CHAPTER III. 



THE FARMER AND HIS COMPETITORS. 



IF, in a certain town upon a certain day, two men need loads 

 of hay and two farmers are in town with hay to sell, the 

 demand is exactly equal to the supply. Each can buy 

 what he needs or sell what he has to spare. If the hay in 

 the two loads is of the same quality it would seem that the 

 element of competition hardly entered into the transaction. 

 As a matter of fact, it is operating as strongly as ever. Tlie 

 competition of sellers prevents a rise in price and that of the 

 buyers a fall. It is also evidently true that neither buyers nor 

 sellers would probably know that the market was in exact 

 equilibrium, and consequently would act under the full influ- 

 ence of the competitive feeling. 



Aside from the competition of these buyers and sellers in 

 reference to these loads of liay, in any town there is likely to 

 be grain and straw for sale, which may entirely take the place 

 of hay, and would do so if the price of the latter were placed 

 too high. If, instead of considering the competition merely 

 with reference to tlie business of one day, We consider it in the 

 long run, as in fact it always operates, we see that timothy 

 hay, for example, competes in the market with all other forms 

 of forage and grain which will serve for stock food. It is the 

 same with food for human beings. All food materials compete 

 in the market with all other food materials. So also the 

 fibers suitable for clothing compete among themselves. When 

 wool is extremely high as compared with cotton, more of the 

 latter will be used in cloths. As the business of the farmer is 

 mainly the production of raw material for clothing and for 

 food for men and animals, all farmers are in competition with 

 all other farmers for the sale of their products. The wheat 

 farmer does not merely compete with other wheat or even 

 with other breadstuffs, but with all other food products. 



(100) 



