New-York tribune., 1919-03-11
Experts Prophecy
Ice Famine and
Food rice Boost
One-Third of Harvest in the
lee Houses; OdeII Sees
No Relief; Closing of the
Saloops of Little Help

An ice famine next summer was
prophesied Yesterday at the John Doe
inquiry into the milk situation and
by ice dealers and experts The 1c-
suit, it was said, would be losses in
milk, meat, fish and other foodstuifs
with consequent Increases in price
Hudson River icehouscs hold less than
third Of the normal harvest, and
most Of that is left over from last
year.
Lotion Horton, president Of the Shelf
field Farms Dairy Company, declared
at the inquiry before Chief Magistrate
McAdoo that the closing Of saloons
July / probably would make little diff
ference in the amount of ice avail
able for food Increased demands for
ice cream and soft drinks, he thought
would exhaust at least the amount OF
ice ordinarily used by the saloons
Cant the breweres be utilized as
artificial ice plants? ?' asked John T.
Dooling, Assistant District Attorney
THAT might help, but it couldn't pos
sibly make up the shortage" replied
Mr. Horton
The witness said his company was
cnlarging all its ice plants, and it is
now buying ice from Lake Champlain
at S. ton Ordinarily, he said, this
ice cost about ton.
Mr. Horton was called TO tell why
fho urice Of bottled milk hasn't been
reduced proportionately With loose
milk. He admitted that his company
is now paying 1892 for l0O pounds
against S}0l last January.
81 think the consumer he said,
will get the benefit Of the reduction,
probably in April. The distributors
are now getting large surplus Of
compelled to convert into by-products
which bring less revenue than bottled
milk
Mr. Horton was asked whether there
wasn't some way by which sanitary
loose milk could be delivered to the
consumers door without using bot
Ties.
"When was in Germany before the
war" ne SAID, 81 saw such an apparatus.
.riod TO apply it here and found the
Health Department. was adamant.'
McAdoo to Ask COpeland's Aid
al IN going to write letter of intro
duction for you to Health Commission
err Copeland asking this administration
If il can't do something for you said
Magistrate McAdoo.
Ice dealers corroborated and clab-
Grated the testimony of Mr. Horton.
"lf tho summer is hot, heaven only
knows what we viii do to supply ice
for the babies milk" William Schalz-
kin, proaident Of the National Ice ands
Coal Company, said yesterday. "lf CON
ditions arc favorable. | think we shall
be nblc 10 supply the most essential
needs for ico. But the public will
havo to do without II lot Of ice cream.
cold drinks and other luxuries 1t
may be necessary to raise tho price
ten or fifteen cents hundred weight.
"Thc normal hnrvcst from tho ice
fields on the upper Hudson is 1000, 900
tons," said Bcnjnmin H. Odcll cx-Icc
Controller, "and the companies now
have in their icchouscs only 100000
TOM, most Of which wns left over from
'hrt ycnr if, hs romc predict, tho
price of ice is doubled, the public VIII
greatly BuiYnr from corresponding In
crenE"s IN prices Of meat nnd FISH, but
40 not think that VIII happen. Tho
price for the coming year hne not yet
bcen ilxsd ny the leo dealers, but ! do
not tbinh IT. viii be much higher than
the current rates. Some of the COM
tanles afn GtIIl waiting for cold
Wn0tbm to ayort shortage, but " ~
VOC Iato W tIpect that now"