The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-01-30
Brother TOwle, Once More.

The esteemed agricultural editor of
the st. Adams Messenger has replied to
our article on Dairy versus Cream
cry" and has made it desirable, in so
doing, that we should say little more
on that and other subjects. But, first,
we wish to refer to a very unpleasant
misleading of a single word in our
article. Brother Towle quotes us as
charging him with intentional mis-
representation" We were shocked at
seeing this, and rushed for our file of
the WATCHNIAN, to see if the printers
had played us such an i'll trick as that.
We knew that we wrote it ,minten-
tional," and were greatly relieved to
find it so printed. Guess Brother
Towle did not have his specs on when
he read our article. He is one of the
very last men we should think of charg-
ing with any intentional wrong or I'M
kindness.
Brother Towle seems to have brought
the discussion, in reference to the
necessity for lower freight rates for
small shipments by rail, down to a
difference of opinion as to the quantity
likely to be shipped if such rates were
given. He says:
DR.. Hoskins dwelt with particular stress
on the idea of these small farmers, as he
calls them, sending their products directly
to consumers. For this purpose he would
have cheap system OF transportation.
somewhat like the express, but done in
freight-cars and with freight rather than
express time. He says he thinks that some
thing like this might be devised, and be
profitable both to the people and the road.
1t seems to us that this would seem prac-
ticable to the farmers OF Vermont only in a
small way. Such a system might be use
full with fruit, vegetables and few such
things not much raised for sale outside the
state.
But how would it work with hay, lumber,
bark, potatoes, a few lambs, a beef creature,
etc? Could these be shipped in such a
manner as indicated? What proportion of
the farmers does DIR. Hoskins think would
be induced to look up and deal directly
with consumers of the above products were
the railroad facilities as favorable as could
be wished by any fair-minded man?
We believe it would be very, very small.
Generally, we think, the farmers would pre-
fer to deal with the mddlemen," know
ing beforehand what they are going to get
for what they have to sell, than to under
take to look up customers, perhaps differ
ent one for every product, and run the risk
of doing any better through them.
Now we may be wrong in this mat
ter, but we have given it much study
over many years, and year by year our
conviction grows stronger that the
greatest impeachment to the prosperity
of our small farmers is the want of a
profitable market for their products.
Our hope that a sort of freight-eXpress,
such as we have advocated, which
would take small shipments of farm
products direct from stations in Yer
mont to all the industrial centers of
southern New England at moderate
rates, would successfully solve the
difficulty, is based upon well-known
facts. Nearly every farmer in Yer
mont has OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, and
very often relatives-in one or more of
those industrial centers. Within our
knowledge it has, in very many in
stances, happened that these residents
of manufacturing towns have expressed
a strong wish to get their supplies of
farm products fresh from producers
with whom they were personally ac-
quainted. But, on trying the expert