Changes in Industrial Methods 9 



distribution of farm products shall be done by agencies 

 that specialize and equip themselves to perform this 

 particular service. Any other system would lead to an 

 unequal distribution of products and to economic chaos. 

 The distributing agencies have usually not been organized 

 by the producers themselves. They are composed of 

 individuals, firms, or corporations who assume the risks 

 of distributing the surplus supplies of the farm and who 

 bridge the stream between the producer and the consumer. 

 They are the local dealers, the transportation agencies 

 which carry the products to the towns and cities, the 

 brokers, the commission men, jobbers, auction companies, 

 warehousemen, and the retailers, peddlers, and store- 

 keepers who sell the produce to the consumer. As long 

 as these agencies distribute the farm crops uniformly 

 throughout the season at a reasonable cost considering 

 the risks and the investment in the distributing facilities, 

 and as long as they handle their business so that there is 

 an equitable sharing in the profits, they are economically 

 desirable from every point of view. The average farmer 

 is not often in a position to distribute his own crops di- 

 rectly to the consumer. He has neither the capital to 

 assume the risk, nor the knowledge requisite to develop 

 a far-reaching mercantile agency, which requires large 

 amounts of capital and a highly specialized organization. 

 When he steps outside of his sphere as a producer, the 

 average farmer does not often succeed except in the special 

 agricultural industries which have been developed by 

 men of unusual experience and ability. But when the 

 farmer stands by himself in dealing with all of the agencies 

 of distribution, he is at a distinct disadvantage in bargain- 



