Evening star., 1933-08-21
THREATENS PROBE
. Of FPROPOSEDL0AN
T0DA|RY INDUSTRY
Milk Investigators Chairman
Receives Protests on
$30,OO0,O 900 Fund.
WARD SAYS WALKER HILL
FOLLOWS PRICE LEAD
Official Quizzed on How Note for
$40, 1000 in Purchase Got Into
Hands of Chevy Chase Co.

industry to remove surplus dairy prod
ucts from the market was threatened
today by Chairman King of the Senate
Milk Investigating Committee when
hearings were resumed on Washington s
milk situation.
Senator King declared he had re-
ceived number Of letters complaining
about the promise of the Farm Ad-
ministration to make the loan. These
letters pointed out the dairy industry
is not in need of Federal aid, in view
of the profits which the hearings re-
vealed have been piled up by the Ma
tional Dairy Products Corporation,
which controls two of Washingtons
largest dairies.
Before the committee gets through, :"
Senator King warned. 1T may investi-
gate that"
James j. Ward secretary and part
owner Of the Walker-Hill Dairy, headed
the list of independent dairy owners
the committee called to the witness
stand upon resumption of the inquiry
in an effort to determine how the re-
tail price Of milk is fixed in Washing
ton. The committee is particularly
anxious t. ascertain why Independent
distributors, some of whom keep no
unit cost records. arbitrarily follow the
lead Of those controlled by the So
called dairy trust and charge the same
price for milk.
Follows Others.
Ward was unable to answer the ques-
ton to the satisfaction of Elwood Seal,
special committee investigator.
How do you arrive at the l3-cent
price?" Seal asked
The price of l3 cents is set" he re-
piled, because all other dairies are
selling milk at that price"
Ward admitted his concern kept no
unit cost records and about the only
way it had of telling whether a profit
is made on milk is by the books at the
end Of the month.
The spread between the wholesale
and retail prices is a guide, according
to Ward, but he declared hts firms
business was chiefly wholesale. and he
was not sure whether it was making
anything on milk sold at retail.
Inquiries Into Sale.
Seal spent considerable time develop
ing the financial details involving the
sale of the Walker-Hill Dairy. in Oc-
tober, 1892, to Ward, his father and
brother-in-law.
The dairy. Ward said, was purchased
from the Chairman Co, at a price of
| $500, 900. In this connection, 1t was
| brought out, incidentally, that the
Chairman Co. was named after Charles
S BowmaYt. a director Of the National
Dairy Products Corporation-the first
three letters Of Charles" and the last
! three letters of Bowman" forming the
| corporati ton name.
Ward revealed that, In actual cash.
the dairy cost nothing at the time of
| its purchase, although the new owners
put $4,000 into the business at the
time of acquisition He said the deal
was handled by notes, one for $4,000
| and the other for $4,000. The $lO,-
| 900 note has been curtailed, Ward said.
but the new owners still owe $4,000
on the balance. This $1,000 note.
| he testified. is now held by the Chevy
Chase Dairy, a subsidiary of the Ma
| tional Dairy Products Corporation. al
though the witness insisted his firm is
! Independently owned
Senator King and Seal tried vainly
to develop how the Chevy Chase Dairy
! got possession of the note. Ward said
unaware the dairy held it until he re-
ceived telephone call one day, ad-
vising him to pay the interest on the
note at the Chevy Chase Dairy
The committee also brought out the
real property of the Walker-Hill Dairy
Is owned by the Chevy Chase Dairy to
which the former pays monthly rental
Of $125.
Ward declared the retail market takes
| only about 10 per cent of the milk his
dairy handles He said his firm had
made no effort to build up its retail
business
All of the firms milk. he testified. Is
purchased from members of the Mary
| land Virginia Milk Producers Associa-
ton, who supply washington with about
80 per cent of its milk.
Price Agreement Denied.
Frank Davis, representing the Mar
cey Brothers Dairy of Arlington Coun-
ty, Va, which sells about 40 per cent
of its milk in the District, said his
firm had made no attempt to enter
into an agreement with other distribu-
tors to fix the price of milk
Like other independent firms, Davis
said, the concern kept no records to
show its profit on bottle milk. The
wholesale price. he explained, ranges
from 38 to A cents gallon, and the
retail price from IL to 13 cents a
quart. Bottle consumers who take large
quantities, he declared, get milk at II
cents a quart.
P. D. Gibson, president of the Model
Farms Dairy, the only other witness
heard at the morning session, testified
| that his firm severed relations with the
, Maryland Virginia Milk Producers As
sociation when it adopted the three
class price plan May l, and had since
! been buying milk from Independent pro-
1 ducerS.