8o6 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



In the meantime, it is important to notice what has become 

 of the commission man who stood as the sole intermediary during 

 the initial widening of the market beyond the limits of the local 

 community. As soon as the country merchant confronted the 

 alternative of selling to cash-buying firms rather than shipping 

 at his own risk to distant points, it did not take him long to 

 make a choice. He preferred to sell outright and transfer the 

 risks of shipment upon the buyer. The result was to force 

 the commission man to enter the jobbing business and do his 

 buying outright in order to get the trade of the country merchant. 

 Because of such changes, the present cash-buying firms are 

 largely made up of recruits who formerly purchased the farmers' 

 products on a commission basis. We are now in a position to 

 appreciate how the rise of the cash-buying firm has also brought 

 about the passing of the commission man. Moreover, so complete 

 a change has been wrought in this respect that little or no egg- 

 buying by commission men is now attempted from the primary 

 markets except at some eastern points which will be discussed 

 later. The field which once attracted no other class of dealers 

 than those who served as agents on a commission basis has now 

 been surrendered to the activities of the modern jobber. As soon 

 as improvements in transportation and cold storage had made the 

 operations of the primary market relatively more safe, it was 

 natural that such men should prefer to pre-empt the field outright. 

 As jobbers they had themselves to account to rather than serve 

 as agents for distant sellers. The business had become standard- 

 ized to such an extent that men of integrity and ability could 

 invest the necessary funds in the enterprise and make it pay. On 

 the other hand, the irresponsible type of commission man that for- 

 merly flourished had gradually been crowded out. In egg-buying 

 he could not compete with the jobber who purchased outright. 



Nevertheless, there are market conditions under which com- 

 mission business still tends to be encouraged as compared with 

 jobbing. During a period of rising prices jobbing is encouraged 

 and a commodity may pass through the hands of several jobbers 

 before reaching the retailer, while during a period of falling 

 prices the jobber is constrained to hold back. Where prices are 



