The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-01-13
Recent Exchange Of Views
With : Station Agent.
ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCERS
Future Of Cheap Food Products
Is = DifRcult Problem.
Other Items Of Interest in the
Traffic World.

giving testimony before the Interstate
commerce Commission. IL reported to
have said he did not know many of
his subordinates, not even his general
II Mr.. Mellen had
pursued the same. relationship with
his officers and employees az does
President e. p. Ripley with the MEM
bers Of the Santa Fe family. and with
the public. possibly the New Haven
line would have avoided much of the
grief which now involves 1t.
President Ripley. although strict
disciplinarian, enjoys the confidence of
his officers and employees because he
comes into personal contact with
them, and il willing to exchange views
with them. N. N. Cochrell. agent for
the Santa Fe at Guthrie, lately COM
municated to President Ripley the
complaint of an Oklahoman peach
grower whose fancy Elbertas netted
him less than the cost Of production.
Mr.. Ripley promptly wrote to his
Guthrie agent, outlining q plan by
which, he believed. the peach grower
and farmers similarly situated might
be able to overcome their difficulties.
Traffic officials Of the Santa Fe."
said Mr.. Ripley In his letter to Agent
Cochren. "haye been considering for
some time how 1t IL possible to mar
row the difference in price between
what the farmer receives for his pro-
duct and what the consumer in the
city pays for it, To this end. we have
been discussing the running of
pickup refrigerator car on certain df-
visions of the line so that small lots OF
produce could be shipped, but it is by
no means certain that 1t can success
fully be done, or that the alleged large
profit made by the middleman can be
eliminated After all, this profit Is
not so very large in the case of the
individual. but arises mainly from the
fact that there are 50 many middle
men, and that bushes is done upon
different lines from that which 1t for
merly took. When, for instance. the
housewife buys a. package of oatmeal
for twenty-five cents, she il getting
about three cents. worth of oatmeal.
the rest being fancy package, adver-
Using. the middleman's profit. and
cost of delivery at the door. In the
old days she used to go to the store
with a basket. and the gr0ceryman
would take her oatmeal out of a bar
rel; now she wants it put UP in q san
itary package with somebody's brand
In The Days Gone By.
ALSO. In thAsold days the peas and
beans and potatoes that were used in
our smaller t0WnS"and there were
not many large ones-were raised in
the Immediate suburbs and brought
to the city in the morning by the far
mer in his own wagon and delivered
to your grOCefyman or marketmans
conditions are now such that that
cannot longer be done in our large
cities. and the result II that farmers
are located at q long distance away
and must have AN agency of some
kind in the city through which they
ship. Moreover, we are continually
charging our wants, and the family
living in Boston is now accustomed to
eat melons raised in Colorado, oranges
raised in California and bananas rails
ed in Central America, to say nothing
of the thousand other things each of
which constitutes large business in
itself. and each of which must be
handled by specialized Industries.
Therefore it becomes something more
than q simple problem to provide for
the shipment of the farmers produce
with the least manipulation en- route
| to the table of the CONSUMER.
'-As nearly as I am able to figure
the subject out. the immediate RENEE
ly lies in an organization of producers
under which as q body they can deal
with some one man in each town, and
can ship either carloads OF part of
carloads to him regularly. trusting him
to dispose of them to the best possible
advantage. The orange growers OF
California had these difficulties to
contend with before they organized.
and their success dates from the time
| of their organisation. think the
same can be said of most of the deal
ers who have tried combination. It Il
a big problem and not easy of solu-
ton, and all we can do IL to lend our
best efforts to 1t. The railroad COM
! pany has certain limitations which II
cannot very we'll transgress-