, 1874-01-27
THE FLOW QUESTION.

KEwANEE. ILL.,, Jar. q, 1874.
70 tho Editor ef Tho Chicago Tribune:
slR: AZ the farmers mud thois advocates hive
had humorous hearings through your columns,
and You have also glvon publicity to Mr.. Deore'e
views, I beg your indulgence while middteman
tells his Hide Of the story. Your Jacksonville
correspondent makes aomo good points, but
utterly fails on others. He Bays there arc too
many dealore In q p1aco. This difficulty ia rap
idly adjusting itself, according to tho law Of
supply and demand, which, wo (nliddlcmon)
clnim, is the only law applicable to tho busi-
ness. II "G" will talso tho trouble to
inquire into tho subject, ho will find
dealers in Implements are going out of tho
business whoroyer 1t iu oycrdone, competition
cutting their profits down 60 tint They cauuot
live. It would seem wisdom on the pnrt Of
farmers to maintain as far ns possible this COM
petition, AZ 1t Gun be demonstrated that at least
one-half tho machinery sold tho past three
yoars Las paid the lenler no profit whatovor.
Again: "G" says The dealers are compelled
to tako only one kind of plows, not being al
lowed to sell from moro than one manufactory.
Any peraon conyersant with tho trado knows
thi Ia true In about ono caso in twenty,
1.-Two dealers are not generally caught by such
arra ngomeuts. Again: doalers arc not 80 easi-
ly overloaded with goods ms our friend would
make apparent. As a rulo, they will not buy
more than one-half the quantity they sold the
previous year, aud not that quantity il proB-
pocts for salo Of tho implement in question aro
not exceedingly good. Tho scale Of discounts
viii not bear comparison with those Of tho aetual
trade. Lot "f." inform us what 1rst-cla3s
plows and rcapora wo can get 40 per cent COM
mission on..
Let ns suppose for momont tho annihilntion
Of middlemen could bo accomplished (of which
We have no fsar). a fartnor, Or il you please,
dozen farmers, want o particular kind Of reaper
together at once 30 many who wore unanimous
In choosing tue samo implement, or, rather,
choosing the anne manufacturers Implement
VIC concede that, lowover): They order thoir
order, as the aaanufaeturer does not know about
their responsibility, and bus no agent present
to look after Lis interost). Tho farmers ngroo
to meet Oh certain day aud take tloir roarors
from the station. They truyel, say, an average
OF 10 miles to reach the station mud lnd, on ar-
rival, theiE mach,ues hayc not arrived and they
cannot find out certainly when they will arrive.
buppose, however, they got their machines, aud
probably they will hnve some difficulty in dis
tsse ess to2 s Gs1 aas tue posf gpsg rseigsg aud
payt of thom are sclf-rako reapors, part
droppers, part mowers, etc. Suppose,
however, they get their machines oil right,
get thom homo and set up ready for harvest.
W uEAk ltlC AAA AEuA4 W Eutt Mu4 MGhku9I JuSt
right, Sc. The farmer starts Into the field, cuts
half day, and breaks down his reaper, very
llkely from hia own negligence or ignoranco III
putting up the machine. We'll, the first thing il
10 Hes what il broken. After finding 1t, instead
Of going bnck to tlo station, anil finding In the
hands Of tue local agent supply Of extra cast
ingH from which ho can supply the broken part,
he undertakes to telegraph tho manufacturer
(pcrhaps quo miles away), but describes tho
purt SO indefinitely that it is impossible
n Inn 1yb0t ha tpnp}H tV1,,
innate tho damago done tho crop be-
fore he can get his machine reparcd7 Some
will say, Hire machine to duish bis crop but
thoso who try will find that hard business in
harvest This ia not Oh impossible pioture.
as it is, tile middeman stands midway between
manufacturer and fa.Iner, and many will bear
me out in tho statomoue that we Aavo, in tho
majority Of caseB, given the farmer tho prefer
encn in the way OF allowing claims for hreaGagea,
DO.
Again tho manufacturer gocH to tho dealer
six months before the implement Is needed, and
says, Give mo your order now, 80 T can lay in
1nnsorlal and run my factory, and keep my cm-
poyes at work during tho dull soasou. By 10
il compelled to crowd six months work
into two, and can, therefore, sell cheaper
OF course, farmers can DO az tic dealers do in
this mattor; but who will Hay ono farmer In ten
tciA DO itS The writer knows farmers who hAve
told him they we're going to buy roapers Of him
tho coming season ; but discount OF 500 would
hardly induce one Of them to give him an order
now.
Aftor middlcmon In tho implement b1lsiness
are disposed Of, our Granger friends will no
doubt {sighing for moro worlds to couqucr),
Eeek to do away with them in every other limo j;
10 our friends, "tAo butcher, tho baker, and
eandlesticA-maker," must prepare their necks
for the block.
Quo word in regard to !" English va. American
riows." When our English cousine are buying
nearly oycry other kind of AGRICULTURAL imple-
ments OF American manufacture can hardly
credit the statement that English plows aro SO
far superior to ours. The statement Of I. s."
that the work Of the American plow ut the Eli
CliHh trial was like shoyeling the oartl, up in
heaps, aud that tho draft was twice III heavy as
that Of the English plow, is 90 very extraortli-
nary TINT Gun scarcely credit it. Certainly tho
plown made by Alr. Deere, and which took. the
prize at Vionna, do something beside /" shovel
ing tho earth mp III heaps." Lot II. H." try
again. ApologlzIng, Mr.. Editor, for trespassing
on your space, aM perseou:ed
HI1pDLEMAN.
Tho Murdered Monk.
1o4h LII.