Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-09-23
MILK PRODUCERS
FOR CITY DAIRY. PLAN

CONTINUED from First Page)
only here. but all over the country. that
| milk IS now being produced almost uni
Nersaily at loss. Farmers will not go
proht in producing wheat at $3.50, hogs
| at s!1 or more. and nearly everything
else in proportion. The public, however.
must nave milk. What. then. shall be
J done about it?
The answer to the milk problem lies
IN better organization, better methods
and higher efficiency. These words may
sound like very vague CONGRATULATIONS of
good, but impractical ideas. Your co,a-
| nlttee, however. is prepared to recon-
+, mend some very specific things.
| AT the very beginning it is necessary
to recognize that this is a long fight.
! If we are to get any action we must be
determined to stick to the finish. The
fnlsh is likely to be long way off.
But II we are sufficiently determined we
can tight our way to it.. we can save
our industry and we can perform a great
| service for the community.
Plan for Distributing Agency.
Such a fight as we must make if we,
would get results will cost money. This
association is going to represent the 1000
| milk producers who send milk to the
Washington market. If half of them
Will pledge themselves to pay 81 per
month each it will provide fund Of
nearly $4,000 year The business of!
| the association should be under the
| control of an executive committee very
| carefully selected with q view to get
| ting real service and commanding the
confidence of the members. There
| should be manager, or secretary, an
! efficient and thoroughly capable man of
| business, who must be paid a sufficient
salary to command the kind OF services
we must have if we are to succeed. A
! regular office must be maintained in
| Washington and as rapidly as possible
| the organization must be equipped so
| that its manager or other agent here
| serve as the consignee of milk ship
| mentS. and the head of distribut-
| ing agency.
Legislation and municipal regulation
must be secured, dealing with such
problems IS the cost and handling of
bottles. There is urgent need of a
proper system of grading milk so that
It can be sold according to its real
value, and at prices commensurate
| Herewith. The consumer is entitled to
| know when he buys special" milk
| exactly what he is getting. The farmer
| who produces this is entitled to pay for
! the quality of milk he has produced.
The ultimate ideal of your. committee
| is to secure. through the efforts of this
organization, the establishment of a
! municipal dairy, to be provided by the
| city government, to handle, pasteuriZe,
| inspect. grade and bottle all milk. In
| connection with this we believe it is
feasible and that it would ultimately
result in great economy to create also
| single cooperative even publicly
| owned and controlled distribution serv-
| ice This would avoid the scandalous
waste of having half dozen or half
| score OF milk wagons driving over the
same city block every morning to make
| deliveries 1t would insure better serv-
ice and would make possible a system
! of cost accounting under which all
departments of the business would be
| compelled to do business at remunera-
| tive prices.
| Might Even Lower Price.
The dealers tell US that from one
half to three-quarters of Washingtons
milk, the wholesale milk, is handled
| at prices so low as to make profit i'm
possible in any case and to impose
| loss in many cases. properly organ
| lied municipal dairy and distributing
Enlistment would require that the
wholesale milk pay its own way. The
gap between the producers price of
| Is cents and the ultimate consumers
price of so cents per gallon would be
! close up by the enforcement of common
| sense economies which are perfectly
| possible and practical, SO that the pro-
/ Queer would be able to get living
price. while the consumer, far from suf-
/ fering increase. would be able to get
his milk even cheaper than he does
now.
do you tell me that this is a hope
llessly commercial proposal? l reply that
in our conference with the dealers the
| first suggestion of a municipal dairy
| and municipal distribution came from
| "A milk dealer. 1t was echoed by more
| than one or two of the others. ~
| The collection of garbage and its dis
| posal in Washington is a municipal
function. The Commissioners have re-
peatedly recommended that Congress
| spend more money for the establish
ment of garbage disposal plant than
| probably would be required to estab-
I lish a municipal dairy and milk stor-
| dangerous and socialistic radicals be-
| cause we make this recommendation,
| we will withdraw our recommendation
/ if you will convince us that municipal
| monopolies to provide water and gas
| and sewerage systems are dangerously
| radical and liable to subvert our free
| institutions.
| 1T is said that farmers are prever-
| bia1ly bad business men. 1t is true. But
| it is true because the circumstances of
! the farmers life have until now COM
PEELED him to lead an isolated existence.
| He has not been called upon to asso-
| ciate himself with his neighbors, to CO.
| operate with them. to eliminate waste
| as result of that cooperation. There
could be no such institution as city if
| the people of the city lived the indie
| pendent and isolated existence of the
! farmer. The city built itself a street
| car system on which everybody rides