Evening star., 1933-12-22
MILK PRODUCERS
SPLIT THREATENED
BY WALKER HILL
Dairy Demands Immediate
Reduction in Price to
Meet Competition.
MAY QUIT ASSOCIATION
AND BUY INDEPENDENTLY
National Farm Leaders Meet With
Secretary Wallace to Dis
cuss Problems.


The milk price fight, waging between
the Walker Hill Dairy and the Mary
land g. Virginia Milk Producers Asso-
citation, reached a new stage today as
directors of the farm organization met
in secret session to decide whether to
grant the distributor prices comparable
to those paid by Washington's largest
diaries.
The conference came as national
farm leaders met with Secretary of
Agriculture Wallace to discuss the ills
besetting the whole dairy industry.
The independent Walker Hill Dairy
has served notice on the management
of the producers association that un-
less it is granted reduction to enable
it to compete with Chestnut Farms
Chevy Chase Diaries and the Thompson
Dairy, the city'S largest independent
distributor, it will be forced to quit
buying through the association and con-
tract independently with dairy farmers.
Price War Threatened.
Such action would split the aSsocia-
ton, in the opinion Of some Of its men,
bers, and precipitate a price war on
this market that would result in the
confronted now with the highest pro-
duction costs in the country.
That the association would be dis
integrated by such a price fight is in
evitable. Fairfax Farms Dairy. COM
parable in size with Walker Hill, al
ready is 100 per cent independent of
the association and, with these two
distributors buying outside the coop
erative, other smaller dairy companies
would be forced out in order to COM
pete. This would leave only the Ma
tional Dairy-owned Chevy Chase and
Chestnut Farms and Thompson's Dairy
as purchasers for association milk, and
they could dictate prices at will.
James j. Ward, co-proprietor of
Walker Hill Dairy, contends that he is
paying approximately 81 more per 10
gallon can for cream than his two
principal competitors-Chestnut Farms
Chevy Chase and ThompSon'S. He
bases the contention on testimony in
the record of the Senate Milk Investi-
eating Committee that the larger
dairieS are given a Accent per gallon
differential on class 2 milk, which goes
into cream. and that ThompSon's gets
the same benefit by having producers
who ship cream direct.
Requests Refused.
Ward asked for either a receiving
station, such as the National Dairy
affiliates have, or direct cream shippers.
Both requests were refused by the
management Of the producers aSSocla-
ton, which said it would be impos-
sible to furnish sufficient cream ship
pers or to consolidate enough pro-
ducers in one section to make a re-
ceiving plant profitable.
Walker Hill then demanded a straight
reduction in prices to bring its costs
in line with other dairies. This also
was refused Frank Walker, aSSocia-
ton president. claiming that such a
price cut would have to be passed on
to all other distributors.
Just prior to the opening Of the
dairy conference with national farm
leaders, Secretary Wallace took occa-
tional Cooperative Milk Producers
Federation with a denunciation Of
proht-taking by distributors
Wallace Answers Charges.
The federation had charged him with
not having fulfilled a promise to pur-
chase 81 100000 pounds of butter, of
being responsible for the recent slump
in the butter market, and failure to
purchase cheese. Wallace replied:
THE issue is whether a fair share
of returns should go to the dairy farm
ers or whether good deal of the cream
of profits taken from producers and
consumers should go to. few COM
panieS distributing milk"
His statement was based on recent
audit of books of producers and dis
= tributors in the Chicago area follow
ing a hearing the Chicago milk
marketing agreement, which was ter
minated by the Secretary Wednesday at
the request Of the Chicago Pure Milk
Association.
ITO our knowledge Wallace added,
"the profits of some milk companies,
including subsidiaries Of big holding
companies, are exorbitant to say the
least
Asks Specifications.
Charles w. Holman, secretary of the
Federation, who was witness in recent
hearings before the Senate Committee,
had said in his statement of Wednes-
dav night that marketing agreements
should specify resale prices. Wallace
answered by saying 1T is not our duty
to enforce fixed prices to the consum-
ers." adding:
It have publicly stated my position
that we should use the powers of Gov
ernment under our act to lift farm
prices, not distributors prices. Mr..
Holman. for the first time, has publicly
stated his position, which is that we
should enforce distributors retail prices
while the dairy farmer is sweating
under ruinous prices it is scarcely the
function of a Government department
to scatter its resources in efforts to en-
force exhorbitant profits to some milk
companies"
with respect to his promise to buy
e1,0OO,O0O pounds of butter, Wallace
said:
"As to the butter purchasing program,
no one claims 100 per cent success,
Operations of this character usually
create new problems because they do
not reach price fundamentals"
nISTRIRUTES GIFTS =