The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 4, 1918, Page 15

B T B Another Farmers’ Enterprise Is Attacked | Consumers’ United Stores Company of North Dakota Draws Wrath of Anti-Farmer Press—Wild and Impossible Stories Answered by Company (Editor’s Note: — The Leader has always supported farmers' co- operative enterprises, such as stores, creameries, local elevators, etc. Recently the newspapers ¢ that have fought the Nonpartisan league, and that fight every farm- ers’ organization and business en- terprise, made a sensational at- tack on the Consumers’ United Stores company, a farmers’ co-op- erative company of North Dakota, which is successfully operating five stores. Wild and impossible statements about this company have been made by the anti-farmer press of North Dakota. We asked J. W. Brinton, general manager of the Consumers’ United Stores com- pany, to make a frank statement about the stores and what they are doing, in reply to these attacks. We publish herewith - his state- ment, which is conclusive evidence that the attack on the stores is part of the same old game to dis- credit, if possible, all farmers’ en- terprises everywhere.) HERE recently appeared in the newspapers ‘of North Dako- ta a vicious attack on the Con- sumers’ United Stores com- ipany, a farmers’ co-operative store or-. nization now operating five farmers’ tores in North Dakota of which I am eneral manager. So much misinfor- ation has been spread by these at- cks, which have been widely copied n the press hostile to the farmers in ther states, as well as in North Da- ota, that the United Stores company believes that it should issue a frank atement in regard to these stores promoted by the farmers. The farmer members of these stores and their pa- ons are, of course, perfectly familiar with the enterprise and all its details and highly pleased with the great suc- cess that the stores have had to date. But it is prcbably in order; since the newspapers hostile to the farmers and their enterprise. have so grossly mis- epresented the matter, to make a frank statement for the benefit of the general public. ‘“The Consumers’ United Stores company is a co-operative farmers’ or- ganization now operating farmers’ stores in North Dakota at Minot, Ken- mare, Crosby, Garrison and Devils Lake. Several hundred farmers are members in each of these stores and are now buying their supplies at a con- ‘siderable saving, which promises to be greater as the business becomes more firmly established. The United Stores company - will start other co-operative farmers’ stores now being organized, and as farmers may demand them in various localities. COMPANY’S PLAN OPEN & TO ALL THE PUBLIC - “The articles of agreement that the farmers ~ have signed in organizing " these stores are public property and are in plain language, which every one .can understand. The agreement is that these stores when established a margin of not to exceed 10 per cent . ‘for doing business. This agreement is being faithfully adhered to in the five . stores in operation, and will be adher- ed to in such other stores as may be f ‘established by the Consumers’ United Stores company. This plan has, of course, greatly lowered the price of “gupplies to farmers, ‘and that is prob- ably the chief reason why this attack 4 has been made will' furnish supplies to farmers at . . wholesale prices, plus freight and plus “This is, in brief, what the Consum- ers’ United Stores company is and what it is doing. It has nothing to conceal and is working in close har- mony with all of its members. "Yet, with these facts to go upon, the Grand Forks Herald and the Fargo Forum, and their followers among the rest of the press in North Dakota, make such frantic and sensational statements as the following: “The public is told by these papers that the Consumers’ TUnited Stores company intends to ‘monopolize and dominate’ every business industry in North Dakota. We are told that the stores company ‘has collected millions’ of dollars from farmers and it is inti- mated that most of this money has gone into the pockets of individuals. We are told that the stores com- pany expects ‘to put every merchant in North Dakota out of business.’ We politicians and the big business inter- ests. “At the foundation of this attack is the desire on the part of the Fargo Forum and the Grand Forks Herald to set the small business men of the state against the farmers. These papers, and the interests they serve, have utterly failed in former attacks of this nature made against the American Society of Equity and its co-operative enterprises, against the stores of the Farmers’ union and other co-operative business ventures of farmers. These papers, and the interests they serve, are now pushing forward the small business men of the state and at- tempting to scare them by sensational and untrue accounts of the purpose of the farmers in organizing these stores. “Of course, they have intimated that there is something crooked about the Consumers’ United Stores company. NOISE FROM THE SIDE LINES NOTHING NOR NopadY BuT . ME! —F. Opper in the Washington Times are told that this is only ‘a starter, and that the stores company will soon control all the banks, livery stables, hotels, restaurants, barber shops, shoe shining parlors, pool halls and every other ~kind of --conceivable business in North Dakota, not excepting news- papers and peanut stands! ATTEMPT TO STIR UP THE MERCHANTS © “Wild