Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1914-05-01
HOW FARMERS CAN
AID LOCAL MARKET
"OTHER SIDE" OF BIG PROBLEM
WHAT MERCHANTS HAVE
TO CONTEND WITH,

Complaint is frequently made by
The farmers of this county, in COM
mon with the farmers of other West
ern Washington counties, that the
merchants of their nearby towns do
not offer them a market for their
produce and once in a while some bit
ter criticism is heard Of those mer-
chants for the condition that is alleg-
ed to exist.
Such a situation exists. anyhow, in
Snohomish county. and q farmer Of
that vicinity recently wrote to the
Snohomish County Tribune quite .
bitter letter roasting" the Snoho-
mish merchants, and the Tribune pub
lished it. In the last issue Of the
Tribune was published reply to this
farmers letter. setting forth the mer-
chants position and severely criti-
cising the farmers for certain prac-
tices. Portions Of this answer are re-
printed here, not because they are ap-
plicable to the farmers of this coun-
ty. for very likely they are not. but
lust to show Thurston county ranch
e1 what their .neighbors in nearby
sections confront and the way the
merchants in those districts look at
the situation.
Buy Cheaper Elsewhere.
The article says after discussing |
enohomish. Everett and Seattle as
markets:
Seattle 10 surrounded by truck |,
gardeners, who daily keep such sup |
ply Of all kinds of vegetables in it,
markets that . shipment Of these !
goods from q Snohomish merchant |
would be . joke. Not only that but /
the said Seattle gardeners deliver
these goods at % low . price that
Dealers can box them up and ship
them to snohomish or any other city |
IA this neighborhood cheaper than
our local farmers are willing to sell
them without any boxing or shipping
expense.
ANY merchant who knows any
thing about this subject knows that
he can usually buy the goods. these
people complain Of not being able to
sell. from Seattle or Everett commits
sion houses for less money than they
pay our home producers. They buy
from the latter from q desire to en-
courage them as much as possible.
Prices Are Close.
"Any product such as butter. eggs
and meat, for which there Is a mar
ket, our local merchants are now and
have always been willing to buy in
unlimited quantities. The prices they
offer do not provide for large profits
to them. but expenses, such as boxing,
shipping and collections.
1.-THE fact is that the quantity OF
garden truck consumed in this coun-
try is limited. We can't force the
people here to eat more OF these
goods than they want. The only
CuluS 10 10, lS VI TdISc WuoI thOAo ~
a market for, and quit raising stun
that people can't use. The trouble Is
that thousands Of farmers are dab
bling in the market gardening busi-
ness, when there are not enough peo-
pie in the West to consume their pro-
ducts.
Therefore. when they find 1t difh-
cult to sell their goods. they get sore
at the local merchant because he
doesn't find a market There Is no
market to be found except as the
people increase in numbers.
Criticises Certain Practices.
speaking Of the finding of markets
for the products of Snohomish county
farms calls to mind another phase OF
the subject that was not mentioned.
The products Of this community have
a bad reputation, which makes II
CONTINUED on page 3.)
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