The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, June 7, 1924, Page 9

nome |THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE ‘WHEAT GROWERS EDITION ESTABLISHED 1873 A ty BISMARCK, NORTH ‘DAKOTA, SATURDAY, JUNE 4%, 1924 and encouragin the business of marketing wheat coopera.::vely. WHEAT POOL ORGANIZATION WILL PUT SPRING WHEAT ON ITS FEET | The —e of Getting Results by Organization and | Intelligent Direction Is so Obvious That the Present (entral Agency Goes Step Depression in Spring Wheat Area Is Self-Inflicted Pun ment, Says Lykken. BY H. G. LYKKEN, ' Consulting Engineer State Mill and Elevator The production of ‘wheat is wide- Qy distributed in the United States and the production exceeds the do- mestic demand. As a consequence, the price is fixed by competition with all the wieat producing coun- tries in the world, most of which ave considerable advantage ‘in \ transportation costs. The bulk of the Vwheat raised in this country’ differs neither in quality nor value from that raised in the great wheat pro- ducing countries, and commands no greater price. There is a striking exception, how- ever, namely the northern spring wheat raised in the limited area of y North Dakota, parts of Montana and a few counties of Minnesota and South Dakota. This wheat, due to the quantity and quality of its glu- ten content (an clement essentiai for yeast bread making flour) has, ever Since the milling of “patent” flour began, commanded a special price. This price has varied from a few percent to as high as thirty per- cent above other wheat of the same grade, depending upon the gluten content. The gluten quality of this wheat is absolutely essen in the production of flour used “in ‘yeast bread making. The quality and value of slour is, determined by this one element. It forms the very. of the flour :ailling industry country. For the domestic trade the north- ern spring wheat from this limited area is used as a mixture with other wheats to bring up the quality and quantity of gluten required — for standard flour. Very few mills grind 100 per cent spring wheat due to the highest cost and value for mixing. For the fore'gn trade the present tariff laws permit the American mills to buy the northern spring wheat required for milling from nada. There is in other words not n€arly enough northern spring wheat in. the United States to sup- ply the gluten for good flour, re- sulting in a marked depreciation, in tho gluten content and gluten qual- ity of the average flour in the pust few years, Growers Have Monopoly The producers of nurthern spring wheat in the United States have an absolute monopoly if they but ap- preciated it, and need. not be affect- ed in the least by the world wheat prices, In order to maintain even their present flour standard the millers must buy this wheat and use a mix- ture of from thirty to torty per cent with sixty or seventy percent of cheaper starchy wheat. If the producers were ogranized and specified any price within rea- son, based on gluten quality, that wrice would be .paid. It 1s pre-sup- posed, Gf course, that tariff protec. tion would prevent competition from Canadian wheat for mixing of do- mestie supply. There is no substitute and there is no possibility of over production in the limited area in which gluten will grow. As the population of the céuntry increases, the monopoly be- comes more and more absolute and the possibility of higher premiums greater. There are many kinds of tobacco raised in the United States, but There is only one place where the Lurley will grow and the Burley as- sociation of Kentucky and Tennessee gets its own price regardless of what ether tobacos may sell , at. The yeast bread making gluten grows only in a limited area and its ‘price cun be what the growers will ask. Can Go A Step Further The northern spring wheat grow- ers can go a step further. ‘They can fix a higher standard of flour, a 12 or 12 1-2 per cent giuten flour in place of 11 to 11 1-2 per cent of the new so-called standard, requir- ing a stronger spring wheat mix. The North Dakota state mill grinds a 12 1-2 per cent flour oper- ating at full capacity night and day, inéluding Sundays. Yet this mill fails to.keep up with its demand when bigger mills are complaining of their small volume of business. An all spring wheat flour id in de- mand. An all spring wheat flour is as distinctive a product as compared with the war-time product. It will carry @ premium price. It makes a great deal: more bread per barrel, and bread of vastly superior tex- re, quality and appearance. But the point we are sring to make here-is tho possibility of es- ‘tablishing the fixed higher premium that the: