$24 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



Furthermore, it is the belief of the farmers concerned hi this move- 

 ment that the board price has been somewhat higher during 1914 on 

 account of the activities of the federation. 1 



C. Private Dealers and the Middleman Question 



166. VARIOUS TYPES OF WHOLESALE TRADERS' 

 BY J. H. COLLINS* 



In this discussion rather arbitrary lines are laid down as boundaries 

 for the activities of various types of middlemen, yet in actual practice 

 these activities so overlap and encroach upon each other that resulting 

 market practices are exceedingly complicated. One man or one firm 

 may combine the functions of several middlemen. Many distributors 

 act simultaneously as car-lot wholesalers, commission men, and jobbers. 

 As a matter of fact, few firms confine their activities to one line of 

 business. Thus, of the goods sold by a firm on one day, part may have 

 been purchased outright hi car lots, part purchased in small lots from 

 other receivers, and part consigned on commission. While one firm 

 may act in the triple capacity of car-lot wholesaler, commission man, 

 and jobber, the three lines of business thus carried on at the same 

 time are very distinct and for purposes of discussion may be con- 

 sidered as being performed by three separate firms. 



We will begin with the broker who handles car lots only, as a rule, 

 and who draws his business from co-operative associations, country 

 speculators, large operators, private exchanges, and in some cases 

 private shippers. According to strict interpretation, the term 

 "broker" can be apph'ed only to those middlemen who act as inter- 

 mediaries between the principals in contemplated transactions and 

 have nothing further to do with the contract itself. The broker 

 normally does not have possession of the articles he deals in, but must 

 carry on all business hi the name of his principal. Commodities 

 handled by brokers, as a rule, are sold to car-lot wholesalers or jobbers. 



At the beginning of each business day the broker looks over his 

 business, ascertains conditions on other markets, and takes note of 

 the number of cars he has on hand, number en route, etc. With all 



1 This paragraph is from a later bulletin (No. 251) by B. H. Hibbard and 

 Asher Hobson, pp. 24-26. 



2 Adapted from "Methods of Wholesale Distribution of Fruits and Vegetables 

 on Large Markets," Bulletin 267, United States Department of Agriculture, pp. 10-22. 



a J. W. Fisher, Jr., and Wells A. Sherman, collaborators. 



