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THE CAROLINA UNION FARMER
[Thursday, May 16, 1912.
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The Jew as a Farmer
The history of the Jewish people is
particularly interesting. First a
tribe of ranchmen, who gradually got
to doing a little farming on the side;
next apparently following mixed far
ming in Egypt. In the course of two
or three hundred years we find them
practically enslaved; then freed, and
after forty years of pratically ranch
life in an arid or semi-arid district,
settling down as farmers in Palestine,
what we might call “forty-acre farm
ers.” The whole policy of Moses, by
his land laws and his usury law, was
to grow a nation of small farmers.
We need not follow their historj
prior to the time of Christ; but after
wards, and as the result of bitter and
nruel persecution, for which there has
never been any excuse, they were
compelled to become a nation of busi
ness men, traders, money lenders,
merchants—and such they remain;
masters of the finances of the world;
and tradesmen who, in whatever line
they choose, are without a peer.
In the United States the Jews have
made a beginning in farming. The
wisest men among them see that,
take it all in all, the occupation of
farming gives more of what is best
and less of what Is worst, than any
other business on a limited scale.
The Jew has been the first to estab
lish in the United States co-operative
credit unions, which means a way of
financing for farmers.
These credit unions are common
among the Gentiles in Europe. Men
with small means can put in what
means they have, and then men or as
sociations with larger means give
them credit. For example, in a cred
it union, which is realily a poor man’s
bank, some small farmers raise $500
for buying shares. Then the Jewish
Agricultural Industrial Aid Society,
financed by men of large means, loans
them two dollars for every dollar
they raise themselves.
These unions have been In opera
tion in this country but a short time.
The proper name for them is really
the People’s Bank. They have so far
been eminently successful. While
these unions began in the Eastern
States, they have been, we learn from
the Jewish Parmer, extended to the
Middle West and Western States. Out
of the 334 loans made last year by
these banks. 111 have been made to
farmers in the Middle or Western
States, aggregating $82,000 out of a
total of $256,000 for all the States.
A Western office has been established
in Chicago.
The great difficulty with these cred
it unions or people’s banks in the
West is that, outside’ of Judaism,
there is no association in shape to
loan these unions money at a reason
able rate, to be reloaned to the poor
er farmers purely for productive pur
poses.
There are over a hundred of them
in Ireland, no one of the members
of which could borrow a dollar from
an ordinary bank—but the combina
tion can borrow from the government
funds or from other banks a suffici
ent amount, which, however, can be
used only for productive purposes. It
may seem strange that people who
have no credit as individuals have
good credit as a combination; but it
is true. Of course, the legitimacy of
the purpose for which this money is
borrowed must be passed upon by
the committee. There must be good
security of the kind, and absolute li
ability of the whole association for
each debt. The results have been
most gratifying. The percentage of
losses have been exceedingly small.
The time may come, and that soon
er than we expect, when people’s
banks of this kind must be establish
ed in the West, The ordinary banks
themselves need just this kind of a
borrower. Without borrowers the de
posits of a bank are useless. The
banks all over the country have mon
ey during the summer season for
which there are not sufficient bor
rowers; and they send it down to New
York or other centers, to be loaned
on call at a very low rate on stock
security.
The country would be infinitely
better off if there were associations
say of renters all over the country,
who need money for productive pur
poses, and who could, through some
provision of law, borrow this money
at a little higher rate than the stock
exchange banks will give, and thus
use it for productive instead of specu
lative purposes.
The Jew may yet teach us a lesson
in production, as well as in finance
and in religion. For it must not be
forgotten that to the Jew the Chris
tian owes the I’eligion which he en
joys. The Christian religion is sim
ply the development of the religious
conceptions of Abraham, the ranch
man. Is it not singular that all the
religions that have any life in them,
or value, came from Asia and from
the ancestry of the Jews?—Wallaces’
Farmer.
MARKETING PLAN.
Our thanks are due Mr. Ed. F.
