Evening star., 1936-07-24
MARGIN IS HELD
LARGEST FACTOR
Of RETAIL COST
Farm Price Rise Need Not
Bring Consumer Boost,
Boyd Asserts.
CHARGE FOR HAULING
DECLARED TOO HIGH
Details of Groups Money Deal.
ings Called Vital to Agree.
ment's Success.
BY BLAIR BOLLES.

producing farmers and WASH
ington consumers, who have been
squabbling for a week over the price
of milk, today joined forces in a quest
for information about profits made
by distributors of milk in the Capital.
The question was brought to the
front at the hearing in the Depart
ment of Agriculture Auditorium on
the proposal to set up Federal CON-
troll of milk production and price in
the Washington area.
The distributors margin ADDS more
to the cost of glass of milk than
does the price paid the cairyman,
Matthew F. Boyd, officer of the Con-
Sumers' Counsel of Washington, as.
serted at the hearing today.
Boyd suggested that farm price
rise need not bring a consumer rise
if the distributor profit is cut.
Find out just what the distributor
pays for each gallon of milk he buys
from the farmer" urged B. P. Parry.
in charge of the Federal Trade Com
missions two-year-old national milk
Danger Is Cited.
This control agreement is going to
be useless unless the administrator Of
the agreement has access at all times
to actual money transactions made by
the distributors.
THE administrator has got to have
the power to get those records from
the distributors, without any stalling,
right when he asks for them, or this
agreement is going to fall fat"
"Give the milk administrator power
to look into the distributors books any
time without having to wait for q re-
quest from the Secretary of Agricul-
ture," advised Donald Montgomery, A.
A A. consumers counsel.
In an effort to find out exactly what
the farmer gets for his product, Mont
gomery today sent to each of the city's
seven distributors questionnaires on
the actual price paid by them for the
raw milk.
B. B. Derrick, treasurer of the Mary
land and Virginia Milk Producers AS
sociation, with LOO of the 1,400 pro-
ducers for the Washington market,
believes the price averages 26.5 cents
a gallon
Wants Figure Raised.
Derrick wants this figure raised to
305 cents to pay for the 1896 in
creased cost Of milk production due
to the drought, which has skyrocketed
feed costs.
But, pointed out Seton Darr, coun-
sci for Fairfax Farms Dairy, an inde-
pendent concern, farmers supplying
certain distributors are liable to these
charges to be subtracted from their
265-cent average:
Three cents gallon for milk ship
ped to what are known as country
receiving stations instead of directly
10 Washington.
Three cents pasteurization fee on
whole milk separated by the distrib-
utor and sent directly to ice cream
manufacturers.
Three cents ON direct shipments of
cream.
Three witnesses offered testimony
that the Scent receiving station fee,
which is supposed to represent haulage,
is too nigh. The only two receiving
stations in the Washington area are
in Frederick County, Md, and are
operated by Chestnut Farms Dairy,
distributor of so per cent of the Cap
ital's milk.
Tells of Haulage Fee.
Clarence Dye, Frederick County
commission buyer for Highland Farms
Dairy, said:
MY producers are right by the
Chestnut Farms Walkerville and
Frederick receiving stations. l haul
their milk into Washington and
charge them 2.5 cents gallon and
make money on it."
Coleman Gore, Loudoun County,
Va. milk broker for Fairfax Farms:
MY haulage is is cents"
Federal Trade Commission Repre-
sentative Parry:
I'm our study of certain other milk
sheds we have found that the distrib-
utors make profit on their stations.
In Baltimore the figure comes to
1915 cents a hundredweight. But I
haven't studied the Washington shed
and I couldn't report on receiving
station allowances and costs here"
Dye brought out that much milk
is processed into cream, dry skim milk
and cottage cheese at the receiving
stations, which saves the distributor
the cost of hauling the milk from the
station to Washington, although all
farmers who use the station are
charged the cents.