792 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



be shrewd and deceptive, while to the country merchant there 

 was considerable virtue in smiling approvingly on the wares of a 

 patron even though the merchant knew the goods were delivered 

 under false pretenses. Likewise the opportunity for questionable 

 practices was not lacking in the case of the commission man. 

 He was far enough away to feel immune from the surveillance 

 of interested parties. It was so easy to lay the blame for losses 

 upon forces over which he had no control. He could notify the 

 owner of the consignment that the shipment had been subjected 

 to unusual breakage from careless handling or to considerable 

 deterioration from delay in transit or exposure to extreme 

 weather, and it left the country merchant with little recourse. The 

 same commission man had perhaps won the good opinion of the 

 merchant on an initial shipment by reporting an account of sales 

 showing very favorable returns. Moreover, it was usually the 

 irresponsible and unscrupulous commission man who reported 

 most deftly to country merchants on initial shipments. The 

 honest commission man who gave accurate returns was accordingly 

 misjudged, while subsequent consignments from country mer- 

 chants would be billed to the man whose padded returns had 

 created the most favorable impression. It thus became a practice 

 among commission men to report inflated returns on the initial 

 consignments from country merchants and exercise ingenuity 

 in making up for this advertising by judicious juggling on 

 subsequent shipments. 



Enough has been written to reveal the inevitable tendency under 

 the early method of egg-marketing. Under this method we have 

 seen how men were placed in a new set of relations and were 

 trying their best to succeed in the new environment. They used 

 such power as they had in running the new machinery. If they 

 found that what we consider immoral qualities made the machinery 

 run better, it was but natural that they should try to use them. 



In this connection it is well to remember that no device or 

 mechanism can be said to be best in an absolute sense. No 

 method of egg-marketing is best for all times and conditions. 

 Any method may be best provided we apply it to times and con- 

 ditions which it fits. The fact, however, that times and conditions 



