The Farm-Labor Union News (Texarkana, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 1925 Page: 2 of 4
four pages : ill. ; page 27 x 21 in. Digitized from 35 mm microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
212
E
m
ememn
1
(
so
0) • btiess The rovi-:
possible to secure, and in a
conditions, des little good towar tite
solution of the problems which
usually congregate.
villages.
| location but a
Texas but that has at least, one-thire frem being established.
xer
cifie pro-
month rent bill
necessary
at pre-
| *
r
uninviting app
other business houses it is safe
)
First, By ClassOrganization.
find your tone with an investment of
r
4
head expenses and show a reasonable
pulated
ol
return on their investment.
serve funds.
«
Plans of Organizing CoOperati
nflieting interests without tak -
There is but one way’to organize
its folds
economic
whose interests are necessarily
" dif
farms.
for
efforts to reach our end industrial employes, with a small
work, and
ising his son upon his entrance into
tion until there is
I
r
I
to carry the business through ta period I of the
d
ing uoon your
A
,i
man you will
ly.
State line Milling
ith
with his patronage.
t
KIOWA, KANS.
Government sta-
■
—
selves presegt conditions will con -
BALANCE VOUR NW EXPENSE
; shcvld he allowed the privilege of giv, of every tra
I CLUB
plet
every
STABARO MT
standi
0
WILCOX LUMBR CO
QUUALITY A SERVICE
could be retired at a three or four per
MeKINNEY
This is A
private business
X Fite Station
Prineeten
i
1
■4- ^
iow have appeal to th selfishness of
uman nature. No thought of equity'
iters into its operation, It is cold
ilooded business engaged in for the
vrofit there is in it. It appeals t
few dollars more
is nuot as bad as
4
r
Under the heading of "eo-opera:
tion” brother Bynum dees some bet
ter. But there can be- no cosopera
♦
I
\
ditions, a condition which 3 known t«
every farmer, hut ie leaves him there
a basis of "class" distinctios you pre
ient rather than develope the dignitv
oi the class or the business in which
that class might he engaged. When
AlGi: ,
osTor
have a state of rociety in which the
strongest class is the dominating class
That is the state of society today in
I
\
\
STAR SMOE SHOP
ERNST HICKFANG, Prop.
North Side of Square
BONHAM, TEXAS
I
ry to buy a small article. Of course,
they should do it, but will they? Aad
it must be umoinhew* ever ytime you
lose a sale you competitor gams one.
That decreases your turnover and in-
creases your perce nt a— of overhead.
da ywhen you have pm 10 alvertis
CONTNURD ON PAGE 3)
others to go two
of their way whe
of subs
KATS*
TON OF
TUI
cen tmargin,
a a business
* rmanency.
Advertising Your Business
That is pays to advertise is as true
operative stores are
statement is false.
E‘
As
I
I
I
to give efficient ami prompt service
that ami to keep on
BONIIAM, TEXAS
i.1 ' ■ . N
gros percentage of profit.
Now supponc that the consumers, or
the organized farmers, should estab-
ful work of the world, that they are Third, by Education.
entitled to the larger share of the This is really the most important
wealth created by their labor— in work that lies immediately at hand
fact enttled to all of it, except the Education is the key-stone in the arch
ngessary expenses of "distribution; in- of economic freedom. One
.1
4
/
of himself."
heard this,
of the
stinet says, no those who have brains greatest tasks of sducation
!
I
e
vill sooner or later result in the fail- In fact. If I were p
ire of the business, and those con- ness and wanted to 4
it can only be done by business or
ganizing.
Let’s consider what has brought th
present condition surrounding the ar
ricultural industry, and what brough
into being the speculative ide in re
gard to the sale and distribution o
farm products. Speculation in fam
pioducts is, in brief, the purchasin
of those pre fart- from the grower
ami selling them to others at a prafi
above the value of the service ren
de red in the distribution of same. The
meat of their last three months pur-
chares. This will give yen some idea
as to what they will want to bay fa
’the future. Always buy a good qual-
You cannot blame them for taking
advantage o fthe opportunity offered.
‘t is natural for any man to make
noney if he can. Some honestly and
iome extortions tely. The markets we
it without pointing out te him the way
out is a foolish hing to do. The farm-
ers have, heard that stuff now .until
they are not interested in having it re-
peated. They are beginning to say.
“we know there is something wrong.
