New-York tribune., 1919-11-29
Bottled Milk at
CrOcers' to Drop
2Cents a Quart
Dairy Company Offers to
Supply Manhattan and
Similar Arrangement To
Be Made for Brooklyn

Federal Food Administrator Arthur
Williams announced Yesterday that the
Levy Dairy Company, Of Nineteenth
Street and Third Avenue, was prepared
to extend its practice of supplying
grocers throughout Manhattan with
bottled milk at 16 cents a quart.
Grocers are expected to sell the milk
for II cents.
The price charged by other COM
nanies to groccrs is the same as that
asked of consumers, IS cents for Grade
B milk. The grocers add | cent as
their margin, making cost to consumers
10 cents, against Is cents for milk de-
livered at the customers door
Profit Is Large
Distributors told Mr. Williams
Wednesday that they were able to keep
down the price of door delivered milk
by charging the same price to grocers
although the delivery costs to grocers
We're not as high. Patrick d. Fox, vice
president of the Borden's Farm Prod
ucts Company, suggested that Mr.. Will
Jams discuss the delivery Of bottled
milk with William A. Levy, of the Levy
Dairy Company, as the latter firm was
the only one in Manhattan doing a
wholesale bottled milk business
Mr.. Levy has been selling bottled d
milk to grocers for 1G cents for the last
eighteen months. In a table of costs
compiled for Mr.. Williams Levy showed
that his expenses were slightly more
than Ia cents. The Food Administrator
SAID he hesitated to indorse project
which carried with it such large profit
He asked Mr.. Levy to reconsider and
to sell his milk to grocers at Is cents
Levy promised to take the matter up
with Samuel Levy, president of the
company.
Under the arrangement with Mr.
Williams, Levy specified that grocers
must take at least six bottles of milk
a day and must pay deposit Of +
cents on each bottle The borough.
wide sale Of this milk will begin or
Monday, Mr.. Williams announced.
Peter II. Amor, president of the New
York Retail Grocers' Association, sale
he doubted the ability of the Levy com
! pany to cover the entire borough. He
adced that the deposit of cents or
each bottle would entail numerous diff
ficulties in dealings with the consum.
ers: Peter Becker, president of the
| United Retail Grocers' Association ot
Brooklyn, said he would be willing te
discuss a proposition with some Brook
lyn distributing firm similar to thai
offered by Levy to the distributors ir
| Manhattan
Fox Would Aid Lowering Price
Mr.. Fox wrote letter to Mr.. AlnoI
yesterday, requesting a conference tt
discuss steps to lower the cost of mill
to grocers
"The Borden's Farm Products Com
pany stands ready to cooperate will
you in the inauguration of any system
which would tend to decrease the price
Of milk to the consumer" wrote Mr.
Fox.
1--WE must, of course protect our in
vestment. We dislike even doing tina
if we must sacrifice the good will O.
the public. We honestly want tn,
friendship of our customers.
"Under the present system our eff
forts to sell milk to grocery stores a
q reduced price would result in sub
stantial losses to us.
"We would like to meet you or
delegation from your association a
any time suited to your convenience
We would like to discuss a plan for ,
state regulated monopoly. which woult
include separate organization formet
to sell milk to grocery stores at
price we'll below that Of milk delivered
to consumers We could make q lowe
price to grocery stores now perhaps
but it would mean niger price to con
sumers."
Mr.. Amor said last night that h,
would gladly accept the invitation an,
would probably sec Mr. Fox some tim,
next week.