94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the part of any one agent. We meet licrc tlie outgrowth of 

 a condition now oppressive, bnt the remedy will be fonnd not 

 in abuse or recrimination, bnt in a study of the steps leading 

 to the present situation. 



The fact is, the consumer is very largely responsibh^ for 

 the present range of prices. The corporations or individuals 

 standing between the producer and the consumer have taken 

 advantage of an entirely faulty position and grown exacting 

 with acquired power. Our present habits of purchase of 

 daily supplies in minute quantities, insisting always upon de- 

 livery of every item, materially increases expenses. Instead 

 of providing a winter's supply, as formerly, we now buy 

 by the half or quarter pound, or pint. The iniquitous prac- 

 tice of purchasing only one day's supply has given opportu- 

 nity and excuse for oppressive charges. Thus, in Xew York, 

 when potatoes sold for 75 cents per bushel, those buying 1 

 pound at a time were paying $4.20. The potatoes for which 

 consumers paid $60,000,000 last year in New York netted 

 the farmers less than $8,500,000. Cabbages which sold for 

 $9,125,000 brought the farmers $1,800,000, and milk which 

 sold to consumers for from $48,000,000 to $49,000,000 

 brought the farmers $23,000,000. 



Eliminate the necessary increase caused by this practice 

 of purchasing in pound and half-pound quantities or less, 

 and we still have a chasm of tremendous proportions to be 

 bridged. Our 5-pound package of buckwheat for which we 

 pay 25 cents, means $2.75 for what the farmer sells for $1. 

 Cracked wheat sells for 5 cents per pound, while the farmer 

 gets 70 to 90 cents per bushel of 56 pounds. 



A wholesale dealer in New York sends the following state- 

 ment to the " New York Times," showing the difference be- 

 tween wholesale and retail prices for one week in early 

 spring. 



