The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-07-17
SPECTATORS GRIP
|. CITY FOOD MARKETS
Farmers MuIcted in Gotham
as Best Stands Are Taken
Up by Outsiders
HAVE NO LEGAL
RIGHT TO PLACE
Buy Farmers Best Produce and Get
Best Prices-FarIners Criticized for
Selling to Thenl-Market Growers
Association to Take Up Matter


NEW YORK. July 17-Although |
Wallabout and Gansevoort markets are
supposed to be for farmers and market |
gardeners only. spectators have wormed |
their way into them and movement is |
on foot now to put them out.
These spectators have no farms |
They raise no produce All they cause
to grow is the Dollar-and it is the
consumer who pays the bill.
The fault lies primarily with the
farmers themselves. They sell to the
spectators. If they didn't the specu-
lators couldn't exist. But there are
circumstances that make it imperative
for the farmers to dispose OF their prod
ia quickly. 1t is there the Speculator
l61s an advantage and he is quick to take
il. lie buys the best because he is first
He sells it ut the highest price, because
it is the best. There remains TO the
farmer only the poorer stuff to dispose
Of and often he finds himself caught
and drives back home with half truck
load of perisha5le food on his hands.
When one reads the law it seems
clear enough that the spectators have
10 right in these markets at all. Sec
tien 30. Article 3. of the law says that
any farmer or market gardener desr-
| LIZ 10 use any pubic market may pre-
sent TO the collector of city revenue and
superintendent of markets an affidavit
stating his name, residence. occupation
and general description of the com
mcditieS which he desires to sell in such
| markets. together with a request that q
| license be issued TO him." The law then
! saws that upon payment Of n nominal
| fee a license shall be issued To the
| farmer for one year, if the application
| IS approved, and il goes on TO say that
| no unlicensed farmer or market gar
/ dener shall be permitted to use any pub
| lie market. This seems to rule out the
| speculator. and the intent undoubtedly
| IS TO set aside the farmers markets for
| the farmers.
| Spectators Get Best Stands.
Beginning about { o'clock any night
| in any weather, the farmers arrive al
| the markets. Those at Wallabout are
mostly from Long Island; farmers from
| Staten Island and New Jersey go to
/ Gansevoort They drive in three and
| tive-ton trucks filled with vegetables OF
| all sorts. Traffic regulations are OBJ
| served too frequently in the breach and
/ as stands are let only for a night, farm
J erS pull up in n hit-or-msS sort of Way
! The best stands they are rarely able to
get, for the spectators who do not have
/ To come from distant points. get first to
the market and pick the corner stands
which are the best places.
Midnight around Wallabout Bay or
| GanSevoOrt finds most of the farmers
arrived. and in the busy season. such as
now both markets are well crowded
| From truck to truck the spectators go,
| asking the farmer what he has and pick
| ing the best. In days such as of last
month vegetables come up almost over
| night and the farmer is forced to bring
them to market. As he does not know
| what other market men are bringing in
! hsa IVr n Inf Of
| Kinds of vegetables. The Speculation.
| watching the farmers as they arrive.
| finding out what each has. soon knows
| if there is an Over-supply of this or that.
and if he sees such conditions he does
noa buy that produce, because he knows
the price will be low and the profit moth
| ing at all.
Selects Only the Best
Selecting only the best the Spectator
fills his stand I'm the morning he can
sell out to retail merchants who come
TO buy. while the farmer too frequently
discovers that he must get rid of his
poorer goods to hucksters who come
with hand-cartS and horse-drawn
wagons.
The unfairness of such situation,
particularly when the spectators have
no actual right to be in the market at
III. naturally has led to complaint. The
New York Market Growers association
dertmark. secretary and manager of the
association, recently wrote to f.. ].
O'Mallpy, commissioner of public mar
kcts. but got no reply. Word was passed
around. however. that there was some
agitation afoot and orders We're issued
that the spectators should all be put to-
gether and now the spectators are get
ting the farmers to sign a petition that
will put them back in their preferred
positions. The remarkable part of it
is that the farmers are signing that petit
ton, by which they stand to lose and
the spectators to win.
Many Reforms Suggested.
When Mr.. Hundertmark was asked
about the conditions at Wallabout and
Gansevoort, he admitted that the specu-
lators were there and said that his as
ISOLATION wanted TO get II EN- out.
There are other improvements that
the city authorities should bring about,
Mr.. Hundertmark said. Il tried to get
in touch with Commissioners O'Malley,
but [ was unsuccessful | have Just
made an inspection of public markets in
Detroit. Cleveland. and Rochester Those
at Detroit are the best regulated; those
in New York the worst.
From my observation and from the
complaints of our members / think
there should be a definite opening and
closing hour There should be com
fort station and water facilities. There
should be police protection, so that the
system of watchmen which has grown up
can be abolished and the carriers. who