The Newtown bee., 1900-06-01

CONTEST IN WHICH THE FARMERS ol
 CONNECTICUT AND NEW YORK ARE NOW | ENGAGED.
 Is the Five States Milk Association tc achieve success in it's fight for a better price for milk for the producers, Is the question many thousands of farmers in Connecticut and New York state are ask ing. A representative of THE BEE met that level-headed and honest farmer, Ed. win Seeley of Roxbury, on the train, the other day, as he was enroute to meet ing of the directors of the Five States' Milk Association at Binghsmpton, N. Y. MT SeeleY told the writer, in the course of an interesting conversation on the milk business, that he felt confident of ultimate success. "What the farmers are after" said MT Seeley, lis not to raise the price of milk but to get fail proportion of the present price paid by the consumer, which is now gobbIed ur by the middlemen." MT Seeley believes and good many Housatonic valley farm CTS hold the same opinion, that the agi tstion begun two years ago by the farm. CTS has already borne fruit, the price paid the last year being materially higher than that of the year previous. Whether the present plans for handling the milk sup ply of New Y ork carry or not, the agita tion on the part of the farmers is bound to lead in good results to the producers
 The position taken by the directors o1 the Five States Milk Producers Assecia tion was we'll brought out the other day in an interesting statement in the New York Times, which we quote: Two ot the members of the Executive Committee Ira S. Shell and F. B. Aiken, themsevel made verbal statements which covered the material in the official statement They say that the farmers have not me with fair treatment at the hands of tn, milk dealers, but the latter on their par say that the strict laws of supply and de mand have brought things to the pas complained of, and that 1t Is the farmer themselves who undersell each other il the market on account of the surplus.
 The committeeman said that the farm ers did not want to raise the price 0 milk, but simply to get fair share o what the dealers make; to stop deceitfu practices, and keep the milk clean an, pure. The demand for milk in this cit, has doubled within Ethe past ten years but the price has steadily declined to tn producer, they said, until prior to yea ago, when the present movement anon the farmers began. Although the pric paid to the farmer had dropped to on and three fourth cents per quart, tn dealers sold it at from five to 10 cents pc quart. The cost of transportation about three fourth cent per quart. This added to the price paid to the farmer makes it to the dealer.tw and one fourt cents net.
 In regard to the Consolidated Mil Exchange whose members consist of dealers and two farmers the committe ; men said that it's action has been SO arb trary that many times the farmers ha, not known what was to be paid them u
 til they received their checks. Nor, was asserted, has the Exchange been go
 erned in its prices by the cost of produ ? tion, or the value of the milk for the pu 5 poses of manufacture into butter chees 2 Further the statement says, the E change actually proceeded to acqu'rs u
 title to creameries where milk might ct |