88 THE STATE AS FARMER 



were this competition withdrawn, owing to the 

 failure of the factory, the prices obtained might be 

 considerably less than they now are. 



Some difficulty has also been experienced in the 

 endeavour to induce the members to study the 

 requirements of the factory in breeding the right 

 type of pig, and in feeding to produce the best bacon. 



But it is only fair to point out that such 

 disloyalty is inherent in the system itself. 

 Where there is a clashing of interests of this 

 kind — the capitalist, the huckster, the ring 

 of dealers, all from the nature of the case 

 trying to get the better of the man who has 

 a pig to sell — there must also be a call for 

 the thing named competition. These com- 

 petitors pose as being the friends of the 

 consumer, for they have to compete to get 

 the custom of the shop. But their activities 

 have succeeded in almost eliminating the pig 

 from the farmer's list of stock. These active 

 agents under a national scheme will find plenty 

 of work, but, as I have tried to show earlier, 

 it will be under conditions that are much 

 more useful to the State. The present system 

 is a chaotic one. There is no security that 

 there is any relation between areas and the 