Pickering for a clipping from a Hous
ton, Texas, paper explaining plans be
ing made for a selling organization
of truck farmers and market garden
ers of that city. It seems that gar
deners who sell on the city market in
Houston have been laboring under a
disadvantage. They lease stalls from
the city, but by ordinance the mar
ket closes at 9 o’clock and the gar
deners are compelled to close their
stands at that hour. It frequently
happens that the regular trade of
grocers and consumers is not suffici
ent to enable a gardener to sell his
supply, and at closing time he may
find himself with a large part of his
load unsold. Then he Is a prey for
the speculating middlemen, who hold
off buying until the last moment and
can almost name their own prices.
The gardener must either accept the
offer or dump his vegetables.
Another disadvantage of this meth
od of marketing is the loss of time.
A gardener must leave his home the
afternoon or night before, remain in
the market until 9 o’clock the next
morning and then go home, sleepy
and too tired to attend to the duties
that wait him there.
To obviate these disadvantages, a
co-operative association, every mem
ber of which is a stockholder, is be
ing organized. A shed on the market
will be leased from the city, a sales
manager employed, with sufficient
help, and the products of all mem
bers of the association will be sold
at this one place. A commission of
10 per cent will be charged for sell
ing and the receipts from this source
will be used in paying salaries, ex
penses and dividends.
A member of the association will
bring his produce to market in the
afternoon, back his wagon up to the
open shed, unload, and get a receipt
in detail for what he has delivered.
Instead of waiting until 9 o’clock the
next morning, losing sleep and wear
ing his team out with the long wait,
he goes home. The next day, if he
so desires, he can receive settlement
for his produce. It is also planned
to ship the surplus produce to other
markets.
On paper the plan looks good. It
should work well, not only in Hous
ton, but in other cities where similar
conditions prevail. Two things, how
ever, are essential to the success of
such a plan or any co-operative mar-
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INCORPORATED
OP CLiarlotfe, IV. C.
CLOTHES HADE TO MEASURE
EXPRESS PAID SI0.50 AND UP
JT Munufacturer’S Wholesaif Points J
To Union members- fit and
satisfaction absolutely guaranteed.
Provision is being made for the
permanent display of our sample
j line of woolens and for taking
measures throughout the yea.’- in
your immediate neighborhood.
Ask the officials of your
local union or write to us for it.
TRADE AGENT WANTED
Live energetic man in each local. To rep
resent members and ourselves jointly. Write for
‘ ieiTrade
particulars today .Address Chie
ieAgent,care
PmilcEts & Consumers Hiuance
tailors to hen and young men
231 TO 241 South Market Street CHICAGO
We have contract and trade arrangements
with J. R. Rives, S. B. A., North Carolina
Farmers’ Union.
Farmers’ Union Fobs
keting plan. In the first place, the
association should consist of at least
a majority of the growers on the mar
ket, and the members should under
stand the absolute necessity of loyalty
to the association and should act on
the principle that in union there is
strength. In the second place, and
most important, such an organiza
tion needs an honest, intelligent, tact
ful manager, one who knows markets
and values. A poor manager can mar
such a marketing plan; a good man
ager can make it a great success.—
Market Growers’ Journal.
Bro. A. R. Dennis, of Uwharrie,
sent us a club of nineteen subscrib
ers last week from his Local. This is
the largest we have received from any
local for several weeks past. Broth
er Dennis says; “Ours was one of
the first Locals organized in Mont
gomery County and has done a good
business, but have said nothing about
it. We have always bought our fer
tilizers through the State Business
Agent, and have always been treated
right.”
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Have you gotten that knife yet?
If not, send in your subscription at
once, as the supply is riming short
and you may fail to get one if you
don’t burry.
We have a limited number of
Farmers’ Union Watch Fobs like
the above which we will give to
those who apply first. We will send
the Farmers’ Union Fob to every
person who sends us $1 Jor a
years subscription either new or
renewal. If you haven’t a watch
fob, be sure and get one while
they last.
CAROLIIVA UNION EARMER
Raleigh, N. C.