Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-05
ms AND. OUTS OF
BUTTER QUESTION
SaIina Creamery Man Says Pres
ent High Price Is Doing No
One Any Good.
C0ULD.BE PRODUCED CHEAPER
Publicity as TO Prices Paid the Farm
er. He Says, Would Help Kill
Any Monopoly.

c. NJ. Hansen. manager of the Salina
Creamery company. has written Food
and Dairy Commissioner Willard Han
sen of this city on the local butter sit
uation as follows.
IT note N the papers that the good
ladies in your city are making war
upon the butter trust. I admit the price
of butter is too high for poor man
to eat the product Some may form
the opinion that that Will promote the
dairy Industry in our country, but
differ In the first place, it will create
Il demand for cheaper substitute and
give the oleo people a chance TO sell
their grease. and thus we find a dun
sale for pure butter, the result will be
stagnat,on in the dairy industry. 1t
Is true we must encourage the dairy
men all we can, in order to obtain their
produce
A better way. / think. would be to
go out among the farmers and teach
them to produce a cheaper pound of
butter. with even greater profit than
that they arc now receiving This can
be done. and It is absolutely necessary
that 1t is done"
Manager Hansen has sent out a cir
oular to the patrons Of his creamery In
which he says,
"A special investigation has been
made of economic conditions in the
creamery business and Information has
been secured showing that there is
practically a monopoly of this industry
in some sections. while in others the
business is largely conducted on CO.
operative basis or there is fair compe.
fl1a haS.
latter conditions the farmers are re-
ceiving from to s cents pound more
for their butter fat than in territory
controlled by the monopoly. This diff
ference is due partly to the methods
of the so-called centrallzerS' and part
ly to the inferior quality OF the butter
produced by those concerns, because
the cream is collected over wide ter
rltory and much OF 1t IS received in
stale condition.
SQUEEZE THE FARMER
"The investigation shows that the CO.
operative creamery yields the largest
returns to the farmer for his butter fat.
The individual and combination cream
cries, usually being located in close
competition with the cooperative
creameries. pay very nearly as much.
"The centralizers, where they have
gained monopoly. pay as little as
the farmers will accept. Reports for
July 1907, show that In Kansas and
Nebraska where the monopoly ap-
pears TO be complete. the farmers re-
ceiye only II to is cents a pound for
their butter fat, while In northern Iowa,
Wisconsin and Illinois.
where cooperative creameries have
the field. the prices were from 20 to 26
cents.
The methods of the centraliZers are
very reprehensible Where
these concerns have come into compe
tition with small creamerieS they have
raised their prices to point that made
IT impossible for the small concerns to
continue and have thus forced the lat
ter out of business Competition hav-
ing been destroyed and monopoly Sc
cured. the prices pad to the farmers
are lowered. the large concerns operat-
ing over q great territory, with hero
and there a competitor that they wish
ed to put out of business, could In one
locality raise the price paid above that
possible to pay with profit. and at the
other places decrease the prices so
little as not to be apparent and more
than offset the loss. The ability to de-
stroy competition without .nnlcting
elf-injury has been used effectively in
many localities,
RAILROAD RATES
perhaps the most potent factor,
however. in restricting the business of
the small creamery has been the special
low rates reported to be granted by the
railroads to the big creameries. These
rates were understood to be much low
er than for any similar commodity, be-
ing only about one-third of the rate on
butter. In Nebraska, I'm the best terri
tory. the gross earnings for hauling
cream were but 13 cents per car mile
while the settling basis between rail
roads for hauling empty cars was 10
cents per car mile.
THE system OF killing the small
creameries has been carried on to the
fullest extent In southern Iowa, Mis-
souri,, Kansas and Nebraska. Taking
Kansas as an illustration. 1t is found
that the number OF creameries declined