The Newtown bee., 1900-10-19

strong article in the New York Sunday Tribune on the situation of the milk mar ket. He emphasizes certain truths which will be heartily applauded by Housaton- ic Valley farmers. Among other things he says: According to a study of pro- ducing milk made by Prof c. B. Lane at the New Jersey experiment station in 1897, 1898 and 1899, the average cost, food, labor and interest amounted to 2.19 cents quart. This cost was necessary in a station where, presumably, all the conditions favored economical production far more than would be possible on the average farm. Furthermore, this cost
 was the average in three seasons, when hay and other feeds were far cheaper and when pasturage was more abundant than in this season of serious drouth. It
 would seem safe to say that the majority
 of farmers with dairies ranging from 10
 to 20 COWS are just now perilously close
 to tho three cent notch in cost of produc-
 tion. Even if they can keep the cost
 down to the station notch of l9 cents .
 quart, your readers will be able to figure
 out what an extremely small margin of
 profit the producer has. The 32 cent
 zone farmer nets ? 35 cents a quart. If
 he put 2.19 only into cost, he comes out
 with profit of .16 cent a quart, or GA
 cents on 40 quart can. If he produces
 10 cans day, his daily pro fit will be GA
 cents. At ten cans a day, if he losses
 nothing on bills non. collectible,. he would
 clear the magnificent profit of $223 60 in
 a year. It is against this magnificent re-
 suit the farmer is protesting. It is 8
 matter of fact that at present, with hay at SIS to $22 ton. as a result of the drouth, there are hundreds of producers
 who have not come out even, on their milk business for the past six months. It is this state of affairs, reaching back over years, that cslled the Five States Milk Ploducers' association into exist. ence. When the New York Consolida.
 ed Milk Exchange had everything It's o VII way there seemed to be no ''bottom prjce'' for milk. For examble, during the month of June, 1898, the producers of milk in the 32 cent freight zone were forced to take $l Ol a can in Jersey City, from which Exchange price they had to count off 5 cents for ferriage, 32 cents for freight and 20 cents for station hand ling, 8 total charge of 57 cents, leaving them just A cents for 40 quart can of milk, that probably cost them at least S7 cents to produce. Did the city mid dlemen in June, 1898, put down the re- tail price of milk to city consumers? Your readers ought to know that the milk for which they pay the retailer from to 12 cents quart nets the producers less than 2.35 cents now, while in June, 1898, 1t netted the farmers only II cents 6 quart. Knowing this, the city consu- mers will be in position to judge the pro. ducers fairly and to understand what the Five States Milk Producers' association aims to do. That association, in spite of all the contemptuous belittlements of 1t by the Exchange,is 8 powerful organiza- tion. Of the 26 900 to 2s,0OO cans of milk received in New York City daily, 1t furnishes from 14,OOO to l6,0OO cane. It's members number 10000. It is able, in case it is compelled to use It's power as the possessor of the milk, to produce in the city milk famine of the acutest stripe. It has refrained from using that power, although the Exchange has given it provocation continually to use it. The Five States Milk Producers association members believe that the time has come for the New York Consolidated Milk Ex- change to step down and out from It's po- sition as 8 trust that risks nothing but merely exercises the despotic powers of an irresponsible middleman, acrewing down ,the price to the producers while keeping up the price to tho consumers. If affairs SO shape themselves that the