Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-02-05
The J0bber, The Retailer,
and the High Cost Of L;vi,1g


[Edward b. Moon. Ex-Seeretary
The old, saying There 10 nothing
new under the sum-" which has long
since established it, place az q univer-
sal truth, finds a happy application
in a consideration Of this question.
There ia q great deal Of loose talk
in regard to the middle Imam who 10
charged with making exorbitant profits
and having much to do with the In
creased cost of living.
The cry is for the marketing OF goods
thru fewer hands. getting them to the
ultimate consumer by a shorter route
and saving the profits Of those who
handle them along the present estab-
lished paths OF distribution.
Perhaps in some departments OF trade
there is an opportunity to eliminate
expense, and reduce the cost Of goods
to the ultimate
Commission merchants in some lines
seem to ado unduly to the price OF the
articles in which they deal. The job
Der and the retailer are not middlemen.
The jobber is here because III retail
merchant is here.
The retail merchant has ever been
and is now a necessary factor In tho
field Of distribution. His method OF
selling goods has been handed down
thru the ages. 1t has withstood the
test Of time and has survived the BUSH
ness revolutions Of centuries only be-
cause it is the best system for supply
ing the wants Of the people that human
wisdom has so far devised. The retail
merchant is a necessary factor In pro-
duction and distribution.
The we'll known economist Professor
Ely of Wisconsin University says: 1T
mas seemed to some, even among
economists Of an earlier time, that the
farmer is more truly a producer than
the manufacturer, and the manufac-
turer h the merchant; but careful
thought discloses The fallacy of such a
view. All Industrial classes alike pro-
duce one or more of the four sorts of
utility, and they do SO by changing
relations of things in time or space.
The farmer changes the position OF
grains of corn by dropping them into
the earth. Then he removes weeds
and throws earth about the rising
stalks. Thus mans acts in changing
the relations n position OF Things.
aided by natures materials and forces,
result in more corn for human con-
sumption. The manufacturer in the
same way changes the position OF
pieces Of matter, and. aided by natural
forces within n without the object
Of production. he causes matter to as
sumo a form which fits it. or better
fits it. for human needs. So too, the
merchant changes the places Of things
from where they are less usefel to
where they are more useful. or holds
them in one place until a change of ex-
ternal circumstances gives them great
er time utility. He Is producing utili-
ties as truly as is the farmer or the
manufacturer"
Adam Smith in his Wealth Of Ma
tons" says h capital Of the retailer
replaces. together with its profits, that
of the jobber of whom he purchases
goods, and thereby enables him to con-
tinue his business. The retailer him
self is the only productive laborer
whom it Immediately employs. In his
profits consists the whole value which
its employment adds to the annual pro-
duce Il the land and labor OF society.
In time Of advancing prices the re-
tail merchant has always come in for
more more than his share of criticism.
Many years ago the retail merchants
Of England were criticised in much the
same way as the retail merchants OF
the United States are criticised today,
and Adam Smith answered those
charges then in these words: Besides
possessing q little capital, the retail
merchant must be able to read. write.
and account, and must be a tolerable
judge too, of perhaps. fifty or sixty
different sorts Of goods. their prices,
qualities. n The markets where they
are to be had cheapest. He must
nave all the knowledge, in short that is
necessary for a great merchant, which
nothing hinders him from becoming
hut the want of a sufficient capital.
Thirty or forty pounds a ear can not
be considered as toe great a recon-
pense for the labor of a person so ac-
com plished. Deduct this from the
seemingly great profits of his capital,
and little more Will remain. perhaps,
the ordinary profits of stock. The
greater part of the apparent profit is.
in this case too, real wages"
Perhaps many elements enter into
the increased cost Of living hut there
is much in the statement Of President
Hill of the Great Northern railroad
that it is not so much a question of the
high cost Of living as 1t is the cost OF
high living"
Ricardo, the eminent French politi-
cal economist, says 1T is the cost of
production which NUS ultimately reg
ulate the price Of commodities, and not.
as has often been said, the proportion
between the supply and demand; the
proportion between supply and demand
may, indeed. for a time. affect the
market value Of q commodity, until it
is supplanted in greater or less abund-
ance. according as the demand may
nave increased Or diminished. but this
effect will be only Of temporary dura-
ton"
A glance at the figures showing the
increase in wages. in general expense.
and in the cost Of materials for manu-
featuring goods in 1900 and 1905 will
make clear what an important factor
the increased cost Of production has
been in increasing h cost Of goods to
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