Ill 



laivfi-s and rt'tfiilers du])lieating expenses all of which falU 

 on the producer, consumer or both. That elusive 5 cents) 

 out of the consumer's dollar vanishes in thin air when the 

 liroducor should have received 20% more and the consumer 

 saved 20% to add to the family bank account. There are 

 man}' men of integrity connected with the marketing of ap- 

 ples but they control the farmer and also the price of the 

 commodity aiul reap a harvest that should revert to the pro- 

 ducer or atit'oi-d a more attractive price to the consunun-. It 

 IS simply a case of the tail wagging the dog. 



The apple growers should control the marketing agen- 

 cies including the cold storage plants, or their product 

 through producer's cooperative organizations and the price 

 both for domestic and foreign trade should be established 

 by systematic auction sales also controlled by them which 

 would result in a Iienetit to both producer and consumer. 



The abuses at present, however, are not all Avith tho 

 middle men. There are many producers who kill the goose 

 that lays the golden egg daily by filling the middle of the 

 barrel with inferior apples, and by acting as though they 

 thought the parcel post was instituted wholly for the pro- 

 ducer. Whether direct buying is a success or not depends 

 upon the producer and the price, that is. the price may be 

 in advance of the wholesale price but not more than the re- 

 tail price for the same quality. The consumer's object in 

 direct buying is to effect the saving as well as the producer's 

 object is to receive more for his product. Only square deal- 

 ing on both sides will accomplish satisfactory results. 



At $2 a barrel f. o. b. station a barrel of apples will net 

 a producer a fair return. A price for which, if he could be 

 assured a continuance would encourage tlie production. 

 Economically distributed such an apple could be placed in 

 the hands of the consumer at $3 or less. By present meth- 

 ods this same apple would cost the consumer from $4 to $6. 

 If adding one kernel to an ear of corn increases the value of 

 the country's crop .^a. 000.000, to what extent would the re- 

 duction of 20% in the cost of apples to the consumer in- 



