The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1921-12-23
CO-OPS. WORK
SUCCESSFUL
MILK MONOPOLISTS
DEFEATED BY COOPERATION

kane, ana Otner western Clues nave
solved the milk supply problem that
is battling several Of the biggest
cities of the nation.
Milk is a public utility. Next to
air and water, it is the most elemen-
tai human necessity. The lives of
little children and the health of the
entire community depend upon a
pure and adequate milk supply. And
yet New York City allows itself to
be held up by a band of monop-
olists who would rather doom count
less babies to death than abate one
jot of their fat profits. The Milk
Trust, known as the New York Milk
Conference Board, has stopped the
milk supply of the whole city in an
endeavor to beat down the wages of
10000 drivers and milk depot en-
ployes. These employees from the
first offered to arbitrate the wage
question, but the Milk Combine has
refused all negotiations. Instead, it
has bought page advertisements in
the New York papers to deceive the
people, alleging that it is "acting in
the public interest" in slashing
wages, although over half the men
on strike received less than $50 a
week, and those who earned more
often worked as long as Is hours a
day for their overtime. In the face
of the most serious milk famine in
it's history, the City of New York,
through its mayor, appealed to the
strikers to return to work pending
mediation of the controversy. The
striking employees agreed to do so,
and further offered to deliver milk
to all hospitals. Yet the Milk Trust
arrogantly rejected the mayors
mediation, and instead capitalized
the peoples need by demanding as
high as 40c a quart for what little
milk it's breakers could handle.
Even this small amount of milk is
often a day or two old, and accord
ing to the City Health Commissioner,
much of it is shamelessly watered.
Meanwhile, with children and sick
people suffering from lack of milk,
over 100000 cans of milk have
spoiled in the New York railroad
yards awaiting delivery.
Cleveland, the fourth largest city
Of the country, is suffering from a
similar but less extensive fight by
the milk monopolists to "bust the
unions" There the Milk Trust de-
clared wage slash of $3.50 week,
which the drivers refused to accept,
although offering to arbitrate the
matter. The mayor of the city took
over one of the large milk depots
and used city trucks to distribute
milk to the citizens. Whereupon the
Milk Trust found Judge who would
issue an injunction restraining the
city from handling milk. except for
hospitals.
Not even the capital of the nation
is immune from exploitation by a
milk combine, which beats down the
price paid the farmer for his prod
uct at the same time that it milks
the consuming public for the maxi
mum profit. The Congressional COM
mittee now investigating the prices
charged by milk distributors in the
city of Washington have unearthed
some huge profits, but have secured
no relief for the consuming public.
The western cooperators have
solved the milk supply problem by
cutting out the middlemen and es-
tablishing cooperative creameries for
the distribution of milk, cream. and
butter direct from the farmer pro-
dhcer to the city consumer. Less
than year ago the milk combine
of Minneapolis declared an arbitrary
wage cut such as the drivers of New
York and Cleveland are now resist
ing. The employees organized the
Franklin Cooperative Creamery, re-
duced the price to the consumer to
10c quart, and at the same time
assured the farmers a fair price
for their product. The business of
this cooperative. creamery is grow
ing at the rate of a million dollars
a year, and it is now the largest
milk distributor in the Twin Cities.
In Spokane the farmers took the
lead in breaking the Milk Trust, or
ganized a cooperative distributing
company, reduced prices to 10c for a
quart of milk or a pint of cream,
and forced the private distributors
to meet these prices or get out of
business.
The manager of the Spokane CO.
operative distributing company, COM
menting upon the wage cuts and
profits exacted by the milk monop-
olists in New York and other cities,
says: eff the striking milk drivers
of those cities would begin the dis
tribution of milk themselves, the
trouble would soon be ended" BY
bitter experience the people have
discovered that they cannot trust
private monopoly with the control
of a commodity so vital to the pub
Tic health as is milk. Cooperative