The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-06-05
NEW TARIFF ON BUTTER

We were talking recently with q
gentlemen from the east, who is a
purchaser Of vast amounts of butter
and other farm products to be retailed
from, we think he said, one hundred
and twenty-seven stores in different
parts of the country. He said he had
bought from four or five million
pounds Of butter each year from Iowa
creameries; that since the new tariff
the prices Of butter had declined 10
cents a pound; and that he was buy
ing less western butter than before,
perferring to get it from Denmark,
which furnished superior quality
and with but per cent of water He
said Furthermore, that he was buy
ing condensed milk from Switzerland;
that other producers were doing the
same thing, and that it so affected the
market that the largest condensed
milk factory in New York the Borden,
were reducing their output and turn
ing their factories largely to the pro-
duction Of cheese instead of conden-
sed milk.
All this seems to be rather inter-
esting. 1t would look on the face Of
it as if the tariff had given a serious
blow to the butter and cheese 5usi-
ness. We were little skeptical about
what our eastern friend had told US,
and so submitted the matter to the
president of one of the largest cream
cries IN Iowa, and asked him his
views. He said that the tariff on but
ter had been reduced from six to two
and Il half cents, and that this de-
crease had allowed the importation
of foreign butter; that the price of
butter had fallen ten cents or more
per pound in the United States; that
it was due not merely to this de
crease in the tariff, but to the great
increase Of dairy production in he
United States; and that there were
no doubt hard lines ahead for the
manufacturers of inferior creamery
butter which must compete with the
lower grades Of foreign butter Of in
ferior quality.
Then we turned to Hoard's Dairy
man, to see what this leading dairy
paper Of the United States had to say
on the subject. We quote in full as
follows:
For years the butter manufactur-
ers Of this country have been playing
tag with the future.
"Big creameries-nave swallowed up
little creameries. Little creameres
have been making faces at each other
and at the big creameries. All have
been bowling to the God of Hgness
when they should have bent the knee
| tC the Goddess Of Purity. Everyone
talked about the deplorable condition
| into which the creamery business was
| getting, and proceeded to put it in still
| deeper. Every man who had can of
cream was meat for the creamery that
could land him. Yes, quality was
talked where it wouldn't cause con-
vention dope and good newspaper stuff
but when it came to Il praC tlCal APP
plication, it would have caused heart
failure with the entire management
if they knew can of cream went 10
a competitor because they were so un-
diplomatic As to offend n cream pro,
Queer. Many cooperative crcamerlcs
thought that they were forced into
taking his position. "Why they said
If we refuse Smiths cream, he will
ship il to "A ccntralzer.' Smith, alone
with Brown, and Jones, and Hansen
and the rest, were all being educated
70 give the cream buyer, whether !.
be cream station of cooperative
creamery, the horse laugh.
Government and state officials
were denounced for calling attention
to these facts. The chief offenders in,
sisted on a policy Of silence. Talk nj
you please about quality and how tx
obtain it, but don't on your official 'ifi
dare say that there is any 'rottennes'
in Denmark
"Well, times are changing. The pub
lie is getting its fill Of bad butter
Last year witnessed for the first tim,
real spread in price between gOot
and bad butter. The markets haV,
begun to react. There came a,ong |
little change in the tariff. 1t wa
dropped form six TO two and hal
cents a pound. Foreign butter from
New Zealand, Australia, Argentina
Denmark and Russia began to max
its appearance in the American mar
kets. That, together with heav,
production at home, sent prices tumb
ling. The decline has aparentl
stopped at point where it is no
profitable to bring the high grad
Danish and New Zealand butter Blu
the low grade Russian and Australian
goods, selling several cents lower o
the English market. can still come i
and compete with the American 10,
grade goods. What is the result
There is going on all over the countr
strenuous effort to get good crear
to make the kind Of butter that wi
rot come into competition wit
low grade foreign stuff. and it look
as though there was woe ahead TO
the creamery, big or little, that can
make good. The little change in TIL
tariff schedule may mean the saliva
ton OF the butter industry of tn
country"
If the little change in the tart
schedule means the salvation of tn
butter industry Of the country, tina
salvation is cheap at the price. w
, don't suppose our readers in town ~
buying butter much cheaper than
, the tariff had not been lowered, bu.
Governor Hoard's prediction is tru,
they will get better butter hereafte
when they pay current price.--Wa
laces Farmer.
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FLAT RIVER ITEMS