Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-04-11

But He Wants Field Agents to Do
What the Grange Can Do Better and
What 1t Is Already Doing In Many
States-Our Declaration Quoted.
There is a movement on foot to es.
tabish a bureau of markets in the de-
partment of agriculture at Washington
In order to have more light on the sub
ject congress asked the secretary of
agriculture to report on systems of
marketing farm products and allied
subjects. and this report has been sub
mitted TO congress. The report treats
of the movement of farm products to
the markets TIN ough a great variety of
channels. deals with the Intervention
of middlemen. discusses the advantages
of public markets. associative market
ing by farmers, outlines the duties of
a division Of markets as suggested and
closes with a recommendation concern
ing the participation Of consumers in
the solution of market problems.
One or two features of this report are
worthy special attention Concerning
cooperative marketing by farmers the
secretary says that they must associate
themselves together for the purpose of
assembling their individual contribu-
lions of products, of shipping in car
load lots, of obtaining market news
and to secure the various other eco
nomic gains Of associative selling. One
might almost think that Secretary Will
son had a copy of the declaration of
purposes of the national grange before
him when he wrote the above SEN
fences In the grange declaration we
find these words:
We propose meeting together talking
together, working together buying to-
gether. selling together and in general act
ing together for our mutual protection and
advancement as occasion may require.
$50 For our business interests we desire
to bring producers and consumers, farm
ers and manufacturers into the most d.
rect and friendly relations possible; hence
we must dispense with a surplus of mid
dlemen-not that we are unfriendly to
them but we do not need them Their
surplus and their eXactions diminish our
profits
Then Secretary Wilson. to carry out
his suggestions recommends that if
congress establishes division of mar
kets a corps of travelling field agents
may be maintained to assist farmers
to form associations for marketing
their products" He would have these
agents examine and remove local diff
culties in the way of cooperative mar
keting, report on the condition of
crops, estimate probable production, re
| port the beginning and end of the ship
ping season ana the crop movement tc
principal markets.
/ We are by no means opposing the
establishment of n bureau of markets
/ if congress thinks il would help the
! farmer and reduce the expense Of liv-
/ ing But we see no need of travelling
/ field agents or any other agents than
the farmers themselves. operating
! through their local, county or state
oranges Here is an organization
! founded forty-five years ago to do the
very thing Secretary Wilson now
| wishes to have done in another way.
/ 1t is an organization that already has
its cooperative associations in many
! states which are doing just the things
| the secretary suggests We admit
that the grange has not accomplished
| all it might or should in this respect,
and yet there are not a few grange CO.
operative organizations that have saw
ed thousands of dollars to their mem
bers in recent years. and with more in
telligent ideas of what they want to
accomplish and by the adoption of bet
ter business methods they will accom-
plish vastly more in the future. They
should rise to the occasion and embrace
the opportunities being offered as never
before to help one another and to help
all farmers by associative buying and
selling
The consumers aspect of the dis
! tributiOn of farm products is con
spicuous one ut the present time, as
the report well says The consumer
certainly has something to do at his
end of the line TO help lessen the cost
of distribution of the products of the
farm. And there is no way by which
he can accomplish more than to buy
comparatively. There must be an elm
nation of some of the costs of distri-
button by buying in larger quantities
and with the Intervention of as few
Intermediates as possible. And just
here the grange may find new field
Of usefulness. With the parcel post in
operation there can be direct commu-
nication between farmers and city
fcnsumers, between oranges and indi
viduals or collections of'individuals, to
the mutual benefit of all concerned.