The Springfield herald., 1912-06-21
SAVE MONEY BY COOPERATION
Western Plan Gives Farmer More for
Products and Consumer 10 Buy
Ing at Reduced Price.

now farmers can get their products In
to the homes Of consumers without
leaving half or more of the pecuniary
returns In the hands of the middle
men.
In the west the matter of co-opera
tion in marketing farm produce has
| made good progress. Producers are
, uniting to send their vegetables and
other produce to the city, where a
man In the employ of the organization
distributes the commodities to the re
tailers. That agent receives salary.
A great saving has resulted In most
cases In which that plan has been
tried, the farmers getting more for
their products and the consumer get
ting his vegetables, butter and eggs
at lower price,
A Colorado farmer In describing the
conditions which formerly existed
said: II shipped cantaloupes to Den
yer which sold in the city for $1.10 a
crate. For that shipment l received
less than SO cents a crate. out OF
which l had to pay - cents for the
crate. BY the time the middlemen got
through with my product they had re-
ceived nearly two-thirds Of its value.
labored from April until August to
produce my crop and then handled 1t
in "a hours.
"One year the farmers of my com
munity shipped 100000 worth of can
taoupes. OF this amount the middle
man received 100000 and the farm
ers $4,000. This is not only true Of
cantaloupes. but almost every other
crop the farmer grows, whenever the
middleman. especially the commission
dealers and the transportation compa-
nies. must handle it.
II shipped tomatoes in baskets con-
tanning 20 pounds. On the city mar
ket they brought rs cents a basket.
The express company and the commis-
sion men together received 30 cents.
leaving me 35 cents net, being
obliged to pay ten cents for each bas-
ket. The middlemen handled those
tomatoes in one day. ! labored six
months to produce them. besides being
obliged to have lands. fertilizer. tools
and many other things to produce the
crop"
By cooperation the profits OF the
middleman are eliminated and at the
same time better transportation rates
can be secured by united body than
when each shipper acts as an individ-
ual.
In some parts OF New York state. in
Ohio and the middle west great quan.
operative creameries. The companies
are composed Of the farmers and dairy
men Of given section, who take their
milk to the creamery, where an expert
butter maker prepares 1t for market.
The stock OF the company Is divided
among the farmers and after the but
ter Is sold and all the expenses paid
the profits are divided according to
the holdings of the stockholders. Tho
directors Of those creameries are now
considering new plan Of marketing
the output.
Heretofore the butter has been mar
sion houses. Many Of the stockholders
have regretted to see part of the pro-
ceeds from the sale of the butter go
ints the hands of the commission
dealers, holding that all the profits
should be divided between the stock
holders and the consumers.
A plan is now on foot among many
OF those cooperative creameries which
is to be tried out this summer where
by the commission dealer is to be elm
mated. The idea now being worked
out Is to unite large number Of
creameries for the marketing Of the
n ha
who. like all the other officers of the
individual companies, are to act with
out pay. They are to employ COM
petent, experienced man to have
charge OF the receiving and distribut-
Ing end of the business in the city He
is to do the work now done by the
commission men, only acting as an
employe of the united creameries.
Each creamery will retain Its inde-
pendence and individuality under the
new system, merely uniting with the
others for the sale of the products and
for such other benefits as may accrue.
The earnings from such an arrange
ment would be divided pro rata among
the creameries, according to the num-
ber of pounds produced.
The project has been discussed for
nearly year and is meeting with
great favor among the united dairy
men. The promoters of the plan say
there is no limit to the possibilities of
saving, once merger has been
formed The salesman is to not only
sell the butter, but being the repre-
sentative of large number of cream.
cries, each one of which has from
twenty-five to hundred stockholders,
he will be in position to buy feed
and other supplies for farmers needs
| at an advantageous price.
Ifthe plan is successful 1t will mean
very material lessening in the cost
of creamery supplies for the consumer
and when the united creameries pro
| ject is on a successful basis the plan
| may be extended to other branches OF
the marketing of agricultural prod
| ucts.