Norwich bulletin., 1914-01-24

Written Specially for The Bullet1n.)
 Certain reports on crops and prices, recently made by government bureaus afford suggestion for some thought Among them I notice a compilation Of the average prices paid to farmers who supply milk to twenty-siX of the larger cities of the nation. For the year the average price paid the mix producers to keep these twenty six cities going was three and half cents a qua3 This was what they got for the milk, canned and delivered on cars at their railroad stations.
 Three and a half cents quart!
 The government does not furnish statistics as to what that milk sold to consumers for. But from independent sources some idea can be secured. It would take too long for me to collate all this scattered data. They are not conclusive, even when collated. But they afford an approximation. They enable us to get some idea of how the thing works to the constant bilking of the dairyman, the mulcting of the milk buyer, and the ultimate gain of the peculators in between.
 The average price which the con- sumers in these twentys six big cities had to pay for the milk which the farmers got three and a half cents a. quart for, was not far from nine cents a quart. Some little sold as. low as seven cents: some little as high as twelve cents-Mind you, this isn't cer- tified bottled milk that we're talking about, which everywhere sold for much more, but just common milk in cans, dipped out by the pint or quart as de- sired.-The average wasn't far from nine cents quart to the consumer.
 That is, the farmer who provided the cows, and supplied their feed and housing. and paid for the milking, and furnished the cans, and did the hard est and most costly part of the haul ing, i. e. from his barn to the railroad station, got three and a half cents:- the railroads, on an average, got about half a cent a quart for taking to the city:-and the city distributors got an average of five cents a quart for the use of a horse and cart and two tin dippers!
 Or to put it another way, the con sumer who wanted a quart of milk for her baby paid three cents and a. half for the milk and five cents and half to the man who passed it around!
 This is very much like going into restaurant, ordering ham and eggs at thirty-fve cents, and then tipping the waiter with f1fty-ffve cents more.
 I don't think the cafe which regu- lated it's food rates and it's tipping schedule on this plan would attract a very wide public custom.
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 It doesn't require argument,-it needs only stating to show forth the inherent wrongfulness, not to say out right wickedness of any system which makes the mere incident of casual service more costly than the thing served.
 Personally, l don't care much about it. I'm not in the milk business. I keep only one little COW and supply only one customer outside the family. That customer pays five cents a quart for her milk and comes after it. I get five cents a quart, at my own door. She saves four cents from the average city price: I get a cent and a half more than the average dairyman's re- ceipt. We're both fairly satisfied.
 The reason simply is that consumer is dealing directly with producer, to the manifest advantage and economy and comfort of both.
 Of course, she couldn't come after the milk if she lived forty miles from my barn, which is about the average distance of the dairieS from the cities they supply. In that case she must expect to pay something to have other