Evening star., 1939-06-23
D. T.. Committee
Backs Milk Bill
On Six Points
Maryland
Producers Cite Nine
Reasons to Kill Act
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

The House District Committee,
IN its formal report to the House
today on the Schultz milk bill.
cited six specific reasons why it
should be enacted into law.
At the same time, the Maryland
Virginia Milk Producers Associa-
ton issued a statement giving nine
specific reasons why the bill should
not become law.
The Schultz bill, an outgrowth of
the recent milk investigation,
would open the District milk mar
ket to milk and cream from any
section of the United States and
substitute the 1889 edition of the
United States Public Health Service
Milk Code for the 1925 District Milk
Control Act.
Purposes of Bill.
According to the committee re-
port, the bill would accomplish the
following purposes:
81. Eliminate trade barriers which
have been erected around the city
OF Washington against the i'm
portation of milk and cream from
all sections of the United States
which are able to comply with the
United States Public Health Serv-
ice milk ordinance.
%. BY extending the milkshed,
the monopoly now enjoyed by the
Maryland and Virginia Milk Pro-
ducers' Association and the National
Dairy Products Corp. will i'm
mediately come to an end, and all
distributors in Washington, both
large and small, will have an equal
opportunity of securing an adequate
supply of good, clean milk without
having unreasonable restrictions
placed upon their purchases.
g. The United States Govern
ment, through its Congress, will be
adopting its own United States
Public Health Service regulations.
which it has sponsored and built
up through an expenditure of large
sums of public moneys.
a. BY the elimination of the
monopoly in the production, sales
and distribution of milk, the con-
sumers in Washington will be able
to buy milk and cream at a much
cheaper price than now prevail
thus placing these products within
the reach of every one.
IS. That all unnecessary and re-
strictive health ordinances having
absolutely no direct health con-
siderations will be eliminated and
in their place will be enacted into
law rules. and. ordinances whicf1,
while amply and sufficiently pro-
tecting and safeguarding public
health, will reduce the cost to the
farmer of the production of milk.
IS. The adoption of this bill will
make the whole United States the
market of the District of Columbia
for the products of milk. No serious
minded person can contend that
the United States Public Health
Service does not protect health.
The market will be free and open
to competition and prices not only
will be reduced, but so long as the
market stays open, the price will
stay reduced"
Nine Point Criticism.
The nine-point criticism by the
Producers Association charges that
the bill:
Il. In one stroke turns back the
progress of 20 years of effort in i'm
proving conditions on dairy farm
and plants in Washington.
90. Repeats all existing regulations
promulgated as a result of years of
work and experienced governing the
production, handling and sale of
milk and substitutes indefinite regu-
lations primarily designed for COM
munities with inferior supplies and
in need of assistance
''3. Has no provision as in section
of the act of 1925, which allows the
Health Department with the ap-
proval of the Commissioners to make
regulations from time to time to
safeguard the public health.
q. Takes the weakest section (sec-
ton a of the Act of 1925 and makes
it still weaker by broadening its in
clusions from ice cream only to all
manufactured products.
IS. Allows more than one grade of
milk to be handled in the same
plant and in addition allows fluid
milk plants to manufacture ice
cream in the same plant. making it
impossible for Health Department
to check that various grades of milk
and cream are kept in their proper
uses
"6. Does not do anything to cor
rect the evils such as bootlegging
found by the recent investigation
of Washington's milk supply but, In
fact, opens the gap wider for such
practices to be carried on and would
make Washington "bootlegger's
paradise
az. Allows the Health Department
the right to accept other cities in
spection which power if misused
would create monopolistic control
through shifting of supplies from
one territory to another by large
dairy companies.
IS. Would destroy bargaining
power of far mco-operative, whicn
is in direct contrast to fundamental
policy of the Federal Government
as evidenced by previous acts OF
Congress.
80. Would adopt the United
power of farm cooperative, which
does not have numerical rating
of the farms and which would take
away all incentive for producer to
make any improvements beyond the
very minimum needed to- maintain
his permit"
Sees Creation of Unemployment.
In addition, B. B. Derrick, secre-
tary-treasurer of the association,
said opening the local market to
milk and cream produced in areas
beyond the local milkshed would
drive between 1000 and 5000 fam
lilies out of work on farms in Mary
land and Virginia.
The committee, in its report, de-
clared the price of milk in Wash
g.. folx nj