QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



Read carefully. There is not a trouble affecting agriculture 

 that cooperation will not cure. If all the problems are not 

 solved here, it is because no person has .brought them forward. 

 There is a solution in cooperation for every problem in the ag- 

 ricultural book, and for nearly all the other problems of our 

 social, political and business life. 



1. Q. Can farmers organize? 



A. They did in the Grange, Alliance, Farmers' Mutual 

 Benefit Association and other societies. Therefore, they can 

 again, if there is a good reason for it. The reasons are more 

 numerous now than ever before. 



2. Q. Can farmers cooperate? 



A. The farming industry is the same all over the country, 

 and practically all over the world. Farmers all have their in- 

 vestments for one purpose, and all labor to one common pur- 

 pose, viz. : to produce the necessaries and comforts of life. 

 Laborers, on the contrary — while they all sell their labor for 

 wages — are subject to many varied conditions, as found in the 

 factories, stores, banks, mines, on the railroads, in cities or 

 country, etc. They are also influenced by many interests of 

 their employers and frequently attempts are made to prevent 

 them from organizing and cooperating; yet they have organ- 

 ized and do cooperate, and have secured great benefits from 

 such cooperation. If laborers can cooperate for their mutual 

 good under such conditions, who dare say that farmers can 

 not? No fair person will oppose the farmers' organization on 

 the plan proposed by the American Society of Equity. On the 

 contrary every person doing a legitimate business will help the 

 organization, because it will help him. Farmers are surely as 

 intelligent as coal miners and factory employes, and surely 

 they can see it is to their great (yes, enormous) interest to co- 

 operate for every good thing. Every class of people can co- 

 operate except Indians, idiots and the insane — unless we ex- 

 cept the farmers. We will see if farmers must be classed with 

 the above after giving them a trial on a good plan. 



3. Q. Will farmers hold together and cooperate? 



A. Give them all, or half, or quarter, of the benefits that the 



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