30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



employ another and a special kind of ability to sell the pro- 

 duce ; for, mind you, the manufacturer sees to it that his 

 goods go upon the market to the best advantage, and to this 

 end he handles the selling himself, through his own agents. 



In contrast to this, the majority of farm products are put 

 upon an unorganized and undeveloped market, and the farmer 

 parts company with his product as quickly as may be, avoid- 

 ing as much as possible all responsibility as to quality or 

 guaranty. In this way he absolutely surrenders his best ad- 

 vantage, — a business opportunity that no manufacturer 

 could surrender and live. 



I do not undertake to say that all the business of the farm 

 can be standardized and organized on the larger plan, but 

 much of it can be, and our failure to do it wherever possible 

 is a tribute to our business shortsightedness, which is the 

 natural heritage and consequence of our intense individualism 

 overshadowing the larger vision. 



For example, I know a dairy association that has for years 

 been devoting its energies to missionary work, trying to induce 

 more men of the State to engage in the dairy business. Long- 

 ago they affirmed as a fundamental fact that milk would never 

 go above 4 cents a quart, or butter over 25 cents a pound. 

 I am sure that the energies of this association would have 

 been better exerted long ago in the effort to study the con- 

 sumers' needs and buying power ; to put milk and its products 

 upon the market of better quality and in more attractive con- 

 dition. 



There is no better illustration of the business shortsighted- 

 ness of the protective as against the development policy than 

 in the history of the anti-oleomargarine legislation of a decade 

 and more ago ; because, if the makers of butter had shown as 

 much skill and determination in making a good and uniform 

 product, putting it upon the market in attractive forms and 

 developing demand, as did the manufacturers of butterine, the 

 interests of the two would never have collided ; for no substi- 

 tute or compound ever did or ever can successfully compete 

 with the best butter, and any attempt by main strength to 

 prevent competition with that brand of axle grease in the back 



