Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1911-09-14
after Larger PROFITS
Wants Some Of Money MiddIeman Now
Gets From Ultimate Consumer
PLANS TO SOLVE DIFFICULTY
General Manager of Cleaners Tells of Many
Obstacles That Stand In the Way

The Detroit Free Press of recent
issue in commenting on the high cost
of living, said: "How much Of the
price paid by the ultimate consumer
| for farm products can the farmer take
| from the middleman and keep for
himself is a question that most int
erests the farmer nowadays? He is
and should be vitally interested in
the answer to the question. Spokes-
men for farmers say that he, the pro-
ducer, at present gets but Al per cent
of the price the 'peepul' pay for what
he produces.
"The farmer is now attempting to
solve the question in various ways.
Oranges, cooperative creameries, CO.
operative stores, cooperative grain
elevators, farm products clearing
houses and other means to enable the
farmer to come closer to the con-
sumner in selling his products are al
ready in operation in nearly every
state in the union. Their success
may be Judged from that of the CO.
operative elevators in Illinois, which,
according to its friends, have reduced
the price OF handling corn from to
IL cents a bushcl, saving the farmers
$15,OOO,O0O year. That is enough to
cancel good many mortgages each
year.
"But the farmers of Pennsylvania
and New York have laid plans to go
even further They intend to elimin-
ate the middleman entirely by estab-
fishing central markets in different
parts of New York and selling direct
to consumer and retailer They will
have salaried agents TO operate the
distributing markets for them, and
save the profits heretofore made by
the commission merchants
THAT is, they will if their plans
prove feasible They will run against
many snags in their efforts said ].
b. Thompson, general manager of
the Cleaners clearing house, Detroit.
They will find it impossible to COM
pete with the old established and rich
commission houses with their agents
all over the world, able to buy wher-
ever cheapest and to sell wherever
most advantageous. The city fiddle
man cannot be eliminated.
"In our organization there are
between $4,000 and 10000 members.
Each pays 10 cents a year dues.
That goes for office and administra-
tive expenses. We deal through the
middleman, eliminating only the r;:n
who buys from the farmer and sells
TO the commission merchant We thus
save one mans profit. To go further
and attempt to compete with the
commission merchant we think is inn
prac ticabe. Sometimes we sell di-
rect to the consumer, when both pro-
ducer and consumer know each other
or when both are known personally
to us, but such cases are rare. The
farmers produce must be inspected.
"'But it is not in eliminating prof
its that we make the most money
for the farmer. Ours is a purely CO.
operative concern, not run for profit.
The clearing house itself aims to
make only expenses. Thus our cost
to the farmer is practically nil.
"'Where our big saving comes, is
in the wide information we possess.
We deal with commission merchants
in practically every city of any size
between here and New York. Into
my office come reports every day in
forming me of the most advantageous
points at which to dispose of the
stuff shipped to me. For instance!
one day, the ticker tells me that l can
get more for berries in New York
than anywhere else That day l ship
berries to New York A week later,
berries will bring better price right
here in Detroit than anywhere else.
I sell to the commission merchants of
Detroit that day. SO it is with hay,
corn, wheat and everything else that
comes from the farm.
"Tf each farmer had the same
means of information that / have he
could sell where he could get the
most and save what he is now COM
PEELED to contribute to our running
expenses But it costs money to get
that information. BY combining and
dividing the expense of getting it be-
tween more than $4,000 farmers, it
amounts to a negligible sum in each
case. but the cost would overwhelm
any single farmer.
"'The middleman. or commission
merchant, in the cities. as far as my
judgment goes. is bound to stay. He
can handle the goods by facility in
buying and selling cheaper than the
farmer himself, even in farmers or
ganization, could do