northern; spring. wheat is entitled to and which it can.demand, | n this | proper organization and » possibility of getting results direction is so obvious that the 1 sent depreciation the wheat area seems like a self infli ed punishment. It is up to the farmer, baniter a every business man in the northe spring wheat area to put his sho der to the wheel and make hi: tion independent of world compe tion, independent of depression home, and take ac age monopoly that nature has given the peculiar soil and — climate this little spot on the map of eat country that is ever willing pay the price to get what it wan Only Half the Story But this is only half of the ste we can. grow twice the gluten n. produced and get the price, a twice as much can be grown as. how grown in the same number acres, We are not speaking bushels of wheat per b pounds of gluten per acre. This velves both in yield and gluten co tent. To make clear how gluten the value of wheat, the followi tuble is presented. from 20 to 25 cents per pound, d pending on its quality. | On basis of 20°cents per pound the f lowing is the value per bushe! the ‘various gluter content: Gluten Gluten Content Per. Bus 8% 4.81b. 9 54 10 6.0 iL 6.6 12 13 14 15 16 in spri et Valu ° $0.96 It is apparent from the table that ever ct cent per bushel. This difference as a matter of fact, greater a as the farm remote from th ing centers is concerned. To 9.6 1b. of gluten the miller has pay freight on two bushels of per cent gluten wheat, as again 1 bushel of 16 per cent wheat, as an extreme This obviously makes per cent increase in gluten the nigh gluten value less expensive to mar- ket where gluten is the commodi that is in rea’ purchased, ai gluten because the starch element of willing centers and where the yie! in spring wheat area. There is only one way by which wheat producers of North Dako can get the full value from th crop and that is by organized sell- ing with terminal facilities fur de- termining the their product. Organization should also cont bute greatly to a co-ordinated a concerted effort to ‘improve cuality of the wheat, standard varieties and make demands the buyers for the full values. Individual competition the heritage of the Dark Age, a organized effort is the keynote modern progress, be it either in p cuction, marketing or communtt; welfare, gluten content up sec of the affects Gluten is worth the Per Bu. ses the value of wheat 12 per get glut illustration. is the commodity purchased ul flour can be grown closer to the the winter wheat area average twice as much per acre as in the the the premium by intelligen* nd rh ul ti- at in of a to ts. pry ow nd is of of but in- on ng de- e in- is, r MN - to 8 nst eu ner ty nd he Ids ota eir of ri- nd on is nd of Key THANKS The members of the North Dakota Wheat Growers As- sociation hereby wish to ex- press. their appreciation to the Merchants of whose advertisements appear in this section and to Pthe Publishers of the Bismarck Tribune for the co-operation which has made this section possible. These businessmen realize the necessity for a more prosperous Agriculture in the State of North Dakota. For ‘e bespeak your patronage. Mandus E. Bridston, Director of Publicity. tore whochave co-operated - POOLING PLAN IS COMPARED TO ELEVATOR | | Farther Than Local | Warehouse | THE WHEAY GROWE Wheat, the staff of life, is being} | in America today was | andus E. Bridston, Editor | the w case during the world constdered ise more wheat, for “wheat | Now the motif | t different: to obtain fair prices for this that will keep the the farms, that the rest of the erly fed. For the taclysm, | hen it’ was a patriotic | | duty would n the oe of the how drama is somewha whe: toilers on | na- tion may The plot is fifty been endeavoring to get better prices their grain by di ly by the ere er-owned and control local ele- vators to buy ana sell the farmer's wheat, Now comes a new gtoup of representatives who tell us that the so-called co-operative elevators can not adequately sowe the Tens of better prices. — giving their m: reason that marketing gr is a national project while the ele vator is essentially lo They sert that orftanizing the commod- ity, a whole, is essential, that pooling the’ product throu central orgagization is the’ frac way of solving the price problem, A Standard of Comparison Before discuss:ng the relative merits of the two schools of thought, it is worth while to consider bricf- ly the economic factors pertaining to merchandising, and thereby estab- lish a dard for comparison In the last analysis the determin- ing factor in merchandising is supply and demand. Generally- aking if there are more sesters than buyers the