The Washington times., 1907-09-13
MILK PRICES
WILL ADVANCE,
DEALER SAYS
Increased Cost of Con-
Quoting Business and
New Regulations
Accountable.

That Washingtonians viii be com |
PEELED to pay more than cents per /
quart fer milk during the coming win /
ter Is practically certain
Tie raise in the price Of this neees-
slty, according to several Of the LEADING 1
ddlrymen Of this city, is now only a /
matter OF few weeks. Whether Il /
VIII cost !, 2, or cents more per quart /
than at present cannot be determined /
fer several days.
Practically all OF the largest dis /
triouters of milk IN the District have 1
been interviewed, and with few excep- /
lions all voice this opinion Some who /
hold this view refused to talk unless It /
was stipulated that they would not be 1
quoted, but one among them, George /
Is. Farquhar, secretary OF the Belmont |
dairy, that there was a probability that |
prices TO consumers would be raised.
Distributors Pay More.
Statistics are given by distributors |
which show that while expenses have |
Increased, and the direct cost Of milk 1
from producers has scared, there has |
been no advance in the cost to the con- |
sumner in the course Of fourteen years |
or longer This, they say has slowly |
but surely cut down their profits until |
ing, when Il is realized the enormous
energy, work, and time necessary to dis
tribute the best milk in a sanitary man
ner, In speaking Of the advance in ex-
penses 70 the dispensers, a member OF
one OF the largest firms in the city gave
some interesting statistics.
Where we paid from S. to s. a week
TOT drivers, We now cannot begin 10 get
all the help we need unless we start the
wagon men on at least $40 week and
where men have been with us for any
length of time we are compelled 10 pay
them from s. TO s. more or lose them
and break in new men on the routes.
This makes the cost OF distributing milk
something Ike 50 per cent more than
II used 10 be.
Cost of Labor Higher.
1.-THE labor, that is the help required to
ship and unship the milk from the home
of the producer to our places of bust
ness, has gone mp, The increase in this
department is slightly less than that IN
the former, being about One-third more.
but even this little when added TO the
sum total makes no small item where a
large business in concerned.
Not only this, but, despite what
others say, We are paying from 10 to
20 per cent more to the producers for
the commodity than we used to. Taken
altogether tins is a raise Of about 20
per cent in The cost TO the distributor in
obtaining milk
AIR. FarqUhar said that not only was
the advance IN this respect responsible Z
iHr the prophesied advance in the price
e. milk TO the public, but that the re
Qurements stipulated in the present laws |
nov being SO ligidly enforced BY the Ag-
ricultural and Health Departments made |
il absolutely impossible for dealers to |
sell at the present prices and have any 1
thing on the balance sheets TO show for |
their laD0rs.
Present Milk Supply Good Enough.
True" he said, 1T cannot but follow /
that the quality OF the milk viii be bet /
tered by these new laws 10 a certain /
extent but the question is, Is all this /
quite necessary? 1 am positively CON /
WINGED thai IL Is not The quality Of the /
milk now sold is up to a high standard |
and, frankly, 1 think that some Of the /
regulations and requirements are down |
right fOClishness.
However, II the Washington public /
wishes very slight advance in the 1
quality Of the milk they use, they viii /
be compelled TO stand for an advance /
IN the cost Tor we cannot meet all these !
requirements TO do IL. OF course, we /
cannot ne expected 20 cut of our profits !
and remain In business, so IL will simply 4
mean that the consumers viii necessaT- /
lly nave 10 stand for a raise In prices |
4 6.t they expect to get what the Health !
department wishes US to give them. -"
Says Law Is Not to Blame.
Asked If there were any rules or
regulations Of the Health Department /
that are being enforced in connection
with the production and sale Of milk in /
the District that have had anything 10
DO with increasing the cost OF milk to
consumers, DIT. William c. Woodward, |
Health Officer, said this morning that \
he knew Of no such conditions, He said II
that IL was not true, as stated by a Il
milk dealer in The Times OF yesterday, II
that the rigid enforcement Of the Health n
Department laws and regulations had II
driven any dairymen or dealers out Of II
business He said that the regulations II
were the same as had been in force II
during the iast three or four years, II
and that their enforcement now was n
no more rigid than before. What had
been done, he said, had been in the best
interests OF the public health and all u
concerned. \
Dr. Woodward contended that II the
price OF milk was advanced there would
be a corresponding increase IN the rigid
enforcement OF the law, to see that the
AIblc got better milk than they are
- securing As to the matter of com /
HJulsory JubeTculin test OF dairy herds, |
he said that thsre was no law forcing
dairymen to have their herds tested ex-
cept in cases WhsTe a new dairy farm
was started, and in cases Of that kind
the health office, before issuing p new
permit would require the new herd to
be tested for tuberculosis.