Show ON SAVING including a pian plan xian as to low how row it ilay be ile none done LEUI leur ilay may 25 1885 r editor fie doe deseret seret news wees not noticing cl ng an article in lately from B brother r ther I 1 mcall istar on grain savine lavine saving a subject often referred to from otili pulpit aud press agreeing with the writer when he ays says s there should be a UNITED EFFORT amonds amongst t tho the saints to reta retain retain ig the surplus grain in in our midst and having had sune mune experience in utah in raising grain ain aln during the prevalence of if boar botn both hisch 11 1 1 I 1 and ali all low prices I 1 thought to give you ou the results of my views on that matter v I 1 agree that there should be a united effort and I 1 have two reasons for so agreeing hirst first I 1 believe the prophecies to be true that predict famine wars and consequent scarcity of grain rain secondly I 1 belleve and that too from past experience that an ih effort or even an aa effort by a number of 0 individuals will not accomplish the object of this I 1 propose to produce proofs in this article as well as to propose a plan for a united effort for although we have nad had advice on the thu subject I 1 have not as yet seen any plan proposed advice that a thin thing is needed without a plan as to how hov it may be done seems to be of but little avail ye yet t if if we really do believe that A FAMINE will come there can be no subject of so much im importance porta nce nee as a plan whereby we may he be saved from lit we read the history of joseph in the bible and there we find that after he had told the mal mai kine king ot of the coming years of plenty len ien t y and of amine famine be he proposed a p plan pian f an by which the available surplus in tile the yea years rs of plenty could be saved for the years of famine and the practicability of his plan constituted its value vc we will vill notice his plau plan which was to tb appoint a man diser discreet pet and wise and I 1 might add with faith la in the project pi eject to gather up the surplus in times of plenty and consequent low prices that it might be available in times of scarcity and consequent higl higi prices rhe the question might be asked would it not have been better to have advised every vely man to save ills his own arain and thereby save himself fro from nithe the necessity of selling all his property and finally him himself elf eli into slavery for the means to live Doubt doubtless lesi it would have been best if it could have been done but it was not so revealed to joseph and we can learn from history and research that human nature and necessities were nvere about the same then as now jiow and there is no doubt that it if had lud been given and acted upon we ve would never have heard of josefit as a savior of men individual effort would doubtless have failed jailed then as individual effort for many years past has failed with us and yet it is true that thai inthe in the pat past individual effort has relieved us in times of need but that was when a scarcity did not extend over overa a sin sibyle ie beason meason met hek hetson tei son sou it would have utterly filled failed if it scarcity had hail been lonzer lonser continued even tor for two seasons of this thia I 1 am alu conversant convers int as I 1 know and can refer to the men who saved and circumstances and seasons THE KIND OF PLAN NEEDED A plan to ba be effective must save sufficient for all As if in a town of say families like ours if only 10 families could save say three years pro provisions vilous whets the families had starved only a week or two who would or could protect the ten in the saving of their grain and if it it was divided up tip ol 01 what avail vall could so small proportion be ili in a ion ions 11 scarcity scar eity elty it could but put off the evil day for a short time and ano from my ac here I 1 ani am that not more than ten fa families milles cau can have the most remote prospect of saving savino even years provisions one of our bi ethren when speaking in public on the necessity of saving grain as it had apen referred to at the quarterly stake conference alluded tu to his own case and admitted that in ili the past he had saved no grain but yet he had hopes in the future now let us investigate the case of the brother who spoke thus of himself lie ile owns one of our best and largest farms ile jle is one of our best farmers ile he has no expensive habits himself and his ills fai fal family nily while not so large as some cannot be excelled in proper economy and annd yet he nas save saved no g grain ra in even bel bei believing levim in 1 tl th e c p principle rin ciple now that bein being 11 the tile case what hopes are there for the men with smaller and poorer farms and who are worse farmers i and have havu larger and more expensive families certainly certa Ceria none aud yet the great majority of our people are of that class more or less A again ain aln it is urged that farmers should save grain rain because it is a time of plenty and adlow low prices but how hov can that be possible when it takes double the amount of grain at such a time to purchase any given article I 1 have seen a time in utah when a new nevy wagon was bought for 20 bushels of wheat how many bushels would it take today to day to buy a new wagon others advise go without and thus save your grain that advice will apply to some articles ut of the superfluity class but not to all and in fact to very lew few articles tor for the people are not now purchasing superfluities and if a farmer farm eror dr his family are in need ol 01 shoes in winter it would take a deal of argument and strong faith in a famine being near at hand to induce him to keep grain he be does not need immediately ana and as a result go with ou t shoes which he does need immediately dia tely of such a character are the leeds needy that draw out the tho grain at pres ept ant and it is just ass asa reasonable to advise the merchant mercha qt to have save all his goods orthe or the shoemaker his shoes as the farmer to save his grain ile he has to depend on the products of his labor foghis for his supplies and aud cannot get them without hence then a plan to be successful must contemplate BUYING THE GRAIN OF THE rnO pro PRODUCER DUCER and paying him for it at the going rate so that he can pay his debts aud buy his bup hup supplies plies piles again if the grain rafn rain is saved at all it must be bought by capital raised for the purpose of course this would not interfere with individual enterprise in the same business but rather it would encourage and protect it the plan must mo contemplate buying sufficient for all to be ae fed and aud saved if not it would only put off the evil day for a short time and create lawlessness and crime A hungry man knows no law but if there were sufficient in the country to be had on any terms even on as hard terms as were required f the tile egyptians of old law and order could be preserved but not without for it must be evident that at the least a great majority must be fed to maintain order and ensure protection to life and property in times ot of famine bellef BELIEF SOCIETIES AS grain GRAM SAVERS the relief societies are often referred to as g grain r a In savers our society have done well weil v e 1 I 1 they