264 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
business and his competency as a business manager and not upon the basis 
of his financial ability to pay more than the raw material is worth for a 
longer time than his opponent. It would make possible the continued 
existence of both and competition each with the other in a legitimate 
manner for the business of the community. And it would insure for the 
producer the highest continuous price for his product that is consistent 
with good business management and a reasonable profit for the operator 
of the business. Without such a statute it is hardly conceivable that 
there will ever be a different condition in those parts of the state now 
wholly given over to the centralizers, for the reason that it would be a 
very rash individual who would invest his money in a plant that was 
subject to be wiped out at the caprice of an individual who is a competitor 
with every reason for wishing the whole field for himself. I say again 
that whether such discriminations have been practiced is not material to 
this discussion. The fact that they are possible makes it unwise for one 
to invest his money in creameries at the present time, and hence makes 
impossible the competition that is necessary for the life of any business. 
I propose this plan as a possible means of checking a growing tendency 
toward complete centralization of the creamery business into the hands 
of a few men or of a few corporations, in the hope that it will be en- 
dorsed by this association and hence its presentation to the. legislature 
next winter may be with some hope of success. Such legislation is not 
new. This particular measure is already upon the statute books of one 
of our newer states, and the state of Iowa has a statute of similar kind 
relating to discriminations in the selling price of an article of universal 
use. I am assured by competent lawyers that a statute along this line 
can be drawn that will stand the test of the courts and in the interest of 
fair play and for the sake of the dairy industry as a whole I ask the 
approval of this organization for such a measure. 
This is an age of co-operation, and many lines of agricultural industry 
in this country and especially in other countries have been saved to the 
farmer only by co-operative societies of one kind or another. "When bad 
men confederate good men must combine" seems to have been the thought 
of a good many co-operators. I believe that co-operative creameries may 
take a leaf from the book of some other society with great good to the 
creameries. The great weakness in our present co-operative creameries 
is inability to hold patronage against competition that is perfectly well 
known to be unfair. Let our better creameries be re-organized upon the 
lines of the co-operative grain elevators in this"stater"Let^~a~sufficient 
number of members be brought together to insure a volume of business 
to make the business successful. Let each man agree to send his milk or 
cream regularly or to pay to the organization a cent a pound for every 
pound of butter-fat he sells elsewhere. Then if some other concern wishes 
to get a little of the local creamery's patronage away in order to break 
up the organization they will be indirectly paying the expenses of"^the 
organization sought to be destroyed. An organization along these lines 
will be easily affected just as soon as it is generally realized that unless 
greater strength is added to the co-operative idea among creameries they 
are in great danger of extinction. Without attempt to discuss details I 
