06 THE COUNTY AGENT'S SERVICES 



If it can be shown that through cooperative organization a 

 higher grade of more uniform agricultural products can 

 be sold to the consumer at a more reasonable price and 

 still net the producer a better profit, then it is both in the 

 interest of the producer and consumer that the new method 

 be followed. As one student of the subject has pointed out, 

 "the railroad was not invented to punish the man who was 

 furnishing transportation so much less efficiently with his 

 stage-coach; it represented merely a better method. The 

 inventor of the linotype machine was not 'mad' at the 

 old-fashioned typesetter. He merely found a better way 

 to do an important piece of the world's work. Progress 

 is not made by appeals to class prejudice." 



Other members of this class popularly known as middle- 

 men take a more reasonable view of the county agent and 

 the activities which he represents. This group seeks to 

 adapt itself to changed conditions and to meet the new 

 problems created by cooperative organizations among 

 farmers. Its representatives, though often misinformed as 

 to the real purposes of the farm bureau, adopt an inquir- 

 ing attitude. 



"What influence is the farm bureau and other similar co- 

 operative movements going to have upon the manufacturer of 

 feeds, fertilizers, orchard sprays, and other farm supplies in his 

 method of selling and distributing his goods?" 



asks the representative of a large advertising agency mak- 

 ing a study of the matter for its clients. 



"What will be the ultimate effect of the farm bureau upon 

 the thousands of dealers who have been handling farm supplies 

 for years, and upon whom the manufacturer now depends to 

 furnish him with needed supplies? Will the farm bureau even- 

 tually assume the functions of a dealer, carry a stock of sup- 



