The Prescott daily news., 1915-06-25
MARKET COST

Congressman w. s. Goodwin of Ar
 lonsas spoke plainly but truthfully of the Southern Commercial Congress Tnlsa. Oklahoma, when he described orr present wasteful system of mar keting:
 The farmers of this country pro- duce annually crop for which they ras vsreve S9,O00, 0,O00,000 and for which it ;s said the ultimate consumer pays s97OOO, 00,000. Or, to express it in this & wise: The American farmer to- dav is doing business on 35-cent Joilar. and the consumer of his prod nets pay 100 cents for the same amount of agricultural products for which the producer receives but 35 cents. Owing to the lack of some cen tral. directing intelligence there is an enormous amount of waste, especially in perishable products. At times 100 ears of fruit or vegetables are sent to q market which can consume but 10, and 10 are sent to a market that can use 100. Foodstuffs are shipped for lono distances only to be reshipped and consumed in the vicinity in which tbev were grown. Our storage and transportation facilities are first swamped, then starved; produce is al lowed to waste and rot in the field and consumers are compelled to pay exorbitant prices.
 It would seem that such is a re- lection upon our intelligence, but it is fact nevertheless, that we per nit this waste and then wonder why far1ing doesn't pay better. The pro- duer has been accustomed to giving little attention to the markets, per nitting waste to occur and incompe- ent parties to handle the products, with the result that the cost of sell ing is enormous.
 The problem of selling is not the producer's problem any more than it is the consumers problem, and the middleman's problem. In fact, it is problem for the people of this na- titn because waste affects all. No people can rise higher than their ideals, nor can a nation continue to prosper when it permits the labor of its people to be wasted and wealth destroyed.
 Mr Goodwin thus describes the eff fects of uneconomic marketing;
 Under the present manner of mar ketmg the producer receives too lit tie. hence he seeks to lessen his losses by producing less; the con- sumer pays too much and tries to cut down his expenses by consuming less; the railroads having less to transport charge more to make up for the loss of tonnage; the dealer charg- es a larger profit to make up for the smaller sale; and here We round and round in a vicious circle getting mo- where, the circle growing more mar row and more vicious all the while.
 A system that does not prove it's own worth by benefting a majority of the people has not claims for it's eX- lstence. Here We find our marketing methods charked with discouraging consumption by increasing the price to the consumer. The dealers and transportation companies may possi- ply save themselves by increasing prices for their services, but the pro- ducer raises less and the consumer pays more and people suffer the con- sequences.
 The responsibility rests upon the system more than it does on the in- divlduals connected with production, transportation and consumption. There IS need of reform in the methods of packing, shipping and distributing. The problem is to save waste.
 Congressman Goodwin suggests a national commission to investigate marketing so that it may make rec ommedations for congressional ac- uOn. This is a timely suggestion. We need more information and our sys- ~m-lf indeed We have a system needs reformation. Farm and Ranch