New-York tribune., 1919-12-20
Informs Court in Present.
ment That Swami Failed
10 Produce Proof of Con.
spiracy and Caused DELAY
Urges Official Inspections
Justice Weeks Surprised to
Learn Only Distributors
Employees Perform Task

Charges of conspiracy against the
milk distributors of New York were
dropped by the extraordinary grand
jury yesterday before it adjourned
until January s.
In presentment to Justice Weeks
which went briefly into the methods of
fixing the producers price to the dis
tributors the jury took thinly veiled
sing at the District Attorney After
declaring that no evidence as to
conspiracy was presented by the Dis
N'ct Attorney, the presentment con-
taued
1T (the extraordinary grand iury)
Wtshes to bring to your attention that
the delay IN making a final disposition
or this charge is due solely to the &C
uon OF the District Attorney in not
advising the grand jury that he had
completed presentation of the case.
such information not having been given
to the grand jury until request was
made in writing by the grand Jury on
december 10, 1919, for final disposition
e. the matter, to which request the
District Attorney replied that he had
no other evidence in his possession in
the milk inquiry"
Price Formula Discussed
The formula on which the price of
milk to the producer is based was dis
cussed in the prcsentment 1t was ex-
planned that the Dairymen's League de-
termlnes the price for any month on
the twentieth of the month preceding,
using as q basis the market price Of
butter and cheese for the previous
thirty days. The formula was de-
scribed by the jury as "to complex 10
be readily understood"
In a matter directly establishing
The price to the distributor and thus
necessarily affecting the cost to the
consumer of milk the presentment
said "it is essential that the methods
and basis of calculation should be SIM
pie and ightforward
Most if not all of the distribuorts of
milk in the city are members Of an in
corporated body known as the Milk Con-
ference Board, the executive commit
tee of which is the milk committee
which meets from time to time with
the committee of the Darymen's
League.
Each of the distributors is allowed
certain number of dairy farms. of
which the entire production of milk
must be accepted and paid for by him.
He also pays directly for the inspec
tions of buildings, cattle and milk, as
required by the state and city authori-
ties, for the cooling and pasteurzing
Of the milk and for converting to
cheese or butter the excess quantity of
milk delivered, which excess quantity
of milk is considerable"
Justice Weeks is Surprised
The grand jury, in closing, recon-
mended that the inspection of cattle
and milk, required by the state and
city laws, be made by permanent city
and state employees and paid for by
them instead of by the distributors, as
Mt present. This was termed con-
oucive to uniformity of inspections
ard the guaranteeing of control over
production.
Justice Weeks said he was surprised
to learn that the sole inspection Of
milk is made by men actually in the
employ of the distributors.
DIR. Royal S. Copeland, Health Com
missioner, when told of the present
ment, refused to comment on it. Pat
rick D. Fox, vice president of the Bor-
clared he was in favor, with the grand
jury, of standardizing the milk inspec-
tion throughout the state.
Mr.. Fox denied the implication in
the presentment that the Milk Con-
ference Board was party to the
naming of a milk price.
Bottled Milk at Is Cents
About 500 quarts of Grade B bottled
milk at IS cents a quart were sold
yesterday afternoon at nine baby
health stations in Manhattan. The
sale was conducted by the Glover
Farms Milk Company under the aus
pices of the Health Department. Grade
4 bottled milk is delivered to con-
SnO,ers for ~ cents Ouart
II. A. Campbell, president of the
company, reported last night that he
had delivered sixty quarts to each of
the niEc stations.