Norwich bulletin., 1914-08-27
PUTNAM
Ris Gathering of Milk Prcduesrs- -majority Claim the Business Un- Profitabie-First of Series of IS to be Held in-Nes England.


 Majority Claim the Business Un-
 Prefitabie-First of a Series of IS
 to be Held in-NeS England
 F More than 100 milk producers repre- sentative of all Windham county, parts of New London county ana other | sections of Connecticut east of the l Somnectlcut river gathered in odd | Fellows hall here Wednesday at al meeting called by the Boston Chamber | or commerce and the State Board of ASrlculture to consider the milk sit- 1 uation in New England with relation 10 cost of production and other fea- s'..r tures tnat tend to indicate that the iiuslness has become an unprc fitabie one for most of the people engaged in u as shippers to the Boston market. L. H. Healey of North Woodstock. secretary of the state board sef agri- l culture, called the meeting to order and introduced John c. orcutt. as-l sistant secretary of the Boston Cham Der Of Commerce. Mir Orcutt stated the object of the meeting in a general way saying that the organization when ne represents was acting as a mediator between producers of milk in New England and the city contractors, with the idea of getting at production costs and to make a general survey of the situation in search of facts from | the farmers point of view. MT Or cutt turned the charge of the meet | ing over to Attorney Lyon Weyoorn, one or the. counsel for the Boston Chamber of Commerce who presided as chairman throughout the day
 Attorney Weyborn at once indicated to the meeting that the milk producers | had not been invited to Putnam to be cross-eSamned, but to afford them an opportunity to tell what 1t has been costing them to produce milk that the | information they gave might be writ | ten into a record for use during the | investigation. The producers were in- | vited to tell the meeting their ex- periences. Attorney Weyborn agreed thet he realized that those present | the Boston Chamber of Commerce had | become Interested with view to solv- | ins it and help build up a very im- portant branch of the largest single industry in New England-farming. | We are here to get the facts he said, and to learn, if possible. why you are not getting a profit; what it costs | to produce, and transport milk and how to make that work profitable. This is the time to give us the facts.
 Claimed They Are Losing Money.
 This introductory explanation was the means of bringing out an amount of interesting information about the milk business from the producers side | during the day. After one had listen ed to farmer after farmer tell what he has been up against in trying to make a profit, out of the milk busi- ness there was not any clamoring to engage in the business.
 Most ef those who talked claimed l they were losing money, others that they were getting out of it about even, l one man that he was making his milk show him q profit. but not a reason able one considering the time and en- ergy put into the business.
 | act ducing from 9,000 to 10000 cans of | milk year from his herd. stated to the meeting that it actually as shown by figures that he has been compiling for ten years, costs him 4 1-2 cents a quart to produce milk this counting only feed and labor, and not his own labor at that-just that of his two | hired men. He thought that the farm CT should have at least 6 cents a quart the year through to be enabled | to make a profit. VI. E. Lightburn. of l Wauregan, presented careful work ed out set of figures by which he dem | onstrated that his milk business has | been unproiitable and that he has been on the point of selling his cows. Ed | ward Hall, Plainfield, representing a number of milk producers of that town, presented figures that told practically | the same story as given by the men heard before him.
 | A noticeable fact in the sets of I seem to incline 10 under estimate the cost of producing milk on various | items of expense. This fact was | brought to the attention of the meet = ing by DeF'orest Wells of Brooklyn, l who stated that the farmers were more than fair in presenting their case. but they should do justice to themselves as their figures might be taken by mid = | dlemen to make out a case against them.
 Boston Company Given Monopoly. C. w. Clawson of Killingly Center | injected some pepper into the meeting | when he charged that a certain Bos- l ton company of milk contractors has been given a monopoly by the railroad l If milk shipping arrangements on the early morning passenger train and that the government should force granting | to all milk producers the right to | ship milk to Boston under equally fa- yorable conditions. MT. Clawson claim ed that the individual milk producer would be able to sell his milk at 8 | profit in the Boston market if he could get into the market promptly He claimed that the 1SS.O00 milk producers in New England are forced to self ir the city markets through nine con- tractors and that five of these latter are standing together. Give us equal shipping rights with the contractors and we will take care of ourselves l MT. Clawson said. This idea was not wholly agreed with by g. number oi other producers who discussed that phase of the proposition, however. MT | Clawson presented figures to show | that 1t is costing him 50 1-4 cents to produce 10 quarts of milk and that he Is obliged to accept a fraction ovel 46 cents for that quality. showing him | a loss.
 Believes in Organizing.
 Simon Brewster of Jewett City told about getting up at SIS in the morn. ing to care for 30 COWS. He said ht is getting, and has been getting Jus enough out of his milk business tt pay his board and clothes. He be- lieved the farmers could get hettei prices by organizing.
 | H. o, Daniels of Middietown, ( money maker in the milk prcducIpf business. told of his methods. He wa, heard with great interest as an exper' in his line. He claimed that 1t cost.
 him cents a quart to produce milk and believes that the farmer shoufs --------------