The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-12-13
Mayor Shank Says That is
Trouble With Cost of
Living.
HOW IT WORKS WITH POTATOES
Five Profits on Them Be-
fore They Reach Mouths
of Consumers.
Cold Storage and Commits
sion Dealers Are to
Blame Also.

indianapolis, Dec. f3.-Elimination
of unnecessary links in the costly
network of selling agencies is the
chief stop needed to solve the high
cost of living problems in the opinion
Of Mayor shank, Of this city, who has
gained national reputation as
result of sales of potatoes at cost
here in an effort to expose the alleged
exorbltant prices charged by COM
mission dealers.
Add to the abolition Of unnccessary
stops in the selling process the crea.
tion of the position of municipal pur-
chasing agent and the cultivation of
vacant city lots, and the price prob
lem for food, which Mayor Shank
believes is likely to become a national
political issue, will approach solu-
tion, argues his honor
illustrating his statement that there
are now too many links in the SELL
ing process, Mayor Shank outlined to
the United Press today his experience
In selling potatoes
The state of Michigan--a great
potato producing tcrritory-is "A com
paratively short distance from In
dianapolis," he said, "yct my expert
ence In trying TO relieve the living
cost pressure here by selling potatoes
at cost showed that, in the usual pro-
cess of selling potatoes, there are at
least five different profits all OF
which are borne by the ultimate con-
sumer. First. there r. the growers
profit. Then 1 ascertained that there
are men who make a business of get
ting an option ON the producers
crop. Coming next are the rcpresen-
tatives of the nearby commission
houses who are paid by the latter for
obtaining their supplies. These rCp-
resentativcs deal, not with the pro-
ducer direct, but with the two men
who have secured the option on the
growers crop. After the foodstum is
In the hands of the first commission
men, it is sold ,by them to COM
mission men In other cities These
in turn, sell the product in smaller
quantities to the retailers, who hand
1t on down to the ultimate consumer
| Everyone OF these stops means an ad-
! ana II all Is borne by the consumer
This method also applies to other
| food supplies
Il believe every tradesman is en-
titled to a fair profit on whatever he
sells. But l also believe that there Is
an unnecessary multiplication Of mid
dlemen. In this, according to my
| judgment, lies the crux of the cost
of living problem
Another big factor in the problem
lies in the attitude Of the cold stor-
age and commission dealers. The law
| of supply and demand, It seems. no
longer controls the price of food
commodltics. This, at least in many
| American municipalities, is now
| larsely the prerogative of the commits
SION dealers, Notwithstanding, there
have been no heavy crop failures in
recent years, food products have beer
steadily advancing in price.
This fall the people of Indianap-
olis-and | am told that the same
was true in other cities in a greater re,
spect-paid as high as one dollar a
hushel for apples. At the same time
fruit was rotting on the ground In
orchards within few miles of the
city. This puzzled me at first, but an
| investigation soon revealed the cause
Growers told me that they were un-
able to get enough for the fruit
to pay the cost of packing and ship,
ping. Commission men told me that
the market was glutted. 1t was. cold
storage houses contained thousand;
of bushels only a limited supply
was allowed to reach the consumer
Hence, the high prices"
AS a cure for this condition tho
mayor suggests legislation by munic-
ipalities which will result in more
producers bringing their products
direct to the market places Of cities
Under present conditions, he asserts
the commission men and the middle
men conspire in various ways-bS
temporary underselling, by Offering to
buy the producers product which hC
is retailing for practically the same
price he is getting and thus relieve
him of the trouble of retailing and
other sundry methods--to force the
grower from the market. A lowering