New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-24
Bv ARCHER WALL DOUGLAS
WHAT the middleman is an I'M
I necessary and expensive cog
in tho machinery If distribu-

in the machinery Of distrlbu-
ton is not a new complaint. Only
at present it is accentuated by the
high prices Of commodities, especially
food products. SO he is made the
scapegoat Of the undoubted wide
spread between prices received by
the producer and those paid by the
consumer. Also there is nothing in
the argument that the present meth
Cd Of distribution is both expensive
and inefficient, and the only reason
that it persists is because no one has
yet found better way. 1t is some
what analogous to our Jury system.
ANY one can shoot the latter full OF
holes, but no one has yet suggested
anything better to take its place.
apparently, however, we are making
2 determined effort to get producer
and consumer closer together, cspe-
cially since the government has got
into the game, more particularly in
the interest Of the farmer.
Unfortunately so far for the sue
cessful solution Of the problem, it is
messed up by amateur theorists,
who seek to unravel it as though it
were an equation containing un-
known quantities, whose values can
be determined by critical analysis.
There is no such thing as any gen.
eral solution, and that is where the
initial mistake is usually made. Each
line Of business is a separate study,
and often in the way Of distribution
has but small relation TO any other
line. Where the line is simple, the
component articles few in number
and staple in demand, and where the
territory is not too extensive, it is
quite possible TO bring ABOUT closer
rapprochement between producer and
consumer. The Department OF Ag-
7iculture. for instance, has sue
cccded i'm some sections in having
farmers combine to buy carloads Of
certain fertilizers direct from the
manufacturers, but it is perfectly OBJ
vious that an attempt to apply this
principle to all the various articles
a farmer buys will prove thoroughly
impracticable.
The hardware trade is a good illus
tration of the difficulty of any gen.
eraization. 1t is a business of inn
mense detail and complexity. 1t
numbers all sorts of things in its
curriculum until the items reach
unto many thousands. a large retail
hardware dealer in a large city may
buy direct from the manufacturer
such articles as are in sufficient bulk
and volume 10 warrant such connec-
ton. but he finds it quite impossible
to do so in all cases. I'm many in
stances the orders he places are so
small in volume and value that they
do not pay a manufacturer to handle
them. This situation is accumulated
IN the case of a small retailer in a
small city or small town remote from
manufacturing centres. He may
carry anywhere from 5000 to 10000
items in stock, and yet many of the
items are so small in value and
weight that it takes a number of
them to make enough weight for a
, freight shipment. To order each
! separate item from some manufact-
urer hundreds and thousands of
miles away is, of course, impossible.
He must perforce supply his wants
from the nearest wholesaler or job
Der who carries all these items in
stock and can supply them promptly.
Getting goods quickly is more and
more matter of prime Importance,
as the real problem of business
that of merchandising-is seen TO
consist in the ability TO carry small
stocks, constantly replenIshed, thus
insuring frequent turnovers.
In addition to this difficulty of
distance to be overcome, and bust
ness TO ne done on a small scale, the
manufacturer who attempts to do
business with the retailer finds other
, serious troubles confronting him. He
, must needs be equipped with large
and expensive selling force to call
constantly on the trade, and he must
greatly enlarge his capital TO meet
, the new demands made upon him for
: long credits. This is especially true
, in the West and Southwest, where
the crops are the measure Of pros
perity. In these sections there are
years when the clouds drop fatness,
. and years when the lean kline are
abroad in the land. In these latter
, DAYS of distress, when the farmer
has but little and cannot pay, he is
carried by the retailer, who, in turn,
is carried by the jobber until good
times come around again. The
, manufacturers who have essayed
r this plan Of going direct to the re-
failer and thus eliminating the Job