The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-06-15
BUY DIRECT FROM PRODUCER

The Government must buy large
numbers of horses, mulese, grain and
feedstuffs that go to. help equip and
feed the lareg army that is just be-
ing put into the field. This is usually,
perhaps we might say universally,
done by contract. Why would it not
be a good plan for the Government to
place it's own agents in each State to
buy direct from the grain and live
stock farmers of the country, instead
of letting the furnishing of these
things out by contract to large COM
mission firms and speculative buyers?
1t appears to US that such a plan
would result advantageously to both
the Government and the producers.
Under the contract plan sub-con-
tracts are usually let to smaller buy
ers, who bear down prices, and make
the closest bargains with farmers or
others who have products to dispose
of, in order that they may realize a
liberal profit on their sub-contracts,
and the contractors in turn get their
profit on delivery to the Government.
The price the Government pays these
contractors should by right go to
our grain and live stock farmers.
The contractor may agree to fur
nish the Government with a certain |
number of horses, mules, grain or
feedstuff at a given price. He is in |
the deal to make as much as he can
out of his contract, and it is natural
that he should practice all the arts
of the Spectator and shrewd business
man to bear the prices paid the pro-
ducers down to the lowest notch pos
sible. If the producer sells direct to
the original contractor, which is sell
dom the case, he must ship his stock
or foodstuff to a given market, there
to be subjected to a jockeying or the
strictest inspection. If anything he
has to sell is rejected, he must reship
1t home or throw it on gluttetd mar
ket and take what he can get for it,
often at great loss. If the sub-con-
tractor comes around he must beat the
producer down to a price that will
leave margin for his expenses and
a liberal profit, so that either way, if
the producer sells he must make a
sacrifice that the middlemen may I
profit, and the Government pays the
.op price for which the contract calls.
If the Government bought direct
from the farmers through its agents, ,
notice could be given by the agent of J
my purchasing district that he would :
oe at the county seat or the most ,
place in a county for
armers to take their animals or what
'ver the Government wants to buy,
m certain days. The objection may
'e made that it would take an army /
f agents to do the buying in that +
way, and that the salaries paid the V
gents would make the purchases
ost the Government more than I'M =
er the contract plan.~ But the OBJ !
ection is hardly logical, 1t would j
ost the contractors just as much to Sc
ather and mobilize their purchases
s it would cost the Government, so
the contractors can mako a big
rofit, of which there is little doubt, a
lie Government would be saved the
mount of their profit. And it would =
rove much more satisfactory to the =
lrmers; they would not feel that a
icy were being plucked and taken adj SC
antage of by shrewd middlemen.
Why would it not be a good idea
II farmers to write their Congress-
en- and have this matter brought to ~
e attention of the Government by r.
t of Congress or otherwise? .