The nonpartisan leader. [volume], March 29, 1920, Image 5

About The nonpartisan leader. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1915-1921

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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Last week Ur. Krumrey told of the abuses suffered by
Wisconsin farmers at the hands of cheese dealers, their
determination to organize, how 43 farmers' factories got
together in a federation to sell their own cheese, selected
a selling agent and were ready to go ahead, but couldn't
because they were unable to secure a warehouse. There
were warehouses empty, but the cheese dealers' combina
tion prevented the farmers from renting them. From this
int
Mr
Krumrey goes on with his story.
BY HENRY KRUMREY
President Wisconsin Cheese Producers' Association
E WERE obliged to build in order to
do our business. So we built. We or-
L\ fffl ganized the Federated Farmers' Ware
'A TM house company, with a capital stock
of $20,000, a share of stock costing
$10. Inside of a week more than half
of this amount was subscribed. Soon all of* the
$20,000 was subscribed and paid in.
Farmers who bought this warehouse stock were
assured- 5 per cent on their investment. This is the
rent the federation paid for the use of the ware
house and storage, but the stockholders also pledg
ed themselves that at any time the federation
wanted to buy this warehouse they would sell their
stock to it at par.
A modern warehouse and storage was built,
costing $25,500, and was completed April 1, 1914,
when the cheese from 43 factories in the federa
tion was received to be marketed by our salesman.
It was then a Sheboygan county proposition,
The expected- happened. Our
enemies did everything they
could to embarrass us. They put
the board price higher than it had
ever been before at that time of
the year. They were willing to
pay more for cheese than it was
actually worth if they could only
keep us from being able to pay
as much as they were. But this
did not last long.
In the beginning we were not
known to the trade and had some
difficulty in disposing of our
cheese, but we soon found a good
market for it and were able to
get as much for it as the dealers
were, and when the year was up
we found that we had made a
profit of $4,500, which instead of
paying out to the farmers it was
voted at the annual meeting to
leave in-the treasury as a reserve
fond.
The next year things went still
better and after paying the farm
ers market or board price we were
more than $10,000 ahead for that
year. For 1916 we were $13,000
BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
HE Nonpartisan league has had its
first skirmish in the Solid South. In
a special legislative election in Har
ris, Fort Bend and Waller counties,
Henry Krumrey's Story
known as the Sheboygan County Cheese Producers'
federation, but in January, 1917, we "changed our cheese factory.
name to the Wisconsin Cheese Producers' federa- January 1, 1919, we were $30,000 ahead, $22,000
of which was paid out, the rest
tion, owing to the fact that farm
ers outside of the county wished
to join.
Texas, Charles Murphy, League and
labor candidate for the state senate,
carried Harris county (one of the largest in the.
state, and including the city of Houston, popula
tion 150,000) by 400 votes, failing in election by
only 75 votes because the smaller counties of
Fort Bend and Waller were unorganized.
The remarkable showing of League strength, in
the view of unprejudiced politicians, means almost
certain success for the farmer-labor ticket in the
campaign that will follow.
The campaign was one of the most remarkable
Texas ever saw. Business interests of Houston
called a meeting to select a candidate for state
senator and chose Representative Davidson. Of
the 100 or more business and professional leaders
A. H. Hall, sales manager Wis
consin Cheese Producers'
association.
Organization of Wisconsin Cheese Producers,' Federation and
the Success It Achieved
ahead. The farmers voted
to leave the money in the
treasury instead of paying
it out, so that on January
1, 1917, we had more than
$28,000 in the treasury. It
was voted to use $25,500
to buy up the warehouse
stock of the Federated
Farmers' Warehouse com
pany and pay the indebt
edness on it, and since that
time the federation owns
the warehouse and storage
which has been rebuilt and
enlarged and now could
not be replaced for less
than $70,000. In 1918,
after paying the farmers
in the federation the mar
ket or board price and in some instances more, we
found at the end of the year when we closed our
books, took stock and had an audit that we had
more than $20,000 in the treasury, which it was
voted at the annual meeting to pay out to the dif
ferent local associations organized around the
cheese factories according to the amount of cheese
that each association had delivered to us, and they
in turn pay it out to the farmers according to the
amount of milk that each had delivered to the
remained in the treasury. Janu
ary 1, 1920, we were $26,000
ahead.
