TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE FACILITIES 567 



that we are already pressing against the barriers to further concentra- 

 tion of population (see selection 188). At the other end of the line, 

 however, we are rapidly developing possibilities for cheaper and better 

 transportation of goods over even the longest distances. The improve- 

 ment of country roads is by itself a thing less spectacular but probably 

 not less important than the building of the Panama Canal. Better 

 picking, packing, and Handling of perishable products, the large-scale 

 handling of the staples, the kiln-drying of corn, pre-cooling of freight 

 cars, and countless other improvements are enlarging the zone and 

 lowering the cost of modern transportation. Space permits the touch- 

 ing of only a few of the many phases of the movement (sections B and C) . 

 And, just as transportation facilities serve to equalize our agricul- 

 tural products in place, so storage facilities help to equalize them in 

 time. Equipped with adequate warehousing arrangements, we are 

 in a position to make the labor of the growing season provide with 

 equal bounty for the entire year. Such facilities likewise enable the 

 producer to offer his supplies at the moment when demand is immedi- 

 ate and price offers are at their height. To be sure, the possibih'ty of 

 storing goods presents also the possibility of securing control of 

 supplies and of exploiting this control in terms of speculative prices. 

 But such control is very strictly limited in any line where production 

 continues in the hands of a great body of independent operators, as 

 is always the case in agriculture. These limitations are well set forth 

 in selection 191. On the other hand, it is often argued that it would 

 be distinctly to the farmer's financial advantage to retain control of his 

 crop until consumers' demands are ready to take it, and thus secure 

 whatever advantage the market presents, instead of allowing this to 

 pass to the buyer or the dealer. 1 The benefits which flow from ade- 

 quate warehousing may be seen in selection 192. 



A. Transportation and Prices 



179. FREIGHT COSTS AND MARKET VALUES 2 

 BY FRANK ANDREWS 



It is well known that goods whose value is high in proportion to 

 their weight are likely to be charged higher freight rates than goods 

 of relatively low value. And it is of no little interest to note that this 



1 For a vigorous statement of the opposite view see Quarterly Journal of 

 Economics, August, 1916, p. 805. 



2 Adapted from Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1906, pp. 371-85. 



