The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-04-07
Crystal Springs Ice Company
Talks About Present
Conditions
NO PROFIT BEING
MADE IN KEENE
Apparent Attempt at Freezeout Nav
Be Responsible for Low Prices
There-situation as Reported Else
where in New England.

where in New England.
/ In response to query. by The
] Retormcr as to why the Crystal
Springs lee company could not furnish
/ ice IN a year when there was an
/ abundant supply us cheaply as the
keene lee company advertises to fur
nlsh II this year, when the supply is
short, the Crystal Springs company
gives some interesting information, but
declines to make written statement
for publication. The price here last
/ wear was SO cents hundred pounds
( IN keenc it was 20 cents. This year
! the price in Brattleboro is 80 cents
a hundred, while in Keenc the price
IS again 20 cents
1t is the understanding of the
( Crystal Springs company that the low
( rate Is due to two things. a full crop
aud an attempted freezeout Only one
cutting Of the ponds Is necessary in
. Kcene, while here two cuttings have
20 bc made in order to fill the lee
houses. Two companies formerly had
III" field in Kccnc, but within wear
or two 4 third man, who was employed
by one of the other companies. has
gone into the business, which has re-
suited in throat-cutting competition,
and while the public Is getting the
benefit Of reduced prices the dealers
are not making anything. That is tn"
understanding here.
The CRYSTAL Springs company says
that it is fully justified in making the
present charges for lee and that the
public would realize it if they could
grasp the whole situafion. The com
pauy received n letter from Connect
cut SATURDAY asking for quotations on
loe,an6 tons Of ice, totbr delivered in
lots OF 10 to - carloads dav In
Fellows Falls the ice is cut from the
public pond and there y no expense to
the rompanv in keeping the pond in
repair, while here the company goes TO
large expense every wear. in repairing
the ponds and keeping ont the vege-
table growth.
-. In connection with the ice question
it IS interesting to note the situation
IN other places. In Fitehburg, Mass,
the family rates a.c 40 cents hun-
dred by eoHpon books. In Norwich,
Conn. the rate is higher than in Brat
tlehoro. The Norwich Evening Record
said in a recent issue:
Owing to the unusual conditions
which prevail IN the ice business this
year the price of ice to families will
he advanced from 80 cents to 90 cents
per hundred through the months of
April and NAV. 4 further advance
/ Wiz probably be made beginning with
June l. The price to markets will De
30 cents and to stores aud saloons 40
cents. The price Of ice to families was
10 cents last year.
F JCl,,
said today that never in his so years
OF experience in the ice business in
this city have similar conditions pre-
vailed. Heretofore when there WAS an
ice shortage in this state it has been
possible to get ice at 4 price in Mas
sachUsettS or Maine. Ii is not possible
to 10 that now.
Holyoke is stirred up over the raise
in the price of lee for the coming sum
meT, which brings other evils in its
train, such as a raise in the price of
milk and possibly raises IN some other
commodities The ice men claim that
I the extra cost of harvesting the ice
/ the past winter, together with the
/ fact that they secured only about half
a crop, makes it necessary for them to
/ increase the retail price, and that they
can sell their lee outside the city,
without peddhng, at an advantage
! The milkmen claim that the added
cost for ice the coming summer makes
il necessary TO increase the cost of
milk. and so it goes. In the meatime
! the residents will have to economuzc
on ice ana on milk and other commod
/ tiles when tho price seemed about as
high as could be met before these
/ developments. The raise in the price
of milk will hit the working people
with families especially hard. and viii
mean forced economy which will nos
he healthful.
An Investigation into the conditions
in Providence is being made by the
1 city council At one Of the hearings
It developed that the Providence lee
company had paid between 500 and
$500 . year for three or four years
for privileges on q certain pond, but
had cut no ice there. although there
was on ice house at the pond in good
condition. The head Of the company
also testified in effects that the com
panv controlled the privileges at va
rious other ponds by paying stipir
lated sam, but cut no ice at these
ponds It was established that the
Germany payed yearly rental OF
$500 on plant q the Regealed lee
company, which has been idle since
the Regealed lee Company abandoned
IL Heretofore efforts to trace the con
troll OF the plant have been unsucces.