The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-23
NO CREAMERY TRUST
ALLEGED DAIRY COMBINE is I'M
POSSIBLE, SAYS #. C.
M'MULLEN
CAN'T CORNER BUTTER OUTPUT
Farmers Have the Situation Wholly
in Their Own Hands-NO Trust
Unless They Sane
ton 1t.

Reports of attempted trust movements
in the dairy industry and gigantic cream
cry combines in Western states continue
to spring forth every few days. Frank
C. McMullen, the well known commission
man, president of the Minneapolis Cold
Storage company, says such talk is alb
surd. Says Mr. McMulIen:
1t would be impossible to form a. cream
cry trust, and a moments thought would
convince anyone of that fact. Farmers
are unalterably opposed to anything in
the trust line, and if a trust was formed
it could only live through the aid and
help of the farmers. To make any guam
tity of butter, it would he necessary to
have the patronage of a very large num-
Der of farmers. The largest individual
producer of milk in the state would have
relatively a very small quantity of milk
so it is easy to perceive the very large
number of farmers that would have to
contribute their product in order to make
any amount of butter, and this it would
be impossible for trust to get.
On the other side. a trust must control
the output. In the manufacture of but
ter this would be utterly impossible.
With modern methods, it Is only neces-
Sary to have a churn in order to get into
the business. There are upwards of
twenty churning plants in Minneapolis
and st. Paul today, all of which are buy
ing more or less cream and milk direct
from the farmers. A practical and eff
cient creamery could be equipped in this
city for less than $780, This would make
competition that no trust could stand
For a butter maker to go into the bust
ness here it would be only necessary to
equip creamery and do his own work,
and he could then turn out goods cheaper
than any trust on earth.
The introduction Of efficient hand sep
aratorS on the farm has absolutely placed
the control of the dairy products right in
the farmers hands, and, without queS
ton, they are increasing the dairy earn
ings from 50 to 100 per cent. With the
aid of a hand separator. he has an eX-
tremely valuable food product in his
skim milk which he can feed in It's best
condition. His cream he can ship to any
point that will pay the most money. No
doubt some of the older creameries and
creamery companies, with O large amount
of obsolete machinery, would be glad to
form some kind Of a combination to rid
themselves of what IS nothing but junk
but it is extremely doubtful If such a
scheme could be fioated
AS before stated. a farm separator
places the business directly in the farm
him the control OF Iris product such as
he never had before. The farmer who
takes his milk today to a creamery loses
half a day in hauling his milk, for his
skim milk he gets back milk too acid and
too poor to be of any feeding value, and
months before he knows what he is go
ing to get for milking his cows. All this
is changed with a hand separator. He
separates his milk while it contains the
natural heat, has the skim milk in the
best possible condition TO feed: he has his
dozen or more churning plants; knows
EACH day just exactly what the price Is
on his butter fat and In this way knows
exactly how he stands at all times.