have built a granary that will ivill hold 1000 bushels I 1 understand it to be about half full if it was full fall it would bread the present population Opu lation of me the town about 25 K days at the average rate of eight bushels per head per aryear year so that however good relle reile relief F societies may be as auxiliaries they would not do for a main dependence in a time of famine unless we could be assured that the twenty five flye davs would be the last twenty five nive of the 06 famine term I 1 have before me statistics OF leni LEHI which I 1 gathered up and compiled with care and from fromm the proper sources which I 1 will use as an illustration assuming that the people of this place are about on a par with our neighbor snot expecting us to be much better and hoping we are not much worse comit I 1 omil omit the detailed items to save space total earning earnings s for 1883 in all crops stock ete etc which id Is an average of per head per year or lm im 10 per head per week from this it can easily be seen that there can be but little surplus and that in but few hands this proves proven that wheat must be bought and paid for fori in order norder to behaved be saved gaved it is true that our people are aru increasing in tit wealth and are adding to their property but that increase is in houses 8 fields better stock etc and not in surp surplus liis lils earnings in grain raising of wheat we raised in 1883 as per yer report of machines inabilities IS bushels we used for bread an average of 8 bushels per head 13 3 goo bushels for seed 1800 isoo bushels I 1 pai pat paid ol 01 for ti thine 1000 bushels leav leaving au u apparent surplus of 2012 bus bushels lia lit isa but there really was no surplus as the scarcity before harvest came around fully proved and the amount mentioned as surplus must have been fed out sold off etc if systematic wheat saving is contemplated tem plated more wheat would need to be raised instead of less compulsory savi savl saving dg or favino saving saving g because you cannot sell cannot be relied upon tor for a time of famine experience has proven that people who have a surplus will sell it w whenever enever they can As to how bow much is needed your article recommends a three years supply up ply I 1 believe that to be a suitable quantity and what we could reasonably save ili in seven years on THE plas PLAX I 1 PROPOSE that amount for lehi lehl means bushels by sowing one third rf cf all our grain lands with wheat we can raise a possible surplus of bushels or say bushels per year A gr lary iary to hold that amount of wheat would need to be 2 feet and would cost about 1000 one would be needed for each years ears crop for seven years when adhere ah were built and full one could be emptied each year and re tilled the building of the ther gra granaries narles would furnish that amount of work to be done which could be put in as stock by those who had no grain and ana and thus they could be making some sonic provision to feed themselves the taking of that amount of wheat irom from the market would accomplish the object sou sought ht stiffen the market and help make a better price for all the rest and thus en enable able abie the fa farmers riDers to supply their wants and pay their debts NOW KOW A AS TO THE MEAS for if we cannot fend frad the thu means to work with it is useless to talk about this or an other plan wo we cannot like joseph of old use the public reye revenues for foi that purpose as our governor would veto any bill looking to such an end so we must look to other sources to me there seems to be three sources of means that could contribute to such an end first our church revenues second our operative cooperative co stores Store sand and third lil iii individual contributions and enterprise from those who are arc able and willing As to the church revenues it is not my prerogative to direct how they may be ap applied piled but I 1 may make a suggestion in the matter of OUR OUK OPERATIVE cooperative CO STORES As a general thin thing the shares in them are owned by our our well to do citizens consequently they could best spare and would be best able to get along without their dividends and if they were willing could vote to hav have ethem them or any proportion of them set apart as a grain purchasing and building fund from the best I 1 r can learn clr our cooperative store in lehi pays in dividends about per year now if of that amount could be voted and used for that purpose and 2000 more bearded be added from individual efforts there would be a fund of oooo take 1000 for the building and would remain which at 60 cents per bushel would purchase bushels of wheat or more than enough to fill the building the a advantages vantages d to the would be very great first that of buying a large proportion of the grain for goods instead of money second the erection of the buildings would necessarily go through them third the prest prentize pre stice stise ice ize it would give them in trade would be both great and valuable rast past experience has shown us that an average term of seven to ten years will use up all surplus we ever have navy had and high prices be the rule I 1 append the following as SOME SIMPLE SEMPLE RULES KULES which ma may I 1 have the effect of devel developing 0 comming something better from some ot other othur hp er source first that the shareholders la in the various operative cooperative co institutions who are arc will willi ing tig have their dividends or any portion of them so voted set apart as a grain purchasing ald and building fund second that shareholders and non shareholders be allowed to subscribe to said fund cash grain and a limited amount of labor or materials to be used in building gra granaries narles third that wheat be bought for fol cash or merchandise whenever there are funds on hand can be bought for GO 60 cents or any other price agre ag agreed re ed on per bushel fourth that it be sold for cash or its equivalent only whenever it will bring or any other price a agreed reed on per bushel fifth that wheat be loaned out for bread or seed at 25 per cent interest and with rood crop security sixth that any person may put in wheat at the current cash price at time of deposit and draw it out at will vill at the selling price then current ath that the wheat be renewed every 7 years by sale ex exchange chari chati e use etc so as to prevent loss from spoiling etc ath that whenever the granaries are full and means remain on hand more than may max y be required as a purchasing fund a pro rata dividend to stockholders eTs ers be declared I 1 oth that the companies be governed by a president and a aboard board of three dl rectors rector who shall be elected for two years and until their successors shall be elected and qualified loth that the cont cony company pany meet at least once per year to near hear the report of grain pram cash and other means or property on hand nix fix prices for the ensuing year and to transact all nee essary business for u us s as saints to keep referring to probable or possible famine and at the same time to take no effective means to help ours ourselves ives by providing against it I 1 submit is it not a disgrace dis race to io us as the children of our great grain saving savins ancestor joseph and besides it Is both useless and cruel J W |