Commercial "Valuations" 



and 



Government Regulation 



What 



Directors 



Say 



Connecticut 



Massa- 

 chusetts 



Vernniont 



We are often asked why the commercial valuations of fer- 

 tilizers do not equal the selling prices. Perhaps the best way 

 to answer this question is to quote from the State officials who 

 make these valuations. 



Director Jenkins of the Connecticut Experiment Station 

 writes: 



"The 'Valuation' only aims to show the actual cost at 

 freight centers of the plant food in the goods, and not at 

 all the fair price at retail of the mixed and ground goods. 

 This fair retail price must in all but exceptional cases be 

 considerably higher than the valuation. The 'valuation' 

 excludes all of the manufacturer's expensesjfor interest, 

 depreciation, mixing, bagging, freight, commissions and 

 bad debts, — expenses which make the profit of the manu- 

 facturer in few cases unreasonable and in some cases a 

 minus quantity. It is an abuse of figures to use our valu- 

 ations in any other sense than as above explained." 



In the Massachusetts Bulletin on "Commercial Ferti- 

 lizers" (1908), we find the following statement with reference 

 to valuations: 



"This (difference), commonly called 'overhead charges,' 

 represents the cost in storing, grinding, mixing, bagging, 

 hauling and freighting the goods, as well as commissions to 

 agents, long credits, depreciation of factory plant, and 

 profits. It is not surprising, therefore, that valuations 

 fall below the retail cash prices." 



In the Vermont Bulletin on "Commercial Fertilizers" 

 (1909), Director Hills writes: 



"Some buyers construe this sum (the difference between 

 valuation and selling price) to be the manufacturer's profit. 

 Such a construction is utterly unwarranted and only 

 explicable on the assumption that in no way whatsoever 



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