There is no longer any use of re -
peating that to us. What we want you
I
I1
3
failures. That
control of it at such prices as wvili
enable him to profit out nf the trans-
fiction'. So the bottl is between the
tion or system that will make it pre
perous so that those engaged in the
- particular industry will not be sub
• jeeted to indignities or servitude. An
are engaged. Business organization
and not class organization is what we
Now bear that statement in mind,
they must make a gross priofit of
forty per cent on a basis of 133 cus-
tomers per week. I fthe had more
customers they could operate on a less
customer per week. There are say
fifteen retail stores in the town. This
means an average of 133 customers
per week per store. In orded to make
enough gross profit off the sale of
their merchndise teach store meat
charge an average rat of forty per
... . . , mi the cotton the sveculators are
n.t, । " a u vu getting control o’ the market in
reives depends upon how stanng he
ami his fellow producers itoid out for
better prices. If the majority of cot-
uch an organization as this will in-
ade within its membership enough
I cannot recall ever having heard competition will carry us deeper into
such an expression usen in a way that ‘Slouth of Despond.’ Competition is
would lead me to believe, that the not the ‘life of trade’ as we are some-
• author, at the time meant, by “maxe times asked to believe, but it. i sthe
m
cation, he could make somethir: oit helpful. one to another. Cooperation
f the cooperative. If you have,200
nembershwith an average purchase of
1000 per week you can figure on
t turnover of slightly $2,000.00 per
reek as the business will naturally
iek up additional trade on the out-
ide. Now by figuring with profits
f twenty per cent you will have a
cross profi tof $400.00 per weeh-or
$,600.00 per month that you can pay
as overhead without using any of the
wiginal capital invested. This should
vay all the ruming expenses ami leave
i small margin to go into your re-
their own advantage.
himself. This is the mistake nf most
o' our present day reformers. They
are not specific enough in outlining
how to proceed.
The average farmer knows his cor-
dition. He probably eaiizes it mora
than anyone elese. It only,1 ausate
hin to keep on pounling away“at
How to Establish a Cooperative
Store
The first thing to do in the estab-
f
Mi GUARAN-
take stock in the business. By so do- self at • cheap wage it is evidene
ing he will have an investment in it i that he eonsidets his
and be more anxious to stand by it no more unless in his
more private retail establishments a
countdy town of from two v othree
thousand population has the bigger
and wider margin of profit each
manager must have to meet the over-
head of his business and a profit
When you go into a town you can al-
ways figure it ou tthat one of two
things has happened. Either there are
too many merchants there for the
trade, or they are organized for the
purpose of holding up the prices of
their wares. Sometimes it is both
of these. In such localities, if the
farmers are organized into the Farm-
possible. The price the faimer re-
ten farmers economi: condition is
sue! that the have tossei! their eot-
ton a tthe price offered them it is
the golden opportunity for the specu-
lator to make his profit.
While the individualfarmers are
busy engaged in their fiele. prodac -
This puts your businesi
system and assures its of a cooperative stor as it is of a
passed away. Kings once ruled the
ttockholders of any concern to the only stay with a regular line MB you harp
ines that secure a dividend or profit
mu of cotton any further than to encour- a cooperativ eretail store is to save puipose o fscaring the farmers ami traffic you are
aqe its production. He"knows that 1 money for the members who trade at other consumers away from any kind to start with.
i!
I
him that he is broke, etc. He knows
The remainder of the net profits gret if he has the right kind of
should be prorated back to the stock.system it willgtake him only a few
holders in partial or full retirement of minutes to make up the statement.
If a member has no money that. he
can spare to put into the business he
x .. euaranveed Snoe repairs
will help bring down the high price of
shoes. We offer no ordinary cobbler
work. We employ experts and mo-
dern machinery . Shoes look like new
when repaired here. Send as yours
and see how much further your shoe-
doliars go.