prices will be low or vice versa. However in tual practice, this must be qualified, for the time of sale, the place of sale and the equality or lack of in- formation as between buyer and sell- er, play important roles in making the law of supply and demand either operative or inoperative. For instance, if a merchant at- tempted to sell furs in July, he would find the time inopportune, re- gardless of the potential demand for furs, and if he treed to sell furs in hot Brazil, the place would be wrong. In the same way if a manufacturer attempted to dispose of a year’s pro- duction in a few weeks, he would find his markets glutted for lack of sufficient time for the public to con- sume the supply. Further if a giant factory depended on the demand at the point of production, the market would be inadequate to consume the supply. These factors are elemen- tary, but have a vital bearing on profitable merchandising. Then consider the matter of mutual information of buyer and seller, if the seller lacks the proper informa- tion as to the best time and place to sell his goods, he will be unable to act in accordance with supply and demand, and on the other hand if the buyer is possessed of this val- uable market information, there can- not by any chance be a fair trade for one will have a decided advan- tage in striking a bargain. Law of Supply.and Demand We often hear imat the law of sup- ply and demand fixes the price of farm commodities, and therefor it is useless for the farmer to attempt to alter the inevitabts by devious forms of endeavors. “The farmer has been slow to be- ve this, and in that he is right, for the farmer has been selling at the wrong time, in the wrong placé, and- with very little information either of his own product or of market capditions. Long ago he at- tempted to correct this by building grain elevators which constituted his idea of a matket place. At the pres- ent time there are about 4,000 such alleged cb-operative elevatots in the Mississippi valley, where they were first built, but they have brought | ¢ little real relief for the farmer is still selling his wheat at less than cost of production. ‘The American farmer had heard of the famous Rochdale co-operatives in England, and as a matter of course modeled his first endeavor from this, disregarding the fundamental fact that the Rochdale system, served con- sumers who bought, while he was a seller with different problems. A group of farmers in a community pooled their money to provide capi- tal stock; hired @ manager of the corporation to buy grain from them- be pr ot new. p years Amervan farmer for rse means, princ’ jon of farm- as h’ a eal selves to be sold elsewhere at a pro- (Continued on Page 10) farm | ¢, their super-quality wheat at its actual commer PRICE FIVE CEN’ e Contract DRIVE BEGINS JUNE 16 COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT LEADERS GEORGE nk O: Lowden of tion in the middle ner and pre FE. DUIS MMline is le amd northwe sident of the ) ; the fight and George orth Dakota JUST THE WAY BUSINESS DOES, SAYS. FRANK 0. LOWDEN the market until the sterm had I » and then would have de just price based upon actual conditions. The wheat farm- ers, however, unorganized, bowed to the storm and. took their losses. Every wheat grower remembers. all too well this disastrous slump. If this n dealer is correct in his analysis -and he is one of the best informed me in the trade—his state- ment constitutes th verest possi- ble indictment of our present wheat marketing machinery and provides a powerful argument for those who ching changes in the meth@ds of marketing wheat. q fact that three d down the price of a staple commodity like wheat 30 cents bushel, and thereby reduce the income of the wheat growers of the United States ymething like $500 a man, would seem to be proof positive that we ne to examine closely our facilities for wheat mar- keting, with a view to providing some Substantial improvements, Under the wheat pool plan the dividual farm will deliver —h wheat to his local elevator, prefer- ably a farmers’ elevator, much the san s he always has Instead of selling it outright, he will transfer title to the association, which will pay him two-thirds or so of its value (Continued on Page 10) One men of the in the ed that a chief price prevailing for the 1 wheat crop was the superabundane k that had been indulged in a r about the great surplus of wheat above domestic needs. In em- phasizing his point, this gentlem ut early t summer there’ appeared w short time of each oth tements by two prominent officials in| Washingtor to the affect that the United State had a very large surplus of whex and that similar — stater been