Newspapers / The Carolina Union Farmer … / May 2, 1912, edition 1 / Page 2
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I*age fwo THE dAKOLIHA UmON J*AEMEk [Thursday, May 2, l9l2. Financing the Cotton Crop Beniamin West in Texas Farm Co-operator The Farmers’ Union is the out growth of a widespread conviction among farmers that they needed the pow'ers of combination to guard their interests, but after nine years the or ganization is, as in the beginning, only a bundle of possibilities. Among many sensible things wise ly put, the Texas Farm Co-Operator says: “If the farmer wants his cot ton financed this fall, he must com mence now to make the necessary ar rangements. The Farmers’ Union will never succeed in financing cot ton until they establish banks and trust companies with sufficient capi tal. These banks to have depart ments, in conjunction with ware houses, for buying and selling and financing cotton for members of the union. The handling and financing of cotton is a business proposition, and the farmer must make up his mind to do this business for himself, or pay someone else to do it for him. Then get down to bed rock and quit pursuing phantoms and airing im possibilities.’’ The man who wrote the above has wisdom and practical common sense; he knows the little dog may grow and bark, but the big dog keeps the bone. It should be clear to every reasoning Union farmer that in not organizing upon the comprehensive lines suggested by the Co-Operator, he leaves himself and his kind no al ternative except selling to small lo cal buyers, or shipping to a commis sion firm, who usually get the money they advance from banks by hypoth ecating the cotton shipped them and giving a note or notes carrying the authority to sell. Most of these notes have a provision like this: “In the event of a decline in the the market value of said collaterals, the holder shall have the right to require de posit of additional collaterals from time to time in such suffciency that the salable market value of the en tire collaterals shall be at least twen ty per centum in excess of the indebt edness. A failure to deposit addi tional collaterals when demanded, or to pay at maturity and of the indebt edness, shall be full and sufficient au thority for the holder to sell the aforesaid collaterals at public or pri vate sale, with or without notice, the net proceeds in whole or in part, as may be necessary, to be applied to wards liquidation of said note, and other indebtedness herein contem plated, and the bank at any public sale may purchase the said collater als. “The provisions of this agreement shall extend to and include any ex changed, substituted or additional collaterals, and said bank shall not be required to give any attention to wards the collection of collateral pa per.’’ Owning four-fifths of the cotton, by reason of money advanced and the cost of handling, and not sharing in the profits of a possible rise, but cer tain to suffer from too great a de cline, banks are watchful of market changes, quick to notice weakness, uneasy when the price goes down, and when the decline continues a day or two, grow nervous and insist upon additional security, or the sale of the collateral. Put yourself in the bank’s place and you will realize its action is perfectly natural, as is the sub mission of the commission merchant who carries the load. Declining mar kets bring hard, hard lines to the “load toater,’’ who, like the dog tied under the wagon, can howl, pull back and choke, but must go with the wa gon—he does the best he can, know ing that to sell during a low priced period means the farmer will believe to I he was “hocuspocussed’’ and not . I sell, or strengthen the collatera means the bank will sell the cotton and ruin his credit. So the commis sion merchant does what you, or any one else would do under like circum stances, sells the cotton, pays the bank, saves the firm’s credit and ac cepts the condemnation of those so unfortunate as to draw more on their cotton than its market value would carry and who did not reduce the amount against it. Under a steady or advancing mar ket the commission merchant would prove useful, hold the confidence of the shipper and meet the hearty hand-clasp of the banker, but when markets tend downward and shippers fail to put up margins, the commis sion merchant’s lot is very unsatis factory, he has got to move as the wagon moves, or choke. Business men understand that when more money is drawn on any security than its market value the party holding the securities will do his best to save himself from loss, and they also understand that when the value of the collateral decreases and the money drawn changes to a greater amount than is safe, the owner must protect by reducing the amount out or adding to the collat eral to prevent its sale. As a rule farmers do not remember this until too late, hence their great need for a corporation strong enough to take care of them. In spite of its bigness any think ing farmer can grasp that the Farm