Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-15
EXT to assuring an adequate
food supply to maintain the
Industrial workers of America

n EXT to assuring an adequate
food supply to maintain the
industrial workers of America
In the years to come. there is
no more important problem pressing
for solution than that of eliminating
unnecessary charges and profits from
the distribution Of foodstuffs.
Belief is widespread that something
is radically wrong with the present
system of food distribution: that too
large part of the consume r's dollar
goes to the distributor ana too small
part to the producer This wholly
aside from the fact that the consumer
gets too little for his dollar.
The California Fruit Growers AS
successful cooperative selling organ
ization in the country. It is the
proud boast Of the association that
out of each dollar the consumer bald
for California fruits last year the
grower got 30 cents, 10 cents going to
pay carrying charges and the profits
of distributors. If getting 80 per
cent for the producer out Of what the
consumer pays is a reason why the
''most successful cooperative SELL
ing association should be proud, the
percentage obtained by producers who
are less successfully organized or not
organized at all must recede almost
to the vanishing point.
-
Attention recently was called to the
fact that truck farmers near Wash
ington were able to get only 81 a
barrel for green beans, eleven pecks
to the barrel. At the same time con-
sumers were paying Is cents per
quarter peck, or $3.50 barrel. Not
only had the truckers been at the ex-
pense of growing the beans. but they
had paid $3.50 barrel to have them
picked, losing SO cents barrel on
this final step in the process of pro-
duction on top of the earlier losses.
And distributors in Washington were
making profit Of $3.50 a barrel.
This looks like confirmation Of the
belief that something is radically
wrong with the system of distribu-
ton. But what is wrong, and how
can it be remedied?
A little while back we were told
that direct selling was the answer
that the farmer should take his prod
uce straight to the consumer, to the
advantage of both Of them. A great
many farmers tried it. Some of them
found it satisfactory. Most Of them
did not. In a great majority Of cases
1t was discovered that distribution
was business entirely apart from
production. and that the man who
tried to do both was likely to do
neither Of them successfully.
So, it would seem, middlemen are
necessary to distribution in a civil
cation which has grown so complex.
But the belief will not down that
their pickings are too large for the
service they perform.
Experts of the Department of Agri-
cultures bureau of markets have
been making a study Of this problem
for years. They have no major
remedy to propose. They think the
system is a logical growth, and that
fundamentally it is sound. They
recognize that there are abuses
which, given the necessary legisla-
tion,- could be corrected, but they
have not been able to work out any
system which they are willing to
recommend as even theoretically bet
ter. And there the trail ends, SO far
as the governments market experts
are concerned.
Other students Of the marketing
problem, however, are not willing to
accept this verdict as final, though
they are ready to admit that it is
about as far as the federal govern
ment can go. They contend that
fundamental changes in the system
are necessary, but that they are
changes which must be made by state
and municipal authorities.
New York city has taken a long
step forward by establishing four or
five great terminal market ware
houses, and other cities are aiming at
the GENERALIZATION and better regu-
lation Of the business of the COM
mission merchant.
: What seems to be the most prom
Using scheme yet evolved provides for
the licensing Of food distributors,
authority for the regular inspection
of their books and full publicity as
to prices paid and received. When
this scheme is superimposed upon
that of the terminal warehouse mar
kets, the experts of the federal bu-
reau of markets believe a great many