The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1920-01-09
M|DDLEMEN TAKE
BULK OF VALUES
Instance Shows Consumers
Paid Thirteen Times What
Farmers Got.

Five farmers recently sat down to
IL meal in .'mnderate priced" hotel
in Washington. II. c. 1t consisted of
beef-Steak. corn. potatoes bread. but
Ter, coffee, and nothing else. They
| were charged Sl1. This rather large
price for this quantity of simple food
caused these farmers To do Il little fig
uring for the purpose of finding out
the difference between the price OF
what farmer gets for his food prod
uctS and what the ultimate consumer
pays for them. They discovered that
the farmers who grew this food with
the exception of The coffee got only 81
| cents for it.
Twelve Thirteenths to MiddIemen.
1t had Increased in value i'm passing
from the hands of the producers to
the stomachs of the ultimate consum-
ers more than 1900 per cent. OF the
money the consumers paid for the food
the farmers got only one-thirteenth
and the various kinds of midollemen
between the producers and consumers
got twelve-thrteentlis of this money,
or twelve times as much as the
| farmers
The question brought up by these
illuminating figures is whether or NOT
the actual work done by the middle
men was worth twelve times ms much
us the actual work done by the farmer.
Farmers Work Worth Most.
The farmer maintained at great eN-
pense and risk n farm with all It's
improvements worth at least $4,000.
lie furnished the seed. the land. the
labor, the machinery. The farm build
ingS and the livestock. the risk and
the care to produce the wheat that
made the bread. the milk that made
the butter, the potatoes. the corn, and
the steer from which the beef steal,
was taken.
The potatoes and corn passed from
the farm to the table of the hotel AL
most without change except the
change ehtailed in cooking. All the
added cost to the corn and potatoes
was chargeable to handling and cook
ing. For handling and cooking the
'nlddiemen got several times as much
out OF these two food products ms the
farmer got for furnishing the land. the
labor, the seed and the risk connected
with growing them. Instead of pass
ing these products through as few
hands as possible and making the
mlddiemen charge as light as pos
slpie, tney We're passed through as
many hands as possible and the mid
dleman charges We're made as heavy
as possible.
Too Much Handling.
Ia the case of the butter. III thu
farmer did not make it OH his own
farm. 1t went through one process of
manufacture at n creamery. All the
charges above the original charge of
the raw product accrued from one nro-
cess Oh manufacturer and the process
OF transportation and handling. For
these processes the middlemen o.r.;n
got several times as much MS tln
FARMER got for the raw product.
In the case of the bread, the raw
product was wheat and had to be ban-
died, transported. manufactured info
flour and cooked But for these nro.
cesses the lniddlemen got probably
twenty times as much as the farmer
In the case of the beef-steak. althonyh
nutchering. packing, TRANSPORTING
nahdilhg and cooking were included
IN ,he hlddlemen processes. the diff
ference IN price again was PERTAINS
us much as twenty times as much ms
the farmer got. AT the rate of 50 %
for meal the few ounces of heof.
steak eaten must have cost more than
n dollar. The farmers. consennant,v
paid several dollars pound for meat
which they sell on the hoof for nr,cos
ringing from D to 10 cents per pound.
The Way Out.
Ihese figures show conclusiyely thot
'nlddlemen are tremendously Oyernnid
for the work they do i'm comporison
with the farmer and That between tha
farmer and the ultimate consumer is
an enormous wastage and an unneces-
sarily long process Of passing produce
through many sticky fingers. This t,p-
'nendous margin for these simp,e fond
products of 1900 per cen. Indicates
what big field there is for the organ
lied farmers and organized workers 70
systematize and reduce to the princi-
pies OF economy. 1t is probable thnt
when the farmers and workers have
Dfidsed this abyss of middlemen and
with cooperation. pub.
lie ownership and control, system and
organization. that the farmers will got
more than twice what they are getting
now for their produce and the con.
sumers Will pay less than half what
'hey are paying now for their food.
2so PER CENT PROFIT
The Armour Grain company, a fac
tor In the cereal and breakfast fnod
business and subsidiary of tho Ar.
nour Packing company, reported sur
plus and undivided profits for the wear
1917 Of S5,426,ssO, after deducting a
IS per cent dividend on CAPITAL stock
.sskr