The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-12-04
|. H. SHOEMAKER TALKS ABOUT
APPLES
Delaware and Hudson Industrial
Agent Shows How Farmers Lose
Money-Honesdale Doing What
He Recommends.

! Albany, lnduStrlal agent OF the Dela- |
| ware and Hudson system, tells how
| the farmers of Wayne and adjoining |
! counties lose money. He answers F,
| complaint of a Wayne county apple !
! grower that appeared in the Trib-
metropolitan.
Referring to the Wayne county
| farmers Mr.. Shoemaker said that if
| some active people in Honesdale in
| terested in agricultural develop
ment get in communication with Mr..
! Wilson, secretary of agriculture,
! Washington, or to the State Secre-
tary of Agriculture in Harrisburg
the free aid plan would be outlined.
Fact of the matter is this. The
Greater Honesdale Board of Trade is
working on this very proposition
with the end in view of organizing
Wayne county agriculturally. The
! Board is also in communication with
the Crop Development Bureau of
Chicago, which organization has Of
fered to give $1,000 the first year
toward the aslary of an intended
chemist and manager who would
have charge of a proposed organiza-
ton. 1t would be his duty to find
a market for the produce, secure the
best prices obtainable and give what
ever assistance he could along the
line of soil production.
Mr.. Shoemaker said to Lacka-
wanna avenue, Scranton, wholesale
merchant, who called his attention
to the letter in the Tribune-Republi-
can, stating that twenty cents a
bushel was the price paid to farm
ers by the wholesalers for apples lat
er sold by the wholesaler at eighty
five cents the bushel to a relative of
the letter writer.
IF that's the case" said Mr. Shoe
maker then the letter proves that
there is something wrong some
where. If farmer can get only
twenty cents for apples that are sold
by the wholesalers for eighty-five
cents, it seems that the farmers are
not alive to their best interests. If
they had a produce exchange, with
an active agent in charge" went on
Mr.. Shoemaker, speaking to the
wholesaler, you would pay more
than twenty cents or you'd not get
apples from Wayne county. The
agent would have a market that
, would pay more than twenty cents.
He would not be compelled to sell
his apples in Scranton. He could
sell them-in Canada for that mat
, ter-just like the Eastern Shore ex-
change of Virginia got into Mon
| treal with potatoes"
Down in Virginia.
Mr.. Shoemaker explained the po-
tato crop of the Virginia farmers.
The Montreal merchants used to
buy their potatoes from Michigan" Z"
said the industrial agent. THE
Eastern Shore produce exchange had
potatoes three weeks earlier than
} | Minbiuan +A n
1 Eastern Shore exchange that it try
= to break into Montreal, but the idea
seemed impracticable. The agent
:, had been shipping his potatoes to
j Philadelphia and thought that Mon
; treal was sealed tightly for Michigan
2 potatoes only. Finally the agent was
: persuaded to wire a number of Mon
y treal wholesalers If they wanted po-
e tatoes. The answer came, Yes al
$ ways a market for new potatoes, and
i with prices satisfactory, the Eastern
: Shore exchange cut out Philadelphia
: and shipped TO Montreal, and it is
: still shipping Virginia potatoes to
: the Canadian city.
y That's how the farmers here
T abouts could sell their produce and
o be independent" said Mr.. Shoemak,
:, er. with an exchange they could
|
S combine of wholesalers. If the
e wholesalers set an arbitrary price
e the agent could be just as arbitrary
He could set the ultimatum of the
n Scranton wholesalers aside and wire
:. to Pittsburg, Philadelphia, New
u York, Baltimore or any city and theI
e ship to the city that would come VI
/ to the proper mark. Scranton is no
l. the only sister in the country that
e eats apples. The apple pie is a ma
u tional institution.
Opportunities at Hand.
Mr.. Shoemaker said that Wayne
y, and Lackawanna counties offer many
- opportunities for increased produc
- ton along agricultural lines and tina
;, there should be an organization il
- each county that would work in har
? mony with the United States depart
y, ment of agriculture and the stat,
70 department also. And" he added
II Il am glad to say that there is nov
> an opportunity presented to brini
:. about that result"
81 The Industrial agent went on Il
y say that the United States depart
ment of agriculture has received al
q appropriation to promote agricultur
~ al development as a state wide prop
~ osition with the one end in view, t,
70 increase the yield, which would nee
le essarily make for a lower cost OF liv
lo ing to the people generally. MI
~ Shoemaker then went on to say tha
8 in the state of New York, under thi
~ plan, there is being established 4
SC each of the fifty-seven farming coun
ties OF that state an expert in farI
management to be known as "coun
ty agent" The United States gov
ernment pays a certain amount
IN about 5000 a year, the state depart
Is ment pays a certain amount, abou
n, $500 year, and the New York stat
legislature has passed a law permit
n ting the county supervisors TO lev
n a very slight tax to raise the couI
TVS proportion, and the only benz
q ALBANY L. N hn-Hhn IA rnnnra and TN