THE RURAL PROBLEM 43 



ment that farmers can get the best prices and terms. 

 So long as the individual farmer buys his supplies at a 

 disadvantage, he is economically handicapped. 



2. Standardizing the Product. The greatest single 

 difficulty which the individual farmer faces is due in 

 part to the wide variety of crops grown in a given 

 locality and to a great variation in quality. The rem- 

 edy in general lies in inducing farm communities to 

 produce fewer things, to produce those for which the 

 region is particularly adapted, and then through co- 

 operation, to secure proper grading, careful and honest 

 packing, and wherever feasible, proper labeling. 



3. /;/ the Transportation of Products. Good roads 

 and the motor truck will play a rapidly increasing part 

 in initial transportation. Rural trolleys will help to 

 a growing extent. The main dependence for standard 

 crops is the railway system. One of the most im- 

 portant reforms is the adjustment of freight rates as 

 between the long haul and the short haul in order that 

 both the distant producer and the nearby farmer may 

 both have substantial justice. 



4. The Problem of Storage. The purpose of stor- 

 age is to keep such part of the product as is not im- 

 mediately necessary, until it is needed by the consumer. 

 The farmer believes, and probably with reason, that 

 those who control storage facilities exact unfair toll 

 from the farmer. The difficulty lies less in dishon- 

 esty than in the fact that the whole system is purely a 

 profit making affair. The storage system should be 

 organized and controlled as primarily a method of 

 relating supply and demand. 



5. The Selling of Crops. In case of fruits, vege- 

 tables, and poultry products, producer and consumer 

 may be brought together face to face in public or com- 



