The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-01-26

spring vehicles as means of loco
motion; on the pony express or stage
coach for carrying the mails; on
the sailing vessel for crossing the
ocean; on bow and arrow for our
daily meat and bread, and going a
little further back on cave or tree
top for shelter and home. 1t is pos
sible that some of the speakers Mon
day evening are DESTROYS of going
back to all of these good old days,
but we cannot conceive that the rank
and file of Idaho potato growers
care to do so.
Getting down to real facts, the
world outside has progressed since
these old happy-go-lucky days. Four
years of world war forced civiliza-
ton fifty ordinary years ahead of
our times, until now the factory
worker of Illinois is demanding silk
or madras shirts instead of the hic-
kory cotton with which he was con-
tent in the olden days, as we'll as
quality in his articles Of food; and
even the fat old Nanny or her tune
full darkey son of southern Louisiana
or 4exas are not content with the
'leavings" they used to eat. They
are quality folks" now If you please,
and if we do not recognize that fact
and cater to their desires when 1t
comes to potatoes, it means that the
growers of Colorado, Wisconsin or
Minnesota will and thereby secure
and enjoy their business at our ex-
pense.
The retail jobbers and dealers in
the great eastern markets under
stand and realize these changed con-
ditions and are demanding quality
on all of their orders. 1t is there
fore up to us, whether we as pro-
ducers shall do the grading that Is
necessary to meet the demands Of
their trade and receive the profits
and emoluments therefr0m or
whether we shall pass our products
on either field run or graded to suit
our fancy, at prices that will enable
them to do the necessary grading, J
which we can do SO much cheaper
here. We contend that the differ
.ence between the lax methods Of
growing, grading and marketing as
practiced few years ago, and those
of the present day up-to-date, scien-
tific grower and dealer, is the exact
difference between failure and sue
cess in any and every industry. We
have all seen this particularly dem
onstrated during the past few years .
in the development of the wondeE
full apple, orange, lemon, prune and
grape industries of our western
states. 1t was only a comparatively
short time ago when their growers,
handicapped by long hauls, high
freight rates and poor marketing ia
cilities were facing failure and ruin.
The idea Of quality package, grades
and standardization came to them;
and this matter of quality, quality
alone, has breathed the breath of life
into these great industries, includ-
ing potatoes, that are now bringing
millions of dollars annually into the
western states.
Many growers appear to have the
idea that the potato grades of U. s.
No. and as promulgated and de-
fined by the U. s. department of agri-
culture a few years ago, represent
an artificial and arbitrary standard
of quality forced upon an unwilling.
public by the government authority
Nothing is further from the facts.
Growers and dealers all over the
country we're consulted and their
ideas of what good merchandise po-
tatoes consisted of were obtained.
Liberal tolerance allowances were
made and the resulting grade was
adopted as a standard, or U. s. No.
/. In providing for their No.
grade athe rules we're made suffici-
emily broad to include all good
sound potatoes suitable for human
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