Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-20
WHO GETS YOUR
WEEKLY SALARY
Some Figures From the Market
Reports Which Show How Much
1t Costs to Transfer Your Food
From the Farm to Your Stomach.
BY VICTOR H. LAWN

! - NAI FtO pays TOT tne nlBn Gust VI H''''s'
w is a familiar question. But the an
swer is different. No, It is not the ultimate
consumer alone, but the producer as we'll
The former pays for the privilege of buying
food to live on; the latter pays for an op-
portunity to sell his product In order to i've
In between the two are one two ana three
middlemen who "eat OF the fat Of the land
1t is they who keep the farmer poor, the
average family on the verge Of poverty, and
then disport themselves in motorcars and at
famous bathing places Of the world.
Ask any packer farmer, business man and
even commission broker what is the real
cause Of the high cost Of living and what is
the curse of the grocery and provision bust
ness and he will say: THE duplication Of
middlemen"
When a packer cans fish, peas peaches or
| asparagus he engages broker to market his
/ article. The packer gets profit of from 10
| to 20 per cent. from the broker for the priv
| iege of handling the goods.
The broker then sells the same can to
jobber exactng toll Of from 21b to per
cent. This incidentally, is the only respect
able profit in this sorry scheme of things
entire" The jobber commonly known as
the wholesaler, tacks another IL or 10
per cent. to the cost before making his price
to the corner grocer, who in order to live,
imposes an additional fine of about 20 per
cent. on the poor common man who wants
to eat Here we have about 45 per cent.
added to the cost yet profits not infre-
quently amount to more than 100 per cent,
as will be shown.
But the packer is not so badly off the
farmer. He, at least has a factory and can
fix his price according to supply and de-
mand Canneries don't grow on every va
cant lot The poor farmer, however Is even
more the slave of the middleman than are
the eventual purchasers. Farms and prod
be had almost anywhere; they
grow. Nor has he the protection of the sup
ply and demand axiom, for the greater the
supply the greater the demand-and the
lower the price. bumper crop" means
hardship for the farmer. 1t not infrequently
means a dead financial loss. He gets less
for his vegetables when the crops are large,
and the freight rates remain the same or go
up. The consumer sees a very small drop in
price-sometimes.
What the Farmer Gets
But here are some figures that tell the
story graphically. Best potatoes on July 10
(Which date applies throughouO were selling
at from 75 cents to Slip barrel, with No
grade from so to 20 cents. This is the price
the farmer got. The same barrel costs the
housekeeper from $3.50 to SO for the best and
50 to SO for the second best!
Here is the farmers end of it. He pays
20 cents for the barrel and another quarter
for the freight, Figure his profit on No. 2
grade potatoes After you have arrived at
the result just remember that 1t cost the
farmer something to plant the potatoes /
which first must be bought; something to
plow the fields and cultivate them, and
then something to dig, assort and pack the
crop after it has been sold. Then you can
see how much he makes even at the top
price. In times of medium crops he will get
at least so cents better the price, and it
will only cost the housekeeper a few pennies
more on the barrel, for low figures never
come down very far from the top prices.
Onions cost So to so cents crate. The
housekeeper pays 80 cents to $125 for the
same, The farmer, out of his so cents or
less, must lay out 10 cents for freight and
10 cents for the crate. Cabbages he sells for
a cent a head, for which Mrs Smith pays
from to 10 cents! When shipped in barrels
25 cents must be paid for cooperage and 80
cents for freight. Cabbages are usually
shipped by the carload, however, as is let
tuce, which the farmer sells for from to
cents dozen heads, and for which Mrs.
Jones pays to cents single head!
Now, let us consider canned goods The re-
naming vegetables and fruits tell the same
story: the farmer either loses or barely
scrapes through; the housewife pays an ex-
orbtant price, in produce usually more than
100 per cent above the original cost
Red Alaska salmon sells at S145 case OF
70. This is the packers price After all the
profits added. the corner grocer sells a
single can at IS cents, or S216 dozen. The
next grade salmon at the cannery sells for
81 a dozen and at the grocery store at 13 to
10 cents can. This is only S156 to $3.50 a
dozen. Best Norwegian sardlnes in olive oil
cost cents a can and sell for 10 or more;
the next grade costs cents and sells for 10
and up. Domestic sardines, really herrngs
in cottonseed oil, cost 2& cents can and
sell for g. Tuna fish costs 1926 a case and
sells for 10 to Is cents cana total of $3.50
to 1920 case Notice the S5 and 30 per
cent. profits
Consumer Pays For All the Waste
Best California peaches cost 15 cents can
and sell from 22 to 25 cents. Best fancy
peas cost 81 dozen and sell for Is cents a
can. or $3.50 a Dozen while fancy Maine
corn runs about the same Second grade
peaches and corn cost about 10 cents a dozen
and sell for 81 to s16O. AS final example
shrimp costs the broker 50 cents dozen and
sells for from - to 15 cents can. This is
$1.44 to $3.50 a dozen, truly a generous profit
Now. what does all this mean? It means
that the consumer pays for all the unneces-
sary waste and for the duplication OF profits
The tremendous waste involved can readily
be seen for It means that several brokers
bid for the output Of one packer and several
jobbers bid for the same output to sell TO
the groeers. This means a duplication OF
clerks. salesmen and ONCE forces.