The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-10-21

k1OUt!NutQ From rage one |
Lack Of proper system
or marketing and distribution of our
farm products IS costing North Caro-
lima farmers an annual tribute Of mill
ions Of dollars.
One Illustration. he marketing Of
eggs, will be sufficient to show the
waste and duplication of service, the
loss 70 the and the loss To the
consumer. Eggs that are served on
the breakfast table OF the leading
man in the leading cities OF North
Carolina have frequently passed
through a wonderful
country trip. They have been col
lected by the farm wives at odd times
and kept until the number was sufIi-
cen to carry them to the nearest store.
from the country merchant they pass
TO the collector, who makes it a bust
ness to go through the country gath
ering eggs for the storekeepers. The
collector ships the eggs in large GUAM
titles to cities like Richmond and Bal
timer, where they are received by the
wholesale dealers. known as commits
sion men. The commission men then
sell the eggs in large quantities to job
berS who in turn sell the eggs to the
retailer, the small corner groceryman.
Then our city h~Ousekeeper orders the
CO. ~ IN ~ LII III Sto-
ceryn,an delivers the eggs, which are
OF ancient age, to the home Of the
consumer: and finally the family cook
stops the merry-go-round of the eggs
from the hands of the farm wife, the
StOrekeeper, the collector, the commits
sion man, the jobber, the corner gro
ceryman, to the city consumer. At
each transfer there i sloss in handling,
expense for trucking, storage and mar
gin of profit.
The same amount of unnecessary
waste in more or less degree is found
in handling the poultry, vegetable,
fruit, peanuts and other articles of
farm produce other than such staple
crops as cotton n tobacco.
There is something radically wrong
with the present method Of marketing
when the farmer of Halifax county
gets 81 a bag for peanuts. which. after
taking the merry-go-round journey OF
the commission merchant and the job
Der, finally lands in Guilford county a
81 per bag.
1t is poor encouragement to tn
farmer Of Craven county when he car
get only $3.50 a barrel for white pota.
toes. which finally reach the consumer
, in Durham county at a price of s4.5t
/, per barrel.
The Buncombe county farmer is go
: ing slow in mOrtgaging his and fol
, cheap money, repayable in small in
stallments over a long period Of years
, in order that he may acquire sufficient
capital to plant his waste farm and Il
. apple orchards when he is compelle
to sell his apples at 81 per barrel tina
have to take a roundabout jOurne!
: through several states and several cit
z les and finally reach the consumer 0
Wake county at Sc per barrel.
We need to establish a great sys
= tenn of community marketing whereof
the best brains and the best energie
. Of the State are employed in bringin
the producer and the consumer close
. together. Individual marketing by tn
. farmer, as we'll asindividual market
:, ing by the consumer OF the city, ha
proven a failure in North Caroline
as elsewhere in the world. We nee
Is a system Of cooperation, or assOcia
II ton marketing. whereby the produC,
Of the farmer are offered to the cor
;, sumner in uniform quantities, thor
oughly standardized and guaranteed
- quality, and thoroughly suited to tn
y requirements Of the consumer. TIL
Tar Heel farmer will the receive
- fair market price for all the marke1
, able produce that he can grow upo
:. his farm.
Proper Organization Needed.
If Proper organization Of the farmer
e. OF North Carolina is greatly needed
f. devise the ways and means~for estat
fishing institutions that will proviG
;" long-term and short-term credit d.
K sired by the farmers, and that Will il
" stitute proper systems of cooperatiS
he production and cooperative distribl
le ton.
in The last census shows that abol
of four-tenths per cent CT the popul;
ton of North Caroline or one persC
st out of every two hundre and IF
d. was foreign born. hence it is apparel
I'd thai the two and a half millions
e white people in our State are abo
u the most homogeneous body of viii
people on the face of the globe. The
rs would seem to be no serious obstacle
t therefore, in the way of finally. o
ganizing our white farmers along c
operative lines after they have h.
IT'S sufficient opportunity to ear VIII
cooperation really means and aft
tie they have had time to acquire the tr