... tire time in studying production me-
prejudice Nt aroused, which is always ... ..aa .y, eM.w. anw
nods until me otner Te.."8 nave eon cent profit in order to pay their over-
trot of the markets which - ----1
produce is worth. This takes organi-
zation, co-operation, and action. Ev -
ery farmer who does not lend his ef-
forts to the establishment of such
markets and take their products out
villages. I dare say there is not half ed far and wire to intimidate and can to that point. You will have t
a dozen towns within the confines of prevent, other cooperative businesses pay more rent n orded to get meh a
ami money have always got the lar- sent is the breaking down of that
ger share, so it must be right that superstitious feeling amongst, those
they shoulld. Reason tells those who who produce th eworid's wealth, that
do the useful work that among their those institutions which enable the few
own numbers are individuals with in-,to take from the many, wealth, which
tellects equal to the best intellects to the few, in no way, helped to create,
be found in any other ecenomic groups are of divine origin. This i snot a
instinct says no, the workers have not mere play upon words. This false-
had opportunities to study life’s prob hood is being taught in practically
lems, ami social relations, hence, the every school, in every paper, and
conclusions reached h" the useful thundered from every platform. Ami
workers must he wrong when such con this doctrine is not new. We isn’t
elusions conflict with tKe epiniem held combat it by ignoring it. It is hols:-
■ by those whose economic opportun - ered up by too many powerful influ-
nities have enabled them to appropri- ences to admit indifference. Have
ate to their own use, £ larger share you not heard, and do you not hem
o fthe world’s wealth, than is justi- on every hand, talk of ‘safe-guarding
fied by the social service rendered, our sacred institutions?' According
Reason tells the useful workers that to the arguments made for Feudalism
they ought to be free; instinct con- when it was in existence, it, too, was
signs them to slavery justifying their a 'sacred institution.’ Feudalism by
economiegependence by such specious that name has ceased to txist. Chat-
pleas as these: "Things have always tel slavery according to its defend-
been this way,” and “Whatever is, ers, was-a divine origin—a 'sacred in-
is right”. stitution,; but Chattel Slavery has
So the location should be the best fact
could be found in the town..
cotton is raise his part of the that particular store. I
It is his business to on- growth in this country.
-side a certain per cent of the ne earu- dition of the busine
ings of the store in a reserve fund is important ami if
to be used only in cases of emergency deeds to a misumd
institutions
their cooperative enterprise upon
whom they could depend to patronize
the cooperative. It can readily be
seen that the cooperatire store, under
these condition, could operate at r
much smaller percentage o fgioss pt-
fit because their eurnover would be
practically twice as much per week.
Where the private stores waited or
133 customers the cooperative store
waited on 260- customers, i tis not
the percentage of profit that counts se
much in business it is the quickness
of the turnover., . The cooperative
and subje
store could operate ami sell their mer-
chandise as just half the margin of
profit charged by the private stores
and still make qor money than the
private stores, providing the eoopera-
tive store wa. efficiently and econo-
mically managed, and could buy their
merchandise at the same wholesale
prices as secured b ythe retail mer-
chants. It has been said that co-
ligible, because he would have, or doctrine of the 'saeredness' of the pre-
couldl ba educated to have only the;sent order of economie slavery. Let
farmers’ viewpoint of farm problems. “ ’ -hh “he- — mid-
There is two phases to farming. Pro
action ami marketing. The Ameri-
an farmer has been tought the art
f production for many years by our
olleges and papers but no knowledge
f the proper method of marketing
as bee ngiven to any great/degrss,
iow be it the marketing end is the
nost important of the two.
I do not mean by class-organization world by Divine right; they do so eno
on organization teaching hatred, or longer. No one could be found, now,
one ignoring the rights of others, I bold enough to defend any of these
mean only an' organization whose sacred ( ?) institutions, which the peo-
I membership is made up of those who ple for self prill riba, and to safe-
actually till the soil, and live upon guard the future for their children,
the land which they work. Of course have, in their indignation, overthrown,
one living in a village or town whose But there be amongst us, even now,
only interest is farming would be el- powerful influ cares preaching the
< >
25
-‛-R
the stock they have taken. When the The payment of bills by cash should
stock is finally retired they then be. never be allowet ---1 “ “
come the community property of the should require all _
association ami all members thereaft check ami not by cash. By doing s0
jer should be paid a patronage dividend you not only have your vetumn chocks
according to their purchases. The I as receipts for bills pawl but you haw e
stock should hear a reasonable rate upon any deficieney that might appear
o finterest while outstanding, or they in the statement or inventory.
vith the assurance that your store
vill have an equal turnover of sales J neatiy hung and one than can easily he
agriculture industry will restore it
dignity. But such is not the case
We already know that conditions o
society wherein one man profits b
taking the value of the labor of an
other, is not right. All men of gup
knowledge have the conclusion. Bu
that flees not. restore the dignity o
anything. There is not but one thin-
that will restore the dignity of an’
business and that is to carry that bu
sines on through a business organise
This will give your store a good start does not know the business. You will
d place it on a fir mbasis financial- also find that if you get the right
" pay Mm what
without poin:ing to any A
terest in the busness he is likely to acre over,
stray awawy from it ami patronize Kt
the other merchants in the town. If The bos
is the antithesis of competition. Co-
us keep this though ever in mind:
God never intended one man to be a
master, ami anothe rto be a slave.
