Evening star., 1935-01-30
NEEDY M|LKPR|CE
BOOST TO CENTS
SET FOR FRIDAY
Increase of Cent a Quart
Due if New Scheme Is
Not Devised.
FARMERS CHARGE LOSS
UNDER PRESENT RATE
General Retail Level to Remain
Same, Seal Is Told-Allen
Will Act.

The price of milk for District relief
families now purchased at 8 cents a
quart is scheduled to be boosted Fri
day unless some new arrangement is
made by local distributors.
This is the result of an increase in
the price TO be paid by distributors to
producers of the Washington milk
shed for all milk used by local dairies
for distribution in retail sale, accord
ing to information in the hands OF
Commissioner Allen.
Elwood Seal, assistant corporation
counsel. who has been handling the
milk problems for the District, has
been informed there will be no in
crease at this time in the general retail
price of milk sold to the public.
Wide Powers Asked.
Seeking to foreStall such an in
Rcrease, Commissioner Allen has di-
Eected Seal to prepare an amendment
the District milk act which would
We the Commissioners power to i'm
from other jurisdictions milk
cream not licensed by the Dis
p health officer This can be done
5w only in the case of milk used in
be manufacture of ice cream.
Such milk imported from other
Jurisdictions must be licensed by au-
thorities in those places.
To assure that such imported milk
would meet the proper standards of
quality and purity Allen is considering
sending District inspectors to plants
from which the milk might be bought
He ContemplateS buying such milk for
use in District institutions, as we'll as
for relief families, if the need arises
Allen said he sees the possibility of
boost in the general retail milk
price in the future, even though Seal
has been told there is no such likeli-
hood.
Farmers See Loss.
B. B. Derrick, secretary treasurer
of the Maryland g. Virginia Milk
Producers Association. declared to-
day the producers of milk face a loss
Of from S25,000 to $35000 a year if
the present arrangement for relief
milk is continued He said the farm
ers cannot stand this burden, adding
that the producers feel that if milk
is to be made available at reduced
price to relief families the distributor,
and not the producer, should meet
the difference.
He said there is one county in Vir-
ginia in which there are 63 milk pro-
ducers, 90 of whom now are faced
with loss Of their holdings
=
tenn for purchase of milk by local dis
IributorS from the farmer. For a
certain basic allotment. the farmers
are paid 26 cents gallon. plus pre-
miumS of 2l2 or cents. For all
milk in excess of such allotmentS the
price paid to the farmer is l6 cents
. gallon.
Surplus Sold to Needy.
To make possible sale of milk to
relief families at 8 cents a quart, the
producers last November agreed to
allow the distributors to use the So
called surplus milk, bought at 16 cents
. gallon, for bottling and sale to re-
lief families.
Under the new agreement of the
producers this will cease Friday. The
new plan is that the distributors or
dairieS, will have to pay the farmer
261a cents gallon for all milk bought
from the farmer and retained in the
plants Of the dairies for their retail
business.
Any milk not retained by the
dairies in their plants would be re-
turned to a Washington agent of the
producers association after the milk
had been converted into 40 per cent
cream, such product to be resold by
the association to ice cream manu-
facturers.