issued and widel in connection with the Wheat Conference held in Chicago in June. “Those three statements, he concluded, “smashed the price of wheat 30c a bushel.” The grain deals of the country assert with complete confidence that the*present system of —marketiny grain is the most perfect thing in the commercial world. In spite of this perfection however, one of it most conspicuous representatives ad- | mitted that the statements of a few men had produced this astonishin;: result! What other industry could sur if the price of its product could so ly be moved down, Any other | great industry would have — stood | firm, withholding its product ‘sz most important grain States r United recently on for the i low statements should ve n- CASHING IN ON THE GLUTEN; CONTROLLED SALES WILL DO IT (By Geo. E. Duis, President North Dakota Wheat Growers Association) ed by the United States Department of Com- are not producing enough of the premium ats for our own consumption. ‘Nhe strictly hard type (such as are ised in North Dakota) thave a higher intrinsic value for bread making than the semi-hard or the soft wheats and may be properly called premium wheat. The co-operative marketing of premium wheat would seem to be urgently needed as a foundation to obtain the full results from the A recent bulletip iss whi is is @ condition that we are familiar with in North Dakota, where farmers raise this premium wh » but where we heretofore have not received the full premium ‘value, because the what has been dumped on the market. As the Department of Commerce suggests, coroperative marketing alone can remedy this condition. “With this fact in mind, the members and officers of the North Da- kota Wheat Growers Association are ‘determined to so increase the membership in this state, as to secure control of the bulk of the ‘hard gluten wheat in order t competition. among the growers may be eliminated and their aining power increased, that they may sell 1 value. To this end the North Dakota Wheat Growers Association, with the assistance“and support of the National Wheat Growers Advisory Com- mittee of which Frank 0. Lowden, former governor of Illinois, is chair- man, is cqnductitig a statewide membership campaign in June and thrdugh the summer, with the expectation of securing the control of the major portion of the wheat crop in this state before the next harvest. A large number of prominent men in every county in the state are assisting in this drive, fully realizing. the great importance of. its success if the farmers of this state hope to rid themselves of exploit- ing middlemen, and substitute therefore a sound and sane system of Merachandising, within their own control. The members‘of the associdtion are urged to give’ every support in the sign-up campaign, for the more volunteer work done, the less will be the expense to the organization and the farmers who compose its membership. word in this drive! “Every member get a member,” should ‘be the by- ‘The wonderful podsibilities in cashing in on the hard gluten wheat by controlled ‘sales, through a co-operative sales agency, such as the North Dakota Wheat Growers Association, should spur us on to our utmost efforts for in it lies hope of ibetter'times in North Dakota, better times in North Dakota, better homes for our families, better schools for our children and a more prosperous and contented commonwealth. ing speculation | non-stock organ | under the HIGH LIGHTS OF THE WHEAT POOL CONTRACT Various Phases of Marketing | Agreement Are Analyzed of the North Da ‘owers’ Association is | The purpose kota Wheat to promote the business of market- wheat cooperatively, reducing in wheat, stabilizing for cooperative | markets and other It is purposes, 1H non-profit, The Association is incorporated h Da aince state law of J kota. | Ith the | spring | Only wheat growers hs members. This howeve both landlord and tenant, receives part of the proceeds heen 8 operating of 1922, become included | if vither | of the may tion is ma toby} directors, and its princ vie | office is in Grand For | For the purpose of electing d ors the s been divided into y as to have ap 1 amount — of wheat signed up in each. ‘The mem in each district cleet one di- rector, If unable to attend the dis- trict meeting the member may ‘vote by mail The board cexcutive hers. of directors elect ommittee from their mem s, Who are in pmedi ate charge of the management. All cers and employees. handling ds are heavily bonded. ach member of the on one vote regardless of how much an Hong, soc is $10.00 paid ed for organi- and in payment for} R, official or- ion purpose THE WHEAT G gan of the association. No elevator in this state can