The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-09-01
RETAIL PRICE MAY GO SOARING
Effort To Be Made To Unite Farmers
In Kenosha County For Support of
Proposed New Schedules Of the As
sociation

The regular semi-annual meeting of
the Milk producers Union was held at
the offices of the association in the
Ashland Block in Chicago on Wednes-
day afternoon and as a result it is de-
clared that the producers will demand
an increase from the wholesalers with
the opening of the regular fall season
on October LIST. Kenosha county was
represented at the meeting by P. H.
Tobin of Pleasant Prairie and it is
thought that a renewed effort will be
made to have all the milk dealers as
ISOLATED with the Union stick for the
increased price this year. During the
summer months a lot of missionary
work has been done among the farm
ers with view of having them see
the necessity of sticking for the rate
set by the association and conditions
are such this year that it is declared
that large proportion of the produc-
ers will stand by the Union. Between
now and the first of October it is plan
ned to hold number of mass meetings
in the county at which there will be
addresses which will have for their
purpose the stiffening of the backs of
the farmers.
The new winter schedule adopted
yesterday by the board of directors of
the milk Producers Protective associa
tion shows an increase from an aver
age of 315 cents quart last winter to
AS cents for the six months beginning
next October.
j. III. Marsh, manager of the fresh
milk department of the Borden com
pany, asserted that raise in price by
the farmers meant a. corresponding in
crease to the consumers. This would
mean, it was intimated, that milk will
go from 5 cents quart to 8 cents in
the. retail trade in Cnlcago.,
Mr.. Marsh said the public was mis-
informed as to the cost of milk to the
distributors. He said that, when the
cost of one cent quart freight was
figured with the cost of bottling, the
profits on milk at the present prices
were small-too small to think of keep
ing the retail price the same, if the
farmers insisted on an advance.
The new scale has to do only with
the price to the bottling plants, which
handle about one-half the supply used
in Chicago. The farmers rates to can
shippers will be determined in the
course of two weeks.
The new price agreed upon by the
association means a raise from last win
ter s price of $100 a hundred pounds
to an average price of $1.9S through the
winter months. The prices for the six
months were fixed as follows:
October, $1.9o; November, $500;
December, $2.o5; Jnuary, $2,o5; Febru-
airy, $500; March $3.50.
"The price, fixed today is absolutely
the lowest that the farmers can af-
ord,'' James P. Grier, secretary of the
producers association said. "We feel
that we ought to have at least half the
ultimate price paid by the consumer.
The schedule adopted should not mean
any increase in price to the consumer.
if the public will only remember, the
distributing companies raised the price
of milk to cents last winter after all
the farmers had signed a price schedule
made on the basis of Z cents.
''In other words the farmers got no
advantage of the 5 cent price fixed by
Borden's. We will get only our share
of that under the AS cent figure. Nat
urally next summer we will have to
take less for our milk than the winter
prices so that the yearly average for
the farmer will be under 8 cents
quart. For instance, the farmers now
are getting only 29s cents a quart, but
the Borden company has made no cor
responding decrease in the summer
price to the consumer. -
ASKS A DIVORCE.