Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-03-22
Sc SELLING GEORGIA
UlO GEORGIANS
BY w. r. Critics
Address Delivered Before the
Mldwinter Press Meeting
at Savannah.
4 Continued from last Issue)


capable of raising must be recognized
ne melon association has done moro
20 establish the value of a euarar.
.eeu commodity than ANYTHING eIae
ongraded Independent melons have
gone begging on the market while tho
absolute grades of the association
nave brought good prices. This lesson
W grades must be pounded home nv
tne newspapers until it is lived I'm
" before Georgia can expect to build
up d nationwide market that will com.
ndnu the prices that quality deserves
IN this connection, let me saw tbis -
you Will give the consuming public
sue quality and advertise it. the price
will follow. pi-'o
me same condition exists in re-
saru 10 hogs and cattle. About a
Se5F ago l found a number of farm.
ers discussing a newspaper item stat.
ing thht the price of Iowa hogs was
several cents higher that that paid to
"eolsla farmers. When asked con.
celnlng thls state of affairs l said. 1T
Is the most wonderful example of ner-
1ect justice 1 have ever seem They
wanted to know why. The answer ia
pam. Inc Iowa farmer is constantly
preedhg toward a standard that the
tndrKet demands and is raising them
properly while we are content with
SCRUB stock, letting them roam the
sWamps and the roads, and in this wav
developing a marvellous burst of sneed
out very poor quality of pork. When
tne Georgia farmer is made to see
tnese things and to take them into fuIl
consideration he will find that he can
compete successfully with any other
section of the country. Until that mill
lenlum is reached he is not entitled to
advance.
In marketing the farmer again falls
snort, and once more the newspaper
can carry the message. He has not
caught the vision of marketing CO
operatively and is content to sell to
the first buyer that comes along. Tn
the matter Of hogs by working COOPER.
atlvely he could make up his own car
loads and attain the very market that
tne local buyer must sell to, and in
this way secure for himself that ad.
ditional profit. r..
Cooperative Marketing
"a cooperative system of marketing
should prevail in every basic commod-
0ty that the state produces. California
can teach US a lesson in these things.
When she goes on the market, she
appeals to the trade in just two things
quality and California. The produc-
er is lost sight of and the commodity
and the state are supreme. In this
way she has made her products known
all over the world. Through busi-
ness-like combination the producer
has made it possible to advertise, and
make his own markets and prices
direct to the consumer. No expensive
tribute is paid to the middleman, and
the product goes straight to the con-
sumer, and that additional profit is
secured for themselves.
During the past year we have seen
cotton placed on a cooperative basis
throughout the entire cotton belt,
Georgia is already reaping the harvest
although a great many of her farm
ers failed to grasp the merits of mar
keting in that way. l firmly believe
that had there been no cotton asso-
citation, the price of cotton, even with
the small crop considered, would never
have gone beyond 15c. With all it's
importance to our state for lack of
time dare not dwell upon this under
taking. 1t is subject of an address
in itself. l do, however, want to con-
graduate the newspapers for their
woSaerful work in putting it before
the people. They have performed a
great service, and without them it
would not have been possible.
There is still another phase Of the
marketing situation that to me is the
saddest of all, and that is the atti-
tude of the home consumer toward our
own products. There seems to be an
absolute, prejudice against our own
commodities. AS we come knocking
at the doors of the markets of the
world, let us remember this one truth
unless we respect the value of our
own products we cannot expect others
to be impressed.
About a year ago I made a COM
plete canvass of the stores of Millen
in order to ascertain Just what was
being brought from other states that
should be and is produced in Georgia.
The result of that investigation was
startling. Here is the list showing
what we are buying from a distance,
and comprehensive as it is, there is
not one single item that would not be
produced in Georgia.
peas from Maine and Maryland,
beans from Michigan, New York and
California;; sweet corn from Maine,
New York and California; potatoes
from Maine, sweet potatoes from Mary
land and New Jersey, tomato catsup
from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
New York; pickles 81 varieties from
Pittsburg; peaches from California;
with country overlooking with Geor-
gia cane syrup at anything from Csc
a gallon up, we are paying high price
for corn syrup from New York; with
at that time, 100000 surplus bush
els of corn we were buying grits, I've
hominy, corn meal and corn starch
( from Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania and
New York; English walnuts from Cal.
ifornia; tomatoes from California and
Mem York; peanuts from Virginia; to.
baCzTo from all over the world; soap
froJ Cincinnati made from our own
cottonseed oil: mules from Kentucky
nd ~;