organization may, by reason of their numbers, hope to exert a con trolling influence, may be more far reaching in its intent. The nearest approach we have in this country to a non-competitive crop is cotton, so we may be pardoned for discussing its handling somewhat in detail, be cause it will be used merely as an example of what may be accom plished when the producers of any given crop are thoroughly orga nized and equipped to handle it. There is so little world competi tion in the production of this crop that there is absolutely no excuse for it not bringing each year its full economic value to the producer. Some of the principles about which we preach so much, and upon which our organization is supposed to be based, are equity, justice anc the golden rule. In keeping with these principles, the first step be fore beginning to move the crop o any year, is to determine upon the equitable price. There arc a num ber of elements that enter into the calculation. It must be considerec in its relation to the entire socia fabric of the world. The demanc for it as a necessity, together with the standards of living and genera level of the consuming public mqst have consideration, and a fair un derstanding of these, coupled with a knowledge of conditions which surround the producer, tending either to diminish or increase the cost of production will give a basis upon which to fix a fair valuation. The price of no crop can be fixed upon what it was worth last year, nor what we hope it will be worth next year, but must be determined by its economic value this year That the nation’s greatest asset has been unmercifully slaughtered dur ing this Fall and winter cannot be denied. So flagrant has the injus tice been that every business inter est in the South has raised its voice in an attempt to stem the down- \vard trend of prices. Considered from the standpoints suggested above, no possible excuse can be given for the prices that are being offered the farmer. It is humiliat ing to admit, but nevertheless true, that there is an element in control more powerful than the Commis sioners of Agriculture — more powerful than the Governors; more powerful eren tlian the vast army that brought the crop into ex istence, and that is a handful of men operating a fictitious exchange that bears no sort of relation to producer nor consumer. More meetings have been held— more speeches made over the pres ent‘crisis, for crisis it certainly is, than in any one year yet,—the ef fect of these upon the market has not been noticeable. Neither will it be. Great good has been done, of course, because men have been made to think seriously about handling their own business affairs. But the solution of the question of obtaining fair prices has not been remotely approached. There is but one force in the field capable of reaching a solution, and that is the Farmers Union. Had we not lost sight of the co operative feature in warehouse management, and slept through the years of com’paratively fair prices, this blow to our pride and pocket- books might have been avoided. Co-operative handling of the crop will solve the problem. One of the most difficult things to ac complish, it seems, this year, was to get sufficient capital behind the lolding movement. This trouble is due to but one thing, and that is the chaoric condition of our warehouse system. Lack of system would per haps be more proper. No trouble need be anticipated in securing loans when the local warehouses are properly bonded and arc made to bear some relation to each other. The urgent need of vast sums o money to loan to the membership who expect to hold a portion of the cfop would seem to show that a co operative society for hadling the crop should be a combination of the first and third forms suggested in the beginning of this article—e.g. a society of production and credit. It does not follow that such an or ganization must have sufficient funds of its own to loan its mem bers, but it does mean that such an organization must have sufficient facilities for storing and handling the product as will insure abundant credit in the money markets. Our attempts to eliminate competition among individuals by building local warehouses, was laudable, but if each bale of cotton was sold through the local warehouses, so long as they remain as at present, having no relation one to another, competition is as evident as in the days when the individual sold at auction on the streets. Some of the State Unions, recognizing this, have federated their warehouses under one management, which is evidently a step in the right direc tion. There are but two more steps to take and the goal will have )een reached: put these federated warehouses upon a co-operative jasis and form an organization ca pable of handling the entire output. 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The Carolina Union Farmer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 11, 1912, edition 1
7
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