CHAPTER VII 

 THE MIDDLEMEN AND DISTRIBUTERS 



The gambling operations and the arbitrary con- 

 trol of prices by the food exchanges of Chicago are 

 repeated again when food reaches other cities for 

 distribution. The agencies and the methods em- 

 ployed are the same, only the city embargo is on a 

 smaller scale. 



No one knows how many middlemen there are 

 between the producer and the consumer in a city 

 like New York. Even the individual middleman 

 only knows the groups immediately above, below, or 

 around him. And each of these feels that he has a 

 vested right in his business that should not be in- 

 terfered with by the government. He resists every 

 attempt to dislodge him by the opening of municipal 

 markets or by the regulation of prices. Mr. Dillon 

 states that there are seven or eight middlemen be- 

 tween the farm and consumers of New York City, 

 each one of which adds from 5 to 10 per cent, to the 

 cost of the food which he handles. vSome of these 

 are the same persons operating under different firm 

 names. All but one or two of these middlemen 

 could be dispensed with if the city or State would 

 open a central market and provide a public rep- 



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