Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-15
P0TATOESSELL|NG
ON EASTERN SHORE
ATH|GHES1 PRICES
Growers Avoid Downward
Market by Sending Tubers
to Advantageous Points.
FARMERS ORGANIZATIONS
CONTROL DISTRIBUTION
Washington Trade Considered Negli-
gible Factor in Handling Crop.
Everybody Is Making Money.

Livery UUy 40 MdhAuS mu00ys
Farmers Of two counties in 1larylaad
and two in Virginia, both ACROSS the
Chesapeake bay, have about threo-dfths
OF all the potatoes American cities and
towns win got between now and the frst
Of August.
They have two examinations, through
which they control tho distribution ahso-
1utely. Through these two organizations
they can and do set aside the law OF
supply ana demand as nearly - any
natural law can DO modified.
So thorough IL their distribution sys-
tom that only those markets that pay
top prices can get any tubers from them.
Centers whore prices do not reach the
figure demanded by these associations do
no receive much consideration.
Washington does not get enough pota-
toes from this territory to make fredIht
solicitors and transportation men give
the hauling more than passing thought.
Vpecial From a stan Correspondent.
OLNEY, Va. July 14.-Farmers of
Accomac and Northampton counties. in
Virginia, are racing against time and
American appetite for an additional stake
Of about 100000. If they win. the
people of the United States will pay
them ss.5oo.ooo. and II they 1ose-well.
they will get ss,5Oo,ooo, anyway.
These two counties have grown
1,925,0O0 barrels Of Irish cobblers so
far this year. or 5.725.o0o bushels. This
supply Of tubers is sufficient to feed
3S,166 families of five for a year. and
ten bushels will be left for a family Of
three
Organized more eficiently than farm
ers ever were organized before. they
are putting potatoes with incredible
rapidity on markets where prices are
highest and keeping them away from
distributing centers where prices show
downward trend. II they can get
their crop shipped where they want
likely they will-their additional earn
ings will be the million dollars at
stake.
All the potatoes they have left at the
end Of this month will have to be sold
at cost or less. But so few will re-
main on hand that the growers on the
other side Of the Chesapeake may give
them away without suffering any ap-
probable dent In their bank accounts.
Farmers Are Getting Rich.
Whether they get all their crop sold
this month or not. the farmers Of the
lower peninsula will have more money
than farmers have ever had for a
single crop since the tilling OF Amer
lean soil began in 1907. Last year they
made enough to pay all the debts ac-
cumulated in the lean years, when
spuds brought a dollar barrel or less,
and still had enough money left to
give them comfortable checking mar
gins.
Potato growers of thirty-nve or
accumulated $1,000 for each year they
have lived are so common in Accomac
and Northampton that they no longer
cause any comment.
There are thirty-seven railroad sta
lions between Kings Creek, Md, and
Cape Charles, Va. People are now say
ing uncomplimentary things about ter
ritory adjacent to these stations that
does not turn out fifteen carloads OF po-
tatoes a day. A carload of potatoes is
600 bushels since the new federal law
went into effect. This means. then,
that $1,000 barrels. or 273,000 bushels.
are being shipped daily from the rail-
road stations alone.
In addition. two large steamboats,.
each loaded with potatoes from bow to
stern, from freight deck to hurricane
deck. arrive daily at Crisfeld. Md. from
Virginia points along the eastern side
of the bay and their cargoes are trans
ferred to barges and towed to Balti-
more for shipment west or loaded on
cars and sent north and then west by
rail From these steamboats, potato
men expect to send out 5000 carloads
ms year IN adai'ioll 10 VIVA. goes IRON
lheIe ~ pai seS. Coi,s ~ oa ao posa.o
insn estlHia.e .hal i'aoo'ooo ousneIs
49, vi nay th !.e er a .aaso az inns PONY
or thereabout.
Coast Planters Have Big Crop. Too.
The Delaware divis,on ~ Tho Dawn
ey1vanjo ratjroad has hr.n.h H. ~.
touches +ha OCEAN side ~ ~. n.nt,. III.
a. rar down az EronL,;n "a. W.
ana hsnis ayarythinr h.Io,.; 80.
noin+ on the coasf 70 rms ana ~, ~,,1aN
cot.a ,na IsIo m I,ast va. th..n Su
sbinned xeaos harrsis .eaorS,p o4n = .
1aiirpad records ~ ahoMt III ,s 80
~ Tho rest ~ ire two connttss 1,.,,i -
ahout IN ner cent ~ ths 1a1s ,,;.I MaA oe
Gohod ~ ~ aen,aa,,,a SIeiu.
+h.t not.+nas ,,,ii ~. - , naS any 'uea
,,ary sonn a., ~ sa,. $3.50
there has any ,de. That n onn nopoay
Tho eastern vbors ,.,ii ha soIa ~ ~ on
the low nr,ces thai evervhndv 1880 10y "
come there wis be no ne 1ew prices
Every farmer in Accomac and North
aHlpton countles in virginia or Somerset
ana worcester counties in Maryland
knows conditions we'll enough to protect
ms pocketpook from the slightest injury.
Every mothers son OF them is dig
ging and shipping his Irish cobblers
before they have time to mature after
reaching full growth. Not one of them
even waits now for the vines to die
Only three things interrupt the dig
cling and shipping. They are night
fall, rain and the divine injunction tc
keep holy the Sabbath.
Although New jersey PENNSYLVANIA
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