The Consumers' Interest. 103 



The milk trade is the most striking- example of wasteful 

 and costly distribution. It is so palpable that it cannot 

 escape the observation of any thoughtful person. But the 

 same thing is true in varying degrees of other commodities. 

 One has only to visit county towns on market days to 

 see the multitude of farmers and dealers in all commodities 

 who are still doing business in the leisurely gossiping way, 

 which is more sociable but less efficient than any other 

 industry can afford. A great many of those engaged in 

 the business are mere dealers, who give no real service 

 to the community as distributors. They make a living 

 and sometimes amass considerable wealth but it is at the 

 expense of the community and not by any services they 

 perform. The truth is that no industry maintains so many 

 middlemen as the agricultural industry, and in no industry 

 is there more scope for organisation to eliminate the 

 middleman and to bring the producer and consumer into 

 more direct relations. The saving which could be effected 

 in this direction would do much to place the industry on a 

 more healthy basis. 



There are signs that the farmers recognise this and 

 efforts are being made to organise the markets in their 

 interests. I do not think that they will be very successful. 

 They are inveterate dealers and one has only to see them 

 at any of the larger stock sales to see how intensely 

 individualistic they are and how anxious they are to get 

 a shilling more for their lambs or a pound or two more 

 for their bullocks than their neighbours. The dealers 

 know the w^eakness of the farmers for making personal 

 bargains and trade on it, both in selling and buying. It 



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