The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-11-25


too much in passing our produce
from hand to hand. Living is high
In the city and poor in the country
because of this. l have spoken Of
the public markets of Springfield,
Ohio. and Madison. Wisconsin, as ex-
amples Of successful and unsuccess-
full methods Of cutting out the mid
dlemen. And now / want to tell Of
two cities which 1 have just visited
In which / saw the passage from the
marketless state to the condition of
cities supplied with markets. These
are the two largest cities Of Iowa,
Des Moines and Sioux City.
Neither has had a public market
until this last summer. Des Moines
has nearly or quit hundred thous-
and people. and Sioux City about
half that. Both are fine, lively, hust-
ling towns. surrounded by ideal gar
den lands. In Des Moines especially
there has been great complaint Of
the high cost OF living. The COM
mercial organizations finally saw that
unless working people could live
cheaply, wages would have to go up,
and manufacturing would suffer.
Do you see the situation? 1t was a
struggle not SO much between the
middleman and the people on both
sides Of him, as between a badly or
ganized system Of foOd-supply and
the general prosperity Of the town.
They had no market-house In eth
er city. In Des Moines a little square
back Of the City Hall was available,
In Sioux City nothing but the open
street. In each case, the city COM
missions-they have. the commission
form of government-decided to use
the streets
Each scored gratifying success
was in Des Moines on the tenth
rnarket-day. and it was wonderful to
note the change. I found the farm
ers all pleased with Jhc result. one
man had crabappIes which ne was
selling for forty cents a half bush
81 basket. He told me that I'm for
mer years he couid never sel from
the grocers more than twenty-five
cents bushel and often let them rot
on the ground. Green corn was SELL
Ing for ten cents a dozen, whereas,
before the market started. the gro
GERS paid only seven or eight cents.
Similar results were reported on al
most every sort Of truck-farm pro-
duce.
watched the loads in wagons
gradually dwindling to a small heap
against the tailboard. and finally the
empty wagon pulled out for home
cleaned up.
And the consumers, rich and poor
pulled out for home. too-loaded
down. / watched a woman shopping
she had little boy with her, draw
Ing small cart. The child was
dressed in two garments, and I
don't believe there was two dollars
worth of clothes on both mother and
son. She was a Jewess or an Italian
CT 'lun--evidently the wife Of some
poor immigrant not yet adjusted to
our life, or striving deadfully hard
to save. or out Of work. 1t took her
ten minutes to make her first pur-
chase think she felt the breast
and hefted every chicken in the
market-and once or twice went back
10 get good one and found it
gone. Finally she went away. with a
fine Plymouth Rock lying In the cart
like French nobleman in a tum-
bril- on his way to the guillotine du-
ring the Reign Of Terror. She had
lot of onions two heads Of cab
page, some lettuce, few potatoes,
some beans and other staples. And
on the top of the load were two fine
ooHldioupS. could imagine the
eagerness with which that small boy
would approach the table laden with
these esculents-many OF them out
OF reach Of the family until the pub
lie market opened. 1t rather warm
ed my heart.
An esteemed reader Of Farm and
Fireside. Mr.. j. r. Hamilton Of Della
ware, writes Of the OLD Wilmington
market very interestinPly He says:
The street market o w hing
ton. Delaware, are prt, watched
with wonder; and so ,ccurred 10
me that a short description Of them
might prove interesting to the read