Evening star., 1940-07-06
Relief Milk Bids
To Be Speeded
For D. {. Plan
Daily AIIotments Of
Not More Than Pint
To EIiqibIes Decreed


The District government and the
Surplus Marketing Administration
of the Agriculture Department to-
day joined hands in speeding the
bid-letting on the program for dis
tribution of milk at the rate of S
cents quart to Washington's low
income families. Initiation of the
program is contingent on accept
ance of bids from milk handlers
who wish to take part in the pro-
gram.
It is estimated that more than
1000 Washingtonians would bene-
fit.
Provision is made in the program
for participation by the Mont
gomery County Welfare Board and
the Prince Georges County Welfare
Board in Maryland if either or both
request to participate. The two
counties which are included in the
Washington milk marketing area
under the Federal marketing order.
The announcement late yesterday
that all details of the program ex-
cept the bid-letting had been
worked out climaXed a study begun
last January. The enterprise is
jointly the Federal and the District
Governments. The Federal Gov
ernment will pay the handlers the
difference between the S cents a
quart and the handlers bid. The
District will supervise the sale from
10 tentative depots manned by w.
P. A. labor and the 1941 budget of
the District contains $500 ap-
preparation to equip these stations.
Afternoon Hours Tentatively Set.
Tentatively the 10 depots would
be operated from to pm. daily
except Sundays and holidays. The
locations are 1640 Wisconsin ave-
nue. NV, Twenty-fifth and K
streets NV, Ninth and U streets
NV, Georgia avenue and Park
road NV, Fifth street between M
and N streets NV, 1858 Florida
avenue NE, Forty-fifth street and
Sheriff road NE, Fifth and E streets
Sc, Good Hope road and Eight
eenth street Sc. and 476 c street
NV
Eligible buyers would be allotted
milk purchases as follows: A pint
daily for persons under II years, for
every nursing or eXpectant mother
and for single-person relief cases;
and one-half pint daily for all other
persons over II. These allotments
could be increased for persons
showing dietary need for addi-
tional quantities of milk
Through operation of the pro-
gram, participating handlers would
have sales representative at each
depot.
Eligible purchasers would present
milk cards, which would be checked
by the w. P. A. employe of the
District Welfare Department, and
purchase milk from the handler
representative. During recent
months 11,400 cases have been
classified each month among the
three relief categories in Washington,
which would be In the eligible group.
These include $500 direct relief
cases (aid to dependent children,
old age assistance, aid to the blind
and general relief; $500 certified
on w. P. A. waiting assignments, and
200 certified as employable by the
District Public Assistance Division
but unassignable to w. p. A. en-
ployment
100 Cases in Counties.
There are about 100 cases in Mont
gomery and Prince Georges Counties
that would be eligible under the
program. The Washington market
ing area outside Washington in
cludes the towns of Capitol Heights,
Bladensburg, Hyattsville, College
Park, Takoma Park, Silver Spring,
Kensington, Bethesda and Chevy
Chase. The Holman Dairy Co.,
Riverdale, Md, holds a temporary
injunction from District Court here
absolving it from participation in
the milk order program. This dairy
serves much of the Maryland area
affected.
The rate of Federal payments per
quart would depend on the compe-
titive bids received from the ham
oilers. These payments to han
oilers would be in addition to the S
cents quart paid by the eligible
purchasers. The Federal payments
would compensate handlers for pro-
cessing, bottling and delivering milk
to distributing stations and for SELL
ing milk from the stations.
Agriculture Department officials
pointed out that the Washington
low-cost milk program, similar to
others supported by Federal funds
in Boston, Chicago and New Or
leans, is designed to utilize with
higher returns to dairy farmers sub
stantial quantities of milk which
these dairymen would otherwise sell
at lower prices for manufactured
dairy products. Also, it was said,
the program will provide a larger
volume of milk for handlers plants
and make available greater sup
plies of milk at low cost to low-in-
come families.