The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-04-12
What is the Farmers Share.


Prom the American Fsmer'- Advocate
80 soon as the farmer speaks Of organic
alton, and. moved by his pressing necessi
ties, casts about for some means Of relief
we hear, in the expressive words Of a re
cent correspondent. ia great howl among
the middlemen" They tell you how nee
essary il Il that there should be merchants
how utterly impossible it would be for the
farmers themselves to follow their crops
all the way to the consumer, and other
truths which everybody believes and no
body controverts but they tell it with
such earnestness and emphasis that il
would almost appear TO be something new
that they had discovered.
But while they tell you this, there il
one part of the story omitted. They for
get that there is a difference between use
and abuse, and that the necessity for one
agent does not necessarily imply one hun
dred to do the work Of one. II viii not
be disputed that one man can ship one
hundred thousand bushels Of grain from a
station per year at a less cost than ten men
can handle the same amount While the
one man might make a comfortable living
from one cent per bushel either one 81 the
ten would starve upon two cents per bush
el on each Of the ten thousand. 1t is evi-
dent, then. that the division Of such busi-
ness AZ a shipping point is always to the
farmers disadvantage. II the gram be
worth gwen amount when loaded III the
ear. any excess Of charges for handling
comes ont IT, OF rather does not 20 into,
the farmers pocket. 81 with the dry
goods, and other supplies needed by the
farmer. Every time you multiply agents
for their handling you multiply every ex-
pense If the business, and subject yourself
o. the payment Of all the imclease Better
w far that you should support the surplus
ones IN first class boarding house. con-
Quoted on economical principles. If the
farmers ~ a township or civil district
would CO operate in their business affair 50
that one experienced, honest man IN each
branch might be selected to transact the
business for all, he might if you please, be
better paid than now, and still tie saving
u each farmer would be very considerable
III the course of a year.
Let the farmer consider for "A moment
the relation he actually bears. under the
present system, TO other industries He
produces his wheat, we will say, probably
III Iowa, and sells it a. the railway
at the price paid by the speculator,
In the setting IF the price he has no voice.
He sells 1t at one dollar per busheL The
spcculator allows himself a margin to cover
all risks, say ten cents per bushel, and
ships it To Chicago. The railways charge
twenty-five cents per bushel They charge
enough T. pay them net profit every
time. II is shipped to A commission mvr-
chant, who charges, say three cents per
hushel for his trouble, who sends It To- an
elevator. where five cents per bushel ~
again added. The commission merchant
gets his pay without discount, as does the
proprietor VI the elevator II has now
reached a value of IL 43. From the ele-
vator 1t Is purchased by another party,
ana again shipped to New York VI Boston,
and By the time it arrives there. having
paid everybody well who has touched it, il
has become worth II 80 Here IL IL again
stored until wanted for export or by tho
miller We will presume that II Is sold u
the latter BY the time il reaches hls hop
per II has cost nearly or quite - The
miller fixes the price Of Hour So as to pay
himself well for the labor and the use W.
machinery The flour now passes to the
consumer who has no voice iu setting the
price, but tu afford him "A support ~ eXacts
such wages for his labor in the factory
lthe trade union assists him tn ID suJ as
viii enable him To pay for bis flour The
manufacturer Of cloths ur Of implements.
bound together by A common interest fix
the price upon their goods tO afford them a
proht-and a profit tuo which enuchcs
them all Their goods pass ia turn through
the wholesale house to the jobher. from
the Jobber to the country merchant. all of
them realizing such profits as their own
cuPldlty may suggest. And Iu each trans
fer the railroads again claim a share Here
comes the farmer, now. tu buy these goods
which are IN fact, representatives uf the
wheat he sent away. Can he say how
much lie Will pay for these articles by ia
means. He had no voice iu naming the
price un his wheat. tie took .rhpt ,rJs
gTe,td Now he has 10 voice i'll buying his
supplies, and pays ,rtat he n,tst. Is the
picture uverdrawul Let the farmers ot
iowa, ana W Am the West. ayc, ANA the
planters or the South answer the quest ion
l. there no remedy Yes. a very simple
one. II has been tried. Il Is iu success
tul operation already al many points. II
Is available everywhere. lt requires only
organization and cooperation. Unite
uron some man. or some few men, who
cam be relied upon to do your business
carefully, honestly and at good living
profit Don't ask them to work far moth
ng, nor for small pay Pay them we'll.
and az the same time derive thousands of
dollars of savings for yourself Let them
forward your supplies tn the consumer,
and obtain for you the articles needed di-
rect from the manufacturer ur importer.
Let these be your middlemen. and then
will the number of this class d. more iu
proportion tO the necessity existing fur
them.
DO you say that it viii make more pro-
ducers and less consumers, ana thereby re-
duce the price Mt your products Re-
member they Viii not an be driven u the
farm. some wIIl enter thc workshop ana
factory, and as prices of your products de-
crease 50 viii the price of your needed
supplies, sO that THE gNchaugeable value
Will be proportionate.
Again We say, We would not dispense
with mIddlemen "a class we would,
however, be pleased % see the number re-
duced at least one half II Is more than
likely that one-tenth the present number
would suffice
A Workingman.s Hotel