Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1904-02-18
Producer and consumer.


The producer of fruits and vegetaS
bles imagines, as rule, that he has
no interest in any way in his product
after 1t has left his hand. He thinks
1t Is Of no consequence to him wheth-
er the man that takes 1t on his hands
sells 1t at a reasonable price or for
very exorbitant price to the con-
sumner. He simply says to himselt'
"Oh, they can fight it out between
themselves" 1t is unfortunate that
such an opinion should be held by
the producer in the domain of horti-
culture. The results are harmful to
both himself and the consumer. 1t is
only because his products are lost in
the great mass from other localities
that he cannot see the connection.
The wholesale buyer and the COM
mission man hold the road between
the producer and his market. They
have 1t in their power to improve or
damage the market. AS to prices
they can improve the market by sell
ing the fruit and vegetables at fair
price or they can hurt the market by
asking an unreasonably high price for
the things they handle. By the same
act they can damage both the pro-
Queer and the consumer. They can
charge so much for their goods that
less quantity is used, and they can
then turn around and use this less
ened demand as an argument with
the producer why they should not
pay much for what he has to sell.
They can thus buy low and sell high.
In the days before the combines
came into existence this possibility
Of damaging both parties was not so
great as 1t is at the present time.
Then, If one handler of fruit or vege-
tables wanted an unfair price for his
goods, some other man would step In
and sell at reasonable price. But
with the combines came almost COM
plete control by them Of the market,
and a greater ability on the part OF
the traders to buy low and sell high.
Therefore we hear the consumers, in
the great cities especially, complain
ing Of the almost prohibitive prices
they pay for their fruits and vege-
tables, and the producers complain
ing that they are receiving hardly
enough to pay expenses.
Attempts have been made to rem
edy this, but with little success. A
fruit grower Of Illinois was recently
telling the writer the trouble he had
in trying to build up a private market
in the city of Peoria, Illinois. He ar
ranged with some of the retailers to
ship them good fruit Of various kinds
at reasonable prices, using one OF
the express companies as carrier. The
plan seemed to work well, and he
had great hopes Of developing trade
hat would be profitable to himself
and would place his fruits and vege-
tables in the hands of the consumer
with only small profit to the middle
man that was willing to undertake
the delivery. But the commission men
of the city found out what he was
doing, and from that time his plans
worked badly. He found 1t thereafter
extremely difficult to get his fruits de-
livered. OF course they were delivered
in time, but it was generally long
after they we're wanted. The attempt
to reach the consumer in this way
proved a failure.
Many farmers drive directly into
the cities and villages and sell their
produce, and are thus independent of
all commission men or middlemen.
Attempts have even been made to
prevent farmers and fruit growers
from doing this, but unsuccessfully.
The writer knows personally Of one
case where the tradesmen Of village
got together and induced the village
council to pass an ordinance making
a ten-dollar license necessary for any
farmer to peddle out his produce in
the village. The ordinance raised a
storm among the people, a petition
was signed asking for the instant re-
peal Of the obnoxious rule, and the
people went to the council chamber
to see that their wish was carried
out The ordinance was repealed.
The producer should take more in
terest in the consumer, and should
try to see that he gets his fruit and
vegetables at price that will induce
him to use as much Of those two
commodities as possible. When the
consumer has to pay fancy prices for
everything he eats Of these he be-
gins to economic in them, and the
producer then begins to wonder why
he does not find his fruits and vege-
tables in greater demand. This phase
of the subject will bear studying.
The Orange Crop.