The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 16, 1916, Page 20

| Equi TWENTY THE NONPARTISAN LEADER » A Successful Farmers’ Venture BY F. W. YOUNG Secretary of the Equity Elevator . Company of Berlin A Foor boy with very little school- ing, I came to this state from among the big stumps of Wisconsin in 1889. I stayed with my brother, worked for my board and went to school for three years. Later I worked for $20 a month in the summers and in the win- ters I worked for my board or spent my money and time back in Wisconsin. In the spring of 1897 I bought 320 acres of land, paying 50 cents an acre down and 50 cents with interest each year until paid for. In 1899 I borrow- ed $5600 and started farming on a small scale. Crops were rather poor most years, and the price for grain was very poor, so I watched the Minneapolis and Duluth market and I found that the old line elevators were buying grain on from five to 22 cents margin at this station. So I and a number of other farmers in 1908 built an elevator known as the Farmers’ elevator of Berlin. We got as many of the farmers in as we could, and as the crops were poor that year most of the small stockholders were poor and began to sell their stock in the company. By holding our elevator full of grain which we bought in the fall at a low price and selling it in the spring at a good price, we were able to pay a 50 per cent dividend at the end of the first year and leave $287.50 in a sink- ing fund. This made easy sale for those who needed their money for other purposes and most of the poor farmers sold out. Then at the end of the second year, by holding grain again we were able to pay a dividend of 100 per cent and left 12 per cent in the sinking fund, which caused a rum- pus among the non-stockholders, and they began to kick and said we were either stealing or we weren’t paying them enough for their grain. Then we reduced the margin from five cents to two cents and sometimes we were only buying on a one cent margin but they could not see it that way and they began talking Equity. Our third year was a poor year and we did not make enough to pay ex- The Farmers’ Equity Elevator at Berlin, N. D. penses, and éarly in the fall of the fourth year our elevator burned down from some unknown cause. . Our pres- ‘ident then resigned and I was appoint- ed president of the company. ~ The stock of the company now was in only a few hands and as our man- ager did not have the grain fully in- sured at the time of the fire, we were a heavy loser and I decided to dissolve the company which we did, and on the same day a movement was started to organize an Equity elevator, and I was elected a director and secretary of the new company. Our new company was slow in start- ing, as we only got 74 signers, each’ taking one share at $50 each so at our first meeting we decided to raise .the stock to $100 a share. Only 34 paid the cash and we had to take notes from the rest, and we were un- able to get any money on these notes, s0 we were unable to build and decided to buy one of the old line elevators by paying only a small payment down. e lost one year before we got started doing business, and as soon as we got started I found that we had . made a big mistake as our elevator was too small and for some reason we could not get cars and what we did get were all small and poor. So. we did not handle much grain the first year,. and decided to sell the elevator back to the same parties we bought it from. We lost $1100 on the deal. : During this year my cousin built a large elevator on the site where the old farmers’ elevator stood and we bought it as soon as it was finished for $9500, only paying $2000 down with privilege of paying the balance any time within three years. % At the end of the first year in our new house our net earnings were near- ly $6400. We declared a 10 per cent dividend on the paid up capital stock from date:it was paid in, which had increased to $5400. Then instead of aying a patronage dividend with the alance of the surplus, we voted to take the surplus and pay off the in- debtedness of the company, which was’ just enough, and we declared it as a patronage stock dividend. So at the end of our next year our net earnings were large enough, so that we declared a 10 per cent divi- dend on all the capital stock, put $2500 in the sinking fund, and still had enough left to pay 6% per cent on '_Story of Cooperative Enterprisé at Berlin Told by an Officer the dollar for the amount of business done that year. The amount of grain handled during the year was about 800,000 bushels. We also handle all _the flour and grind feed. Last fall, there being a big crop in sight, we bought another old line ele- vator with a good coal shed and we are now handling coal. - The two ele- vators now give us a total capacity of 60,000 bushels. g SR We have already handled over 400,- 000 bushels this year and our gross - earnings are showing up fine. 'We are also going to handle lumber, wire and fence posts this year. N Our farmers’ telephone is also a big success and we now: have about 75 miles of line with 120 phones, which makes the line a paying proposition. We now have 65 stockholders in our telephone company and over . 100 stockholders in our elevator company, which includes nearly every farmer in_ this locality and we handle con- siderable grain here that should go to other towns. ONE of our correspondents asked a most important question, which should furnish food for thought for farmers for a long time. It is this: - “If the farmers till the soil, why should they not govern it?” Yes, why? Mr, Farmer just ask and answer that question to yourself while you labor- iously till this spring, for upon its right answer depends the future hap- piness and prosperity. Farm Buildings of F. W. Young at Berlin, N. D. N the first of February last, the IEquity Cooperative Ex- change paid a cumulative dividend of 8 per cent on all capital stock issued up to August 1st, 1915. This is the first dividend that has ever been paid by this corporation. It was all carned from August 1st, 1915, to December 31st, a period of five months. Our total net profit during this period was $53,000.00, all made in the handling of about 8,000,000 bushels of grain. Our paidup capital August 1st was but $42,939.00. This shows that there is money in the grain commission business, and that it behooves the farmers: to enter this business that they may obtain the enormous profits to be derived therefrom for themselves. The Equity Cooperative Exchange is a farmers’ corporatioh, composed of farmer stockholders and managed by a Board of Di- rectors, all of whom are farmers. Its capital stock draws a cum- ulative dividend of 8 per cent and no more. The balance of the net: earnings of the corporation are distributed among its patrons; and the amount each receives is determined by the amount of business transacted. The Exchange affords the farmers an opportunity of marketing their grain cooperatively, enabling them to do on the terminal grain markets what they have done through their elevators in the local markets, namely -to better the prices on grain. In this way . the farmers can help themselves, by consigning their grain to H_ie Equity Cooperative Exchange at- either St. Paul, Minnesota, or Superior, Wisconsin. The time to do that is now. 5 General Offices, St. Paul St. P Meeting Dates Farmers meetings have been called for the following places. and dates to discuss the cooperative marketing of farm products, all farmers who are interested in better marketing are requested to come to these meetings and bring their neighbors with-them. A representative of the Equity Cooperative Exchange will be present. All meetings are called for 1 o’clock p.-m. "IN NORTH DAKOTA Mayville, N.D.___....... _Y Glover, N.D._._....... —...March 220d - — ' Fulleljton, Ne Do o i) M arcli 24th ; ; Biantford: NoDae i s March 28th Ii\{ MONTANA Anbsloge. . Manaa Office, Fargo, N.D. “and"Supe