The Delta independent., 1913-10-03
CHARGES THE COMMISSION
MEN HAVE A MONOPOLY

and Mr. Evans has been looking into
the so-called monopoly by commits
sion men as it relates to fruit and
vegetables. Here are a couple OF
sample interviews from Michigan
farmers in the Record Herald of Sept
ember 16 as regards peach growing
and marketing:
who gets the money?
An anonymous correspondent
writes: The critics who say compe-
tition in the fruit business is dead
should go down to South Water street
any morning but Sunday. They will
find competition the healthiest corpse
they ever saw That is why they put
South Water street in the guide books
as one of the sights of the country
Well it is difficult for the stray
observer to see how competition can
still be flourishing so long as supplies
are regulated and markets are con-
trolled not through natural supply and
demand. but by the manipulation of
4 middleman system. Combinations
seem to have a penchant for CARROT
ing competition.
why is it a fruit farmer finds it
next to impossible to sell his fruit
direct to a retailer? Because the re-
or potatoes direct he will be unable
to get his other produce from South
Water street. Judging from the
stories of fruit farmers, this seems to
be a not uncommon experience.
Here is sample from a Michigan
farmer who tried to jump over South
Water street, but found the barrier
too difficult to negotiate:
81 came from Chicago to Michigan
to go into fruit production. I bought
and set out in an orchard adjoining
Mucatawa park 200 peach trees OBJ
tanned from a nursery company in
this state, and after six years OF cul-
rvatlng. trimming and spraying. my
700 peach trees began to bear. but
they were seedlings. clings and utterly
worthless. / had to hire a man to
take them out and throw them away,
and as the company had failed, my
loss was total-time. ground, culture,
all gone.
q" But | had other trees and sent the
next year 900 bushels of nice sprayed
peaches from young healthy trees to
commission men and realized SIS cents
per bushel But they sold from the
groceries for s2.10 and upward.
Next year | went TO grocers in En-
glewood and said. Let me sell to you
direct from my orchard But no one
would take my offer till l found an
me he wished he could do so. But.
said he. If the commission men on
Water street should find ii out !
could not get anything from them am
more
'"I have written him twice since.
offering him good terms. but no reply
~ tried another plan and sent di-
rect to consumers. but besides little
trouble in collections. / found out that
thieves had opened and taken off more
or less of the top fruit and customers
did not know whether | had sent short
measure or whether the express
thieves had used long fingers. Fruit
sent to the commission men seems to
escape the fingers OF the carriers, but
sent TO private persons packages are
commonly opened and pilferd. and
the package being loosened, what IS
left gets bruised jostling about"
The South Water street monopoly
writes F. L. b. a Chicagoan, who i'm
parts his name in confidence. is one
OF the most perfect in the United
States. II has practically ruined
hundreds of small farmers and fruit
raisers in a radius of 100 miles OF
Chicago. These commission men alb
solutely refuse TO buy except at ruin
Gus prices and in extremely limited
quantities, always keeping the supply
locally so low that they can demand
and get the highest possible price.
Peach raisers in western Michigan
in a good year have been offered only
So wagon load for their peaches,
and many OF them dumped their loads
into the bitches and allowed the rest
OF their crop to rot in their orcherds,
rather than sell at price that would
not pay for the picking, At the same
time that this occurred around South
Haven and st. Joseph. peaches of or
dinary quality We're selling here for p
cents very small basket. and when l
complained about the high price deal
ers told me there was poor crop in
Michigan and peaches were scarce.