The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1922-01-20
III

Let US, then, consider some of tn
farmers grievances, and see how IA
they are real. In doing SO, we shoul,
remember that, while there have been
and still are, instances Of purposefu
abuse, the subject should not be ap
preached with any general imputatiol
to existing distrbutive agencies Of de
liberately intentional oppression, but
rather with the conception that thu
marketing Of farm products has not
been mOdernized.
An ancient evil, and q 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 a 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 1t does SO persist. Even as ]
write, the newspapers announce the
suspension Of several firms from the
New York Produce Exchange for ex-
porting to Germany as No. 2 wheat q
whole shipload Of grossly inferior wheat
mixed with oats, chaff and the like.
Another evil is that Of Inaccurate
weighing of farm products, which, It
Is charged, Is sometimes q matter Of
dishonest intention and sometimes Of
protective policy OF the part Of the
local buyer, who fears that he may
weigh out" more than he weighs in"
A greater grievance is that at pres
ent the field farmer has little or no
control over the time and conditions
OF marketing his products, with the
result thai he is often underpaid for
his products and usually ~overcharged
for marketing service. The differ
ence between what the farmer re-
ceives and what the paws
often exceeds all possibility Of tusti-
fcation. To cite a single Illustration.
Last year, according to figures attest
ed by he railways and the growers,
Georgia Observation-Disclosures received |
on the average rs cents for a melon,
the railroads got 1877 cents for carry
Ing 1t to Baltimore and the consumer |
paid one dollar. leaving 1913 cents for
service of marketing and its risks, |
as against 2O2 cents for growing and
transporting. The hard annals of
are replete with such COM
.entaries OF the crudeness of pres
emf practices.
Nature prescribes that the farmers
goods" must be finished within two
)r three months Of the year, while
financial and storage limitations gen.
orally compel him to sell them at the
time. AS a rule, other industries
re in a continuous process of finish
ng goods for the markets; they dis
as they produce, and they can
urtail production without too great
injury to themselves or the commu-
lity; but II the farmer restricts his
utput, 1t Is with disastrous conse.
.uences, both to himself and TO the
!.
The average farmer Is busy with ,
reduction for the major part of the
ear, q has nothing to sell. The ,
ulk OF his output comes on the mar &
ct at oace. Because Of lack Of stor- :
&c facilities and Of financial support. ,
farmer cannot carry his goods +
trough the year and dispose Of them i
. they are currently needed. In the q
reat majority Of cases, farmers have 7
entrust storage-in warehouses and n
evators-and the financial carrying h
their products to others. =
Farm products are generally mar. q
at q time when there is a con =
estion Of both transportation and n
nance-when cars and money are -
'arce. The outcome, in many In. a
ances, Is that the farmers not ONLY a
under pressure, and therefore at n
disadvantage, but are compelled to e,
Ike further reductions in net returns. 9,
order to meet the charges for the
'rvice Of storing, transporting, fnanc- 8,
6, and ultimate marketing-which =,
larges they claim, are often exces- al
We, bear heavily on both consumer a,
I'd producer, and are under the con- r.
oil OF those performing the services. %
is true that they are relieved of n,
g risks of a changing market by ri
ling at once but they are quite will NJ