Senator Glass, in a speech in the U.
among other things that the farmers
should organize for “an, intelligent
eht from the interests of those . pursuit of econamies." Senator Shep-
do the actual wrk upon the: pard in his great speech at Mineral
- There is a great deal of food Weils last May, deplored the economic
bought fa this paragraph, and, ami industrial system that has reduc-
• proced with our organization : ed the American people to tenancy,
opreceed in business. The next step m any times overtook, but you
s to find out about what is the week-they have * bearing upon the busi-
y amount purehased by the member- ness appearance of your More.
In our rapid of business enterprises. Where there car ion should study the town habit of .
we have he- is a private failure no capital is made the people who trade there aa l fin
come over commercialize* 1. Sspecial- i out of it by this bunch, but let ajout where they
‘emplating the establishment of a co- would con
operative store should carefully avoid of more img
my investment—dividend plan. Icould bon
which those farmers nust offer their
product. Consequently wien they h ar
vest it they are compelle< to sell it
in a market controlled by those whese
financial interests are henefitted br
low prices. The dealers in colion
make arrangements for, or build ware
houses for the storage of the pre-
duct, am! buy i: off each individual
farmer, concentrate it in their ware-
houses, and sell it at. a good profit
to the spinners or consumers of raw
cotton. This wil continue to be done
until the cotton producers get to-
gether in a business organisation, ap-
point. themselves representatives to
secure a direct distribution of their
product ami receive the price their
lishment o fa cooperative store is to
iind out about how many customers
ach of the private stores at your
town accomodates. If the largest
nouse there has say 200 customers you
should by all means have that many
members in your cooperative enter-
prise. If you start out with less
embers than the average store in
a disavantage to start with. They can
andersell you becduse they have a
trader turnover ami by reason of
landing more goods they can buy at
vhelesale cheaper than caon yowl co-
operative store. Loyalty is severly
_ tested when you have to charge high-
er for you I- goods than the merchant
neross the street sells his, and you
will always lose a percentage of your
inembers. And when you lose a mem-
to the sun-oumling country. The
in ghis note for his prorata share.
After the stock has been subscribed
and paid to it should be retired as
soon as possible by patronage divid-
ends. At the end of each fiscal year
the board of directors should go over
the condition of the businetss an dset
Lahor Union, is a good place to es-
tablish a cooperative retail store. Now
upon first thought it might look like
the establishment of another retai’
store in a town already over sup-
plied with business houses would he
just another added burden to the eon
sumer at that place. Business men
often discourge the establishment of
cooperative stores by enlarging upor
this very point. They take the posi-
tion that to establish another store
where there are already, enough, or
probably top many, would be unucces-
ful. But such is not the case. In
fact it is the opposite a slw ill im-
mediately explain to you.
For instance suppose that a cer-
etain town aecomodates tw othousand
a feeling of clannishness, without th'
proper hnaerieifat. of how to secure ee
onomic rights.
Brother Bynum says that our edu
cat final program should devote it
be solved. However truthful his
statement in the bove article may
he. it is badly lacking in how to pro.!10
ceed in securing these things. It i_-| 2 . e a. .
in he tells 1 ,ra ners of "heir go rs, and after it. is grown to secure ly is this true in country towns and cooperative store fail and it is herald- ] Then get your location as elone as you
/ *-. * .
eAvypNmg. MI CT ITT AqgrepzypIAA ‛dom for the creators of dhe worlds basis of speculation is purchasing as!
UUIIIILaI I U Uli 3 A 1 L (.Ue I I I U I I Uni weaith.’ We can’t start on our great low as possible and selling as high
------ __ " ---------Vtask of educating ourselves to an as posible Coton is a produet: is
ICON TiNL ED FROM PAGE U eciate the dignit, or our clling an, aubjeet to selling. We w il
like thie 'Tf that boy (or wizriip Second, by Co-operation. your town has customers you are at use that commodity as an example.
weald appiy himself, and get an e . | The word cooperation means to be too soon. :oe I There can Ite no speculntion in cot-
Comment.: ton until there is some cotian upon
Brother Bynum like miny.mon ‘which to speculate. The cotton Shn operation more than a half century, crowd that howls
our honest champions fail’ h0 0 er applies his labor and skill to amth-lit can be carried on just as success- “farmers cannot stick together is the should he in
the solution of the fan 409 mNer aature and she produces the cotton, ful in this country as in other coun- ones that howl that the cooperative ‛s | “h
The mere stating of existin facts U Ther is no cotton produced in anv oth triesif certain business principles arestomes are failures.
