The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-05-25
HISTORY OF CAR OF
SPUDS SHOWS RISE
IN POTATO PRICES
BY WILLIAM r. SANBoRN.

Hidden in cool, shaded corner OF
the cellar at 524 South Tenth street,
concealed from the gaze of the envl-
Gus passer-by, who might be tempted
to raid that cellar by night-lie four
bushels of choice northern Minnesota
potatoes. These potatoes cost their
buyer. Charles w. Bundy, sl.36 per
bushel, delivered at a country station
& couple of hundred miles north OF
ST. Paul.
Oh, certainly, it cost something to
bring them to Richmond; whole lot,
in fact This handful of potatoes are
the last of 1900 bushels shipped to
Wayne county last October, and are
hot for sale When these two carloads
Of potatoes reached their Indiana
winter home, it caused no great STIR.
People could not imagine that said
spuds would be worth more per peck
than they cost per bushel, along IN
May, but such is life this campaign
year In looking for little invest
ment that ought to at least pay inter
est on the money, c. w. Bundy and
Albert Gilmer hit upon potatoes and
Mr.. Bundy Jared forth in their quest.
Freight Bill $3.50.
Including war tax or SlZ the
freight on these two cars of potatoes
figured $500. This allowed one trans
fer of each car without added cost. one
carload being billed to HagerstoWn,
the other to Losantville. The Hagers-
town car was dropped down to Green's
fork on the transfer right, the other
being shipped to Economy. Hagers-
town and Greensboro cleaned up the
first car at 50 per bushel, a modest
1,,11 sc tlon hl1yy
freight and incidentals are considered
The Losantville car was 1000
bushel car. After being hauled to
Economy there were nearly 500 bush,
els unsold. Incidentally, at this point
comes in another freight bill of s4O
for switching that car to Williams
furg. a distance of six miles, say
This brought the freight bill up to an
even 5000 on the 1900 bushels, making
an average on the two cars of about
/ 20 cents, or net cost of $16S per
bushel
The Albert Gilmer farm lies near
Williamson and aside from the fe"
bushels sold at Williamsburg the re
mainder of the lot was transferred &c
the Gilmer cellar for winter storage
In the meantime potatoes had riz';
were up to 1925 and a few were sold
mond restaurant man, who bid $3.50
for 100 bushels and got them. from
the farm cellar All the potatoes were
sold direct to consumers and the tor
realized at the cleanup was So.
Brought $3.50 at Farm Sales.
Potatoes moved up rather rapidly
last fall, and we recall how they
grabbed for them at farm sales a
from s2O 10 S350 but no one
dreamed of buying potatoes at two
rounds for 20 cents before new pota
toes got cheap enough for enjoymen
by the average family-but ask you
grocer, providing he has some goot
Cnes to sell you.
The point is this: These $3.50 pei
hundred pound potatoes at wholesale
are the same potatoes that the Mich
isan growers got 1925 to $3.50 for. a
the time of digging last fall. They
have been stored. traded in ant
speculated on, until they have ad
vanced GOO per cent, mostly in the
hands of men who toll not nor spin
Their investment in these potatoes
was often less than so cents per bush
ell. the banks or storage houses carry
ing the load. There is a record of
car of potatoes which was shipped
through Chicago from Wisconsin. t
an interior Indiana town; was billie
back to Chicago. was shipped to But
falo. billed back to Pttsburg at
profit, and finally again reached
Chicago for the third time. The Chi
cago wholesaler could show a cost ant
freight bill to prove that he WASH
: profiteering. just as could six othe
men who handled that car withou