Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1922-01-26

y II
farmers grievances, and see how far
they are real. In doing SO, we should
remember that, while there have been,
and still are, Instances of purposefull
abuse, the subject should not be ap.
preached with any general imputat1on
to existing distributive agencies of de-
liberately Intentional oppression, but.
rather with the conception that the
marketing Of farm products has not
been modernized. !.
An ancient evil, and a. persistent
one, is the undergrading Of farm prod
ucts, with the result that what the
farmers sell as Of one quality is re-
sold as of higher. That; this sort of
chicanery should persist on any i'm
portant scale in these days Of bust
ness integrity would seem almost in
credible, but there is much evidence
that it does so persist: Even az. I
write, the newspapers announce the
suspension Of several firms from the
New York Produce Exchange for ex-.
porting to Germany as No. 2 wheat a
whole shipload of grossly inferior wheat.
mixed with oats, chaff and the like.
Another evil is that of inaccurate
weighing Of farm products, which, 1t
is charged, is sometimes a matter OF
dishonest intention and sometimes Of
protective policy on the part of the;
local buyer, who fears that he may
weigh out" more than he weighs In
A greater. grievance is that ut pres.
ent the field farmer has little or, no
control over the, time and conditions
of marketing his products. with the
result that he is often underpaid for,
his products and usually overcharged
for marketing service. The differ
ence between what the farmer re.
ceiyes and what the consumer pays
often exceeds all possibility of justi-
fication. To cite single illustration
Last year, according to figures attest:
ed by the railways and the growers,
Georgia Observation-Disclosures received;
on the. average rs cents for melon,
the railroads got 1871 cents for carry
ing It to Baltimore and the consumer
paid one dollar, leaving 79S cents for
the service Of marketing and its risks,
as against 20.2 cents for growing and
transpof ing. The hard annals of
farm-life are replete with such com
mentaries on the crudeness Of pres
ent practices. n
Nature prescribes that the farmers
goods" must be finished within two
or three months of the year, while
financial and storage limitations gen
orally compel him to sell them at 1.-THE
same time. AS a rule, other Industries
are In a continuous process Of finishS
ing goods for the markets; they dis.
tribute as they produce, and they can
curtail production without too great
injury to themselves or the commu.
nifty but If the farmer restricts his
output, It Is with disastrous conse-
quences, both TO himself and to the
community. Y g5.s
The average farmer Is busy with.
production for the major part Of the
, year, and has nothing to sell. The;
oulk OF his output comes on the mar.
ketSat once. Because Of lack Of stor-;
age "a cilities and Of financial support.
the farmer cannot carry his goods
through the year and dispose OF them
al they are currently needed. Ia the
great ma ority of cases, farmers have.
to entrust storage ia warehouses and
elevators and the financial carrying
OF their products to others.
Il arm products are generally mar
ketel nt time when there siss q con.
gestions Of both transpprtatio Ion ana
| finance when cars and money are
scarce, The utcome, "a many ijl yi-
stances, III TINT the fagmers not only
sell under pressure. and therefor lit
"a dlsadv anta ge, but are comp lled Ia
.stake further red actions ii net returns,
| inS ordA III to meet the charges To- TIE
services OF STORMS. tran sportiHg s9panc-
Ing, and qltfinate ma etire which
/ charges theyI claim are: often excas-
siyes hear:I hea vi On shotll consumer
and dilcer, and aTeas under the ena;
troll ait those sper foriniR e. lls services
(It5 iss time That they are rell eyed or
The risks ofS III changing markets hy
ssalling II one !; but they eSsq a.te ,ssill.