The Washington times., 1914-12-16
A BIG MARKET PROJECT.

guilty of the scandalous crime Of be
ing 4 young man. He would prob
ably admit at least that one OF the
charges against him. He is called {
dreamer, an impracticable. and-s
radical.
The charge of radicalism. at least
will require some investigation be
fore it will stick. The propose
which he outlined in The Times yes
terday. for the establishment of {
new wholesale produce market ii
Washington, may look radical to
people who do not know what other
cities are doing in that precise direc'
ton; but to those who do know. il
seems very mild-mannered and con-
sentative. New York city is plan
ming to spend millions to create a
like facility for that town. Cleve-
land has gone New York one better
in that it has already spent the mil
lions and got the marketing estab-
lishment. Detroit is engaged in the
creation of similar system that is
intended to be in nowise inferior for
"radicalism" to that of Cleveland.
Chicago has one of the ablest groups
of her civic servants at work on a
like task of supplying that city with
economic and efficient marketing
facilities; and the studies of this
Chicago commission, published in
documents that have enjoyed wide
circulation, represent the digest of
experience of the most "socialistic'
cities of the old world and the most
progressive of this.
The proposal, then, to create a
scientifically adapted wholesale mar
ket center for this city is not utterly
absurd. 1t is in line not only with
the experience and effort of Dussel-
dorf and Nurnberg, but with that Of
the foremost models of American
city development. Mr.. Sherman is
no more radical" on this showing
than the municipal executives of
monarchic Germany, or Tammany-
lied New York, of Tom Jchnsonized
Cleveland, or the Chicago of "Hinkey
Dink" and the "Bath House."
Under the circumstances, it will
perhaps not be entirely disreputable
to consider what Market Superin-
tendent Sherman has suggested,
without worrying about whether it
is conservative, radical, or just sim
ply plain business sense.
Mr.. Sherman declares that there
is 100000 of private capital wait
ing ready TO go into the development
of this new municipal facility, if only
the Government will spend one-tenth
of that amount as a sort of guar
antee of good faith; if it will merely
give the chance and a reasonable as
surance that the investment will be
protected. He has carefully calcu-
lated, with the assistance of men
now in business and familiar with
the methods of its conduct, the
economies that can be effected; and
he is confident that two millions A
year can be divided between pro-
ducers, dealers, and consumers.
Everybody will gain by the simple
method Of eliminating waste.
Waste, resulting from the compii-
cation of the processes of production
and distribution. is the penalty that
modern civilization pays for prog
ress. 1t is only within comparatively
recent time that it has become popu-
lar TO perceive this, and to inquire
why the progress and the civilization
might not be conserved, with the
waste eliminated That inquiry is
going on everywhere today. 1t finds
partial answers in demands for pub
lie ownership of public utilities, in
municipal housing programs, in
studies of the cost of conveying
goods from producer to consumer,
in more or less idiotic denunciations
Of The middleman. and in the some
what futile generalization that
things are all wrong. There is more
and more intelligent study Of specific
proposals for remedying specific
faults; and it is become quite ap-
parent that the solution will be found
in remedying detail after detail,
rather than in revolution that will
overturn the structure of society.
This isn't a revolutionary country
or people. 1t is given to progress,
not avulsion.
Mr.. Sherman's proposals are pro-
gressive; mildly. sanely, safely
progressive. They do not envisage
any magnificent generalities of econ
omic overturn. They do not declaim
against the middleman and give hec-
tie assurance of destroying the
demon; rather, they are so reaction
AIRY as TO promise that he shall have
better profits than he gets now. But
he i 10 get them 2S REGARD for civ