Evening star., 1951-10-10
Miller 10 Argue
Arlington Milk
Case Today
Virginia Commission
Hears Fight on
Price Jurisdiction

n Arlington County was 10 pe
argued today by Malcolm D. Mil
er, an attorney representing the
Arlington County Board before a =
Meeting Of the commission in the
Bowen Building at 815 Fifteenth
street NV.
Arlington County, which has no
milk producers and no distribu-
tors, has taken a 100 per cent con-
sumner attitude about the milk
Spurred by the October
increase of / cent quart (froni
221a cents to 231a cents on the
doorstep. the county wants no
more price fixing. 1t challenges
The commissions authority be-
cause all the milk it consumes has
been in interstate commerce.
". P. Randolph, jr., Richmond
attorney and consumer member Of
the three-man commission, was to
hear the argument as acting
chairman. Mark Turner, chair
man Of the commission. disquali-
fled himself because he is pro-
ducer supplying this market. MIR.
Turner has a dairy farm near
Herndon in Fairfax County. E. l..
Miner, a Newport News (Va.)
distributor, has continued to sit in
the hearing, despite a challenge
from the producers association.
Leahy Defends Commission.
William E. Leahy. attorney for
the Maryland-virgini Milk Pro-
ducers' Association, which supplies
IS per cent of the milk in the
Washington area, led off with q
defense of the Virginia commits
Ision's jurisdiction in the closing
hour of a day-long hearing yes
Iterday in the George Mason Hotel
lin Alexandria.
Mr.. Leahy cited a Supreme
Court decision written by the late
Justice Cardozo in the High Ice
Cream Co. case.
Drought Conditions Cited.
B. B. Derrick, secretary treas
|urer of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
milk Producers Association, pro-
.lduced II of his members to tell
how serious the current drought
lhas been to milk producers,
Il The witnesses said their pas
ltures and those of their neigh
lbors have been completely burned
.loff. They started feeding hay and
,|ensilage to their cattle in August.
rIthey said. Hay is now costing
them $50 ton. they said, and
-ipredictions are that it will go to
SIS. 1t is hard to find at any
lprice.
Il One farmer told of 10000 cattle
sIcrowding the highway at Front
: Royal. as they were being driven
Ito the railroad and to slaughter
tIbecause their owners could not
tlfeed them.
!, Price Tactics Hit.
!, at suppose" said Mr.. Randolph
. to Mr.. Derrick. that these dis
tributors want us to help them
Iout. You usually come to us and
TASK permission to raise your price.
-IBut this time you raised it with
|out consulting U.s..
The Virginia Milk Commission.
lin the past, has set the minimum
prices for the nearby counties. and
these have become the prices for
1.-THE entire Washington Metropoli-
tan Area.
Robert H. Rawlins, production
manager for the Thompson Dairy.
protested the associations reduc-
: ton of the butter fat base on
: which the price to the dairy farm
l Iers is computed. The new sched-
Iule reduces it from 4 per cent to
: 3La per cent the legal minimum
of milk sold in Washington. M,
NJ. Burchell, president of the
Alexandria Dairy Products Co.,
!, called the reduction "a hidden in
lcrease in the price of milk, which
: II must buy"
: Authority Challenged.
Arlington's delegation to the
Virginia General Assembly, State
Senator Charles R. Fenwick and
Delegates j. Maynard Magruder
!, and George Damn, also challenged
the commissions price fixing pow
:. ers in the area. They submitted
a statement which declared:
1.-THE general welfare of the
people has not been served by the
: State Milk Commission, nor is it
possible under the Milk and Cream
Act to do so for three reasons. :"
They listed the reasons as fol-
E lows:
/. The Milk Commission is COM
posed of one producer and one
distributor, and one member ap-
: pointed by the Governor. But the
5 Milk and Cream Act does not
require that the third appointee
! represent consumers.
2. The act provides that the
commission may call a hearing for
entering or withdrawing from a
milk market on its own motion or
on motion of the distributors or
producers. The act does not pro-
vide for such hearing on request
: of consumers.
8. The act provides for local
milk boards without sufficient
consumer representation. The
people of Arlington are all con-
: ISumerS.
The legislators statement also
raised the question of interstate
commerce, pointing out that milk
lconsumed in Arlington is bottled
.. lin the District from milk origin
Eating in various States. and sis
therefore clearly an interstate
transaction. . They said they
did not intend to review the legal
ASPECTS Of milk in interstate COM