The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-03-01
WILL TEST LAW.
Milkmen Take Exception to
City Milk Ordinance.
Declare 1t Is Illegal and Will
Contest 1t.
ORDERS FOR ARREST.
City Milk Inspector Opens Guns
ON Three Men.
J. B. linn, II. e. Jones and
George Pugh the Victims.

After nine months of peace and
| quietness another eruption of Mount
| Milkman is threatened and the first
signs of trouble appeared at the city
hall today when three of the leading
| dealers refused to obey the city ordi-
| nance covering the payment of fees in
connection with the sale of milk.
The three leaders of the milk dealer
insurgents are ]. B. linn, Buringanlc
road; r. E. Jones and George Pugh,
Topeka avenue road. They were the
original men to claim that the Topeka
milk ordinance was illegal and after a
number of threats they have finally re-
fused fatty to pay their fees.
City Milk Inspector DR.. D. M. Camp
bell is making arrangements with City
Attorney Ralston to have the negligent
milkmen brought in court at once for
a refusal to obey the ordinance. This
action is satisfactory to both the city
authorities and the millxmen because
1T will decide once and for all If the
milk ordinance is legal and will make
a thorough test case of the matter.
1t is understood that these three milk
men have arranged with prominent To-
peka attorneys to fight the case
through the courts and they will sat-
isfy the long series of disputes as to
the legal rights of the ordinance as
passed by the city council May II, 1909
An Important Case.
Outcome of this test case will be
watched with intense interest by the
milk dealers and the city authorities.
The tax of one mill on gallon of milk
and four mills on a gallon of cream
means a fat addition to the city treas
ury. 1t also means considerable to the
milk dealers who bring hundreds IF
gallons of milk and cream to this city
every day.
The three men who have stood out
against the milk ordinance and have
refused to pay the fees in connection
were instrumental in the framing or
the ordinance about one year ago when
the ordinance was first drawn up.
1t will be remembered that at this
time the city hall was a bee hive of
milkmen and their attorneys for sew
eral week. Council meeting were called
every week and contentious of the bit
terest kind raised between DR.. D. NJ.
Campbell and the dairymen.
Last June DR.. Campbell secured war
rants for over 100 milkmen because
they refused to obey the sections of the
ordinance but at that time a compro-
mise was effected and nothing has hap
pened since that time. The milkmen
have been registering their cows and
paying their fees.
Provisions of the Ordinance.
The ordinance governing this is
strict. It reads:
1T shall be unlawful for any per-
son, firm or corporation to sell or Of
fer for sale any milk or cream for
consumption as milk or cream or for
the manufacturing of ice cream with
in the city of Topeka without first
having registered his name and place
of business and the particular loca-
ton and number of cows producing
said milk or cream with the city clerk
of said city in a book kept for that
purpose and paying registration fee
therefor in the sum of one mill per
gallon for milk and four mills per
gallon for cream and it shall be the
duty of each and every person, firm
or corporation selling or offering for
sale any milk or cream for the pur-
pose defined to keep a daily record
of the number of gallons or fractions
thereof sold and upon the first of each
and every month shall file with the
milk Inspector a true and correct
statement of the number of gallons of
milk or cream so sold for the next
preceding thirty days"
The penalty:
ANY person violating any of the
of this ordinance shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction thereof shall be pun
ished by a fine of not less than IS
nor more than 500 or by imprison-
ment in the city not exceeding 100
DAYS or by both such fine and impris-
onment for each offense and such per-
son shall thereby forfeit his registra-