The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-11

Milk Administrator Donald O. Hammerberg yesterday prohibited daily delivery of milk in s7 towns of the state.
 MH Hammerberg established as an "unfair trade practice" the home delivery of milk more frequently than once every A hours. Thus he gave the force of law to a prac- tice voluntarily begun by most Con- necticut milk dealers last January.
 At that time, dealers adopted the practice because of the wartime shortage in tires, gasoline, trucks and labor. Subsequently,, however. some of the dealers were obliged to revert to daily deliveries because of competition from dealers who declined to cooperate in the emer- gency plan.
 Last month, the Connecticut MIX Dealers association and other dairy groups informed the administrator that they feared collapse of the whole plan unless 1t were made compulsory upon all dealers and asked MT. Hammerberg to declare daily deliveries an unfair trade practice.
 szis decision follows Q hearing at the State Capitol.
 The administrator, acting for the first time under the unfair trade practice section of the new Milk Control Act, announces his decision in an eight-page review of the cir- cuHnstances.
 He emphasizes the point that the home delivery system is the key- stone of the Connecticut dairy in- duStry. Abandonment of this sys- tenn at this time, he says, would threaten the stability of the indus try.
 A survey indicates, he says, that under the daily delivery plan, pres- ent stocks of tires In dealers pos- session would permit them to con- ttnue daily deliveries for an average of only six months. He also calls attention to the shortage of gaso- line and the probability that the shortage in auton1otive equipment will become acute.
 He refers to the ODT order re- quiring a 26 per cent cut In mile- age.
 !. Alternate day deliveries, MT. Hanmerberg says, effect Q mileage reduction of 42 per cent which win prolong the period during which home deliveries can be made.
 He points out that experience in- dtcateS dealers cannot delivery every other day if their competitors are making daily deliveries, and he warns that & competitive struggle at this time would be extremely serious to the industry.
 He sees no harmful effects upon the public from alternate day de- Gveries, explaining that properly refrigerated milk of the quality us- ually distributed in Connecticut "may safely be held for more than z8 hours"
 He notes that some representa- tives of labor opposed the plan, but e&S WARAVS6SO VAAG GOk1V4Cb4OAg kkldU adoption of the plan actually Is to the immediate and long, time ad- vantage of labor. 'Tf measures are not taken" he says, "the whole in- dustry is in danger of complete dis Euption to the permanent harm of labor, producers, dealers and con- sumeeS alike"
 MT. Hammerberg explains that he Is prohibiting home delivery of milk more frequently than once every A hours, instead of every 4S hours, because the 44-hour interval will permit sufficient fiexibility for changes in routing which may oc- cur from time to time."
 He dismisses as unpromising the suggestion that horses and wagons be substituted for trucks, explaining that there is not an adequate sup- ply of suitable wagons and har- nesses and that horses are not capa- ble of covering routes that average about 30 miles.