El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-02-24
Few Buy From Producers
NIfddIemen Have Pressed Forward in
Taking Possession of the
Worlds Markets.
Frederic J. Hasl<in
? AsHINGTON, d. C., Feb. q

u
M In the centuries that passed
before our present highly or
gained and complex civilization had its
beginning the man who produced US
ually came into direct contact with the
man who consumed. The first middle
men were those who handled the things
that came from far countries. The
PhOenician traders who gave to civil
ization its alphabet are an example of
the early generation Of middIemen and
traders.
But foot by foot they have pressed
forward and have taken possession of
the markets Of the cities Of the world.
until today it is only the people who
live IN villages as rule, VINO buy
direct from the producer And even
with them it is the exception rather
than the rule, for the average farmer
does not like to peddle meat. butter,
eggs and vegeta bles. He would rather
take produce to the village grocer and
get sugar, coffee. and other supplies in
exchange. There are truck farmers
who do drive their own market wagons,
and usually they do well. Some dairy
farmers sell milk direct to the con-
sumner and it often happens that the
farmers who would not think of ped
ding produce will make contracts
with the OWns-peOple to furnish butter
and eggs, fruits, meats and vegetables
throughout the season, and will deliver
these, although they would not engage
in peddiing at all
Professional Buyers.
The cotton planter frequently sells
his crop direct to the representative
OF the manufacturer, and the farmer
often sells his wheat direct to the flour
mills. But the major portion OF the
products of the farm goes to profess
siOnaI buyers who act as one link IN
the general system OF distribution
They may buy the farmers apples on
the tree, or his wheat delivered at the
railroad station. 1t is clearly impOs-
sfbIe for the individual farmer to make
it worth his while to find city con-
sumers and to sell to them direct, and
there is where the middle men come IN
Their business is to find purchasers
for the commodities they buy, attend
to transportation and marketing 1t IS
economical to ship IN carload lots
and neither the farmer VINO produces
nor the consumer who uses. can handle
such quantities. The middlemen gather
the scattered products Of numberleSS
farmers together. snip them IN pig
signments to other mlddlemen VINO
follow the process Of selling dlstribu-
ton Just as the shipped follows the
process Of buying collection
Growth OF Various Systems
It is interesting to go through the
list of farm products and to note the
systems of handling that have grown
up. During a recent year the farms OF
the country produced over 100000 900
worth Of butter, half Of it manufac-
tured on the farm and known as dairy
butter, and the other half IN cream
cries and known as creamery butter
The bulk Of the dairy butter IS sold
through the grocer and general mer-
chandise stores Of the country. Some
goes direct to consumers, to hotels. and
to boarding houses, and the remainder
to commission houses A part Of that
which goes TO the general merchant
al
sumers That which is not very pal |
atable usually is shipped to renOvatins
butter factories, ladling establishments |
and commission houses, from whence 1t |
reaches the hands OF the consumer
gain.
butter sales by Contract.
OF the various methods Of selling
creamery butter the sales by contract"
is probably the most used Creameries
using this method agree with the buy
price shall bear a certain relation to !
the market quotations on a certain /
butter market Another method is that !
by the butter boards Of trade" |
Here a few small transactions in butter |
are made and these fix the ruling price |
of butter for the day Of for the week. /
The creamery Seels to the 1Obber. he /
sells to the wholesaler, he sells to the /
retailer, and he, in turn, sells to the (
consumer. Each must make his living +
and that Of his force Of handlers and I
clerks out Of the transaction, and no 1
one ever noted that they have been in I
danger Of starvation
System in Cotton Sales
Cotton is sold with more system 1
than any other American farm product J
It is usually sold in the bale after ,
ginning, and the average weight per
bale includes the bagging and ties /
These weigh % pounds to the bale /
Payment to the planter often is made I
partly in advance Sometimes the /
local merchant extends the small /
planter credit for year and then buys i
his cotton when it is ready for sale.
squaring accounts thereafter. Often /
the planter cOnsigns his crop to a fac
tor who is instructed to hold it for 1
better prices. The factor advances
charges interest on the loan When he
sells he deducts interest and commission !
and RENTS the difference to the planter
After the cotton is ready for distant
it is usually compressed into |
much smaller bales.
United States markets allow from p
to "a pounds for tare, while in the /
British markets they deduct about six
pounds to the bale, and in order to
make the actual cotton weigh out I
extra bagging is added.
Marketing Eggs
Eggs are usually produced on farms
where they serve only to make pin
money" They are gathered. some
times every day, sometimes two or
three times a week and sometimes
even less frequently. If the housewife
or the children find a nest around the I
barn or strawstack, the eggs go into !
the market basket without question. !
The housewife usually waits until she /
gets from five to 20 dozen eggs before |
taking them to the country store. In I
some localities, however, they art /
called for by the merchant in a market ]
wagon which makes the rounds once |
a week or once a fortnight The mer- /
chant in turn, holds the eggs until he ]
has a very respectable number Of cases
to send to his commission merchant /
That may be few days or more than Z
q week. Then they are sold by the com
mission merchant to the wholesaler. |
who. in turn, sells them to the retailer. |
from whose hands they pass to the |
consumer.
1t is thus a usual thing for the !
average egg to be at least a month /
old before it reaches the man who eats |
it. That is why the problem Of getting !
good eggs Is such a hard one. There
are some retail merchants who handle
the outDut OF certain uou1frvr Fov~,,s- !