That farmers can successfully
market their cheese co-operatively
and reduce the cost of marketing
has been demonstrated by this
federation.
The following report of the
findings of the department of ag
ricultural economics of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin and of the
Wisconsin division of markets,
which during December and Jan
uary last made a thorough in
vestigation of how this business
is run, tells the story:
"The Wisconsin Cheese Pro
ducers' federation has a member
ship of 120 factories. With a
probable average of 25 farmer
patrons for each factory there
are 3,000 farmer members in the
federation. They marketed 14,
098,021 pounds of cheese through
their organization during 1919.
During 1914, the first year of op
eration, only 45 cheese factories
belonged to the federation and
only 6,125,480 pounds of cheese
were handled. The federation
League Forces Put a Dent in the "Solid South"
at this meeting only one refused to indorse David
son. This man, Judge Henry J. Dannebaum, with
drew.
A people's convention, consisting of League mem
bers, representatives from Houston labor unions
and delegates representing the general public,
chose Representative Charles Murphy as their can
didate and adopted a platform based on the North
Dakota League program.
Judge Dannebaum, a noted jurist and orator,
was attacked because he was supporting Murphy
and thus was lined up with the Nonpartisan league,
which was being reviled bitterly by Houston news
pepers and business interests. Judge Dannebaum
had paid little attention to the League and admit
ted he knew nothing of it—but he set out to learn.
He addressed a telegram to Governor Lynn J.
Frazier of North Dakota, asking a number of ques
tions advanced by the League opposition, and investi
gated the League for himself along other lines.
As the result of Judge Dannebaum's investiga-
PAGE FIVE
I
Spring Green storage and warehouse, Wisconsin Cheese Producers' association
therefore handled in 1919 two and three-tenths
times as much cheese as in 1914. For each
dollars' worth of business done in 1914 almost $5
worth was done in 1919. (Paid to factories for
cheese in 1914, $855,328 in 1919, $4,243,938.)
"The federation markets cheese at an expense
which is extremely small. In 1912, before the fed
eration was created, private cheese dealers took a
margin which amounted to from 4.7 cents to 9.3
cents on each dollar's worth of cheese marketed.
Today the federation has an operating cost of only
1.4 cents on each dollar of cheese sales. The dif
ference between the 4.7 cents and the 1.4 cents rep
resents the money savings due to operating advan
tages Which the federation is bringing to its pa
trons. Frequently a further advantage is gained
from the fact that the federation sells much of its
cheese at a higher price than the board. More im
portant than the present money gains obtained are
the benefits of future advantages which will come
through continued improvement in the quality of
cheese handled by the federation.
"The Wisconsin Cheese Producers' federation is
one of the most- successful and commendable ex
amples of farmers' co-operation in the United
States. Next to the California Fruit Growers' ex
change, which is the largest and most successful
farmers' co-operative company in the United States,
the federation has the lowest operating costs.
"The experience of the federation indicates that
Wisconsin farmers have a great opportunity before
them in building up a strong, unified co-operative
cheese producers' selling organization. The fed
eration has shown that it knows how to sell cheese
and keep the costs down. What it should have is
more cheese. If Wisconsin farmers provide the
volume of business this federation, because of what
it now does and will do for its patrons, is destined
Co rank in the class with the California and Cana
dian farmers' co-operative societies.
"THEODORE MACKLIN,
"Department of Agricultural Economics.
"EDWARfl NORDMAN,
"Wisconsin Division of Markets."
tion he announced that he proposed not merely to
support Murphy as an individual, but the League
and League program as well. Dannebaum chal
lenged Davidson's campaign mafiager to meet him
in open debate on the League. The city auditorium
was secured and 1,000 persons attended the meet
ing—but no representative of the anti-League in
terests appeared. Speakers included Judge Danne
baum, Mr. Murphy, E. R. Meitzen and J. W. Can
ada, editor of the Southland Farmer, leaders in the
farmer-labor campaign. Every point that had
been raised by hostile newspapers against the
League and its candidates was answered and every
speaker was given a rousing reception.
The Davidson campaign committee promptly hir
ed the auditorium for the next night and by the use
of bands and several hundred dollars' worth of ad
vertising secured a crowd about equal to the farm
er-labor crowd. The speakers got frequent applause
—but it came at the wrong places in their ad
(Continued on page 11)