The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-07-18
TRAP FOR
DAIRYM len
Gigantic Trust Forming to
Fight the Creameries.
BY this Means Magnates Expect Farm
ers to Play Into Their Hands Until
Destroying Competition They Are in
Position TO Dictate.

st. Paul, July 15.-State Dairy
Commissioner Mcconnell declares
that he fears the cooperative cream
ery business of Minnesota will have
to fight for its existence within the
very near future. He sees indications
that great concerns are to be formed
in many of the larger cities for the
purpose of merging the dairy pro
ducers of the state into a single cur
rent supply for a centralized storag
plant.
These concerns, he says, will go
about the business of killing the CO.
operative creamery by the same means
which the Minneapolis creamery trust
has employed. 1t will offer larger
prices for cream than the creameries
can, until the creameries are squelch
ed, and then it will have things in its
own hands and will be able to dictate
prices to the farmers. A gentleman
interested in one concern of this kind
told Mr.. Mcconnell the other day that
within a year all the cream within a
radius of $50 miles of the twin cities
would be shipped to these cities fol
manufacture. Mr.. Mcconnell says the
dairy farmer has got to face the prob
lem, and that problem is wholly in
his own hands. If temporary selfish
ness blinds him to his own interests
he will fall into the trap to destroy
the cooperative creamery, and there
by deal a death blow to the state:
great dairy reputation.
Creamery associations are preparing
to put up an aggressive fight against
this by the organization of creamery
associations, and the state department
is assisting them in this work.
Mr.. McConnel's views are confirm
ed by Secretary Charles V. Knight,
of the National Dairymen's associa
tion, who says that Armour & Co.
and Swift & Co. of Chicago, have be-
gun preparations to 60 into the butter
business on an extensive scale. They
have recently had agents in the dairy
centers contracting to purchase from
farmers for future delivery large
quantities of butter at cents a pound
higher than the present scale. Thi!
could indicate that the meat packers
are about to abandon their oleomar
garine factories and are going into tn,
butter business on an extensive scale
The natural deduction from tn,
activity of the Chicago packers il
this direction is that they have il
mind the formation of butter trust
says Mr.. Knight. The effect of theil
activity in the egg market recently
when they practically controlled the
entire supply of eggs in the country
is foretaste of what they will b.
able to do with the butter output By
offering AGENT advance on the pres
ent price and agreeing to take al
that is manufactured by number Of
creameries for considerable length Of
time, these firms will eventually
secure control of large percentage Of
the butter output and thus be able tc
fix the price of butter for the whole
country.
Further he says: SIS it going to be
thus this year? Is it going to go into
the market and bid up prices to a
point where buttermen will have to
hold their butter so high that uncolor-
ed oleomargarine will be popularized.
Have these people who are playing
into the hands of the enemy by &C
cepting fraction higher price from
one of these oleomargarine makers any
idea how they are working against
their own interests.
Better sell it a cent pound cheap
er to a butterman who will not use
it to injure the butter business.
1.-The present year is fraught with
great dangers to both. produce and
middle man. Traps are being set for
both by a wary foe. 1t is too bad that
some of our farmers creameries have
shown a willingness to so readily fall
into them