Connecticut western news., 1910-02-24
THE BORDEN'S SIDE
 OF MILK QUESTION
GIVEN BY PRESIDENT OF COMPANY
Figures Furnished Show That at Pres ent Prices Paid to the Producer and the Railroads, the Margin of Profit to the Company is Very Small.

me kaIlr0a0S, the Margln or Frotlt
 to the Company is Very Small.
 EDITOR THE NEWS:
 No one is more concerned than the Borden Company in keeping down the price of milk to the consumer and in making the production of milk profita- ble to the farmer. This company's pro- fits depend upon the volume of its busi- ness. To increase the retail price cuts down the consumption and diminishes the volume. Also if the production of milk is unprofitable to the farmer, he ceases dairying. This cornpels the Bor- den Company to go further for its milk supply and to pay more for freight, icing and additional stations.
 The Borden Company has no connec- tion of any kind, direct or indirect, with the Consolidated Milk Exchange. Neither is it now nor ever has been a party to any combination or agreement for the purpose of fixing the price of milk
 The business of this company, which originally was the manufacture of con- denscd milk, was founded in 1857, fifty three years ago, upon the patents of the inventor, Gail Borden.
 In manufacturing condensed milk, it was soon discovered that it was abso. lutely essential to obtain high grade of sanitary milk to insure keeping quality. It thus became necessary to originate and enforce rules and regulations under which farmers supplying Smilk by con- tract would produce clean, pure milk, under the most sanitary conditions. In l 1887 the company began the bottlinR of l fluid milk in the country for sale direct to the consumer in the city. Milk bot tied in the country where it is produced an1er strict sanitary supervision and de- | Livered to consumers under original seal, containing all the constituents of the milk as taken from the cow. stands in a
 lass by itself, both as to quality and
 reedom from germ contact.
 The freight rate on bottled milk from
 he country is much higher than on Iilk shipped Tn bulk, or, in forty-quart cans, ana, again, there is high extra expense involved in the labor of hand ling bottled milk, the loss and breakage of bottles, and tie heavy costs for icing to insure against bacterial development.
 During the twenty years, from 1887 to 1907, the company charged the consumer d uniform price of eight cents per quart. In the meantime it gradually raised the price paid to the farmer. When the in- :reased price paid by this company to
 he farmer had risen forty per cent, he Borden Company ,on November 18th, 907, raised tho price to the city con- Sumer to nine cents per quart, lowering che price again to eight cents again in the spring of 1908, at which time the price paid to the farmer was also re. duced. Again on October 1st. 1909 the price paid to the farmer was increased for the period covered by the winter con tract to the highest price ever paid to him, and the Borden Company, on No vember 1st, increased the retail price of milk one cent per quart.
 Had this company continued to charge the consumer eight cents, being obliged to pay the farmer the high price covered by the winter contract, 1t would have sustained an actual loss on it's bottled milk business in the metropolitan dls- trict in the month of November, a still greater loss in December and for the balance of the contract period.
 During the years this company con- tinued it's uniform price of eight cents for milk to the consumer, QS98 1909) the price of feed increased to the farmer as follows; bran 79.54 per cent, mid dlings 62.58 per cent, oil meal 37.33 per cent, corn 103 82 per cent. and oats 73. .26 per cent. The Borden Company increased it's price to the farmer fer milk 42 per cent. The railroads in- creased thelr freight charges to the Bor den Company 23 per cent. Yet the com pany during this time has met all the increase in cost of milk, transportation and labor, owing to the volume of busi- ness, without increasing the charge to the pubic. for a specialized quality of bottled milk, with the exception of the winter months of 1907 and 1908; and the present period since November of 1909. The increase in the price of milk from eight cents to nine cents represents twelve and one-half per cent, or less than one-third the percentage of in- crease in other food products.
 The price of milk to the farmer is gov erned by the the wholesale price of butter and cheese. To secure superior