160 Wisconsin - State Agricultural Society. 
trade, and a profitable one, and still retain it against all competi¬ 
tion. But I soon saw that in some things I could compete in 
Chicago and other places with their home growers. Then came 
the question why not jump Chicago and sell direct to some of her 
customers instead of allowing others for dr ay age, commission, etc. 
The result of this has been that for two or three years past I have 
sold quite largely in Indiana, and some in the extreme southern 
portion of the State, and last fall and this winter I have sold quite 
an amount to parties in Denver, Colorado. Now, suppose that I 
had continued to sell my entire crop to the home merchants, and 
let them hunt up and supply the outside markets; for instance, 
suppose I had sold to a Green Bay merchant, and he to the Chi¬ 
cago dealer, the Chicago dealer to the Indiana or the Denver city 
merchant, what would have been the result? Simply this, the con¬ 
sumer would have paid the same in both cases. The middle-men 
might not have made larger profits than they were fairly entitled 
to have, yet their handling and commissions would have so reduced 
my price as to have made my business absolutely ruinous instead 
of a fairly profitable one. Much of my success, such as it has been, is 
attributable to the fact that I have always tried to have just as few 
men between the consumer and myself as possible. To do this re¬ 
quires an outlay of both time and money. It is necessary that you 
should know the condition of the markets in different portions of 
the country, their wants and where their supplies come from, the 
rates of freight, etc. There are men in the city of Green Bay who 
are ready and anxious to purchase all the wheat that comes into 
town, and have the money to pay for it as fast as it is delivered; 
they receive a commission for purchasing; it goes into the eleva¬ 
tors; the proprietors receive another for handling, storage, etc. 
The wheat is shipped to Buffalo, and there re-shipped, and another 
commission taken; thence to New York City, and there changes 
hands from too to four times more before it gets into the families 
of the consumer. 
Now, gentlemen, is there not some way of avoiding a part or all 
of these commissions? If I had one thousond bushels of wheats 
more or less, to sell, it seems to me that I should hesitate long be¬ 
fore I sold it, subject to all of these handlings and commissions, 
unless I was sadly in need of money. I would have it converted in¬ 
to as fine an article of flour as it was possible to make of it; and 
