205 



^IR. Pl^TNA^I: There is a question that has not been 

 livought up. that is whether the farmer's and his wife's time 

 is worth anything or not. The eonsnmer expects a farmer 

 to deliver at the door, and doesn't seem to think it costs 

 the farmer anything, to deliver. It is a c^nestion whether 

 the time of the farmer is worth as much as the time of an 

 errand boy in a grocery store. Then, when it comes to the 

 trade this gentleman spoke of that was advertised on the 

 imlletin board on the highway, someone has got to wait on 

 those customers. They come there in an automobile and 

 usually want to talk and ask about things. Is the time of 

 the farmer's wife or the boy hired to attend to it Avorth as 

 much as the time of the boy hired to wait on customers at 

 the country or city grocery store? 



I might say that I am engaged myself in the parcel post 

 <ielivery of farm products from a farm way up in Maine, to 

 New York City, and it took me a year and a half to get the 

 trade I have. We have more or less correspondence and 

 someone has got to attend to it. If the farmer hasn't a 

 stenographer, he must put his time or some one's time 

 against that of the stenographer of the merchant, and it is 

 a question whether his time is worth anything or not. 



^IR. WILLIAMS: I was particularly interested in what 

 Mr. Jenks said. It seems at least charmingly inconsistent 

 to me for Mr. Jenks to state that we have got to keep up 

 our prices on the farm to protect our dealers and middle- 

 men, when pretty nearly every convention I ever attended, 

 the cry seems to be to get rid of the middlemen. We talk 

 about getting rid of the middlemen so that we can get more 

 than thirty-five cents of that dollar that the city man pays, 

 and yet Ave are going to protect our dealers by high prices 

 {•1 the farm. I don't knoAV hoAV to explain that, it seems 

 imreasonable. anyway. This year I happened to do quite a 

 large business Avith aut.omobile parties on peaches, and I 

 found that it paid to tajve a little .bit and give a little bit. 

 I charged more than I cpidd ge,t on the Boston nuirket. but 

 at the same time I rlid not charge as much as the consumer 



