Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1921-10-10
THE MlDDLENlAN.

THE country is governed TOO larSelv
by groups. by minority groups, de-
clared Joseph =. Griffin, president OF
the Chicago board of trade in an adj
dress before the National Grain Deal
crS i'll Chicago Il few days ago. ''llav-
ing special reference" says dispatch,
'.to the efforts of farmers to obtain spc-
cial favors from the government. he
warned organized special interests to
let business alone and cease demanding
legislation to cramp business to the
advantage of small groups
Il. f. Clement, of Waco, Texas,
president of the grain dealers associa-
ton. denounced agitators who were
trying to turn producers against
middlcmcn."
If there We're open. free and fair
competition all along the line from the
farmer TO the consumer the farmer
would have not just cause for COM
plaint. for competition would be a lev
clcl. Of prices that could be relied upon
and supply and demand would be do
ing business ut the old stand in the
good old way. However. there is or
yanization that prevents this and by
the time the products of the farm reach
the consumer they have increased in
value to an extent that appears to the
farmer to be unreasonable.
Take tie item of corn meal. for III
stance The farmer has been getting
for some time from 10 to 40 cents Il
busllcl of 5G pounds for his shclled
corn. The price OF corn meal at re-
tail i'm Webster City is IS cents for
a five pound sack. Possibly ii could be
secured at three cents pound II ptlr-
chased in large quantities. Three cents
"a pound would amount to S1.6S per
bushcl. or approximately four times
as much as the farmer has been get
ting during recent months. Freight
rates are high. Of course, but the price
of corn in Chicago today is only fifty
cents and if the farmer could ship II
free i, would bring him only half
dollar a bushel but corn from which
meal is made doesn't necessarily have
To be shipped to Chicago. There are
many mills where the grinding Is done
in this section of the country. But
somewhere along the line the cost is
increased until the consumer must pay
a price that seems unreasonable com
pared to the price the producer gets.
Middlcmen are quite necessary anu
they are very valuable to the farmer:
They are consumers and without such
consumers farm products would he
worti, even less than they are today.
If the middlemcn were driven out of
business many Of them would he forced
to seek other employment and some OF
them would naturally sravitatc to the
farms. That would increase produc-
ton TO the hurt of the farmer. ~
The farmer can escape the high
freight rates Oh corn by manufacturing
it into finished products, such as pork.
beef butter. eggs, etc. If shipped TO
Chicago in these commodities the
freight on bushel of corn would
hardly exceed three or four cents.
Something is evidently out of joint
somewhere. Mr.. Griffin and Mr.. Glenn
ent may demand hands Off business,
and us a general proposition such de-
mands should be respected. Yet when
business gets too greedy. and graspins
ii is tho proper function of legislative
bodies to regulate or control 1t III the
interest OF all the people. Legitimate
business should not be hampered and
naggcd, and the large majority OF 1t rs
legitimate, but there are exceptions.
and legislation can properly deal with
exceptions
Look at the way the cement trust
-'F-~'-.-H-F