THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 387 



best agricultural journals, and by assisting them to co- 

 operate with each other, teach them to conduct their 

 business more intelligently and, therefore, more profit- 

 ably. 



" ' Another reason,' said Mr. Brainerd, i why our far- 

 mers are not prosperous, is because they have no control 

 over the market for their produce. As soon as the 

 crop is harvested, no matter how the market is, all the 

 farmers of this whole country begin to rush forward 

 their grain to Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Eastern 

 markets. A similar policy would ruin any merchant 

 in the country. Suppose a man in the city with a large 

 stock of valuable goods on hand has paper becoming 

 due and has no ready money with which to pay : does 

 he put his goods up at auction and sell them for any- 

 thing they will bring without regard to cost ? No, sir ; 

 he goes and makes a new loan, and before that becomes 

 due he has probably sold a part of his goods at a good 

 profit. Now, why shouldn't the farmer adopt the same 

 policy? Why shouldn't he say: "My wheat, to yield 

 me a good profit, should fetch $1.10 a bushel: if any- 

 body wants it for that he can take it, but it isn't for 

 sale at a less price." Of course it would do no good for 

 one farmer to adopt this course ; but suppose a majority 

 of the farmers of Wisconsin and Minnesota were to do 

 it, and the price set was a fair one, don't you suppose 

 we would get it ? Talk about the price of wheat in 

 Liverpool regulating the price here in Wisconsin. It 

 may fix the price in the Eastern States, and if it was 

 inflexible there and we held out too, why the transpor- 

 tation companies would have to move our crops for the 

 difference. The fact is, the price would either go up in 

 New York or freights would come down. Don't you 



