Evening star., 1934-10-19
Rate by Mail-Payable in Advance.
Maryland and Virginia.
Member of the Associated Press
The Local Milk Problem.

The objectives of the various move
ments in the local world of milk may
be little confusing, although all of
them are admirable. The effort to
obtain cheaper milk for the families
on relief, for instance, might be as
sumed as aimed at reducing the cost
of public relief. But the real pur-
pose is not to reduce the cost of re-
lief, but to give the families on re-
lief more milk. Other proposals laid
before the Commissioners might be
construed as a form of helping the
dairy farmers, or as a method of
farm relief. But it is not yet clear
whether farm relief, in this case,
would be provided by the common
garden variety of taxpayer who is
also a paying consumer of milk.
As in other localities. the root of
much of the trouble here seems to be
that too much milk is produced, and
that if the elementary laws of supply
and demand were allowed to work,
milk would be so cheap that the
farmer could not sell it at a profit.
The farmers complain now that they
have difficulty in meeting the cost Of
production. Under the system now
followed, the larger diaries pay them
a relatively high price for their
fluid" milk-sold in bottle form
and a lower price for the surplus,
which is used in manufacture of dairy
products. Surplus and fluid milk are
Of the same standard. The farmers
feel that if they could get a higher
price for their surplus milk some of
their difficulties would be remedied.
One plan has been advanced under
which the Commissioners, through
the relief authorities, would purchase
surplus milk directly from the farm
ers and, with the cooperation of
distributors, sell it at greatly re-
duced price to the families on relief
This raises a question whether the
sale at low prices of surplus" milk
will tend to create another surplus
in fluid" milk.
Two of the large distributors have
offered their books for inspection by
Government auditors, who thus might
determine their side of the case and
whether their profits from the sale
of fluid milk and manufactured dairy
products are eXorbitant in relation to
the price received by the producer.
At the same time the Consumers
Council of the District has obtained
the services of Department of Agri-
culture experts, who will undertake
to discover the elusive element of
cost of production" to the farmer
and whether the farmer can make
money selling milk under present
These inquiries will be of benefit in
throwing light on a situation that has
already caused controversy and prom
ises to cause more. Milk has come to
be regarded as an essential element
OF diet, yet its cost is high to those
who may be most in need of it. At the
same time, there is the usual anomaly
under which a product which brings
relatively high price on the retail
market is produced at what some
claim to be loss. Perhaps one solu-
tion, suggested to the Commissioners
by producer, may lie in popularizing
the consumption of milk by reducing
the cost to everybody and thus in
creasing the demand. Whatever at
tempts are made to improve the situ-
alton, the improvement should not be
had at the cost of lowering a standard
in quality of milk in Washington,
which is high and has been main
tained for many years past.