The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-09
THE COST OF LIVING
Interview with Mayor Shank of Indianapolis
 Upon This Subject

U
 
 Indianapolis, Dec. 9-E3imjnatj ton of unnecessary links in the costly nes- work of selling agencies is the ehie1 step needed to solve the high cost o< living problem in the opinion Of May Or Shank, of this city, who has gain ed a national reputation as a Fesgls of his sales of potatoes at cost here in an effort to expose the alleged ex- orbitant prices charged by eOran6iss5oT dealers.
 Add to the abolition Of unnecssssrS steps in the selling process, the cTsa- tion of the position of n1unic5Dal pur~ chasing agent and the cultivation 1f vacant city lots, and the price pros- lem for food, which Mayor shank be- lieves is likely to become 2 Daeknas political issue, will approach sol8s55z argues his honor.
 Illustrating his statement that t55ers are now too many links fn the se3lfftg process, Mayor Shank outlined t0 the United Press today his experience 5r selling potatoes:
 "The state Of Mfcffzan--a great potato producing sterrftory-fs g eor- parativeIy short distance fFona Tsds< anapolis," yet my experience jn fry ing to relieve the living cost DrsssSrs here by selling potatoes at cost show
 
 ing potatoes, there are at 1esst five different profits-aII Of which srs borne by the ultimate consumer FfFss there is the growers profit. Then ] ascertained that there are men wss make a business of getting an ovf5DB on the producers crop. Coming Hsxs are the representatives Of the nearly commission houses who are paid D the latter for obtaining their soD- plies. These representatives 6ea+ not with the producer direct but w5to the men who have secured tfs option on the growers crop. After t5s9 foodstuff is fin the hands Of the frst commission men, it is sold by fhenn to commission men fn other. cites, These, in turn, sell t1ae product fn hand it on down to the a1t5msss eoTs- sumner. Everyone of these sssSa means an addition to the cost of fhs product-and 1t all is borns by tfss consumer. This method also apples to other food supplies
 'T believe every tradesnan 5s en- titled to a fair profit On whatever he sells. But also believe that there Is an unnecessary nnuIffDfca- ton of middIemen. Tn this, accord ing to my judgment lies the eTzz o1 the cost of living problem.
 Another big factor fin fhe prov lem lies in the attitude Of fhe ccf6 storage and commission deaseTss The law of supply and demand, it seerns. no longer controls the price Of fcof American municipalities, Is now Isrze~ ly the prerogatfve of the connrnfssfon dealers Notwithstanding. there have been no heavy crop failures fn re- cent years, food products have been steadily advancing in price.
 ''This fall the people of Indian apolis-and am told that the san7s was true in other cities in a greater respect paid as high as one dollar q bushel for apples. At the same ttrns orchards within a few miles of ths city. This puzzled me at 6rs bus an investigation soon revealed tfe cause. Growers told me that they we're unable to get enough for ths fruit to pay the cost of packing and that the market was gfutted. Is was. Cold storage houses contained thousands of bushels. Only lirs- ited supply was allowed 10 reach the consumer. Hence, the high prices
 As a cure for this condition tns mayor suggests legislation by rnunie- qualities which will result fn more producers bringing their products d. rect to the market places of cities Under present conditions, he asseTts, the commission men and the nn1o0e men couspire in various ways = by temporary underse1ling, bT offering to buy the producers product WbIfh he is retailing for practically the same price he is getting and thgs re- lieve him of the trouble of retailing and other sandry methods-to foTcs the grower from the market 4 lowering of 1icepse fees to ths pre- ducer and a raising of this cnargs e the middlemen, together with a fig i'd censorship, suggests itself to tns ma yor as one means that might result ir hotter condffiCua-
 Above all he holds cities should create the position of municipal purchasing agent. His duties would be to see that there was an adeauats supply of all foodstufs on the n1aT- ket In case a shortage appeared the mayor would have the agent, ss the representative of the city, saIi7 forth, obtain a quantity of the de- sired product, if possible, and sn9 city itself sell it until the tension of light supply was overcome. ThfAs the mayor asserts, would make lrH~ possible the hoId-up Of the consUns6T through exorbitant prices.
 Cultivation of vacant city lots s also held by the mayor to os 2 greas need in the economy Of Anaerieas municipalities. Cities. he believes. should adopt the Pingree plan-fsss formulated by the late Mayor PingTe@ of Detroit-whereby n would De 70 the advantage of holders 0f vacans lands within the corporation lITtts to cultivate it. The cfty's poor, ne holds, would flock by hundreos 70 obtain plot to cultivate.
 Since the mayor first launched n1s war on living cost here, he has re- ceived more than 2,000 letters seeflH2 advice or commenting his work. Every state in the Union has been rspre~ sented in the correspondence.