Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1920-12-28
Producer and Consumer are Both
Fleeced for Profit of MiddIeman
Senator Capper Says In Article

By Arthur Capper, U. S. Senator
from Kansas. Written especially
for The International News
Service.
Washington, Dec. as Some
thing is radically wrong with ma
tional system of distribution which
permits of absolute waste of food
products in one section of the
country when in other sections
there exists good demand. That
condition occurs frequently in the
United States. In the fruit pro-
ducing sections of Michigan and
New York press reports declares
that large quantities of fruit rot
ted and was wasted because there
was no market for it. AT the
same time high prices prevailed
for fruit in the midwest, where
the crop was cut short by late
spring frosts. Producers in New
York and Michigan, the reports
state, did not obtain profitable
prices for their crop despite the
fact that other sections of the
country were anxious to buy.
Probably inadequate transporta-
ton facilities and shortage of la
Dor were factors in this condition.
But at any rate the system OF dis
tribution failed to function to the
profit either of the producer or
the consumer.
How noIIn,s T. ns,rAzoH
There is an enormous spread be-
tween the price the producer OBJ
tains for his products and the
price the consumer pays for them.
This spread occurs in the market
ing and distribution of those prod
cuts. The California Fruit Grow
ers' exchange made an investiga-
ton to determine how the consum-
er's dollar was divided Thirty
representative markets We're in
cluded, and 54S5 reports were
obtained, The results showed that
the factors entering into the divi-
sion Of the consumers dollar
spent in buying citrus fruit in
1914, are:
Retail distribution cost (gross).
1913 percent; jobbers' distribution
cost (gross), S.2 percent; growers
selling cost, 1.5 percent; freight
and refrigeration cost 20,5 percent,
packing house cost, IA percent;
cost of picking and hauling to
packing mousse "a percent; pro-
portion retained Tor trult on the
Tree, 2o'f percent
Ihese 1lgures are supplled py "
Harold Foweih generai manager
OF the Calltornla FRUIT Growers
eAchahge' Los Ahseies' Ihey SNOW
that the retaller gets SS'S percent
and the grower zoT percent Oh
the consumers dollar the cost
Oh 1opplng ana retallhg Is SIP per
cent. In one town the Jooper S
mark-up was ~ percent ana ~
another town ~ percent shoWlhs
a wide variation. rhe retallers
margins ran from 20 TO 70 per-
cent.
Herbert Hoover recently Inaae
this statement: The margins pe-
tween our farmers and the whole-
salers in commodities other than
grain, in some instances = even ~
normal times, are the highest IN
any civilized country = hully 70
percent higher than In most hu-
.ropean countries"
Where Farmer Loses.
Mr.. Hoover also said:
Analysis Of the character of
the margin between the farmer
and the wholesaler will show
that decreases in price find inn
mediate reflection on the farmer,
while immediate increases in price
are absorbed by the trades be-
tween, and the farmer gets but a
tagging increase"
Prices of hogs obtained by the
farmers, prices paid by the con-
sumer and the margin between, as
shown in government statlsues LOT
1914, 1919 and 1920, Indicate an
enormous loss to poth the pro-
ducer and the consumer - 10 the
one in the low price Obtained anu
to the other in the excessive prlce
paid. These figures are;
Price of hogs in principal states
per 100 pounds: l9l4' $f,4o l'Ae
$16.27; 1920, $l5.3t' FrAce u
cured products to consumer dor
the 100-pound hog: 1914 Sle.S ;
1919, $S7.2S; 1920, S37'fl' Margin
between the farmer ana the con