Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-27
INQUIRY INTO
CHEESE MAKING
I STARTED TODAY
Testimony that Big Packers
Controlled Cheese Indus
try is Given.

Chicago. Feb. 27.-Details of cheese
making and selling and testimony that
the big packers really controlled the
cheese industry in Wisconsin, marked
the opening hours today of the gov
eminent investigation into the packing
commission.
Under questions from Francis j..
Hcney, special counsel for the COM
mission, operations Of the Wisconsin
cheese market were presented. Henry
krunlrey, a farmer and cheese maker
of Plymouth. Wis, now president and
general manager of the Wisconsin
Cheese Producers federation, testi-
fed that 1t was generally conceded
that h big packers-Armour 4 Co.,
Swift & CO., Morris 4 Co.. Cudahy e.
marketing of s~eventy-fve per cent of
the cheese a Iii Wisconsin. The
witness said that Wisconsin makes
sixty per cent of all cheese in the
country.
krumrey. said that the prices for
Wisconsin cheese were fixed in the
Plymouth cheese board which was
under control of the Wisconsin Cheese
Dealers association. which he char
acterized as the cheese combine"
The witness declared that the SEES
sion of the cheese board wa largely
a farce and resulted in the. farmer
getting low prices for cheese. In 1,9l1.
he said, cheese was priced at~11 cents
a pound on the board, which after
ward was sold for from 20 to Is cents.
This caused a loss of from $4,000
to $l5,G00 10 the Wisconsin farmers,
in Sheboygan county alone" the wit
ness said.
"I am convinced that the prices on
the cheese board were fixed in a secret
session before the board formally
met" II
krumrcy said hat many farmers
delivered milk to cheese makers. pay.
ing the maker / ia cents a pound for
making and selling the cheese.
The witness declared that present
| conditions are somewhat improved
through the organization of the pro-
ducers', federation n the establish
nient of cooperative selling associ-
ations. Before it was Organized. he
said. he attended investigation hear
members of tho cheese board that
cheese from various factories would
be allotted to certain dealers who had
access to storage pants. In addition,
he declared, it was admitted that the
! dealers sometimes pad the choose
maker more thar market price.
- his condition. the witness said,
lied to the formation of the Farmers
Cooperative Selling association TO
market our own cheese. te @
I'VE found trouble in getting stOr-
age facilities and / believe the cheese
combine prevented us from renting
cold stroagc warehouses. We also
had trouble buying land on which to
build a warehouse. When we got u
warehouse in 1914 we had trouble
selling our cheese. There seemed to
be a boycott against U.S." :
The cheese board fixed the price so
high that for weeks Wisconsin farm
ers got from one to four cents q
pound more than New York farmers"
the witness added.
I'VE hung on md after a while
Morris and company began to buy
from us, but they seemed to want to
keep it quiet. Then we began to sell
to wholesalers and got on a paying
basis"
The witness told Of trouble with a
manager who he suspected favored
the packers by selling them cheese
after refusing to sell to wholesalers.
This manager. the witness said, is now
connected with an Armour and conf
pany concern.
Quoting low prices and then declar-
ing they could not fill the orders was
a method of the cheese combine deal
ers to attack the farmers co-opera-
tive association, the witness said
Milk condensories which pay high
prices for milk. Krumrey said. were
being established by the packers in
different Wisconsin plants.
Il suspicion" said the witness.
that they are trying to knock out the
cooperative movement"
The, witness said that Henry Chap
lin, former president of the Plymouth
Cheese board. who opposed the or
ganization OF the Farmers Corpora
tive associations. is now employed in
the federal agricultural department..
The remedy to prevent the packers
controlling the cheese industry in Wis
consin. the witness said, was the or
Ganization of farmers cooperative as
socitions. to make. store and sell their