St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-10-25

and loss, an attempt that almost in
variably fails.
Again, the farmer in Iowa, for in
stance, cannot attend to his crops in
Iowa and at the same time look after
his market in Chicago or New York
If the commission merchant who
has acted heretofore as his broker
in the city is to be eliminated, a
substitute must be provided. An
association of farmers which had in
stalled a salaried shipper at home
could be expected to establish an
agency in the city, probably to CO.
operate with other farmers associa-
tions in establishing such an agency
to handle their produce at the mar
ket end Here too they would be
under the necessity of paying in sal
aries and rent what had before gone
in commissions and probably much
more, since the adjustment of pro-
duce market prices from hour to
hour is the result of very lively trad
ing, and servants are never as zeal
Gus in their masters interests as
when their efforts bring them a di-
rect profit.
The New York and Pennsylvania
farmers interested in the new
market in South Brooklyn expect, it
will be observed, to ship their own
produce to their own market place
and sell it directly to the retailer.
One thousand retail grocers and
butchers, according to one inform
ant, have signed contracts to sup
port the experiment. The question
Immediately arises: Which party
to the bargain is expected to sort out
and transport from the Bush Ter
minal stores to the thousand shops
scattered over the city the poultry
and vegetables and pork and beef?
Is the retailer supposed to drive his
wagon down to South Brooklyn
every morning, back it up against
the platform, pick out what he wants
and cart his small load of produce
separately through the city to his
stand? If so he must expect to buy
his goods at a material reduction to
pay him for this expensive system
of transportation and his waste of
time
Or does he look forward to assort-
ment and delivery by the farmers
association? In this case the farm
ers must be contemplating a further
investment of capital in a branch
of productive activity with which
they are unfamiliar.
The elimination of middlemen re-
quires on intricate organiza
ton combining layers of industry
which do not fuse, and it can be
made to pay, we venture to assert,
only when engineered automatically
by such a business genius or trust
magnate," if you will, as we have
not yet heard from. The Chicago
packers, themselves middlemen,
through the perfection of their
gathering and selling organiza-
tions," to quote Mr.. Kjelgaard, have
been able to unite in one
establishment the activities of ship
per and commission merchant.
But they have practically
given up as profitless their at
tempt to act as jobbers also,
at least in New York, and they never
considered seriously extending their
organizations in the other direction
and competing with the farmer in
the raising of cattle and hogs. They
know what apparently Mr.. Kjelgaard
and his associates do not-where the
economies of combination cease.
Other agricultural associations
have chased the same rainbow in the
course of this city's commercial ex-
to the pot of gold. The farmer can
raise more vegetables and live
stock, and better vegetables and live
stock and he can raise them more
economically, if he let's some one
else market them. Specialization
has brought into being the shipper,
the commission merchant, the job
Der, the retailer, and with them has
come cheaper and better food. The
search for the cause of the high
cost of living" must be resumed.