Evening star., 1923-07-26

/, agricultural inquiry. which Is as fol-
| lows:
| THE retailer performs the final func-
| tton In distribution of essential COM
modities and gives fulfllment to all pre-
! ceding efforts by making merchandise
| available to consumers at the time'
place and in the form required by them.
| THE retailers true function is that
| or serving as purchasing agent for
| his community: az such he selects and
carries reserve supply Of merchandise
| to meet the requirements Of the indi-
| yidual consumer.
When the retailer enters business. he
assumes the responsibility OF performing
| a public function, that of providing
| commodities and services TO his COM
munity, economically and conveniently,
| and maintaining such environment as iS
| necessary and desirable to the con-
sumers who support him. II he fails In
! his responsibility. and performs only as
| distributing agent for the manufac-
turer, he ceases to be an economic factor
| in the community which he serves
n y n
| With that statement of what consti-
tutes the proper functions of retailer
or any middleman-the more we have OF
| them the better will the community be
served. the cheaper the goods will be
| by reason OF legitimate competition
! and the better will the manufacturer or
farm producer be served. through
readie; distribution The retailer is a
servant of both producer and consumer
and Very useful to both If the spread
| OF values or prices between producer
/ and consumer be too great. then the
! remedy will be not the reducing Of the
! competition between middleman. by. re-
| ducing their number but just the re-
verse. Increase the number of middle
men and excite greater competition be-
tween them. This increased competition
will not be limited to cutting prices but
| more effectively will include better
choice of goods and more efficient serv-
| ice to the consumers.
! i x = #
There is no class of producers
which has done SO much complain
ing about the greedy middlemen" as
the farmers. They complain that
they are gouged by buyers Of their
fruits. vegetables. poultry and every
| thing else raised on the farms, and
then that the middlemen overcharge
the consumers. They assume that all
the work Is done on the farm and all
the profit goes to the middlemen
who do not earn their profits. Per-
haps the middIemen do gouge at both
ends OF the line. but If there were
| more middlemen in competition
would not gouging be restricted?
| x X X !:
| While the farm problems OF dis
tribution have not been under dis
cussion at the late conference, they
do not materially differ from the
problems OF the merchant and manu-
facturer. The wise farmer will learn
from the merchant.
II has been urged quite frequently
that in these days when so many
| householders of the city have auto
new facilities. and as they ride
around the country, stop at farms
and take aboard their provisions
! fresh from garden and hennery.
+ *
| That seems a very practical sug-
gestion. but when one attempts 10
| put it into practice, how many farm
ers fail to put city market prices or
their merchandise? They forget that
| they have no high market rents to
pay. no transportation costs. no loss
due to overstocking, as the market
| middleman must have, and lastly
that too often they are driving their
| permanent customers away by ex-
| tortionate city prices. charged with
out market grading and market con-
veniences, which make life easier for
the city buyer.
If the private customer travels to
! the farm to get his bargains. should
he not have the advantage of farm
: rates, enough below city market
! prices. or enough above market quail
| ity, to justify his time, transporta-
tion expense and inconvenience? Few
| farmers seem able TO recognize THAI
| some one must pay for distribution
| and that when the customer comes tC
the source. the farmer "can not eat
| eat his cake and have il too"
Copyright. 1923. by P. V. Collins)