TITE FARMER AND THE COMMISSION AFEKCHANT. 



155 



man's hand to be sold by him in competition with his own. 

 If I deposit money in a bank, or if I insure my property, 

 paying a premium therefor, I, at least in all civilized states, 

 have the protection of a rigid system of law governing the 

 conduct of the business, supplemented by inspection by state 

 agents. The commission business is as much a trust business 

 as banking or insurance, and the small producers who are 

 compelled to intrust their produce to the fidelity of conimis 

 sion merchants, are even more in need of the protection 

 of the state than the depositors in banks. The commission 

 business should be recognized as a trust business requiring 

 state regulation. The obvious method of dealing with it is to 

 impose state licenses sufficient to provide the revenue to pay 

 for inspection. The license fee for commission merchants 

 desiring to buy and sell upon their own account should be 

 placed very higJi, perhaps at a prohibitory rate. They would 

 thus, at any rate, be known, and consignors could avoid them 

 if they so desired. There probably would be none of that 

 class registered. The enactment of such a law would prob- 

 ably reduce the number of commission mercliants by fifty 

 per cent, as those most familiar with the business estimate 

 that not more than half the present number could live, if the 

 business were reduced to a legitimate basis. 



The majority of commission merchants and brokers make 

 only a living, and sometimes a poor living. Cum[)etition is 

 fiercer than in almost any other line of business. The notion 

 of some farmers that commission merchants habitually "com- 

 bine" against them is an error. They are harder to unite 

 than the farmers. Combinations in a small way are often 

 attemi)tecl, but they are seldom directly against the interests of 

 tlie farmer, and for the most part are directed towards pro- 

 tection from bad debtors. An open and responsible organizn- 

 tion of commission merchants is a very desirable thing both 

 for themselves and the farmers. At this writing tlicre is a 

 national society of commission merchants in this country, 

 which, it is to be hoped, will grow and become strong. 



With all its faults the commission business is here to stay. 

 The alternative — cooperative marketing — will be dealt with 