statements as to how many farmers belong to the Consumers’ United Stores company, about the number of stores to be started and other sensational details, for which there is not a particle of foundation, are given in these attacks against this farmers’ institution. “We feel complimented indeed that “the modest organization that we have formed, in order to supply farmers with their needs at cost in a few local- ities, is credited with the power and ‘millions of dollars’ which these at- tacks attempt to show. It. would be futile to attempt to reply to all these ridiculous statements. “The management of the Consumers’ United Stores company is not sur- prised at this attack. We have been. expecting it for some time. We knew that no farmers’ organization or busi- ‘ness ‘enterprise can be established without bringing upon itself the wrath - ot the newspapers whjch serve the : "//" ”/7////, 7 +(LESS NOJSE THFRE_; 0/4 PL\BI.I( . ORINION e ok =l F o Of course, they have attempted to dis- credit the management of the com- pany and to twist the facts, in some way, to reflect on the Nonpartisan league, which dominates North Dakota politics, and on President Townley and other officers of the Nonpartisan league. “I might say that, if such a contract as the Consumers’- United Stores com- pany has with the farmers existed be- tween the oil trust and the farmers, between the sugar trust and the con- sumers, between the leather trust and the laboring man and between the steel trust and the government, the problem of the high cost of living would be largely solved, and the gov- ernment would not now be forced to exert tremendous efforts to prevent it- self from being skinned by profiteers. It is natural that papers like the Grand Forks Herald and the Fargo Forum, and their imitators in North Dakota, can see nothing good in co-operative enterprises of farmers. The very suc- cess of the stores that have been es- tablished by the stores company has provoked this attack. STORES NOT FIGHTING NORTH DAKOTA MERCHANTS “You may rest assured that, if the Consumers’ United Stores company, and the farmers who.belong to it, were not making a success, were not serving - the farmers in a beneticial way, there S PAGE FIFTEEN would be no attack of this kind. “The United Consumers’ Stores com- pany, contrary to what these attacks seek to show, is not fighting local mer- chants or any other legitimate North Dakota business enterprise. fort to convince the people that the farmers have organized these stores to injure somebody, or to hurt the state, have a perfect right to organize co- operative fact, during the campaign in 1916 in North Dakota, these same newspapers . stated that state-ownership of eleva- tors and other terminal facilities was wrong, and these things should be done co-operatively by the farmers, And yet, when the farmers attempt to work co-operatively, even in a small way, they are still not immune from attack. The ef- will, of course, fail. Farmers business enterprises. In “The Consumers’ United Stores com- pany is not directing its energies to- ward injuring any business man in North Dakota, or any other North Da- kota citizen or individual. It is seek- ing merely to give the farmers some relief—and is doing it—from the big trusts which are oppressing alike the farmers and the small merchants of North Dakota. The enemies of the North Dakota farmers, who are at- tempting to line up the small mer- chants and the business man gener- ally against the farmers stores, are doing nothing themselves to solve the problem of trusts and monopolies which control markets, and oppress both the farmer and the small busi- ness man, who suffer alike from these abuses. “What have local merchants to say about the price of farm machinery, shoes, oil, fleur, sugar or any other necessity? Nothing! These things are controlled at the source of supply by the trusts, and the small merchants and the consumer alike suffer. What can one merchant in a small town do against these great monopolies? Noth- ing! But a farmers’ co-operative en- terprise, operating a number of stores in different localities, by uniting the farmers’ buying power—eventually, if need be, operating their own whole- sale houses and factories—can to .a large degree solve this problem. NEWSPAPERS SHOULD SUPPORT THE STORES “What have the anti-farmer news- papers and the interests they serve in North Dakota ever done or what are they doing now to protect the farm- ers and the small merchants of the state from the abuses of monopolies and controlled markets? Have you ever seen these papers fighting these big interests in the interest either of the farmers or the small-town mer- chants? Have these papers been the ones that have pointed out and ex- posed the excessive profits made by these monopolies as a result of the war? Let these papers answer these questions! Let them show that they have a better way of protecting the farmers than the Consumers’ TUnited Stores company has. “It is our opinion that every news- paper in North Dakota should be fight- ing for and protecting North Dakota institutions like the Consumers’ Unit- ed Stores company; that they should be lending their aid and encourage- ment to the farmers and their co- operative institutions. Are they serv- ing the small-town merchants and the business houses in general in North Dakota by attacking the United Stores company? No! They are serving the interests of the big monopolles', and