VOL. LXXVII. 
ruhlished Weekly at 333 W. 30th St., 
New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK, ATJGFST 17, 1018. 
Entered as Second Class Matter at New York 
under the Act of Congre.ss, March 3, ISiO. 
No. 4495. 
“ Efficiency In Marketing ” 
New Plan for Direct Selling 
A I’RESENT E('0N()1IIC WAS'PE.—Every manu¬ 
facturer ami l)Usiiie:'S man knows that it costs 
from two to 10 times more to nmrket a product than 
it does to m:ike the iirodiict, or to state the case 
differently, it ta.kes from two to 10 man-power to 
di'liver the product of one man liy the crude and in¬ 
efficient methods in present use. Here is an astound¬ 
ing economic waste which ctnild he avoided by a 
s'ight alteration in the manner of doing distributive 
\cork. Such a cliange would render available a huge 
army of men for military .service or for other lines 
of usefulness. The following shows how this enorm- 
• tioii to destroy fungus diseases. Then the ground 
must be plowed, harrowed and marked in rows. 
Eertilizer is scattered; then the seed is dropped by 
liand and covered with a hoe. When the plant ap¬ 
pears it must be sprayed with arsenic to kill insect 
p(sts. and with Rordeaux mixture to prevent blight. 
I'hen it must be hoed by hand and cultivated u ith a 
plow to exterminate weeds and to promote healthy 
growth. Then, if the weather has not been too hot 
or too cold or too wet or too dry, the crop matures 
and must be dug, collected in heaps, sorted and 
packed in harreks. crates or bags. The skilled labor, 
or first phase of the work, ends at this i)oint. Now 
comes tile second phase, carrying the potato from the 
farm to the pantry, an extremely simple task, a 
cost to deliver a product worth .$1.00. Again, 
in A])ril. 3918, New York City people paid 34 cents 
jier quart for milk for which the farmer received 
rd/> cents. In this case it cost sy> cents to deliver 
5i/> cents worth of food. Again, last Fall, tomatoes 
selling at .$.‘3 per bushel in 8oiith Rend, Ind., 
while farmers 325 miles distant received only 00 
cents per bushel. In this instance it cost .82.40 to 
deliver a 00-cent product. Again. Indiana farmers 
raise cucumbers and sell them to the local agent of a 
well-known linn for 50 cents per bushel. After 
soaking awhile in vinegar and .salt water this ])rod- 
uct is sold .again for .87.50 per bushel under a special 
label. In this c.ase it costs .87 to deliver 50 cents 
worth of cucumbers. Again, the writer not long ago 
The Re.fjvlar Visit to the. Bheep Pasture. 
cus waste can be abolished in one line of work, 
namely, the handling of foods. 
Food production is divided into two phases or 
sections; first, raising the croj); second, carrying it 
from the farm to the pantry. Tlie work performed 
i.i these two phases is totally different in character, 
ff'hc first demands great skill and prolonged tiain- 
ing, while the second requires no pai-ticidar ability 
or cleverness. To demonstrate clearly this vital dif¬ 
ference in the nature of the work a watch is l)etter 
adapted than a food. For example, to make a watch 
requires years of experience and exacting, painstak¬ 
ing training, while cari*ying the watch from the 
vorkman’s bench to the user could be done by a 
child or even a boohy without any training whatever. 
WDRK OF PRODIXTION.—In the handling of 
food products the same is true. The iiotato is a good 
example for illustrating the i)oint. To produce this 
staple food an enormous amount of work is required. 
First, the potato seed mu.st be cut by hand in small 
pieces, which must be soaked in an antiseptic solu- 
r.)mmon, menial service, prop(‘rly characterized as a 
“booby’s job.” 
0(),8TS COMPARED.—In view of the relative dif- 
liculty of the two tasks one would naturally exi)ect 
the booby’s job to be the least expensive; but, 
sti-ange to say, the ex;ict reverse is true, as the fol¬ 
lowing typical examples show; In Indianapolis po¬ 
tatoes were selling for .82 per bushel. Mayor Shank 
went to Grand Rapids and bought several carloads, 
paying the jobbers 50 cents per bushel. The farm¬ 
ers, however, received only 40 cents per bushel. 
Later Mayor Shank sold these potatoes in Indian- 
ai)olis direct to the consumer for 75 cents per 
bushel. In this instance the delivery of 40 cents 
worth of potatoes had been costing -81.00, but Mayor 
Shank cut this charge dowm to .85 cents. Again, the 
report of the California Fruit Growers’ Association 
show's that the grower received on an average dur¬ 
ing the last four years 81-00 per crate for oranges, 
while the consumer paid on an average .84.80 per 
crate during the same period. In this instance it 
harvested and cured 350 i)ounds of boneset, a p(ipular 
liome remedy for colds, wdiich he sold to a well- 
known crude drug firm for three cents per pound, 
net. This medicine is sold i!i the drug stores for 
5 cents i)er ounce, or 80 cents per pound. In this 
instance it cost 77 cents to deliver a .>-c*ent i)ioduct. 
OTIE :;5-CENT DOIJ-.VR.—It costs 8Vi cents to 
deliver .81.00 worth of oranges; it costs 82.40 to de¬ 
liver 00 cents woi'th of tomatoes; it costs 81.00 
to deliver 40 cents worth of i)otatoes; it costs -87 
to deliver 50 cents worth of pickles; it costs 77 cents 
to deliver three cents w'orth of boTieset. The ca.ses 
cited are not excei)tion:il nor rare, but truly typical. 
The R. N.-Y., after a life study of the subject,, says 
that on a yearly average the farmer receives only 
35 cents for products which co.^^t the consumer 81. 
It, calls this arrangement a “.35-cent dollar.” In 
other w'ords, it costs 05 cents to deliver 35 cents 
wortli of foodstuff under i)resent marketing methods. 
■\YIIY 80 COSTLY?—Now tlie (piestion naturally 
arises, “Why should the booby’s job of carrying 
