AMERICAN SOCIETY OF EQUITY 137 



These conflicting philosophies were responsible for many of the rifts and 

 cleavages within Equity ranks. 59 



Although the exchange was organized in 1908, it was not until 1911 

 that it was incorporated under the laws of North Dakota for the purchase 

 and sale of grain on consignment. Its executives included John M. Ander- 

 son, former member of the North Dakota legislature who headed the 

 exchange until 1922, as president; A. A. Trovatten, a grain solicitor, em- 

 ployed to drum up business; and Pliney E. Cooper as agent and sales 

 manager. The sales of the exchange were small between the years 1908 

 and 1912, amounting to only 805 cars for the period, and out of these, 68 1 

 were reportedly sold through members of the Minneapolis Chamber of 

 Commerce. Cooper's services with the exchange ended on August i, 1912, 

 when George S. Loftus became sales manager. This marked the beginning 

 of the third and perhaps the most spectacular phase in the history of the 

 exchange. 60 



Loftus was more a reformer than a business manager. He came to the 

 exchange as an aggressive and uncompromising foe of the organized grain 

 trade and as a seasoned campaigner for La Follette progressivism. He 

 hardly fitted the requirement of an expert trained in the principles and 

 practices of cooperative marketing. His chief qualification was that, in sea- 

 son and out of season, he fought for and represented the point of view of 

 the small shipper. Like the farmers among whom he worked, Loftus was a 

 great admirer of Senator La Follette. He was an artful platform speaker, 

 and his mastery of farmer psychology brought farmers from miles around 

 to hear him denounce the "grain combine." Naturally Loftus was cordially 

 hated by the organized grade trade, which regarded his elevation to office 

 as tantamount to a declaration of war against the Minneapolis Chamber 

 of Commerce. 61 



59. Plan of the American Society of Equity, p. 20; Everitt, The Third Power, 

 third edition, p. 277; Equity Farm Journal, I (December, 1907), p. 4; (May, 1908), 

 p. 5. 



60. House Resolution 424, 63 Congress, 2 session, p. 340; C. U. Pierson, The 

 American Society of Equity (Casselton, N. Dak., 1909), pp. 1-2 [pamphlet]; State 

 of North Dakota Legislative Manual, 1907, p. 370; Federal Trade Commission 

 Decisions (Washington, 1926), VII, 145. 



61. Equity Cooperative Exchange, Cooperation in Marketing of Grain (Minne- 

 apolis, n.d.) [pamphlet]. 



