The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-11-15

Must be Sanitary
The market milk producer is also
obliged to incur additional expense to
provide reasonably uniform supply
as between winter and summer. This
compels him to engage in winter dairy
ing when the costs of feed are
actually much higher than is the case
if he could produce the maximum
supply on pasture in the summer. To
this condition is added the expense
of municipal regulations under which
he must produce his milk to safe
guard the public from disease.
"EThese two latter conditions make
it considerably more expensive to
produce market milk than milk for
cTeameries or cheese factories, and
therefore justify higher price be-
ing paid for fluid milk intended for
city consumption than for that manu-
featured into dairy products.
In view of all these variable fac
tors concerned in the cost of produc-
ton, it is apparent that cost of making
milk can not be represented by point,
but is a range. In the more efficiently
handled herds, this cost will be lower
than the average, but many herds are
contributing their quota to the market
supply of every city that are below
average efficiency. How many of these
are necessary to produce an adequate
supply will be based upon the public
demands. 1t is certainly fact that
the price which is paid the producer
must be above the average actual cost
to all producers, in order to encourage
a reasonable number of the less eff
fcient to contribute their supply. Yet
the public can not be asked to sup
port all Of those who are producing at
the highest cost Of production.
Conditions Last Summer.
(" An analysis Of the facts presented
to the committee showed that the price
of $3.50 per hundred pounds which
prevailed last August and September
was too low for this period. During
the past year milk has been sold in the
Chicago market at a premium by those
farmers who did not contract their
output at the beginning of the season,
showing that the terms of the contract
were against the producer. Under such
conditions, the farmer quite rightly
feels that he has just cause for COM
plant, and it was this situation that
had much to do with the final conclu-
sion which resulted in setting the price
of milk at $3.42 for October.
sfThe sudden advance in retail price
from ten to thirteen cents per quart
brought into play the operation of
a subtle but very important factor
in the whole situation. Consump
tion dropped eff at once. Not only
from those who could i'll afford to pay
a thirty per cent increase in the
cost of this essential food, but thou
sands of well-to-do people cut down
their consumption, not to save the few
cents per quart, but because they made
up their minds to retrench in this mat
ter This is the inevitable result when
retail prices of such a staple commodity
fuctuate violently. The testimony of
distributors is that custom lost in this
way does not quickly come back even
though the price may be reduced. Tt
is this psychological factor that exerts
a most important influence on the mat
ter of retail price Not only from the
standpoint of general welfare of the
public, but from that of the dairy in
dustry, stability in retail price is high
ly to be desired.
Consider Both Interests
"The committee recognizes that the
interests of both the public and the
dairymen would be best subserved if
it was possible to sell milk this winter
in Chicago on 12-cent basis, a reduc-
tion Of one cent from October prices.
This is no time for the energies of the
people (either public or producers) to
be spent in acrimonious discussion. We
have a more important job before us
right now than squabbling over the
price of any single food and the last
thing in our food supplies we can af-
ford to cut out, especially with the
young, is the milk supply. The com
mittee directed its energies toward the
problem whether 12-cent milk was
possibility and whether in these times
both the producer and distributor
would be able and willing to make the
necessary sacrifice to accomplish this
result. We believe that stability in
retail price will insure consumption of
this food, which is yet the cheapest
form Of animal protein that we can
use, that will in the long run be an
advantage to the dairy interests of the
state.
Tentative Price Decision.
"a tentative finding was finally
reached by the committee in which it
was agreed to allow the $3.42 figure for
October Gas this month had already
passed) and to consider 1925 price
for the coming month, if definite as
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