The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-04-18

Mr.. w. F. ALEXANDER:

| you ana TO tneln.
First, l wish to thank you for your
courteous treatment throughout the
entire letter. l will now pick up your
various statements and answer them as
| know the facts to be. My advertise
ment was written very plainly and care
fully that there might be no misunder-
standing between the farmers and my
self. said Butter Fat because it is the
only known method of buying cream or
milk and dealing squarely with both
parties interested. 1t is a simple test
yet perfectly accurate, accepted by the
highest authorities as such and in use in
every well organized and up-to-date
creamery and cheese factory in all
countries, and this includes Kirby,
Henderson and Bennington. Any farm
er can use it as well as creamery man.
(All honor to Prof. S. M. Babcock.)
bought milk from the farmers around
Owosso long before any one of the
creameries you mentioned was started
and during those years paid as high as
one dollar.and forty cents per hundred
pounds for the same at the farmers very
door. Since those creameries have been
in existence have never reached any
thing.like that price. so that certainly
could not.have been influenced by what
they did.
MI -
miles of .Owosso from farmers and on
three routes, directly south of here.
Henderson l never go near or Kirby
either, Bennington is nearer but not
much and what those creameries have
to do with me or my prices is beyond
my comprehension, especially when l
am continually offered double the milk
l can use. Again / guarantee my farm
ers ASCERTAIN price for milk the year
around, yet have never failed to pay
from 10 to 40 cents per 100 pounds more
than my guarantee each year and this
without any solicitation by the farmers.
Under these circumstances does it look
reasonable that / would pay a high
price for cream this year and low one
next. If so what farmer is there that
wishes to contract his cream for three
years under the conditions of nv
guaranteed advertisement; will sign
with him any day
In these days of close competition
no one man has monopoly of any thing |
for any length of time unless he has the |
business ability and keen oversight to |
distance his competitors, if he has these |
abilities the farmer and the world at |
large are the gamers The creamery /
business is no exception to these rules,
md has been series of progressive steps.
First, the farmers dairy with its at
tendant labor of milking, churning and
working butter. Second, along comes
5he gathered cream system fully as
vasteful but less labor Third, we
nave the power separator, no waste, less
but yet unsatisfactory; and last
llong comes the little hand separator,
eaving the farmer with still the trouble
If milking cows and running . his
but in return he gains his
'wn warm skim milk ten minutes old
rom the COW, almost as good as the
ows milk itself and his butter fat in
mall form to be shipped Tin single
an and only once in two or three days.
o market, and there sure to get the
ighest price for it. Now if / could
My find a milking machine that would
each from the COW to the hand separ-
tor, that would be automatic and no
abor, then the farmers and l would be
happy but suppose at present
We will have to wait.
You seem to think I wish to destroy
he creameries, why my friend / had
lever thought of such thing. l simply
advertised for cream and naturally,
how much more was to be
gained by a hand separator over the
present creamery system, / would of
course wish the farmers to see it. Put
Yourself in my place, wouldn't your
Wouldn't you as farmer think your
elf very foolish, to draw your milk to
every morning Cor as bad, pay
mother man to do it) with two horse
wagon and then wait around in hot
weather. for this same milk to be
and then draw back the same
DAD, often times down right sour, be-
ore you get it home, and three-fourths of
is value for feeding purposes lost, when
'ou could just as well have hand separa-
or, skim your own milk perfectly in two
minutes and with every vestige of it
rank up in ten minutes more, and at
anne time your cream all set away in
old water ready for the next lot and
With sure cash market at the highest
'rices any time you wished to jump in
our buggy and deliver it to the nearest
abroad station.
Now wouldn't you think yourself
oolish to pass that hand separator by.
Why not go few more steps backward
nd make dairy butter in the good old
vay9 You speak of sugar factories and
he dairy. / do not think you under
tand existing conditions or you would
lot talk that way. In the first place
dichigan is splendid butter state,
I'll - |