Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-01-17
FARMERS TAKE 4 HAND.
NOVEL PLAN PROPOSED TO RE-
DucE COST OF NEcEssARlEs
OF LIFE.
WOULD FORCE MERCHANTS
TO SELL FOR CASH
Also Say That Merchants Should Cut
Out Expense of Solicitation and De-
livery-Movement Started in Black
Hawk County Expected to Spread
Others News of the State.


intended to give a black eye to the
present high cost of living is being
started among the farmers of Black
Hawk county, who propose an organ
1Zatlon or association to foster cheaper
meat and grocery prices at stores in
the towns and cities where they do
their trading. This move is unique. In
all the discussion that is now raging
over the high prices of the necessities,
10 one has hitherto hit upon the plan,
proposed by the men who live in the
rural districts. Their remedy is to in
SYST that all the merchants with whom
they trade shall do away with the
practice of soliciting orders, delivering
goods and carrying book accounts A.
failure to comply with these requests
may mean that the farmers will buy
their groceries of mail order houses
where every one must pay cash.
Say They Pay Others Bills.
Supervisor c. A. Rownd. of Cedar
Falls. said that the farmers of his
neighhorhood are quite Favorable to the
new organization, and pointed out the
reasons which they give for insisting
that the merchants do away with de-
iiveries and with doing a credit bust
ness. These are given as follows:
L. The farmer as :, general rule pays
cash for what he buys.
9 The farmer makes his own deliv-
cry of goods
Because of these facts. the farmers
say. they should be entitled to u lower
price for what ithey buy at the gro
ceries and meat markets than what
the merchant is forced to charge when
he maintains a delivery service and
carries his customers on his books in
many instances losing much if not all
of the purchase price of the goods.
Meat Of the Cocoanut.
In brief, the farmers say they OBJ
iect TO paying, an increased price for
What they buy merely to recompense
the merchant for his bad accounts,
most of which are owing by town peo-
pie. and the mainfsnance of a service
whereby orders are solicited and
goods delivered, all among city GUS
toners.
1t is understood that an organiza-
entity of Cedar Falls among the farm
ers. who will demand. of the merchants
with whom they customarily trade, to
do away entirely with deliveries and
get down to AN absolutely cash basis
fllen the farmers will be on an equal
| ity with the town patrons If the
merchants refuse to do this. it is limited
/ that the farmers will order their goods
| from the big mail order houses in Chi
| cago.
May Spread Over the State.
This move is in its incipiency but
those who are familiar with the feel
ting among the men who till the soil
| the men who produce the grains
vegetables. fruits, milk butter an6
meat, say the matter will spread all
over the county and ultimately spread
! all over the state. So far as the
farmers are now able TO figure ou
the problem. this is one way of doins
effective work in bringing the cost OF
| living down 10 where it\ will not be
! kurdensome.
Discuss Price of Butter.
We will also make some investi.
CATION. to determine, if possible,' sale
a prominent farmer, why we have te
pay so much more for butter here thar
the people do in Chicago Yesterday
quotations of butter in the Chicago pa.
pers gave extra creamery at 80 cents
a pound; firsts at 20 and 80 cents :
pound, and seconds at &c and 81 cent:
a pound. We have to pay about 4:
cents pound for creamery butter a
the local markets. This, in spite of tn,
fact that we are living out here il
one of the greatest dairy states in tn,
union. The butter is not produced il
Chicago and not all of it is produced il
Illinois. Much of it is shipped from
Iowa. some of it possibly from oun owl
neighborhood. and yet the nlarke
there, after the freight has been add
led, is not so high as here. There il
1 something very wrong somewhere, an,
we propose to find out about it. If i
costs merchant 10 to 20 per cent o
his total sales to carry on a fairl
iremunerative business. there is agai,
something wrong. He has too high al
expense somewhere, and we are will
ing TO help him lop off a considerable
item by asking him to do away wit
the expensive delivery system and tn
even more useless practice of sendin
men and teams out in the morning L
4 solicit orders.
4 we will also insist that. he sell onl
for cash, $50 that he will not have sew
eral hundred or several thousand dol
lars in losses for us who pay the cas-
to make good