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facilities, for quick transportation, for the uplift of the producer of food 

 stuffs, for market bureaus to help along the produce from the farm to the 

 household and, finally, as specific instrumentalities to those ends, to insti- 

 tute a farm bureau in this city which shall act as a clearing house for the 

 farmers of this and the two contiguous states. 



The consumer is to have the means of dealing with the farmer. The 

 Corn Show and its eventual bureau are not to be agencies to teach 

 farmers how to grow crops; other agencies are engaged in that work, 

 but they propose to help the farmer by bringing him into instant and 

 profitable contact with the consumers and from that profitable conjunc- 

 tion the farming interest will receive its stimulus and ample reward. 



Let us hope the projectors will actually accomplish something. The 

 meetings are instructive and interesting; but there have been so many 

 meetings and so many pamphlets, speeches and prospectuses that an 

 anxious and suspicious world has arrived at the point of demanding some 

 concrete result. 



The Corn Show and the activities of its public-spirited, enthusiastic 

 supporters will prove a failure if the project shall not be pursued to the 

 logical end of attaining some practical result, but if only a beginning shall 

 be made in bringing a few farmers with their butter and other produce 

 to the doors of a few consumers they will perform more than scores of 

 similar movements which ended in mere talk. 



Let Philadelphia try one experiment; let it open the way from the 

 farm to the city household; let it make one successful step in quickening 

 and cheapening transportation; let it institute one new market or cajole 

 one little band of genuine producers into dealings with consumers, and 

 then it will actually prove of benefit." 



I therefore present this resolution, which I very much hope will 

 receive your endorsement. 



"That the officers, who have presided at the Corn Show and the 

 Agricultural Conference, form a committee of eleven to bring before the 

 appropriate city department and the consuming public the means or 

 possible method of taking some action towards bringing the farmer into 

 better and closer relation with the city consumer." 



While I recognize the informality of an endorsement such as you will 

 give, I wish to say that if you will endorse this, it will be of extreme value 

 towards carrying it to a definite conclusion. I see Dr. King here, who is 

 an authority on these matters, and I know he has carried on some investi- 

 gations for one of the departments of the city somewhat along these lines. 

 Will Dr. King be good enough to indicate whether the appropriate depart- 

 ment we would propose to approach with this committee would receive 

 us with satisfaction, or would it be distasteful? An answer from you 

 would probably guide us towards a closer solution. 



