The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1895-02-28
BEATS CHEAP COTTON
Atlanta's Commission Trade Of
fers Some Suggestions.
TT is SUPPLIED BY OTHER STATES.

Showing the Advantage 1t Would be to
the Farmers to Raise Garden Products.
"My firm" said Mr.. o. L. Stamps,
"does an annual business in produce of
$50, 00O The bulk of it is shipped to us
from out of the state. Louisiana, Ala
bama, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, Mich
igan, Indiana and New York find a
splendid market among the commission
men of the Y.
These states sell US with profit the
produce of their soil. New York ships
to Atlanta thousands of barrels of Irish
potatoes. and receives a good price for
them. Tennessee also ships US large
quantities of potatoes. Cabbage comes
to US at this season of the year from
New Orleans and around Mobile, Ala.
Early in the year we get cabbage
| from Virginia, but the supply there is
| always exhausted by this time. Later
in the spring Florida will ship large
quantities of cabbage to us. Nearly all
Of our butter comes from east Tennes-
| see, as do our chickens and eggs North
Georgia supplies the Atlanta market
with fair per cent of the last two
items. Onions we get from New York,
In the main. Georgia pretty we'll sup.
plies the market with sweet potatoes. !"
Clint & Lovelace," said Mr.. Doolit.
tie, their bookkeeper, "have a large
trade in the various articles of country
produce yor have mentioned. The
amount, of course, varies during the
year, according to the season. I have
been figuring for two days on the bust
ness OF about a year and half, and
have here the figures of an average
months business. Mora than rs per
cent of the produce comes from other
states than Georgia. Nearly all of the
butter and eggs we handle come from
east Tennessee. I calculate that in
month we handle $3.50 worth Of chick
ems and $500 worth Of butter. Irish po-
tatoes are shipped to US from the north
and east and we send away monthly at
least $500 for that one item. We han
die but little butter, but most of it
comes from Tennessee. l should say $50
month would be good average. On
ions are an important item in our trade,
and they are shipped to us from New
York almost entirely. We handle ST.
200 worth in month. The money for
them goes to the east. The sweet pota-
toes we handle wouldn't exceed 800 in
q month.
Mr.. L. A Murray, of the Southern
Produce company, said that out of an
average weeks business of $3.50 nearly
80 per cent &C the articles sold came
from outside the state. North Georgia
supplied some butter and eggs Vir-
ginia and New Orleans held the cab
bage market, and east Tennessee had a
corner on butter, except what was sold
by the north Georgia farmers.
"Warsaw, Tenn" said Mr.. e. B.
Stanley, one Of the city's best known
commission men, furnishes many At.
lanta merchants with butter and eggs
and chickens. This is thriving town,
to Judge from it's daily shipments to the
commission men of Atlanta"
"My firm" said Mr. Petty, of Petty
Brothers, did business last year of
$50, 000 Nearly the whole of it was in
articles of country produce. We get
butter from east Tennessee, from Chi
cago and from the mountain counties of
Georgia. Yes, the Chicago butter is
fairly good if we get it in time It is
creamery butter. We ship Irish pota-
toes from New York. Cabbage comes
from Mobile, Ala, Louisiana and Vir-
ginia. Onions are shipped to US from
Ohio. Georgia supplies US with tur-
nips and sweet potatoes.
Practically the same story is told by
all of the commission men, Of course
the aggregate amount of their monthly
sales diffef in amount, but their sales
represent the same percentage of de-
mand for the products mentioned. They
are articles found upon every table. The
demand for them, of course, comes from
the people through the retail grocery
men, whom the wholesale commission
men supply. These representative firms
quoted give some idea of the volume of
business done by the commission trade
of the city. AS can be seen, thousands
of dollars pass through its channels
weekly. The bulk of the money goes
out of the state.
If there is any practical suggestion in
this commercial side light it is this,
that here a fine opportunity is offered to
the productive class of Georgians.
Here is a ready, anxious, profitable
market for articles of produce that ev-
cry Georgia farm can produce album
dainty and successfully. 1t is splen-
did field right at the doors of Georgia
farmers, and in this era of scent and 4.
cent cotton it is especially enticing.
COTTON.
asked Mr.. O. L. Stamps why Geor-
gia conld not furnish the commission
market of Atlanta with the articles
spoken of.
II know of no reason" said he, Eek
cept that the farmers are rooted and
grounded in the cotton idea. They
have had it so long that they can't get
rid of it, It's an old tradition. Why,
there's much more money in raising
these articles that we have been talk
ing of, for which ready market can
be found ali the year round than in
raising cotton at even a better price
than cents pound
ONIONS.
ITO illustrate: 1 know farmer who
lives less than 20 miles from Atlanta
who determined to plant an acre in on
ions instead of in cotton. The result
amazed him. 1t is fact that many of
the commission men here know to be
true that he sold in one year $500 worth