Connecticut western news., 1909-08-12
MILK QUESTION
 FURTHER DISCUSSED
BY JUSTICE MILES L. BLODGETT
Writer Takes a Decided Stand For Better Prices and Suggests Means by Which the Farmer can Secure Legitimate Profits.

Legitimate Profits.
 Considerable has been written on the subject. "The Cost of Producing Milk" All that has been written by the pro- ducsr has been, in the mann, true, viz, that cannot produce milk and comply with the requirements of the creamery companies and the health boards and do so at profit with milk at presentprices.
 With the price to the producer at or near two and three quarter cents per quart average for the six months, March to Sept, with the price of grain high and still soaring, pastures burned and in some instances of no value for grazing purposes, light hay crop etc, shall, yes will he, the producer, accept present prices, pick up the milk pail as does tie galley Slave the oar and return to the task of producing wealth without get ting his just proportion of income?
 We are told by the employers of the creamery companyies to hold on, that they have almost an heavenly intuition that milk is certain to bring better prices, but that we farmers should not act too rashly to better a condition that nature has already set in to improve and then they tell the milk producers that they do not know themselves the prices for the next six months, that they do not get the prices until contract time. Oh, what systeml almost as perfect system as the begger found in the ten story office building, who upon ringing the bell found himself confronted by nan who proceeded to kick him down the first flight of stairs and when he had reached the landing another man kicked Jim down the next flight and so on until he had reached the sidewalk. After le collected himself enough to get onto lis feet he looked up and exclaimed, what a system"
 What a systematic down and out game the middlemen are working on the milk producers of this and other sections of New England. This is the ituation now existing. The ideal of the producer is for better prices for his milk. This seems to me to be just and reason Lble. No doubt, and think the lamp If experience teaches us that the middle nan also wants more money out of milk and can see three ways by which he 1aA accomplish it. viz, by paying less f3r milk. by reducing cost of handling on by charging more for his product. Gt looks at the present time as if the three methods above named were being tacitly employed.
 The producer, who also wants more money for his product. has certain meth ods by the use of which he hopes to get greater profits from the milk he makes. The two methods employed are, by re- ducing tho cost of production to a mini. mum, and by getting as high price for his milk as possible. No doubt the pro- iucer has gotten the cost of milk down about as low as possible; in fact. rock bottom has been reached. It seems that there is but one way left for him to pro- ceed, and that is to get better prices for his milk.
 Now, the question is, how to get bet ter prices. There arc two ways that suggest themselves as being practicable, viz. he must cooperate with his fellow producers and demand more money of the middlemen for his milk, or the pro. ducers themselves must become the mid dlemen and reap the pecuniary advan- tage of direct sale. This is what should have been done years ago, and would have been by men of business acumen.
 To be skinned and tricked year after year is not the height of good sense, and it seems to mo to be just as perfidious to cheat ones self as it is to practise chica. nery upon another. The demand for a reasonable price for a sanitary and abso- lutely necessary article of consumption would not rebound to the detriment of the milk producers of New England.
 The question naturally arises as to how to start such 8 cooperative move ment, and while I do not wish to sug- gest, it certainly seems to me the start should be made by the Grange, the or ganization of the agriculturalist.
 To get the milk producers stirred up, the subject should be agitated, for agita- tion of mind is the beginning of wisdom. It seems too bad for the producers to keep on sleeping until the mortgage has eaten up the old homestead. Certainly that is going to be the result eventually
 It lies within the power of the pro- duoer to better his condition, and it is the crowning act of cowardice to sell his substance to rich corporation for pit