fuse to handle pooled wheat. dealing with elevators pref nee is given to elevators now owned — by farmers. They are paid a handling bushel besides the regular storage fee. The contract which the grow signs provides that he shall deliver Il his marketable wheat to the as- ation for a period of five years, It is provided, however, that the grower may kee his own use whatever feed and seed he wants; d may be also sold to other grow- re. In on the endeavor If a mortgage is placed crop the association will to have the mortgagee consent — to having the wheat delivered to the ‘ociation in which case the money is paid to the mortgagees until the mortgage is satisfied. The grower delivers his whe: the local elevator. If there no local elevator the wheat may be shipped according to instructions from the association. Payment is made on cording to grade and higher grades with the tein content receiving prices. The association sells the and after deducting the c eration, p the net the growers. The association is for- bidden to make any profits for it- self in the transaction, but may. only make profits for the growers as a whole. Each grower is paid the same amount for the same variety, quality and quantity. The association pays a substantial advance on the wheat as soon as it is delivered to the elevator—about 1 percent of the market value on the day it is delivered. The association sells wheat where- ever it is most profitable to sell it, whether directly to millers, export- ers or otherwise. The association borrows money from the Intermediate Credit bank of ‘St, Paul in order to make this advance payment. For the pur; vances to grow thorized to d by means of wheat ac- protein, the higher pro- the higher wheat e of making ad- , farmers are au- w on the association ight drafts through their local banks. ‘These drafts however, will be only for the au- thorized advance. A grower can stop growing wheat any time he wishes. He is not re- quired to deliver any particular amount, but if he does grow wheat within the term of the contract, within this state he must deliver it. | When the grower makes a crop mortgage he must notify the asso- ciation. The association’ is authorized to cooperate with similar associations in other states with a view of es- tablishing central sales agencies. The contract is made binding and a penalty is provided for its viola- tion. This is in order to protect member against the weakening of (Continued on Page 10) | for one week will | Some of the Merchandising Instead ofl Dumping the State’s Expected to Give Growers I and Consumer, The: Price Value: Say* On the morning of June 16 urry among not now members of the commodity wheat pool, Staple Crop a Voice in Determining the and Reduce Spread Between Producer over 2,000 farmers and busi- | nessmen of North Dakota will climb into their “Jitneys” and who are the wheat producers, for the purpose of convincing them that merchandising wheat in- stead of dumping it into a speculative market, as in the past, is the only means whereby get the full commercial they will be able to have a ‘termining voice in establishing the basic price level, and value f de- rom their product. The wheat pool campaign is being conducted under the joint auspices of the Nationa |Committee of which Frank C, Illinois | Asso | Plan’ Upon the succes |future prosperity of of commodity marketing and inadequate to meet the new system of sl Wheat Growers Advisory Lowden, former governor of is chairman, and the North Dakota Wheat Growers tion, which has been operating under the “California for two years past. of this membership drive depends the the wheat industry of the state, for | the old system of speculative sale is recognized as obsolete modern needs, and the very life of co-operative commodity marketing, through a farmer-owned and controlled wheat pool agency, rests largely on securing cont nsure a dominant position on t tributive cost ber bushel. PROPAGANDIST PLOT EXPOSED BY LOCAL MAN . E. Breen Has Verbal Tus- sle with “Whispering Strangers” The “Whispering Stranger” has come to North Dakota! He first ap- peraed in Indiana during the wheat pool drive there. Just a quiet smooth chap who eases up to a farmer on a steet corner, pats him on the back and generally makes a good fellow of himself, He then turns the con- versation to pooling. “Ah y I know all about that. I’m from the Burley Tobacco district (or perhaps from California or the cotton states). “It's the bunk,” he — continue Farmeré are dissatisfied and the a: sociations are busted Indeed he an paint a black picture! That's what he's paid for. The Indiana poolers drove him out | of that e and he moved to Kansas to try and