THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



185 



The dealer, then, Ib valuable because he 

 brings yoods to the point of consumption at 

 less coat than they could be bought by the 

 consumer, and at great saving ot time ; he 

 saves the consumer from loss by decay, 

 breakage, deterioration, etc. ; he keeps on 

 hand, ready for the consumer such goods as 

 he may want, and he can get at the time he 

 needs them ; he introduces new and valuable 

 articles for the gratilicatio of human de- 

 sires ; in many cases reduces the cost of 

 goods to the consumer ; last, but not leai^t, 

 he furnishes much useful and practical 

 information to the consumer, which saves 

 him, frequently, more than the value of the 

 goods bought. 



The dealer is not an idler, by any means. 

 The real idler is the man who has no trade 

 at all, the man who thinks society owes him 

 a living and is all out of joint because he 

 does not get it ; who. therefore, sits still and 

 waits for something to come to him by legis- 

 lative enactment. While, on the other hand, 

 the man who creates a new, legitimate, hu- 

 man want, and therefore creates new de- 

 mands for any article of consumption, is as 

 much of a producer as the man who makes 

 the article originally to supply that want. 

 Not only this, every man who aids in bring- 

 ing the article to the exact point where the 

 want is to be satisfied is as much of a pro- 

 ducer as either of the other two. The truth 

 of the mater is, this is only a recognition of 

 of the principle of the division of labor, a 

 process of assigning to each that part of the 

 general work which he is best suited to per- 

 form. Oue may be suited best to execute 

 the first act of production, while the other 

 two have capabilities which peculiarly fit 

 them for transporters, or creators, by ed- 

 ucation, of increased wants. Oue may cre- 

 ate the desire, the other produce the honey, 

 and the third carry it to the point of con- 

 sumption. It is better for all to let each 

 perform the work for which he has a pecu- 

 liar adaptation. Society needs all of these 

 men, and *he occupation of any one of them 

 is just as important and legitimate as that 

 of either of the other two, and none of them 

 are " useless " members of society. 



But says one, " There are too many of 

 these dealers. " I grant that this is some- 

 what true, and that it would be for their 

 own good, if there were less in some locali- 

 ties, but the consumer does not suffer on 

 this account. I remember once, when I was 

 ^ drummer on the road for a short time. 



that I got into a farmer's wagon to ride with 

 him, and in conversation he said that he 

 hoped the time would come when the coun- 

 try would be rid of all the "useless middle- 

 men, " and then they would not have to pay 

 so much for things. The question came up 

 in my mind what all these men were to do 

 when they left the road. What occupation 

 must they take up in order to become " pro- 

 ducers ? " Must they all go to farming or 

 keeping bees ? If they did, what would be 

 the consequences ? If every drummer would 

 quit the road, every dealer cease to buy and 

 sell, — in fact, every so-called "worthless 

 middle-man, " stop his trade and barter, and 

 and all in one mass take up the hoe and 

 spade, or begin investigating the wonders of 

 of the bee hive, and become " pi'oducers, " 

 according to the modern popular idea of a 

 " producer, " where would be found a mar- 

 ket for the products of their labor ? Prices 

 are low enough now, but. if these reformers 

 who raise such a hue and cry against " mid- 

 dle-men " couM have their way, in a short 

 time a man could not raise corn enough on 

 a hundred acres of land to buy a good coat, 

 or secure honey enough from a hundred col- 

 onies to buy his wife a calico gown. These 

 men and their families must live, they can- 

 not cease to exist just to please the people 

 who are down on " middle-men, " and while 

 they live they must have at least a small 

 share of the comforts of life. If they are 

 not to honestly earn their living continuing 

 in their present occupation, then let some of 

 these reformers rise up and tell us what 

 they are to do. 



I think I have said enough on this subject 

 to make it clear that the dealer has a right 

 to be, and that he is as much of a necessity 

 in modern society as any of the other fac- 

 tors of production. Now, what are some of 

 the diffioulties hehas toe counter? Oneof 

 his main difficulties is that competition has 

 become so great between the various man- 

 ufacturers of bee supplies that they have 

 beaten down the prices to what would seem 

 to be the lowest point, and yet, notwith- 

 standing this, the dealer frequently finds 

 himself compelled to compete with the fac- 

 tory from which he buys his goods. He 

 buys by the carload, and then receives let- 

 ters like the following : " H. B. Co. offers 

 me first class sections in lots of 3000 for 



I , " and when he looks at the price he 



finds it to be precisely the same he paid 

 when he bought a carload of goods. The 



