Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1916-09-29

times cents is 6O cents, which is the con-
, sumers cost in this case per gallon. The
producers price for five months in the year
is commonly is cents gallon.
Your committee was unable to extract
any reinsurance whatever from the deal
ers. They could not and would not pay
more for milk than they are now paying.
Most of them insisted that they are not
now making even reasonable profits on
their business, many frankly admitted they
were doing it at loss.
Nevertheless. your committee is far
from convinced that the situation is hope
less. On the other hand. it is convinced
that the milk business needs to be re-
formed from the COW up to the consumer
After the dealers had withdrawn and
the committee sat down for consideration
OF the facts that had been elected one
member Of the committee declared that he
was convinced the milk business was the
most wastefully. improvidently Inefficient
ly. and uneconomically conducted bust
ness in the country This indictment does
not lie exclusively against the dealers.
either We farmers are VIGOROUSLY in
effective business organizers.
Farmers will not 90 on raising milk at
a loss while there is profit in producing
wheat at $3.50. hogs at $l1 or more, and
nearly everything else in proportion. The
public. however. must have milk. What,
| then ahall ha dnna ahout ifY
THE answer to the milk problem lies in
better organization. better methods. and
higher efficiency. These words may sound
like the very vague seneralizations of good
but Impractical ideas.
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 de-
termined to stick to the finish. The finish
is likely to be long way off. But If we
are sufficiently determined we can fight
our way to it. we can save our industry,
and we can perform great service for the
community.
Legislation and municipal regulation
must be secured. dealing with such prob
lens as the cost and handling of bottles.
There is urgent need of a proper system
of grading milk so that it can be sold ac-
cording 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
/ oualify nf mill ha hoo rrnduoa1
THE ultimate idealOf your committee is
to secure. through the efforts of this organi-
cation, the establishment of municipal
dairy, to be provided by the city govern
ment. to handle, pasteurize, inspect, grade
and bottle all milk
in connection with this we believe it is
feasible, and that ii would ultimately re-
suit in great economy to create also a
single cooperative or even publicly owned
and controlled distribution service.
This, by eliminating the distribution of
routes. would avoid the scandalous waste
Of having half dozen or half a score of
milk wagons driving over the same city
block every morning to make deliveries.
THE dealers tell us that from one half to
three-quarters of Washington's milk, the
Wholesale milk. is handled at prices so
low as to make profit impossible in any
case, and to impose a loss in many cases.
A properly organized municipal dairy and
distributing establishment 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 80 cents per gallon would be closed up
by the enforcement of common sense eco
Monies.
do you tell me that this is a hopelessly
chimerical proposalY reply that in our
| conference with the dealers the first sug-
gestion of a municipal dairy and municipal
distribution came from a milk dealer. IL
was echoed by more than one or two of
the others.
IF you tell us that we are dangerous
and socialistic radicals because 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.
Your committee insists that its pro-
posal is conservative. Conservative be-
cause it looks TO the conservation of an
industry that is vital to the very exist
ence Of the community. Conservative be-
cause every authority we have consulted,
Federal. municipal, or business, has told
US plainly that there must be reform in
this business Of making and handling
milk. or else presently there will be no
milk
I'VE are assured by the municipal and
also the Federal authorities that there is
a very ernest desire to work with us in the
effort to establish here in Washington a
model system of handling this problem of
milk The same problem that confronts
alike the producer and the dealer here in
Washington faces the dealer and the pro-
Queer in every large city in America.
Everywhere men are cropping for a solu-
ton of it,
Your committee is convinced that the
solution lies along the lines Of municipal
and unified control. closely co-ordinated
with an effective and intelligent co-opera-
ton Of the producing community 1t is
along these lines that we recommend
action.
ut is the belief Of the committee that
an effort at a milk strike would be mad
visable. unfortunate. and injurious to pro-
ducers and public alike. The dealers smiled
rather cynically when asked what they
would do IL this convention should resolve
and agree not TO ship after October /. ex-
cept at price Of "a cents They said
they would get their milk from most pro-