The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-06-16
cslAxHER OF COMMERCE. NOTES.
Secwtary Rsardon Discusses Market
hx Farm Produce a. l Cooperative
AsssclAsioss


kctIng association to dispose o
Irish potatoes. corn, peas. beans. and
other produce was so clearly empha.
sissd In Sumter yesterday that the
managing secretary Of the Chamber o..
c,,sAmerce felt II worth while handing
oslt for publication. While some.
what ''voluninous" as they say o.
necessarily long articles, yet Il i
worth while reading by those who are
intsrestsdf in crop diversification and
usasketing farmers particularly.
A sumter county farmer phoned
the president Of the Chamber o
Ctnaznerce that he had Atty bushels
IRISH. potatoes to sell and wanted t,
know what he could get for them or
the Sumter market. The presiden
called up the secretary and that offi
clai after phoning Wholesale and re.
tail establishments found that the
sumter market was "glutted'' as all
Df them said. with Irish potatoes he
Ing offered at so cents per peck o.
two dollars a. bushel. and more being
'oafered daily. The farmer who phon-
ed the Chamber said he would take
mot less than seventy-fve cents per
peck and would let the potatoes 70
before selling for less.
The secretary phoned the farmer
,sdvising that the Chamber was trying
TO set the South Carolina Produce AS
iiociation to handle the fifty bushels
but the farmer said he had no bar
l-els and didn't know where to ge'
any Just then. even If he was offered
llnything by the Produce Association
This farmer also said that unless tn
business men Of South CAROLINA, and
that included the Sumter busines
lnen also, made some arrangement.
for dlsposing of surplus produce o
the farms that the farmers woul,
probably become discouraged and e
hack to planting practically all cot
ton. and importing corn, bacon, vege
tables, potatoes, and other food ana
feed stuffs sinaply because there is NJ
market or practically no market fol
surplus produce of many kinds.
'.Now. right here" said the secre
tary. SIS where the understandin
ought to fit In. but where the misun-
derstanding puts business on the blinS
about this diversification and marke:
irIg OF surplus products.
To begin with in the natural pre-
cess of producing and marketing al
commercial commodities there mus
be some business at both ends of tn
line. with the producer who produce
and offers for sale, as we'll as with
the middlecman or business man VIII
buys and resells produce.
TO begin with the producer. selling
to dealers in bulk, meaning the farm
er. must make up his mind to sell n
prices and not at retai
prices. because IL wholesale house o
a retailer has TO pay a farmer 70
produce as much or more than 1t ca
be resold for by the middlemen ther'
IL no business in buying from hon
farmer under such terms when tn
can have produce shipped
in here and pay freight on same an
resell at a living profit.
Every producer must sell at mar
ket prices according to standard mar
ket quotations and not according t.
what every farmer thinks he ought
get for his produce. They sell Their
cotton according to prices fixed
Liverpool and New York and all SCI
for practically the same price, a
cording to grade. Not at what tn
cotton producer thinks 1t worth cit;
er, as a rule.
Then again the farmers should sys
organize an associatio
with selling agent in Sumter, If tn
farmers, are going TO produce surplu
for market in bulk. One or tw'
crates OF peas and "a bushel or two o
potatoes offered OF Sumter market d
not interest a produce dealer in Char
lesion. Baltimore OF, New York. Til
volume of business or rather tn
amount of produce offered on a ce.'
tain day fixes the prices and guaran
tees demand for same. among deal
ers.
Is It reasonable to expect a numbC
of Sumter business men to form
stock company Of thousands of dc
lars and employ a professional age
to buy produce for reselling at price
above what the market quotatio
are? Can a bunch Of business me