Norwich bulletin., 1914-08-15


 the city board of trade a letter put ting the problem before them. The letter reads as follows. To the Commercial Clubs and Boards
 of Trade at Danielson. Putnam, Nod | wich Willimantic and other Cities | of Eastern Connecticut; Gentlemens | address you this let ter recognizing that yau take great | interest in the commercial affairs of your various localities and have a par l donable pride in helping to solve the economic questions which come up, rom time. to time, looking to the ad- vancement of your community as a l whole. While our section is largely a manu- featuring one and these interests just | ly command a large share of your at | tention, yet the farming, gardening and dairy interests of this community is | IS this true of the milk industry.
 Permit me to briefly call your atten- 1 ton to the deplerable conditions which lconfronts. at thls time, the production and distribution of this important nee essity.
 Producer Poorly Paid.
 During the last twenty years by bus | mess interests have called me ever a
 arge portion of the South, the Central
 West, as we'll as the Pacific Coast and canada The result of my observation ana investigation prompts me to as- sert that in no place in either this country or Canada does milk bring ths producer such poor returns as right here in Eastern Connecticut Being l tributary to so many large cities as well as small manufacturing centers. and being threaded by numerous lines Of transportation, both steam roads and trolley Is very strange indeed, that such condition should prevail, and naturally leads one to believe that there is something radically wrong some place.
 T How the Prices Average.
 The general retail price of milk in the largest cities of the country is rom nine to ten cents and the produc-
 CT IS paid, In no instance, less than five cents per quart. and in most cases, six
 cents at the farm. In extreme cases such as prevail at Charlestown, N. C., and Los Angeles, where the retail price IS highest, the producers are paid from seven to eight cents per quart.
 Yet, within the radius of forty miles
 limit from Danielson the producer in
 no case is paid as much as five cents
 and during the greater part of the sea-
 son is paid only from three to four cents. Boston and Providence are our
 principal markets and yet the retail price is ten cents in Boston and nine cents in Providence.
 Too High Cost of Feed. On the other hand. the producer in
 this section is dependent largely on |
 higher figures than in most any other section in the United States and av- | erages throughout the year from twen-
 ty-fve to forty cents advance over that paid by dairymen in other localities where the prices of milk is higher These eonditione are almost intolerable
 and leads one to inquire where this | extraordinary difference between three cents to the farmer and ten cents to
 the consumer with such a short trans a dl @f e~f~r x- go. There can be but one answer to this question and that is the extraor- dinary difference is paid to the dis
 trlbutor or. in other words, to the
 milk dealer. The transportation ra.sas.
 named the public, either by steam or
 trolley lines ays fair and reasonable at . so, in theory, but the service rendered
 is so poor that it makes this reasonable
 tariff rate nugatory.
 The Transportation Problem. For instance, the tariff on a ten
 quart can of milk from East Killingly ] to Providence, a distance of twenty two miles, is only two cents or 1-5 of a cent per quart and the rate from Dan ], ielson to Boston is slightly in excess of these figures. Therefore. the trans
 portation charge is a small factor and accounts for very little of the dif- l ference from the amount paid to the ; producer and the amounts paid by consumer.
 , But how does this transportation problem work out in actual practice ? farm products and can be shipped
 safely only where proper refrigera- , tion is furnished and this refrigera- tfon is only furnished to special fla , vored shippers. rendering the service , absolutely impracticable to the com ? mercial public. For example, the rail- [ road passing through Danielsop fur nished special iced cars from Nor wich to Boston and gives excessive control of the same to one firm in does the same from Killingly to Prov tdence to one firm in Providence. These milk trains do not invade each oth- CTS territory. It is therefore impos-
 sible to ship milk to eoither Providence or Boston from this section except to } these favored firms.
 In the Hands of a MonopoIy, This makes the producer subject to
 the whims and greed of single firm. In other words, the milk business in this section is in the hande of mon | opoly, one of the most arbitrary thai ever existed in this or any other country. Boston drops the rate in sum- : mer to three cents, simply because they ! think the farmers can produce it in summer at a slight reduction of cost over the winter season, so they drop
 the price accordingly and pay them
 sufficient to keep them alive, but they still charge the usual ten per cent. to l the consumer both summer and winter. , thus appSopriating to themselves all , the advantages arising from the cheap l CT productien of the milk in the sum f mer season.
 , Farmers in State of Peonage. Farmers in this section of the coun- try are held, by these milk dealers. in
 almost a state of peonage and subject
 to the most arbitrary treatment and extortion not possible or practicable in l other. lines of business. For instance 2 the producer on written contract sup plies for a stated time a given quail r ty of milk This. in itself is not an unreasonable proposition, but in prac- g tice greatly favors the dealer. If the ] farmer should make one can more than 7 the stated amount is only paid halt t price for it. and if by any accident, or
 reason, he cannot make the required
 amount he is penalized 50 per cent. on I the difference. Moreover, when if suits the dealers convenience the milk is returned to the producer marked sour and unit for use,'' and the poor
 producers account is charged with < transportation both ways.
 al One Sided Sort of SettIenaent