360 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



of the possibilities of a national federation of co-operative associations. A company is now 

 building in Cliicago three warehouses or wholesale produce markets. These markets are 

 located in the best position with respect to transportation facilities and accessibility to 

 Chicago consumers through grocery stores, etc. This company will lease storage space to 

 any commission firm of the right character. Now suppose we have a federation of asso- 

 ciations, and this federation should establish agencies in Chicago, and these agencies could 

 supply perishable products directly from the co-operative associations to the grocery stores 

 or to the consumers, as there are even now enough co-operative associations handling all 

 kinds of perishable products. It would be only a short time before association products 

 would have a fixed and standard value on the Chicago market, because of the fact that all 

 association products are of uniform grade. The cost of distribution through these agencies, 

 that is, the agents' salaries, storage, rental, etc., could Be paid by each association in pro- 

 portion to the amount of its produce handled by the agency. 



It is not my intention to imply that a national federation of associations could take 

 such a step as this at the present time. It is only one of the possibilities of the future devel- 

 opment of our idea of a national convention of co-operative associations. 



Another possibility that is suggested by the development of such a federation of co- 

 operative associations is this: If we should be able to supply an agency such as the one in 

 Chicago with standard association products, we would be able in a very short time to get 

 command of the situation in that market. Local hucksters would find that the market 

 for a great amount of their products was being taken away from them. They would be 

 gradually forced out of the field. Now, it would be the plan of this association that any 

 organization would be included in it that was purely co-operative in principle. It would 

 only be necessary then for these truck growers to unite under a co-operative charter to 

 become a member of our association. 



I believe that even now there is a large enough amount of perishable products handled by 

 associations to command the market situation in several cities. When this national federation 

 becomes effective the organization of local co-operative associations — such as you. state in 

 your letter are absolutely essential to the success of the central association — -would be 

 brought about in rapid order. There would be a great number of organizations effected in 

 a short time, simply to take advantage of our central organization. 



As soon as the portion of perishable products marketed through this federation of 

 associations were large enough it would be practicable to place these agencies in each of the 

 markets of this country. It is possible that some of the smaller towns would have to be 

 included in a district with a larger town where an association agency was situated. 



If the federation were developed to this extent we would have complete and perfect 

 distribution of perishable food products. All of the central markets would be well in hand, 

 and all the consumers except the farmers or the producers themselves would be reached by 

 these central agencies. As for the farmers or producers themselves, it would be a simple 

 matter for each association to act as the agent for the other associations in supplying them 

 with perishable food that they did not themselves produce. Extensive argument intended 

 to demonstrate the difference in efficiency in this proposed plan of distribution and the one 

 now in operation was offered, and in conclusion an extract from a letter from a prominent 

 Chicago business man was used. This extract is not aimed at the better class of commission 

 men, but serves to point out some of the evils of the present, the "disorganized" system. 



I have read with much interest your proposed organization plan and it accords with 

 what I have been working on for several years, and I am confident that the wholesale market 

 system as planned will meet with the heartiest co-operation of producers and sliippers of 

 fruits and produce. I have given careful attention to these plans, including the workings 

 of the middleman, and oiu* system will take him by the bootstraps, lift him from the mire 

 and place him on solid ground if he will do the fair thing; otherwise it will exterminate him. 

 The greatest fraud in the wholesale business is the dishonest commission merchant, and 

 every large market has many of these smooth letter- writing, sharp-tongued gentlemen. 

 They beg and urge you to give them one trial shipment of fifty or a hundred barrels of apples, 

 one hundred birds, or a car of potatoes; then when your goods land you are told that you did 

 not pack or load right; you failed to sort right; you may get a hundred complaints — and 

 you may get a statement. If you show fight it may show that you still owe $2.50. Now 

 this does not apply to many reliable houses or any honorable dealer, but it does apply to 

 many who are doing this very thing and have done so for many years, and I blame the 

 reliable houses for associating with these kind of fellows when they know how they operate. 

 If I lived in the same block with a thief I would not only refuse to neighbor with him, but 

 I would tell others to watch their hen coops. Then there comes a big, three-ringed swin- 

 dling outrage called the cold storage house, which is for the protection of the big produce 

 dealers only. If you ship a car of peaches, grapes or perishables of any kind and you do 

 not want it sold at once you will either get soaked good and hard by the cold storage com- 

 pany or your stuff will be piled in the old dirty, rat-eaten basement of a South Water street 

 commission house and allowed to spoil, or until you wire to sell for what you can get, This 

 is allin line with the comrnission business, 



