New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-24
Words for the Middleman
He Is Largely but the Product Of Our Waste
fulness and Cannot Be Abolished by De
nunciation Why Do People Not
Patronize Their Public Markets.

that Of the catalogue or mail
house-seeks 10 reach the consume,
direct by mail. and do entirely away
with both wholesaler and retailer
Some startling successes in this In.
have obscured a good many unno-
ticed failures, but still the jobber no,
only continues, but enlarges nj,
bounds. There is something more
than the problem Of distribution in
volved in this latter plan. The In.
Of the country town usually depends
pom the farmers trade. Should the
farmer buy solely from the mail or
der house, then the country town
would cease TO exist, which is an IN
thinkable proposition, since the town
is a source OF inspiration and the
centre Of social life 20 the farmer.
Also it affords him a constant and
necessary market for much Of his
farm produce.
OF the three methods Of distribu-
ton in question all that can be said
is that each seems 20 have found its
place without displscing the others,
and that on the whole the ultimate
consumer does not seem 10 hav.
profted sppreciably.
Machine ways Of displacing the
human equation, the travelling sales.
man, seem equally expensive and
often less convincing. Again, the
great department store seeks 70
cheaper goods to the consumer By
concentration and the matter Of buy.
ing in large quantities. That they
have done so seems undoubted. and
yet in every large city the small re-
taller still. does business within the
shadow Of the department stores
and gets away with it. And all be.
cause, as every man OF experience
knows, that, contrary TO economic
textbook theories, price is only one
of the determining factors Of buy
ing and not always the most impor.
tant. Ease, propinquity, the human
equation, count for much, and SER
vice most of all. Nor will any auto
matte theory Of distribution ever
: change the situation.
This has been strikingly illustrat-
ed in the public markets in the larg.
cities, where the farmers bring their
produce to sell direct TO the con-
sumer. Their success or failure IS
usually purely a question Of man
agement. That The consumers who
attend these markets buy cheaper
on the whole is probably true, but
they will always be only a small
proportion Of those who stay away
simply because they will not take
the trouble to come, and also because
they object to the labor Of carrying
away their purchases. Equally is
this true Of the expense incurred by
the housewife in having her supplies
delivered to her instead Of going for
them herself, and thus saving much
expense. Only in small numbers
will she ever do so as long as tele-
phones arc handy and tine Is saved
by their use.
Any system of distribution which
seeks 70 cheaper articles to the
householder must first take all the
facts of human nature into account
if it is to present a workable plan.
One of he most striking successes
in distribution is that Of the com
mercisl raising Of fruit and garden
truck. From the uttermost parts Oh
the country they supply the great
cities with wholesome products az
reasonable prices, and yet the cham
of distribution remains intact From
producer to wholesaler TO retailer "
consumer-at least this is the gen
eral story. and for the simple rea'
son that no other way seems gen
orally practicable. The food prod
ucts are shipped from great d'''
tances. necessarily in car lots, ane
few retailers are capable Of hand
ling such quantities successialiy'
So the jobber again forms the need
ed depot Of supply and distribution
Again, there are farmers CO.
operative elevators and farmers CO
operative livestock shipping associa-
tons, but it is not Of record that 'ne
economies introduced have tlltereu
down TO the consumer. The farmers
themselves seem 10 have been Wv
principal benefciaries. Any carer"
and impartial review OF The si'uh,
ton must reach the con fusion tna'
such progress in cheapening dls'rr
button must concern itself primary
with those simple, elemental ms
such as garden truck and fru'S
where economics have been achle'e'
by intelligent cooperation ra'ne'
than by altering the present system,
If we were a small, circumstance
country the question would be diner
ent and the solution easier. FOR ."'