The Newtown bee., 1897-12-31
The Editors Familiar Chat.
CAN THE1 "coRsER" THE MILK MARKE


scheme to bleed the farmers" is the way
a local farmer and milk dealer tersely
expressed himself on reading of the for
nation of the milk trust.
Whether his prophesy proves correct,
or that the big scheme of the Trust is
carried into effect remain to be seen.
The situation, as outlined by the ad-
vocates of the Trust, Is, as we under
stand it, substantially as follows;
The formation of the company is the
result of negotiations which have been
under way for several months looking
toward the formation of Milk Trust.
The capital for the company is said to
have come largely from abroad, princ-
pally from London, and the remainder
was subscribed in New York. 1t is in
tended to introduce an entirely new sys
tenn of supplying milk to New York and
Brooklyn and nearby places. Arrange
ments have been completed whereby
farmers who have been supplying isOlat
ed gcreameries will ship direct to the
trust. Some of the creameries in the
State and the milk-~roducing belt in New
York State will be turned into depots
for the trust. The milk of small farms
will be delivered to these depots and
forwarded. In other places, where the
producers are in business on a sufficient
ly large scale the milk will be shipped
direct from the farm to the depots in
Jersey City and Hoboken, and thence
distributed to the customers in New
York.
| 1t is claimed for the trust that there is
no intention of increasing the price of
milk to the consumer, and, on the other
hand, there is likely to be a reduction in
the price, while the milk will be better
than the average now served in New
York, and at the same time the trust can
pay more to the farmers than the isolated
creameries now pay. This result will be
reached in this way: There are now
some 1000 wagons delivering milk il
New York City proper. These 400
wagons require that number of drivers
and on some of them the driver has
helper. The routes of these sellers o
milk cross and recross, and it is not IN
common for score of milkmen to serve
milk on a single block. The trust fgurel
that it can give better service than il
now furnished by these Independent
miIkmen with less than 1000 wagons
The city can be laid out into routes am
properly covered by a thousand wagon
where the four thousand are now re
quired. There will be in the city, it i
now planned, a series of central station
to which the milk be brought direct from
the receiving stations located at tn
termini of the milk-carrying railroads
From these central stations in the city
which will always be open, the wagon
are to radiste through the city.
Milk, under the existing conditions, il
now sold in New York at from 8 to
cents quart. The Trust think cent
is the average price for milk delivered
1t is estimated that this average can b
cut exactly in half, and that milk can b
retailed in any part of the city for or
cents. The saving from the reduction o
the number of servers will allow this AM
leave margin of profit far greater thai
can now be hoped for by tho e in tn,
business. There will be enough to en-
able the Trust to handle the milk from
the COW to the consumer under the lates
hYgienic principles. 1t will permit thu
Trust to keep careful watch upon every
farm from which it will draw portio
of its supply, and 1T will enable it to pa,
the farmer more for his product, ant
when he is paid more the Trust thinks /
can insist that the quality of the produc
shall be better.
One thing the trust proposes to lool
after is the instruction of the farmer
The idea is to make him part of thu
n m~ ~ - ~ ~su