The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-14
FIRST STEP ID PUT CITY IN
 MILK TRADE
Aldermen Call From Com mittee Socialist Leader
 Lees Resolution

HSew York, Nov. 13.-The first step toward the distribution of milk by the city was taken at a meeting of the Board of Aldermen. When the board consented unanimously to take from the Committee on Rules Algeron Lees resolution calling for the municIpallzation of the business of buying, transporting, handling and selling milk and milk products, for the use of inhabitants of the city,. This marks, 1t was said, the first time such action has been taken on a resolution offered by one of the Socialist members led by MT. Lee.
 Numerous resolutions which were offered by Socialists have been buried In committee, never to see the light of further consideration. This pre- cedent was broken after an i'm passioned plea by MT. Lee, in which he denounced the recent advance in the price of milk as untusttfied.
 The increase in the price of milk" he told the board. means s40,G00 a day taken from the people of this city. That means more than s14,- oO0,o a year, in addition to what the city was already spending for it's milk.
 'T ask that you forget techn1can- ties and put this board on recordd as being in favor of plan that will en- able the City of New York to buy its milk directly from the farmers and sell it directly to the people,
 MT. Lee introduced his resolution on October '. It reads, in part:
 Resolved, By the Board of Al dermen of the City of New York that a special committee of seven mem bers be elected, whose duty 1t shall be to prepare and report to this board not later than the first meeting in December, plan for the municipah- zation of the business of buying transporting, handling, selling and delivering milk and milk products for the use of the inhabitants of the city, together with a draft of such .legislation as may be necessary to ask from the State Senate and As sembly in order to put such plan into effect"
 MT Lee sadd he was optimistic about the treatment of his project in the Legislature. Officials of the milk producers organizations have gone on record repeatedly as favor ing distribution of milk by the city. claiming that then the price may be reduced to the consumer, without reducing the price to the producer.
 Seeking Man Straus Refeered To.
 The identity of the man refeered to by Nathan Straus at the meeting of the Fair Price MiIk Committee as standing between consumers and a lower milk price was not revealed yesterday, although speculation was rife in official and business circles in- terested. MT. Straus declared at the meeting that the man responsible for prevailing high prices was in the hear inE room He refused to be more specific.
 The milk distributors present al the session denied to a man that they were meant. They expressed them selves as mystfied, and also eagel to learn more of the man alleged te be holding prices up.
 Loton Horton, president Of the - Sheffield Farns-Slawson Decker Com pany, who was at the meeting or Monday, said yesterday that he was certain he was not the man referred to.
 ''I met MT. Straus thirteen year. ago, when he came to me and toIt me we were not properly pasteur izing the milk for the children" MT Horton said: Together we wen over 8 series of experiments whicE we felt would insure cleaner mill to the city. We finally involves system by which we heated the mill at a temperature of 145 degrees fo thirty minutes. We found no unfa vorable reactions, and we decided t adopt this permanently. At presen we heat the milk at 145 degrees fo as long as fifty-five minutes"
 Nathan Denies It Too.
 [ Elkin Nathans, secretary of tn New York Milk Conference Board al so was in the hearing room on Mon day, was equally positive that MI Straus could not have meant him.
 MT. straus said this man had tn smartest lawyer in the country, I be ueYe," MT. Nathans declared. "Wel. haven't any lawyer at all.
 MT. Nathans announced that tn board of directors of the Milk Con ference Board would meet today t devise plans for lowering the pric of milk, to be submitted to the Fal Price MIX Committee.
 |, ''It will take some time to formu late plans for the lowering of tn milk price, because embodied In thes .-- plans must be some suggestions fo a complete reorganization of the pres ent system of milk distribution" h said.