The San Francisco call., 1908-04-24
BITTER WARFARE
IN EGG MARKET
Sonoma County Producers
Clash With the Commission
Men of San Francisco

Open warfare, to be waged in the San
Francisco egg market, has been de-
clared by the Sonoma county cooper
ative producers association against the
San Francisco dairy exchange Deep
cuts in the price of eggs to the retailer
and consumer are promised as the i'm
mediate result. A net price of 20 cents
dozen has already been set by the
association as the figure that is to rule
today. Sliding downward daily. always
few cents lower than the price set by
the dairy exchange, the price Of eggs
is to be depressed to a point that the
poultrymen declare is a fair one to the
consumer and producer. There. the
poultrymen say. 1t Will be kept
One of the strangest struggles in the
history of producers organizations is
to be the egg war. Not higher, but
lower. prices will be fought for by the
poultrymen. who charge that the pres
ent high quotations of the exchange are
not justified by economic conditions
but have been manipulated by the COM
missionmen as part of a far reaching
plot to prevent the storage of eggs and
thus create an egg famine in the fall
in which both consumer and producer
will suffer.
The Sonoma county cooperative
bers and controls the major part of the
egg output of Sonoma county, section
which produces very large percentage
OF the eggs consumed in the markets
of the bay cities Since the organiza-
tion Of the association, nearly three
years ago, it has been engaged in
struggle with the commission mer-
chants of the metropolis, who saw in
the existence of the association the ul-
f1T1lQ a a l1rNafr mot Inn @l i
Their fears were justified in the early
part of this year when the association
established stores in Petaluma, Santa
Rosa and Cotati and began the sale of
eggs direct to wholesalers and retail
ers. Their trade imperiled, it is
charged that the commissionmen set
forth to wreck the producers associa-
ton. The fight has been waged warm
ly in San Francisco and throughout
Sonoma county ever since.
1t is charged by the poultrymen that
the middlemen juggled the prices on
the San Francisco dairy exchange Quo
tations were first depressed, when eggs
We're scarce, to figure below the cost
Of production, and then, when the sup
ply became more plentiful the price
on change scared to a point where
spectators could not buy for storage.
This direct contradiction of the laws of
- L
will bring chaos in the egg market.
Charges that the dairy exchange has
circulated rumors that the farmers had
formed an egg trust" and were re-
sponsible for the unusually high prices
for the season of the year are also
brought by members of the association.
w. F. Schulz, manager of the poultry
association, said yesterday:
Our association has been accused of
y,o MI ho irl,
established in San Francisco by the San
Francisco dairy exchange. /. want to
say that after last January this same
exchange let it be known through the
press that retailers were holding up
egg prices on consumers, though re-
tailers were justified by the scarcity of
supply
During the last two weeks this ex
change. through manipulation of several
disgruntled members, has caused the
establishment of a quotation for eggs
utterly at variance with last seasons
price and far above our own judgment
as to fair values
eAnimus may be back of this condi-
tion of affairs. or 1T may not, but we
have concluded that 1t is about time
for US to enter the market ourselves.
controlling. as we do, the bulk of So
noma county's egg output. We will at
tempt to establish a price for our COM
modify which will not only be fair to
US, but just to the retailer and con-
sumer We will put into the market
daily 200 or more cases of eggs, selling
them direct to the retail distributor.
and any larger quantity ordered we
will supply direct from our depots in
Sonoma county. We will sell eggs to
retailers at 20 cents per dozen tomor-
row morning"