454 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



can readily understand why a community pool or a county pool can not 

 hope to interest mill buyers. 



We succeeded in selling this man the 50,000 pounds he required, al- 

 though others had underbid us. But he wanted good wool. After the deal 

 was made and the wool sacked for shipment he came into my office and 

 said: "I am going to tell you something. I have bought wool for one of 

 the most exacting firms for twenty-five years, but this is the first time I 

 ever bought a pound of Iowa wool." 



Naturally that was a great surprise to me — and I know it is to you — 

 so I asked him why he had discriminated against the Iowa product. He 

 replied, "After seeing your line here I have no doubt I have been buying 

 thousands of pounds of Iowa wool, but it has been sold to me in Boston." 

 And he went on to explain that in all that time he wasn't aware that Iowa 

 was producing that particular grade of wool. We couldn't interest him 

 in any other grade at that time, although later we sold six different 

 grades to this same firm; sold it without grading, and why? Because we 

 put up an honest package. 



If this organization succeeds it will be on that same basis of an hon- 

 est package with an honest label. Said this buyer, "If you produce that 

 kind of wool I will be back next year for 500,000 pounds of it." There- 

 fore, gentlemen, it seems to me that here is where the association is 

 going to derive the greatest benefit. 



However, I wouldn't have you think that it is all so rosy. There are 

 drawbacks. We have a hard fight before us. One phase that consignors 

 are vitally interested in is the delay in returns. The western men have 

 long ago learned the importance of feeding the market, rather than forc- 

 ing it. This concern through which we dealt has marketed as much as 

 18,000,000 pounds of wool in a single year. The western men frequently 

 ship their clips w^ith instructions, "Do not offer my wool until the mar- 

 ket demands it." 



What does the speculator do? He buys this wool in the country, ships 

 it to Chicago, Philadelphia or Boston, and offers it through the following 

 year as the market demands it. The wool is clipped in a very short pe- 

 riod, probably two months in the spring, but it is marketed throwghout 

 the entire year. 



This is the fundamental principle of co-operative marketing. If we are 

 going to assume the responsibilities of the middle man we must be will- 

 ing to hold the sack, so to speak, and market the wool according as it is 

 demanded. The middle man has no other reason for existence than to 

 absorb these intervening items of expense. If. you market locally the 

 price you receive is calculated to cover all these items of expense — stor- 

 age insurance, interest on money, etc., and, as the government has proven, 

 a good many profits besides. 



The government forced western wool dealers to disgorge ip600,000 dur- 

 ing the war which had been made in spite of government regulations. 

 The regulations provided for only 4 per cent profit. The question arises 

 what must have been the profits preceding the government regulations, 

 and what have they been since? The other day I picked up a market re- 



