Direct Dealing in Grain and Feed 
A Western Man’s View of It 
N page 754 I find the following statement about 
direct grain buying; 
There is no patriotism, much less business, in hold¬ 
ing the Western grain growers and the Eastern dairy¬ 
men apart, and the dealers cannot take any arrogant 
or selfish position if they expect to stay in the busi¬ 
ness. The R. N.-Y. offers its services in trying to 
solve this hard feed question. Talk it out, find the 
best way, and then put it over. The (iermans made 
the vital mistake of neglecting this feed problem before 
the war, and they were forced to practice what amounts 
to confiscation in order to settle it. The dealers can 
have the same thing in this country if they persist in 
any arbitrary policy. 
There has been considerable discus.sion about this, 
mostly from the Eastern farmer’s point of view. I 
desire to make a reply from the Western end of it. 
rO-Ol’ERATIVE M'lI.L ASS( H’I .VTIOXS.—I 
would suggest as the most feasil)le plan the follow¬ 
ing: Organize these by tbem.selves into local co¬ 
operative mill association.s, send out here for the 
whole grains by car-lots, do the grinding there, and 
save the middlemen’s profits, by selling the products 
to their members, at the same prices as ideal deal¬ 
ers charge, rebating all surplus at the end of the 
year pro-rata according to the amount of business 
done, after deducting all expenses and a nominal 
rate of interest on the capital invested. The above 
plan is the way the majority of the farmers’ en- 
terpri.ses out here are operating, and they are very 
successful, and are paying out in nearly all cases. 
Mir.LING FIGURES.—I am at present working 
on the organization of a 100-bbl. mill (“midget” 
type) in this section, and a few figures, showing the 
This leaves a difference of $7.17 in favor of the 
cooperative plan, as milling costs are all taken care 
of, as well as all transportation charges, commis¬ 
sions, etc., through figuring the local retail charges 
on the products. 
RURAL ORGANIZATIONS.—It is time we far¬ 
mers broke the chains that have bound us to old 
custom.s, and strike out on the road of organized co¬ 
operative endeavor. We of the West have aiready 
Hung down the gauntlet through our great political 
organization,, the Farmers’ Non-Partis-an League, 
and are beginning to get reults. There is a Fai’- 
mers’ Union State Exchange at Omaha, Neb., and 
also one at Kansas City, that could as.sist the or¬ 
ganized farmers of the East to solve their feed prob¬ 
lems. But Avhy not have the Eastern farmers join 
the Farmers’ Educational and Cooperative Union of 
FARMERS’ ELEVATORS.—In the first place, ref¬ 
erence is made to the cooperative mills and eleva¬ 
tors out here in the West. It is true there are a 
very large number of elevators out here owned by 
farmers, hut I do not know whether they Avould 
change from their present methods, as under the 
present system of marketing grain, they draw on 
the carloads before they even leave the local yards, 
whereas, if they were to ship through to the East 
they Avould have to wait until the car was re¬ 
ceived before their money Avould he available. This 
refers more particularly to Avhole grains, as there 
are not enough farmer-OAvned flour mills doing sur¬ 
plus grinding to he of any value to the Eastern 
dairymen. Such as there are in the line of flour¬ 
mills are mostly of the “midget” type, and at pres¬ 
ent they cannot do more than take care of local needs. 
Haying Time in Wisconsin. Fig. 325 
savings to the farmer through tlie market in,: of his 
grain b.v the Hour mill route, may be the very in¬ 
formation they are needing. The figures given are 
not theoretical, hut are actual aA'erages: Four and 
one-half bushels of 5S-G0-lb Avheat makes one barrel 
of flour. These figures are based on exhaustive tests 
by both U. S. GoA'ernment and A'arious State stations, 
and especially so by the North Dakota Experiment 
Station, Fargo, N. D., in Bulletin No. 114. As.sum- 
ing such to he the fact Ave find that 4y^ hu. or 270 
lbs. makes lOG lbs. flour, 30 lbs. of bran, and 44 to 
45 Ib.s. shorts. At the present local prices, here at 
Sykeston, N. D., June 2, AA-e find the follOAA’ing A'alues: 
4% l)u. No. 1 Nor. at $2.10 . $0.45 
lOG lbs. or 1 bbl. flour at $15.$l5.(M) 
30 lbs. bran at $40 ton.GO 
45 lbs. shorts at $40 ton .. . 1.02 
- $1G.G2 
America, and through the cooperation of all secure 
the objects sought by all of us farmers? 
North Dakota. c. R. remer. 
R. N.-Y'.—Mr. Remer has given us addresses of a 
number of elevators and cooperative flour mills. Wo 
are collecting nuich information about direct trade. 
As for the organization to AA'hich Mr. Remer refers, 
the preamble of its constitution reads as folloAvs: 
Speculators and those engaged in the distribution c? 
farm products have organized and operate to the great 
detriment of the fanning class. 
To enable farmers to meet these conditions and pro¬ 
tect their interests, Ave have organized the Farmers’ 
Educational and Cooperative Union of America, and 
declare the following purposes: 
To establish justice. 
I’o secure equity. 
I'o apply the Golden Rule. 
To discourage the credit and mortgage system. 
To assist o-ur members in buying and selling. 
