The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-05-10
E EDITORIAL
Who Gets the Profit


B. r.. Toakum, head of the Frisco Raifroa
ysten, says that in the high prices which tn
rbIic are now paying for farm products
either the farmers nor the railroads are gel
az more than reasonable price, the big pro
going to the midlothian.
Following are few examples which Mr.
oakum cites to prove his case:
1.-THE Florida farmer receives 81 %
for bushel of green beans, the rail
road gets fly cents for the 800-mile
haul to New York, and the customer
pays $40 for this same bushel of
beans. There is 35 per cent for the
grower, per cent for the carrier and
81 DER cent for The dealer This is not
a fair division. Thirty cents dozen
s was the average price of eggs in New
York last year, while the farmers OF
Arkansas and Missouri received A.
teen cents. The freight was two cents
a dozen. The men who receive the
eggs at a freight station in New York
and deliver them to the consumer take
Thirteen cents dozen profit The rice -
farmer of Texas, Louisiana and Arkan-
s& SIS gets Two anu u udh ceALs pouHo
for the grain, and the consumer in
4 New York pays ten cents a pound for
this rice. The freight is one-half cent
pound. 1t the rice farmer were paid
three and one-half cents Zone cent
more than he is now gettingl and the
dealer took one cent profit (Which is
25 per cent?, the New York consumer
would get twenty pounds of rice for
dollar instead of ten pounds as
now
But the Produce News of New York take
rue with Mr.. Yoakum.
The real causes for high prices for food pre-
ncts says the News are the increase paid tn
Irmer, the exohitant prices paid for freigh
ia refrigeration in transit and tho enormou
tcentage of profit exacted by the retail gre
I'm.
IL points out that Mr.. Yoakum did not sa
word about a reduction in freight or re
:igeration over his railroads. "He seems t
we fogotten," our contemporary proceeds
that no matter what the quality Of the CON
0ditr, the feight is the same Take beam
hich he speaks of The News was permitte
zee same account sales which went out We
esday- One basket of beans from West Pal
|each, Fla, brought So, the freight on whi'
10 III .95, commission 30 cents, and the grows
% the enormous sum of rs cents. Anoths
stance was twenty-four crates of cabbat
ON Benton, s. G. The freight was $16S
ia the grower got 1882 Another instanc
ii twenty crates Of tomatoes from Pompan
Ii. The freight was $14s0 and the grow,
pt 40 cents Seabrook, s. c., furnished al
her instance in two baskets of peas, whei
lc freight was 50 cents and the growers q
cents. From Fullford, Fla, came A craft
Tomatoes on which the freight was 1921
nd the grower got 1863. Another shipmel
rom the same point was So crates of tomatoe
reight $65.12, and the grower got $41 IS.
Fife more than half the freight charges"
y In short, Produce News claims that the raj
Md get the bulk of what the produce bring
These were the questions that the invest
nting committee of Congress was supposed
fvestigate, but the main object of the r
ublican members was to show that the hie
ost Of living was not due to the tariff, and
mot probable that anything worth kowin
EAa really ascertained. Still consumers 4reul
Ike to know whether or not Mr.. Yoakum b;
lirly stated fhe case and each city would d
rell to make inquiries on It's own account.