The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-06-11


 fgord that there was a meeting of i the ice dealers and you did not go or have some representative at it?'' MT. Brown might have been at it., | said MT. aIker There was no req son for me to go. They had to de- pend on us for their ice" T am a member of the Assocla- tion."
 When asked the object of the Asso- | ciation MT. Walker safdi T don't care to state the object of the Asso- ! ciation."
 When Mir. Crawford insisted that he state the object, Mr. Walker said. T don't know as they have any ob- | ject. They just meet. don't | know, unless they talk over ice, or l have some fun or something" MT. Curtis is president. Earl Sprague, secretary. They usually | have some speakers: a mayor, or something like that" "I don't remember stating that we expected to sell ice next fall for so cents and 50 cents in winter" You l mean in Bridgeport! when the re- porters get after me? I might have | said that ice might sell for 50 cents next fall and if the winter was nor | nal, 1t would sell for 50 cents. Fifty cents IS a reasonable price, including shrinkage, railroad rates, etc" How do you figure that you car harvest and deliver ice to families next winter at S10 a ton?" T don't see why I should answer that I came here to answer ques- tions about conditions in New Haven and not in Bridgeport" MT. Crawford insisted and Mr
 Walker said Ordinarily we can make
 a profit at s10 a ton. I don't see why it should cost more. I have
 taken into account overhead charges"
 T don't know what our artificial
 ice costs. We run a cold storage
 plant and we never figured the cost of ice as distinguished from stor-
 age.''
 If you estimate a profit at 50 | cents next year why not this sum mer?''
 This year we take the price arbi- trarily from what other people are asking, and because if we didn't put the price of ice up there would be no | ice left by the middle of August" How Price is Fixed. "If I run out of ice I will have to | buy. Cost is not the basis, but what I would have to pay if I run out of ice. The demand is based on ths shortage of the crop.'' "I don't know how much a ton we l are making on ice.'' Last year the Berkshire Ice Co. paid 25 per cent; in 1917, 19 per cent; in 1916, per cent, and in 1915, per cent. Yes, we have also s230,O00 surplus, one-half of which accumulated since 1913. We paid harvesfers 45 cents an hour on the average last year. The year before we paid or cents less. T T year before that. Outside of labor the greatest cost is taxes, insurance, compensation, up-keep and interest on bonded indebtedness. "I don't know what the cost is for
 overhead and harvesting. The com pany is charging what we can de- mand."
 Cost Not a Factor. The cost of production does not enter into the price charged in New Haven.
 'I have bought ice this season from
 Walker Brothers in Massachusetts. | 22,0O0 tons.
 'I decline to answer what I paid for 1t. It's nobody's business. | "I don't think it is the public's bus | mess what I pay for ice. l If I buy ice to protect myself it 1 is nobody else's business what I pay l for it.
 | q also have a contract with the 1 Holyoke Ice Company for so many
 tons a day after July l. They send
 me all the ice they don't want to use 1 themselves and at the end of the sea
 son, in the fall I figured up what
 I got for 1t and send them a check
 for it less 10 per cent. my commis
 sion. I expect to get 12,000 or 13,o00 | tons this season from them. | T have no agreement with the Fly l gienic any other ice company in ! New Haven as to price. If MT. Brown
 has he did it without my consent Tn 1917 three dealers here had a conference We had a uniform ice 1 price before and afterwards; we had
 a discussion; I spoke. I always say | something. | Sullivan talked; Brown talked. I | didn't hear Brown make the propo-
 sition that if the two other coplpan | ies would take 25,000 tons of ice | year from us that we would get out
 of the city.
 Sullivan said something should be l done about the ice situation in New
 Haven. I said Sure
 The drift Of the discussion was
 that the price was not high enough. Six weeks after the conference the | price went up.
 T won't deny that Brown made l the proposition to get out of New
 Haven if the Hygenic and Center freeze would take 25,000 tons of our
 ice a year. I am president. My pres
 ent salary is s7,500 a year. l What is the object of the Berk-
 shire Ice Company, yourselfand afil-
 lated interests in buying up other ice
 properties?" asked MT. Crawford. What does any man do that is in
 business but try to increase? We
 don't intend to stop. We are going
 to enlarge our ice business.
 "Yes, I bought a new ice property
 in New Hartford with a capacity of
 100000 to 15o,0o0 tons and paid
 s175,oo0 for it. It is personal in
 vestment, but if the directors of the
 Berkshire company want it they can
 have it.
 | T know of no ice that is not con
 trolled by myself or affiliated inter
 ests.
 ~, To-