A FARMERS3 TRUST.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13481, 22 July 1907, Page 6

A FARMERS 3 TRUST.

An interesting movement has been instituted i>y v number of American farmers. They htive formed an "American Society of Equity," an organisation of land tillers and direct producers, A\ith the object of securing better profits for 'hrm. orehnrd and garden. Tho principle advocated, it '•eems, is to withhold crops from market until the ipcrca.secl denirrl pl;»re* prices at the mercy of the grower. Tho organisation expects to provide granaries, warehouses, elevator*, cri!>s, hny barns, and cold-storage houses tor the use oi" farmers during periods of lou prices, "i he movement," says the New York Independent, "is certainly a very nmbitious attempt at creating a national produce trust. Wo have to boar in mind that in all this world there in no other class of people more individualised than American farmers. They arc not api to co-oporato beyond what they can themselves ovorso* 1 ; and they have failed entirely in the way of stoves, and nearly as coinpV:<3y in H;e way of storehouse*.. Such a hupv .Validation as >s proposed would endanger the producer quite as much as the consumer, and in courso wf time would necessarily beeomo :i power over agriculture." As a rule the storage- of crops fw the purpose of t.c curing higher prices has failed disastrously. An attempt to corner tht> American ai>nlo supply of 18O."5, concerning which there v.a3 much alarmist talk, simply left growers uiihout money during the season, and in the r.vxl year prices wero very low. A rise of 50 per cent, in the price of potatoes between one season and tho liext does not necessarily show tho wisdom of storing, because there is always a certain dea<l less by decay, shrinkage and handling Moreover, as we have found in .New Zealand, local prices are vvvy largely dependent on those ruling in foreign markets.