.3 Funs IBM
FLOUR
lish a cooperative retail {store. Sup-
hose who, like Ite Jew said in a- pose that they had a membership of
260 farmers and other consumers ir
grom, or plan to alleviat thcs, con_icotton farmer and the specuhators who more retail stores than is
ditions. It fa like . minister conviet- buy it, the tryins t met a
in.. - w..i. . 11 , . {high a price as possilfe and th*’ spe-
ing a penitent sinner that he r w . . . T. .
« hna w...a a:.:. ■ . 17 , culator trying to buy! it as cheap as
a bad moral condition ami should do,
better without pointing such sinner
to the plan wnereby he may zedera
onfidenee in themselves. When the
armers regain confidence in them -
elves they will put this system into
speration. But as long as they con-
inue to have more confidende in the
peculators than they have in those
rhe are trying to build up a better
marketing system success will be de-
ayed. As long as the yare influene-
d by carefully laid schemes purposed
v promulgator to destroy die ere -
idence the farmers have in them -
in both instances t at easlv -onessable to tie eus-
, manner." The speculator is not adhered to in its organization ami it is the opposers of cooperation that tomei • If i* is placed upon sme
particular interested in the productfon management.. The primary purpose of make those statements for the expr ess i side stdeet that in little used fa
• —__ — — - ------ - —--- .... • ------ A---;— *- •------lt-fe-----at a great disavantnge - ,
Your committee on In,
< onperative retailing to the consum- tistics show that the percentage of co lusiness is j finuc greater import
era has proven very profitable in operative failures is less than the per-ance thai some mesbers thoink, judg-
Europe where the system has been in .rentage of private failures. The same ing from tne location of some of our
loud that, the cooperative stores I have visited. It
a prominent a place as
something out of himself,” to make 'death o ftrade,' and, carried to its
a usefu Iworker; that is, one who ultimate end, will, of iteelf, force the
would do the nienial tasks of life. Al- useful workers to adopt co-operation.
. ways those words have meant that As we more and more apply the prin-
the erucated person must attach him ciples of cooperation to the production
self to some of the exploiting eco - and distribution of wealth, useless
nomic groups; always they have car- and unnecessary occupations wil ldis-
ried with them the instinctive idea appear, thus relieveing those who
that the doing of useful work is a really produce the world’s wealth, of
kind of badge of disgrace. billions o fdollars o funnecessary ex-
Reason tells those who do the Use- pense.
the result of class distinctions, you
Securing a Location
-i The seleeion of a location for the
vusiness. He said: "Son the great
dea is to get the money. Get it
ionestly if possible, but by all means
ret the money.”
The solution is for the cotton farm-
rs to get together, establish ware-
vouses for the concentration ami pro-
er handling of their cotton, ami see
o it that every bale of their cotton
« kept opt of the speculative mar-
iets. This takes careful planming, ade
luate fihapeing, both for selling ami l
roducing efficient management and
dhandi
of speculative channels is working
against his own interest. Me has laid
down on his right* and spent his-en-
tween those various individuals whr
are to re operate. They must hav
a plan of action, understood by al’
and based upn economic soundness be-
fore co-operation can be complete, o
success attained. The preaching o’
"elass distinction" does not premat
co-operation unless there is complet
understanding. We preaching o
purely class distinction does not pro
mote that understanding, does no
bring that elass together upon an'
to do is to show us the way out or
cease peddling the bull. We want
some concrete program and ohe that
is practical, and applicable to our con-
di:jens". Kot air will no longer ap-
peal to the farmers.
Brother Bynum has three distinct
parts on the program he outlines.
First: Class organization; . second.
Co-operation; Third, Education. Lots
briefly consider them.
Class organization will always pro-
duco class-conscieneeness, and elass
conscienceless always has produce I
class prejudice. If you organize on
a large degree. Upper class domina-
tion is no more deplorable than any
other class domination.
What we need is not “Class Organi
zation" but business organization up-
on principle that will forward an'
protect the interests of that particu-
lar business in which the member
or a similar expression, operation will carry as to our goal
The lowest WM QUALTV •
NATTERY M Ute market.
I ' •
Batteries for Fords as low as .
$14.95.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Williams, R. O. The Farm-Labor Union News (Texarkana, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 1925, newspaper, August 20, 1925; Texarkana, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1558480/m1/2/: accessed July 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .