Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1917 — Merchants Should Provide For a Home Market. [ARTICLE]

Merchants Should Provide For a Home Market.

The committee on marketing of home produce met Saturday afternoon with other committees of the Better Farming Association to discuss plans to bring about a better home market for the products of the farmers in Jasper county. There is a country wide endeavor to increase the food provisions all over the United States. But little has been said in regard to marketing such produce. Therefore the merchants of the county and the fanners should be in closer or 'better harmony iwith each other, especially in regard to exchange of goods. The merchant should make every effort to use all the home produce that is possible for him to dispose of before having same shipped in from the cities, to compete with the farmer’s produce and fruit. We believe that the fanner should grade all fruit and vegetables into classes, that they might sell according to class. Also, each article must be neat and clean, thereby helping its sale. Second. There are a great many eatables that could be dried such as com, apples, others canned. Pickles salter for future use, vinegar made, all such could be marketed in midwinter. All kinds of seed saved and sold to the merchant for another spring. A great many winter vegetables put in the cellar and sold during the winter to supply the home towns in each vicinity. Such a trade we believe can be established in each town if-both parties interested will endeavor to do so.

Third. Much good will result from it as the farmers will have more money to spend to buy other goods with and will live better, making a better business for each. When merchants buy at home then and no sooner can they expect others to buy at tome. This will 'be the best way of killing the mail order business. Ridiculing the people through the papers will only make more mail orders. Now get busy, merchants, and do what you ask others to do, and see how it works. More co-operation is what we need along these lines. This committee would be pleased to meet in the near future with the commercial club and try and arrange a booming home market, which would be a boom for all as we eliminate freight, express, cartage, drayage, middlemen and jobbers’ profits, which in some instances would equal half the buying price. By Chairman Committee of Home Marketing.