The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-09-10
FOOD OUTPUT IS
GREAT, YET NO
DECLINES seen
Record Crops of Prunes Fail
to Lower Prices - Much
Milk Going Abroad.
BY WILLIAM r. sANBoRN.

American milk condensers and but
ter makers are looking forward to an
immense foreign business for at least
another year. perhaps for two years,
and with reason. Should this hope
prove we'll founded there is little
chance that the cost of dairy products
will be greatly lowered to the home
consumer, regardless Of food laws, or
any kind Of agitation as to the
H. c. L.
One of the best Of American author
tiles, concern vitality interested in
milk production and uses, informs US
that the United States now has about
100000 dairy cows, divided between
regular dairy men, and farmers who
sell cream. This authority further
states that Europe has lost 100000
cows within the last few years, and
that there is very little chance for
quick replacement. because Having
no cows there can be no calves, and
no importation of cattle can be permit
ted, for at least year. as the ship
tonnage is needed for food"
This is interesting, Of course, but not
nearly so much SO as is the following
table, denoting the uses to which our
milk production 1t put, and approx
mate percentages Of such use.
MIX and MIX PRODUCTS.
AS nearly as may be estimated our
milk production is apportioned as
follows:
Per Cent.
Used as liquid milk ....... All
Used for making butter ........ Al.
Used for making cheese ......... 8.
Used for Condensed Milk ....... 2.09
Used for ice cream .............. 3.O7
Used for feeding calves ......... 4.O3
The production Of condensed milk is
not a matter Of guess work. The
hooks of every condensery are open to
all state authorities and the output of
every plant can be accounted for, and
the same Is true as to all commercial
creameries; but the production of
country butter" is at best guess. 1t
IS estimated that the milk of about
50G000 COWS Is now used for canned
milk
The Five-Cent Loaf
Proper legislation as to the purity
Of foods and weights Of packages. is
all right, so far as it goes, when the
laws are made for the protection of
the consumer. But we have had num-
erous examples of food legislation.
framed for the glory Of the lawmaker
and food officials, rather than in the
OSSl lillGlc VI lile people,
Many Of our food laws are simply
meddlesome and are of no real service
TO anyone. Take the law applying to
bread, as recently passed by the Penn
sylvania legislature, and which the
governor vetoed. This law provided
that no loaf containing less than one
pound of dough should be sold. To
this the governor demurred, as fol
lows:
NO law should be passed specific
ally sta ting the quantity Of an article
of merchandise which can or cannot
be sold. There are many bakers who
are awaiting the opportunity to make
a good small loaf of bread that can be
sold for 5 cents, but If this bill were
approved it would prevent the manu-
facture of scent loaf, thereby taking
away from very poor people the op
portunity to obtain a fresh loaf OIL
bread at frequent intervals"
An Immense Prune Crop
A fruit dealer recently returned
from the west coast fruit districts
says: "On August Is and II, when
was in the Santa Clara Valley the
prune orchards looked like lumber
yards stood on end, there were sc
many props holding up the overload
ed branches. In many orchards the
branches were wired to the trunks o.
the trees for lack of timber. the lum
bermen having run out Of props"
The prune crop ripened early thi:
year and hundreds of tons have al
ready gone through the driers. Com
plant is made, howevr, that there i:
a greater than average shrinkage il
weight. which has not been explained
also that there is a smaller sugar con
tent this year than last.
Your natural inference will be tina
with an extra large crop, prices viii
rule lower this sea son. But we mus
not delude ourselves. Wholesaler:
who failed to buy early are not likel!
to get a single box of prunes, eXcep
from early buying spectators and a
fancy price. There are no prune
on the market in a wholesale way, no
has there been for some time. More
over prices ruled high at the openins
Of the sales season and have been ad
vanced time or two since, both il
California and Oregon.
Wholesale grOcerS complain that