The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1934-01-12
The Chicago Milk Strike and
the Roosevelt Administration


the Roosevelt Administration
UJHEN ALL THE FACTS of the Chicago mlkshed strike
" are known it will be pretty clear just how far the
Roosevelt administration will go in destroying the small in
dependent business order build up the monopoly power
OF the great trusts
Under George Peek, administrator of the AAA, this
policy was frank and open With Dr. Clyde King, since de-
posed of the milk industry, milk agreements for
ruaed and put effect which openly favored the net
work of large milk distributors which call the milk trust
These agreements fixed price the farmers far below the
farmers cost of production and retail out of reach
of the majority of city workers. The independent dstbu
could compete the milk trust could not in fact
find any market at ALL unless they cut their retail prices
below those fixed by the They forbidden
to do this by the government.
The Independent distributors of Chicago the first city
affected by the marketing agreement carried their
court and the court decided their favor This decision of
the court the result of several factors The AAA Off
Gals well the big capitalists divided the wis
dom of the marketing agreements and the fight uphold
the agreements not pushed An especial factor the
the sdent protest of the farmers notably in the
Pennsylvania farmers under the leadership of the Regional
Committee for Action who demonstrated their hostility for
the Codes
In the meantime Peek and King have left the AAA
partly because they thoroughly dscredted with the
farmers and partly because another faction the AAA did
not approve of fixed retail prices and other features of the
marketing agreements hese marketing agreements
not confined to milk but involved tobacco fruits and other
farm products).
The elimination of the marketing agreements in milk
temporary defeat for the Milk Trust The Milk Trust
had nothing to fear from the farmers long the farm
ers were so thoroughly deceived by the officials of the Pure
Milk Association But the Independent distributors relieved
Of the restrictions of the marketing agreements eating
into the profits of the trust
The milk strike called by the corrupt officials of the
MA was the behind which the trust has carried
Its war against the independent distributors At press
1t appeared that the trust had and had forced the indie
pendent distributors to to terms The conferences
dents give assurance of living up to the price SEIZED
ules of the milk trust, WAS ARRANGED BY REPRESEN-
In other Words the AAA and the department of Agr-
culture has been in possession of all the facts
to the trick of the trust and the PIMA officials The AA
has stood the sdenes perhaps but has not been with
S 0ud g a P oca tn hooD mas fzer the
consolidate the power of the big trust.
Even at this moment be sure that the agree
ment which will out of the strike will give in
creased profits to the milk trust tie up independent
distributors at the mercy of the trust, and keep the
farmers price down below the of production Fur
thermOre, be sure that the AAA win set the
stamp of its approval on the agreement
I'VE DO NOT shed any tears for the independent dsrbu
tors AS another article in this issue points out the in
dependent distributors exploit the small dairy farmers just
badly the big distributors We pointing out the
governments policy in favOring the big mOnOpOes and
important as an indication of the character of the
ment
This is age monopoles and trusts This is an age
of imperialism, in which capitalism is capitalism of bis
trusts, corporations and monopoles. The government
represents the interests of these big monopoes and its
tions such as outlined above illustrate this
We must remember that it is out of monopoistic cap
tasm out of based rich corporations anc
trusts, that fascsm energies.
In this issue of the Producers News we have an article
from Washington correspondent which shows that thu
growth of fascsm in the American state is not an ep
danger These bills which Congress is studying bills pro
posing make confoance to the Roosevelt acreage reuc
ton program compulsory backed by police power
tncty fascist in their nature Other legislation
the rights of the workers to strike under NRA makes an
other side of the picture.
Our job meet these fascist threats with increases
organization and increased activity Build militant farm
organizations and prepare resist the offensive of the gov
enmen acting in the interests of the big bankers the mid
dlemen and the rich farmers