stop the raid on | the speculator’s profits. Of course there were a great many of the “Whispering Strangers’—the trade never dovs things Some alleged to be members of the tobacco associations and some of | the cotton associations, but when | arless poolers grabbed them by the collar and forced them | to tell their names and their home addresses they wilted and disap- peared, Investigations were con- ducted respect to those who gave their names and addre: » but these proved to be fictitious, clearly indicating the type of men they were. W. E. Br man of Bur! these fellows tonholed Mr, of Bismarck, chair- h county, met two of recently. They but- Breen and began to tell him wh failure the Burley Tobacco and knocked the cooperative movement generally. However they got an earful from Mr. Breen, who was conversant with the real situation in Kentucky, but there is no telling how much damage they have done, and how extensive the “wh: ng vampaign” is being conducted in this state. Similar re- ports are heard from other sections. These-men who tackled Mr. Breen said they were salesmen handling grease and oil, but an inquiry among the merchants disclosed the fact that they had made no efforts to sell their wares in this city, and that | they knew nothing of them. Only one conclusion can be ‘drawn the grain trade has turned loose a bunch of fabricators in this state to discourage the further develop- ment of the wheat pool. | way in a very shirt time. | fying the benefits rol of a sufficient volume to he market and reduce the dis- Must S arge Volume The North Dakota wheat pool be- yon operations in a modest way twa years ago with an initial member- ship of 1,500, Since then the mem- has mounted to the 20,000 ative of — the popularity of the ive idea in this state. At the present time about 30 per cent of the crop of tis state has been signed into the pool, Lut the officials and the members realize that a full measure ofsuc- cess is not possible before at least 40 per cent of the crop is marketed through the farmer-owned sales agency. This involves signing up 30,000 growers and this is the goal set for the membership campaign. Leaders are confident that this can be accomplished, and the zeal which has been displayed by the farmers and businessmen throughout the state indicate that the leaders have not been too optimistic. Not only are North Dakota wheat producers embracing the plan of commodity marketing with vigor, Lut growers throughout the nation are efforts in the sale of their product, t the present time wheat pool associations are operat- ing in thirteen states with varying The latest achievement in tion are in ndiana and Kan- as. n the former state the Farm Bureau Federation sponsored a wheat pool campaign, with the as- ance of the Lowden committee, when the drive closed on May 24, seven million bushels had been | signed up. In Kansas, the Kansas Wheat Growers ssociation and the armers’ Union, which both have been oper- atnig wheat pools the past year, united their forces under the guid- ance of the Lowden committee, and this spring conducted a membership drive that netted 20,000 bushels and leaders expressed confidence that | this would be doubled inside of sixty | da in aCnada the wheat pool move- ment has gained phenominal head- The farm- ers of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have formed wheat pools with a total membership of 70,500. About 5,600,000 acres or 50 per cent of the wheat acreage in Saskatche- wun has been consigned to the pool. In, Alberta the percentage is 70 per cent and the pool has been cperating there successfully all sea- son, while in Manitoba 750,000 acres heve been signed up in a big 1,000,- 600 project. The government of Al- bert ahas granted a loan of $1,000,- 000 to help the pool. But the enemies of the movement are not standing idly by and watch- ing, their profits slip away from them. Knowing that North Dakota is the greatest wheat state in the Union and realizingg that, due to jhe limted supply of the super-qual- ity wheat raised in this state, pre- nts ideal conditions for exempli- of cooperative sales, the grain trade is concentrat- ing its efforts here in trying to dis- couragge the farmers in their ef- forts to help themselves. Their rede of attack consists of spreading rumors of failures in the cooperative movement elsewhere, gossip that ariginates in the minds of those who puss it on. But the farmers are determined that they must control the sale of the irproduce and adopt the same methods that has made America the greatest commercial nation on the eurth, if they hope to secure that measur cof prosperity that ig the heritage of every industrious Ameri- can,