Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1891-11-14
The Potato Question.

issue, in reply to my letter of the pre-
vious issue, represent q man who is
second to no one in the interest and
prosperity of the farmers of the East
ern Shore of Virginia, and whose
voice and pen always come to the
front when danger threatens them.
Therefore, it is with some reluc-
lance that I call the attention of
your readers to rejoinder, in which
I am compelled to disagree with him
in some points at issue.
In reply to that part of my letter
referring to barrels as the cause of
bad culling, he asks, did we not get
our ideas of shipping in covered bar
rels from the jersey farmer?n Now a
negative reply to this is perfectly
pertinent; for in 1873, the time l
stated that we began hthe use of bar
rels. Jersey farmers had not used
Neither did they, to any extent, as
late as 1884
They are shipped from the mar
kets to which they are first consigned
in open packages, in barrels, all over
the country, by shippers who buy
and re-pack them.
As this package was forced upon
us by necessity and for convenience
in handling our excessive crop, Jer-
sey farmers may, from the same
cause, be compelled, sooner OF later,
to resort to the use Of it.
III the il rsey Turner had been ship
ping in barrels contemporary with us,
there would be no need for the pres
ent worry over the rating of the Vir-
ginia crop. For it is not fair to pre-
sumo that the Eastern Shore farmers
are less circumspect or more fraudu-
lent than jersey farmers. Conse-
ouently the standard would likely
only be equal to day to q barrel Of
medium Virginia sweets.
In proof of this reasoning. in q talk
with II. B. Schall, of Baltimore, last
week. he said, "they had fine crop
of sweet potatoes in Anne Arundel
county this year, and but for the
fact that the farmers had resorted to
shipping in barrels instead of in open
pacillgas rs heretofore, I could have
handal them to a good advantage.
Really . he said, they didn't pack
hem q ~ better thin yo1r Eastern
Shore farmers do which is proof
that ,vered packages bred careless
handling Nevertheless it is not
necessarily 50. What we want to do
is to EDUC e or farmers to u sense
of righy and wrong, to :: standard
that 70 slip II covered packages will
not be an excrSe for an easy con-
science in falsely filling them.
Hlviag ssiisfed himself that I was
in error as to the cause of the care
less handling of potatoes, in my
charging it to the use Of covered
packages, L. a. j. attempts to prove,
and not altogether without reason,
that tho trouble is due TO the Balti
more commission merchants who
have been the consignees OF this crop;
but in whose favor there is sclne nit
igatior.
His idea of right in the case of AS
and BIS potatoes, as illustrated hy
him may be correct, AMI his denun
citation OF commission merchant
who would advise his consignor to
ship inferior goods marked as primes
is perfectly Unsuitable.
On the other hand | have in my
mind u question of right and wrong.
t ne pIincinies of which are somewhat
similar to lis case, which will state.
And in which the justice as required
from his standpoint in the previous
case. will not be equitable.
Let us for convenence's sake make
T. a. j. u commi sion merchant.
The Steamer Eastern Shore duly
arrives in Baltimore and the purser,
Mr.. Joynec. hands him freight bill
on which is represented one hundred
shippers with an aggregate amount
of five hundred barrels. After going
through little preliminary, such a,
belongs to the br siness pulling and
hauling''-T. A. j. was offered two
dollars per barrel for this inclusive
lot of potatoes by q shipper; this
price being equal to any offer he had
had for his best marks in snail lots
1.-THE case stated is of frequent occur
renee the sale was confirmed and
the potatots were delivered to the
buyer. he having received the whole
number of barrels as per the agree
ment.
The next thing in order will be to
price the potatoes preparatory to
having sales made out. Having done
so, let us see how justice has been
meted out by him in this always per-
picking question to ME.
If we find the price has been made
uniform. knowing that the potatoes
run good, bad and Indifferent, what
becomes of T. a. Us theory that
right demands goods should be priced
according to their worth, and if
priced upon that basis, according to
their real worth, from whence did he
derive the right to take from the le-
Ultimate sale, and for which he re-
ceived the full value-two dollars
for AS potatoes, and give part of
the same to b. even had he been
positive that there did exist a differ
ence in quality. Or perchance hap
a. been a witness to the whole trans
action could he have been convinced
of the justice of such a discrimina-
ton?
Fhis is but one of the many per-
picking questions that are every day
forced upon men who occupy the
position in which we have, in this
little transaction, placed L. a. y.
And on that account sober con-
sideration and not hasty criticism is
due them.
do not wish however, to be under
stood, that ! subscribe to the present
manner in which the business is con-
Quoted. I took occasion in my for
mer letter to state my views freely
upon that point.
In conclusion let me Indicate a plan
that has favor with some of our larg-
est farmers with whom 1 have con-
versed, and which favorably meets
all the issues wnich have so far been
brought to bear on the question by
both sides, viz: hire agents at set
price per annum to sell or re-sbip our
produce. This plan will obliterate
the lifelong elimination and counter
elimination, as exists, between the