144 



MARKETING AND THE MIDDLEMAN 



But individual shipments vary so much that it is rarely correct 

 to speak in specific terms of the middleman's margin. For instance, 

 here are nine lots of cattle: 



Nine Lots of Cattle. Division of the Consumer's Dollar 



Summary, Nine Lots 



Farmer 66 to 75 per cent 



Freight, yardage, etc 3 to 4 per cent 



Packer 5 to 6 per cent 



Retailer 15 to 30 per cent 



Figures compiled on cattle handled through the South St. Paul 

 market showed these margins: 



Farmer ' 58 per cent 



Retailer 30 per cent 



The remaining 12 per cent is divided among packer, transpor- 

 tation, yardage, feed, etc. While the retail butcher gets a gross 

 profit here of thirty per cent, yet he has but a small net profit, 

 owing to his heavy expenses and small volume of business. 



Butter. The United States Department of Labor issued a 

 series of bulletins on "Retail Prices and Cost of Living Series." 

 Bulletin No. 164 of this series is entitled "Butter Prices from 

 Producer to Consumer." Among the important findings in this 

 bulletin are the margins as shown in the following table : 

 Butter Margins, by Per Cents, 1904, 1910, 1911 



The producer is here getting from two-thirds to three-fourths 

 of the ultimate consumer's dollar. The retailer's margin is, of 

 course, the largest single margin by far. The wholesaler's 

 margin remains small and fairly constant, owing to his large 

 volume of business. 



A Wisconsin investigation is in substantial agreement with 

 this one. The Wisconsin farmer receives two-thirds of the 



