Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-10-09
SMALL DEALERS
SURRENDER IN
GREAT MILK WAR
The Big Borden Company to I'm
port Cows to New York and
Milk Them There - To Erect
Large Sheds and Silos

New York, Oct s.-Small milk deal
ers in the city yesterday hurried to fol-
low the example of the II who had sur
rendered late Friday night to the Dairy
mems League contract and price terms,
and when the league headquarters were
closed Saturday night it was said that
100 Of the dealers had agreed to the
farmers demands For these the milk
embargo was lifted.
AS a result it was said that the city,
which received AZ per cent of its nor
nal supply Saturday, would receive so
per cent today. The three biggest dis
tributors of the city did not surren-
der. The Borden company, said to have
the biggest business of any, planned,
instead, to import cows instead of milk
to New York City and milk them here,
to make themselves independent of the
dairy farmers.
This isn't joke, honestly" H H.
Hallock, vice president of the Borden
company, assured. We've procured
land in Flushing and already have plans
under way to bring in the first 200 cows
in short time. We've contemplated the
step for some time and have decided
that it is practical. The plan is to erect
sheds for the cows in which they will
get plenty of sunshine, though they
will have only limited space in which
to move around, and to feed them on
the best feed to produce rich milk
"Our experiments have shown that bet
ter results are obtained when the cows
do not run around over large fields, but
are constantly cared for In cyose quarters.
Sios are to be erected to keep winter
food for them and through this plan we
will be able to save the enormous expense
of gathering milk throughout the coun-
try, transporting it long distances to the
city and providing ice for packing it while
it is being transported"
The first instalment of country cows to
move to the big city, it was said, would
come from dairy farm now operated by
the Borden company at Chatham. n. Y.
and that later shipments would come
from other farms which have been oper-
ated by the company in this state
The small distributors who have signed
! the Dairymens League contracts up to
date are said to control nearly 40 per cent.
of the city milk distribution. The big
three" Bodrens, Sheffield Farms and the
Mutual-McDermott corporations, are
credited with 81 per cent. of the distri-
button. While their officials said tonight
that they were standing pat on their
refusal to give the darymen a contract
for six months, though they were offering
the league prices for one month, it was
said that the companies still holding out
+ will be forced next week to accept the
same terms the others have accepted to
keep the little dealers from making ser-
Gus inroads on their trade.
The r. F. Stevens Co, probably the
largest distributing company of Brook
Ign, is also holding out against the
six-months contract. The estimate that
the city would receive so per cent Of
its normal supply tomorrow was based
on the amounts already being receiV-
ed by the large companies in spite of
the milk war, plus the new supply re-
leased today by the league after the
contracts had been signed.
AS soon as the contracts were sign
ed at the leagues headquarters-State
Commissioner of Foods and Markets
John J. Dillon turned over to them the
office which the state provides for MIN
to USE as their headquarters-the
league officials communicated by long
distance telephone or by telegram with
the farmers who had formerly sup
piled the companies in question ana
instructed them to rush shipments Tor
tomorrow's distribution
1t was already too late for a num-
Der of them to drive to the milk plants
in time for their supplies to reach the
regular milk trains, and they were
instructed to send in their supplies on
express trains at the expense of the
distributors.