Co-operator points the only road for the man who must borrow heavily on his cotton, and such a farmer must see that if a number of them will be guided by such advice, the emotional upheavals resulting in in effective efforts will give place to swift, steady development, suiting these times when only those who think and do things as successful men do, are prosperous. Expert woodmen sometimes go back over their trails to check up new landmarks for their future course. We can profit by reviewing some of the lessons that have brought us thus far and gain better knowledge for our future progress in the perfection of details and fulfill ment of ideals. Such reviews will show that none of the enterprises we started have secured the dominating success our conditions demand, each fails of the progress and permanence necessary—this comes from the re fusal of our common sense to accept the visionaries, emotionally estab lished enterprises as worthy of con fidence, this same common sense tells us no practical results can be found in disregarding the business wisdom of this age, and clamoring for a mil- lenium when the Golden Rule shall be the standard of business. To suc ceed the farmer must do as others do who win—he must build something common sense will believe in and strong enough to protect his money making interest. Tl»e Buying and Stealing of Votes. The Lincoln Times.] The Charlotte Chronicle says the ministers of Davidson County have organized for the purpose of putting a stop to the wholesale buying of votes in that county in the way of paying poll taxes for votes and other wise debauching the ballot box. The charge is that the electorate of Da vidson County is being debauched to a fearful degree by political leaders. The move of these ministers Is a good one and should be followed by the ministers of about ninety-nine other counties in the State. Nobody who is informed will attempt to deny the fact that elections in all parts of this State have been bought and stolen promiscuously for ten years by the the dominant party. This is a matter that should receive the earnest atten- of all good citizens. No matter is more injuriously affecting the moral standard of our young citizenship to day. And nothing will make more for the moral uplift of our citizenship than the purification of elections. If there is a harvest ahead—even though it be a distant one—it is poor thrift to be stingy with your seed.— Carlyle. IMPORTANT TO UNION FARMERS SPECI4L PRICE DIRECT TO YOU, FROM FACTORY TO FARM. We are selling our Famous Sub-Soil Plows direct to Farmers at Factory Prices. If you are intersted in Sub-Soil Plows, Write us. We guarantee every Plow, and if it is not exact ly as represented, we will refund your money. COFFEE and CLEMMER Gastonia, North Carolina. Mention this paper when writing. THE RURAL PROBLEM —OR— Why Farmers Should Organize and Stay Organizea By J. Z. GREEN, State Organizer-Lecturer North Carolina Division of Farmers’ Union. I— ^To Protect and Promote Class intei'ests. II— To Co-operate as a Neighborhood. III— To Curtail and Control Production of Crops for the Market. IV— To Establish and Alaintain a Co-operative Marketing System. V— To Price the Products of tlie Farm. VI— To Co-operate in Buying. VII— ^To Stay Organized and Educate. Do you need a lecturer to visit your Local Union? Here are seven lectures dealing with neglected rural problems that can be solved only through class organization and co-operation. Are there any indifferent weak-kneed members on your roll who haven’t learned enough about the Farmers’ Union to stick and stay the fight? Here are seven lectures that touch all the fundamental prin ciples of Unionism and Co-operation. Do you have any reading farmers in your vicinity who haven’t connected themselves with the Farmers’ Union? They wouldn’t come out to hear a lecturer, perhaps, but you can send these seven lectures in book form (32 pages) to each of them and they’ll read them in their homes. Hundreds of men have been converted to the Farmers’ Union by reading one copy of the Carolina Union Farmer. These special lectures will appeal to the reading, thinking farmers, and that’s kind that must be depended upon to carry this movement to victory and success. This 32-page booklet is now ready for distribution and will be sent out from State Secretary-Treasurer’s office at cost of printing and postage, at 4 cents per copy, or 40 cents per dozen by mail. A littl® money appropriated from your local treasury and invested in copi®® of these lectures for distribution in your vicinity will prove to iJ® ^ missionary fund that will be fruitful of more permanent results, at I®®® cost, than is posible by any other method of campaign work for the Faf' mers’ Union. In ordering these booklets you can remit amounts in 2-cen* postage stamps, if you prefer. Order only from E. C. FAIRES, ABERDEEN, N. Cl*
The Carolina Union Farmer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 2, 1912, edition 1
2
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