The Daily Missoulian., 1913-02-28


means.
Farmers often buy fertilizer on CO.
operative basis. They frequently allow
one of their number 80 cents a ton fol
making up the order and looking after
the shipments.
Could the consumer arrange to buy
| direct from the farmer by organizing
| a consumers club delivery to be made
| to each member Of the club direct from
the freight office, he might effect as
successful a reduction in the cost OF
| his table as the beef ring in the
| country effects for the farmer. For in
| stance, several consumers not long age
| bought number of live hogs from a
| farmer. He fattened them for the buy
ers, butchered them, cured the meat,
and sold the parts the consumers did
not want. Those consumers were able
to enjoy fine Virginia shoulders and
hams, as good as ever came from
Smithfield, at a cost Of about 13 cents
a pound, express included.
Thousands of farmers would prefer
to sell direct to the city consumer, just
as thousands of consumers would be
glad to buy the products of the farm
ers at a little more than the farmer
gets in the ordinary way. Sometimes
the sons Of farmers drift to the city
and set up stores where they handle
farm produce shipped direct from the
farm. But they soon find themselves
up against the high cost of living, and,
with but the one middleman, their
prices become the same as those
charged by the grocers who buy
through the ordinary channels of trade.
one of the amusing things about the
modern system of distribution is the
fact that the retailer, who will quarrel
with his wholesaler if that Wholesaler
should happen to sell direct to the con-
sumner. often tries to buy over the
head of the wholesaler, Just as a con-
sumer sometimes tries to buy over the
head of the retailer. Usually he an
nounces himself as a wholesale and re-
tail dealer, and then seeks to buy direct
from the jobber rather than through
the regular wholesaler. The jobber re-
fuses to stand for such an arrange
ment, and then the combination
wholesale and retail dealer declares
he is being Disseminated AGAINST. The
has no right to buy at iobbers' prices,
but he cannot see it, although he is
wholly unwilling to permit the whole
saler to sell direct to the consumer.
one is afforded a striking instance
of how much more the middleman
makes in proportion to the number en-
gagged as middlemen than the farmer
makes in proportion to the total num-
Der of farmers. Statistics show that
more than one-third of the people Of
the country are engaged in agricultural
pursuits. They must make the major
portion of their living and all of their
savings out of the six billion dollars
worth of foodstuffs they have to sell.
Less than 10 per cent of the people are
engaged in the distribution of these
foodstuffs, and yet they get seven bill
lion dollars out of the operation.
Whatever may be the benefit of the
middleman, however, the consumer
usually finds it more satisfactory to
deal with him than to buy direct, even
where that can be done. When the
bricklayer is through with his days
work he does not feel like having to
bother with direct marketing and such
worries. He is glad enough to pay the
added price that the middleman puts
on in order to get rid of performing
for himself the functions which the
commission merchant, the wholesaler
and the retailer perform for him.
Consumers buying organizations in
many quarters experience the same diff
ficulties that Individual consumers ex-
perience in getting the benefit of
wholesale prices. There are big houses
that will sell direct to the consumer,
and also organizations of consumers,
but the common experience has been
that it is difficult for such organiZa-
tions to get standard goods at standard
wholesale prices. Wherever co-opera-
tive buying has had its greatest sue
cess there has been behind the CO.
operative retail business a cooperative
Wholesale business, and frequently
there has been behind this a co-opera-
tive manufacturing business.
1t has been found that where buying
clubs have been organized Obstructions
of all kinds have been placed in their
way, and that only those with persis-
tent grit and determination have been
able to stand the strain. The retailer
usually helps along the movement in
opposition. Some months since. one of
aschain of semi cooperative stores
was opened in a wcll-to-do neighbor-
hood in Washington. The day before
every grocery around was selling pork
chops at from % cents to % cents a