Evening star., 1941-09-24
Representative Smith
Sees No Reasonfor
Relaxing Milk Rules
Virginia Legislator
Says Capital Is Now
Adequately Supplied
Earlier Story on Page B-1O

Representative Smith. Democrat,
Of Virginia, member OF the House
Rules Committee, told the Commits
sioners this afternoon that he could
see no excuse for amending District
milk regulations to permit importa-
ton of milk and cream from distant
States. Mr.. Smith is the owner of a
Virginia farm which has been ship
ping milk here for some II years.
He said the records before the
Commissioners showed Washington
milk prices compared very favor
ably" with those of many compar-
able cities, and that the Washington
milk shed provided more than an
adequate supply for its population,
even including the tremendous pop
ulation growth in the last year and
! that the only other reason for
amending the regulations would be
that somebody with a particular
personal interest would want to
ship milk into the District"
Sees Threat to Local Producers.
Mr.. Smith was one Of the key
witnesses at today's hearings on the
proposal championed principally by
Representative Schultz, Democrat,
of Indiana to amend District laws
to permit importation OF milk and
cream from any State whose health
authorities certify that such sup
plies meet standards in the model
milk ordnance sponsored by the
United States Public Health Service.
Representative Smith, who has
sat through the entire hearing be-
| fore the Commissioners on the milk
issue, said he had been waiting
to see who would appear in favor
of adoption of the Schultz bill. He
recalled that yesterday when the
| Commissioners asked who wanted to
speak for it lust one lady testified
in favor of the bill-and it developed
that she was not resident of the
District, but appeared as a repre-
sentative of so-called milk con-
sumers' group
"Supposing we had the suggested
universal milk rule and milk shed"
he said, there are now several very
large chain dairies in the United
States. These corporations have
given no indication that they would
do so, but under such a system it
would be possible for a national
chain dairy or daries to say to a
farm cooperative, if their price were
not low enough to suit the chain,
that they would not buy the milk
of the cooperative but instead
would ship in milk from some other
distant point. This could be done
and. your local producers could be
broken down"
Wender Testifies.
Another witness today was Harry
S. Wender, vice president of the
Federation of Citizens Associations,
who declared that the Federation
wanted the Commissioners to main
tain District health standards. and
would like to see some means of
reducing prices, and who questioned
whether some of the possibly arbi-
trary and unnecessary" rules in the
District milk regulations could be
abandoned or revised.
Opposition to the Schultz bill or
any other legislation permitting i'm
portation of milk and cream from
areas beyond District control was
voiced by Louis I. Obergh, repre-
senting the Federation of Business
Mems Associations. Mr.. Obergh said
the federation considered both the
price and health conditions involved
and had concluded that farmers
producing under District standards
were entitled to protection from for.
eign competition.
Mrs. J. D. Thompson Of Hern-
don, Va, representing women milk
farmers in this milk shed, told the
Commissioners she would rather do
without milk than use what she used
to ship into Washington before she
and other milk producers were edu-
Gated to the need for high health
standards in milk