The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-06-25
New Haven Committee Seeks Prosecution of Walker and Brown Heads of Conn.
 Ice Monopoly and Affiliated Concerns

lCC NlOItODOly
 (Continued f TO THE HONORARY MAYOR AND
 BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE
 CITY OF NEW HAVEN:
 The committee appointed in pursu- ance of a resolution adopted by the Honorable Board of Aldermen of the City of New Haven on May 19, 1919, for the purpose of Investigating and inquiring into the situation concern ing the supplying. furnishing and de- livering the ice to the people of New Haven. and of in9ulfing into the price charged therefor. >,Sd of reporting upon any plan eS kfeans. whether the same be by purcAa sing of a municipal ice plant or otherwise to safeguard and protect ths interests of said city hereafter, submits the following as it's report:
 May 27, 1919, in the City Hall and duly organized in accordance with the df- rections of the resolution under which it was appointed. As a basis of its procedure. the committee adopted the following plan and scope:
 An investigation of the supply, price and delivery of ice for this pres ent summer.
 (a) Private investigation of com mittee conducted by trustworthy agents.
 (b) Public hearings to which whole sale and retail ice dealers and per sons now or recently engaged in wholesale or retail sale of ice in the ha S,rhrnanaaH city be subpoenaed and an opportu- other persons having valuable infor- nation on the subject to give the tame to the committee.
 A consideration of the ice problem for future summers.
 (a) Investigation by committee of similar provisions by other cities of the size of New Haven.
 Cb) A public hearing devoted to the following questions:
 l. Advisability of a municipal ice plant.
 2. Advisability of municipal option on natural ice crops.
 3. Advisability of municipal con- tracts with established ice concerns for the purpose of assuring supply and controlling prices.
 An inquiry by the Committee to determine whether the present short age of ice and the present prices thereof are due wholly or in part to Illegal practices.
 (a) Is there, or has there been any combination, conspiracy or mo- sv, yIlIa .F eral Statutes?
 (b) Is there, or has there been v2lawful profteering?
 A formal report to the Mayor and the Board of Alderman, embodying the Committees conclusions and rec ommendations after investigation has been completed.
 Thereafter the Committee held sundry public hearings in which 1t subpoenaed as witnesses persons now or recently engaged in the ice busi- ness in this locality, whose knowledge and experience would be helpful 60 the Committee. The general public was also invited to volunteer any in formation or advance any opinions bearing on the subject under inves- tigation, that it cared to. The Com mittee closed it's public investigation with a meeting held in the Alder maic Chamber, to which the general public was invited and at which the freest possible expression of opinion concerning measures to be taken for future protection was solicited. The Committee also sent out a number or letters to persons whose judg- ment the Committee had reasons to believe would be of help, and also to many others who had manifested special interest in the matter.
 In addition to information pro- cured by the testimony of witnesses before the Committee at its forrna: sittings. the record of the Federal in- vestisation of 1917, undertaken in this City concerning the ice situation then existing. was carefully studied There was also available, the results of a canvass of the ice supply situa- ton in New England, recently made by trained and trustworthy agent for the Mayor of the City. We had before us, also, a mass of cores pondence with important concerns engaged in the manufacture of ice production machinery and with pub lie officers in many cities where mu- nicipal ventures have been either agi- tated or undertaken The Committee also had access to certain reports and surveys put out by engineers and other experts, covering the matter of ice supply in cities similarly situated as New Haven A most careful study was made of all this data. It was the attitude of your Committee to obtain all possible information and z from any reliable source, in order that it's conclusions might represent a Judgment we'll informed.
 Present Local Shortage.
 On account of the caprice of the season. there was practically no sub stantia1 amount of natural ice har- vested on local waters last winter. There is no available local supply worth considering, except the produc- tion of the three artificial ice plants row in operation in this City, viz, The Hygienic Ice Company, with a capacity of approximately sixty tons per day; the Centerfreeze Ice Com