Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-01-18
MAYOR or INDIANAPOLIS THINKS
MUNICIPAL SELLING SOLUTION
OF HloA LIVING PROBLEM.
LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND
HAS BECOME DEAD LETTER
Large Crops at Homo Have Come to
/ Mean Nothing to censumsr-shank
Tell. How Shipments Arc Diverted
to Prevent eIut Of Marksts-Pur'
chasing Agent For. Indianapolis.
1special correspondence.l

| Especial Correspondence
/ Albany, N. Y, Jan. 1s.-Samuei
Lewis SHANK, Mayor of Indianapolis.
who has gained fame by his personally
conducted cu-price sales OF potatoes
! poultry, mince-meat and wainu's' Al
the public market at Indianapolis as
war OH the middle man." delivered an
address here last night before the ne"
work Agricultural Society. the oii's
solution Of ( the high-cost-of-hVins-
problem, he said, was to bring tosether
the producer and the consumer. he nao
satisfied himself and the people VI
Indianapolis. that his municipal puT-
chase ard sales agent" idea. when put
irto operation. was effective In reouc-
ing artificiallly inflated prices OF 1000
.tu!fs. *.
"IInder modern commercial methoos
and the development OF several graoes
NJ middlemeD." said Mr.. Shank. the
law of supply and demand. SO lar as
the consumer. Is concerned, has pc
come more or less q dead letter. Inc
consumer in large cities finds eha'
large crops OF fruits and vegetables
mean little or nothing to him He useo
70 cheer up when he read of big apple
crops, big peach crops. big potato OF
cabba re. crops. tor ne hI.e" these pro
duets would be cheap. Now news Oh
this kind is received with derislon
Where Consumer Loses
.u-h.. 6E.erei,ce does ii make II the
cranberry crop is large? Doesn't the
nrice always climb from $40 to sls a
hare, or 10 10 Is cents quart ny the
time the Thanksgiving Day demand
comese Do overloaded peach trees III
Georgia Florida or Michigan mean
that the work III gtnan Is going 10 ha's
chean ic,,ie.f and Jams ALI the next
vinter, Not II the market hanoiers
~ crons know IT, Tho the growers
may accent low price for the peaches
rather than have them rot on the
pro,nd the various middlemen see 10
:, mar they get the advantage OF cheap
! n,oduct,on and not the consumer. II
INC low OF supply and demand gets into
a,.,.+ion yon see 1t works almost ex-
tciusiyeiy TO the benefit OF the moore
men. <,d
.The growers In some states iouho
l,h,s nm, some time ago and have taken
protective measures as far as they can,
| hT OTRdIl1IuS 0sSOSAS'
their crops and making the middiemeh
NV them reasonable prices. II they
ho,,e to continue in business as ois-
{. r;hn,o,s But the consumers are only
nov organizing to look after their own
, interest. IN the food supply question
They have for years seen the uls-
.r;hu,ive forces putting their selling
apen.s in the large cities to see tha'
f1,HG
ton the demand and thus lower prices.
It is the business OF tnese $50
agent. to see that the fruits rot "hefe
they grow rahter than that thes Nc.
crowd the markets and threaten sths
dethronement 81 nigh prices asia
Mefhods Of Agents. ~ z xf
a. ccordins to reports that have IN
| .n.n. TIC evidences Of truth. N for Jex-
ample, the selling agent in'lndiahaiells
for the. orange crop sees ael -
| ing shipments to that city INA. wy
aa,,ard Ia. fallen off at the prevail
ling prices, leaving more STOCK ON MANN =.
than he had expected, ne sees " >.
! that IN. cars on their way from Flor :
i;da or California to Indianapolis are
| not allowed 70 get there ana siu. .ne
market but are switched off to otne.
markets where there Is no DANGER "
,hem causing a reduction OF the price.
~, i. said that the grape. lemon.
strawberry. banana, pineapple. melon
and other fruits and vegetable crops.
any.hinS in fact grown outside OF the
| state in which one lives. is MAJ Ae.eu
+, in This WAY by the various distributing
| !. genc,es and add greatly to the cost OF
! living We even have trouble In getting
] - St2fp4 AT feA-
sonabie prices, because OF the tribute
a., demanded OF US consumers By the
! middlemen.
..ro my mind the greatest gift that
!; can come to the American people Ia
| some 1,erm al,ent plan whereby the con-
/ sunner can be brought into closer touch
] vim the producer When this IL. done
! lower prices of food products will pre-
/, yail. In my own way am trying to
bring about this condition Of affairs.
III do not assert my plan is the best
1 or that II will be successful every
where but one thing do know and
/ that 10 that lower prices now prevail in
my home town. presume practically
all Of you are familiar with my efforts
lin Indianapolis. In a nut shell my plan
lis to buy from the producer and sell
4 direct to the consumer.
.oreke Potato Trust.
ION Sept. 22 found Indianapolis
comnnission men were paying 31.0s q
/ bushel fpr potatoes which. according
to the market quotations, cost the con-
! sumner from 31.60 to 81 bushel This
despite tie fact that the crop appeared
/ to be about q large a. usual.
! Word reached me to the effect that
i in Michigan the best grades Of potatoes
1icoulH De bought at IS cents . bushel
/ / sent . man into the field and two
days later NE wired me he could buy
/ in car loadslots At 50 cents = bushel
/ T. o. b. Indianapolis. instructed him
( to buy and two days later the hrst cal
ARRIVED. OF course efforts were made
to discfedits tho value OF the stock but
the consumers were anxious to buy
/ I placea the potatoes on sale In the
city market and within short time
the car had been sold at the rate Of
/ rs cepts = nslsiis;. e here delivery ..s.
3requiyed Il cAArged ss cents. con-