Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-04-18
ORGANIZED LABOR.
AND TRUCK SALES
PRESIDENT OF ILLINOIS Fedora
TION OF LABOR DISCUSSES Co
OPERATIVE MARKETING FROM
ORGANIZED LABOR'S VIEWPOINT.
BOTH ENDS AFFECTED
PRODUCER AND CONSUMER ARE
BOTH AFFECTED By COOPER-AT-
I'VE MARKETING. HE TELLS Ma
TIONA LCONFEKENCE.

Chicago, ILL.,, April l>.-Coopcrative
marketing from organized labor's point
of view. NOT only affects the producer
but the consumer Us well. said John III.
Walker. president of the Illinois FEEDER
alton Of Labor. in an address here today
before the Second National Conference
on Marketing and Farm Credits meet
ing in joint session with the Western
Economics Society. Mr.. Walker contin
ued:
And while there is no intent on the
part Of either the producer or consumer
To do any injustice Ia the middle men.
manufacturers. wholesale men. commits
sion men and jobl1rs. trans portation ar
terminal corporations. still. rs compared
with The present situation. ID We provide
for only allowing these men and insii
tutions what they are justly entitled
10. what their labor service Ia the con
sumner and produccr is actually worth
and that IN all they are entitled to-tkcir
income is going to he affected adversely
even more seriously than the producers
and consumers income is Increased. For
cooperative marketing. if provided for
and established. cannot help but mean
the establishment of Wholesale and manu-
featuring departments. ~ well n II rom
>umcrs department. And with the powers
Of all three of these associations used
as intelligently and effectively n posi-
bic Ia prevent themselves from being cX
plotted ~unjusily from any other source
or agency. that il what the result will
be. 9
ORGANIZED labor il in favor Of cooperat-
Ia. ...l.s..w L. al. go.
that means eliminating abe uncertainty
Of selling their product and the establish-
ing of a reasonable and uniform price for
that product. In the very nature of things
when Il price is established by that pro
cess y, the producers the actual work
ers thcmSclvcs). the relationship of the
real value Of the cost If production will
he a factor TO establishing that price. ra-
Their than how much can We gougc out of
il rs al present. ORGANIZED labor. however
goes farther than this. We believe that
i'm order to assure no one being lone an
injustice. guaranteeing the impossibilitv
of any n being taken advantage Of
that the consumers should be part of
that cooperative marketing association
We. believe this is perfectly reasonable.
and logical because every producer j. in
addition a consumer. Ia fact. each pro-
dncer is generally restricted 10 a very
few articles as producers. while the same
individuals are Ill consumers in n much
greater degree: and il the producers rs
well a. the consumers are MI in one as
ISOLATION. they would he much more apt
to fix Just rates. In fact self interest
will n1t permit of their allowing an un-
reasonable price Ia he fixed for any par.
ticular phase Of the whole transaction.
As ID is today. the producers where
u~norganizcd they being compelled IN sell
their products to the wholesale buyers
and commissions men nj whatever prices
the middle men may decide upon They
are also compelled Ia submit 20 extor-
%tionatc freight. transfer and storage
rates. and To unreasonable conditions set
arbitrarily by the concerns standing he
tween them and the consumers. There
are nj least q dozen times the number
Of men EMPLOYED in acting rs mediums
of exchange that wonld he employed do
ing the same work under Il proper Sys
tenn. and where these concerns are thor
ouehlv organized they add ~ the inius-
ticc Of the situation by fixing rates 50
low Ia the producer. and so high for the
that each one Of these dozen
are getting much more apiece than what
the one individual necessary 10 do the
undr a proper system would expect
or receive. even while getting paid every
penny that he was entitled TO,
OF course the organized labor move.
ment Of America. like every Other huns
al Institution. is moved by more. self in,
than pLilanthropic or ~altitruistirl