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Show I WHEN THE MIDDLEMAN IS ELIMINATED. The Oakland Times does not look upon the talk of eliminating the middleman mid-dleman as other than unadulterated rot and proceeds to explain that the middleman can he driven out, bui some method must be devised b Which our potatoes shall, unaided transport themselves from the field i to the kitchen. "Whenever a middleman Is elimi nated," says the writer, 'somebody else has to do hie work. In the ease of a 'free market,' where producer produ-cer and consumer are supposed to meet face to face but frequently do not the producer does more than half the middleman's work by briu;: , ing his produce to the place of sale, t and the consumer does the rest by 1 buying it and carrying it home There is then the simple problem in prne- I( Heal economics as to whether thq producer and consumer can employ ) themselves more profitably In other ways, so that upon the whole they will be better eff to hire a middleman to do the intermediate work. Tn c public, if it so desires, can pay part of the expense from taxation That t happens win n rent-free market places are provided by the public. Senator Borali has introduced into Congress a bill to provide a National Govetn-j Govetn-j ment institution to do 'scientific mar keting.' There will be fifteen Go's crnment directors and branch organi r.atlons in every county in the United States. The plan suggests political rather than scientific marketing un j less the science of marketing consists i in doubHng the number engaged in 1 the intermediary services if the ! army of extra employes and officials is to be paid by taxation the effect f on the cost of other people's living might be negligible. If salaries and ( wages are to be a charge on the prod I uce we shall be sorry for t lie consumer con-sumer if the bill becomes a law." rn- |