The daily sentinel., 1914-04-18
LABOR MEN TO
BUY DIRECTLY
FROM FARMERS
Associated Press.

Associated GTeSS.
Chicago. April 1S.-Co-operatiye
marketing, from organized labor S
point of view, not only affects the
producer but the consumer as well,
said John II. Walker, president of
the Illinois Federation of Labor, in
an address here today before the
Second National Conference on Mar
keting and Farm Credits meeting in
Joint session with the Western Eco
nomics Society. Mr.. Walker con-
tinued
And while there is no intent on the
part OF either the producer or con-
sumer to do any injustice to the mid
die men, manufacturers, wholesale
men, commission men and jobbers,
transportation or terminal corpora
tions, STILL as compared with the
present situation, if we provide for
only allowing these men and institu-
tions what they are justly entitled
to, what their labor service to the
consumer and producer is actually
worth-and that is all they are enti-
tied to-their income is going to be
affected adversely, even more seri-
ously than the producers and con-
sumers' income is increased. For
cooperative marketing, If provided
mean the establishment of co-opera-
tive wholesale and manufacturing de-
partments, as well as a consumers
department. And with the powers of
all three of these associations used
as intelligently and effectively as
possible to prevent themselves from
being exploited unjustly from any
other source or agency, that is what
the result will be.
Organized labor is in favor of CO.
operative marketing by the producers.
because that means eliminating the
uncertainty of selling their product
and the establishing of reasonable
and uniform price for that product.
In the very nature of things, when a
price is established by that process by
the producers (the actual workers
themselves). the relationship of the
real value of the cost of production
will be a factor in establishing that
price. rather than how much can we
gouge out of it as at present Or
ganized labor. however, goes farther
than this. We believe that in order
to assure no one being done an in
/ Justice. guaranteeing the impossible
| ity OF any one being taken advantage
of, that the consumers should be part
| of that cooperative marketing asso-
citation. We believe this is perfectly
reasonable and logical because every
producer is in addition consumer.
In fact, each producer is generally
restricted to very few articles as
producers. while the same individuals
are all consumers in a much great
er degree: and If the producers as
well as the consumers are all in one
association. they would be much more
apt to fix just rates. In fact self
interest vii not permit of their al
lowing an unreasonable price to be
fixed for any particular phase of the
whole transaction.
AS 1t is today, the producers where
unorganized are being compelled to
sell their products to the wholesale
buyers and commission men at what
ever prices the middle men may de-
eide upon. They are also compelled
TO submit to extortionate freight.
transfer and storage rates, and to
unreasonable conditions set arbitrar-
lflS by the concerns standing between
them and the consumers. There are
at least dozen times the number
of men employed in acting as medi-
ums of exchange that would be en-
ployed doing the same work under
n proper system, and where these
concerns are thoroughly organized
they add TO the injustice of the situ-
alton by fixing rates so low to the
producer and SO high for the con