The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-03-18
MILK MEN MEET
AND ORGANIZE
Serious Problem Consider
ed by Kenosha County
Farmers Today.
CUT OUT MIDDLE MEN
Organization of Cooperative
Assn to Deliver Farmers
Own Milk Discussed.

To increase the profits Of the milk
lish a sanitary, modern, model plant
and eliminate the middle mans profits
and divide them between the farmer
and the consumer. The middle man is
the fellow who has been eating the
cream off of the farmers milk and
charging the consumer a high price
for it. Let's organize and after we
are organized let's stand together.
"We are beginning to see the results
of distributing our milk through other
organizations than our own. Take the
Nestle's food people for instance. They
see the writing on the wall. They see
they must break the farmers organi-
cation or go out of business them
selves"
Chairman Hills remarks had refer
ence to an ultimatum which had been
| sent by the Nestles Food company to
| the Milk Producers Cooperative Mar
keting company, which was later read
to the meeting by Frank Holt, presi-
dent of the latter company. The ul-
timatum, in substance read:
Nestles Food Company Ultimatum.
"The Nestles Food company will
handle milk up to the capacity Of its
| equipment or ship it anywhere the
farmers direct, on consignment, the
milk to be the property of the pro-
ducers and not the Nestles Food COM
panE Or the company will separate
| = Is
producers, manufacture, condense,
evaporate it at the actual cost in Ia
Dor, fuel and general expenses, and
will sell cans and cases, for cash in
advance, to the producers, but will not
produce sugar. Evaporated milk is
now selling at SIS case which after
deducting all expenses the company
claims it cannot break even if it pays
more than 1876 hundred weight for
milk. But this milk must be delivered
at Burlington or Grays. Lake and not
to Delavan or Pecatonika."
After reading 4the ultimatum Mr.
Holt stated that next month it will
cost just twice the amount which the
producer and lower the cost to the
consumer, was the problem before
about fifty of the farmers and milk
producers Of Kenosha county at a
meeting at the court house today.
The keynote of the situation was
sounded by w. S. Hill, chairman of
the meeting, when he said: "We farm
ers must get more for our milk. and
we must sell it to the consumer for
less than he is now paying, and they
way we must do this is to eliminate
the middle man who has been getting
the cream of our business and divide
his profits between us producers and
the consumers"
The meeting had been called for ten
o'clock for the purpose of discussing
the proposition of establishing in Ke-
nosha plant for the purpose of de-
livering milk through their own or
ganization. The meeting was called
| to order by County Agricultural Agent
B. F. Wood, who called w. S. Hill to
the chair Chairman Hill then called
/ upon K w. Mainland to address the
/
speech outlined the manner in which
the farmers should proceed to organize
and incorporate, after which he ex-
planned the advantages of co-opera-
tive association as it is proposed to
organize in Kenosha.
Following Mr.. Mainland, Chairman
Hill in short speech said:
Eliminate Middle Man.
"We are here today to consider the
proposition to organize for the pur-
pose of delivering our own milk
through our own plant to the con-
sumer. The way milk is handled now
makes the cost to the consumer high
er than he is able.to pay.
"The consumer complains that the
price of milk is getting so high that
he can not afford to use it, while the
farmers are complaining that the cost
of feed and other things that enter
into the production of milk is so high
that they can not produce milk at the
price which they are now getting for
it. If the price to the consumer is
too high and the cost to the producer
is too low, there is something wrong.
can step out of my door any morning
and see three or -four milk delivery
wagons on the same street for the
purposes of delivering milk to the
residents on that street. This is all
wrong, there should be but one and
the consumer should not have to pay
for so many wagons.
Establish Model Plant.
"The thing we should do is to estab-
Nestles Food company will apay for
milk, or S3.70 hundred weight to
produce it. In the United States as a
whole about $50 of the milk goes to
the condensers while in the Chicago
district 500 goes. to the condensers.
If Nestles Food company wins out the
farmers will have to sell their cows
for they cannot produce milk at that