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sion that high prices are the result of manipulation somewhere between the 
farm and the consumer rather than a decreasing supply for an increasing 
demand, the legislation enicted may be assumed to have definite value both 
to the warehouseman and to the consumer in that on the one hand the 
cousumer knows where and how much goods are being held for future use 
and the warehouseman is protected from a criticism which, if persistently 
indulged in, must prove a serious injury to his business. This statement 
may, indeed, be applied to all the phases of cold storage legislation, and 
where the laws have been in force the longest, I believe that without ques- 
tion the industry receives most credit from the consumer, and cold storage 
food properly handled in storage and sold under an open label out of 
storage is not only viewed without suspicion, but indeed purchased and 
consumed with greater satisfaction. 
The cold storage industry is not a local business, but is very largely a 
feature of interstate commerce. Public warehouses could not be main- 
tained for the convenience of local trade. They must depend upon the 
large shipments collected in one part of the country to be distributed at 
centers of population. For this reason legislation affecting the industry 
should properly originate at Washington instead of as at present in the 
several States. It is perhaps unfortunate that the Federal government did 
not point the way to uniform and reasonable state legislation by itself 
enacting a fair and equitable law. The bills proposed for enactment by 
Congress have, however, been framed without a proper understanding of 
the subject, and for that reason have not met the favor of those engaged in 
the industry, the states’ officials charged with the regulation of the food 
supply, the retail trade dependent so largely for a supply upon the ware- 
house, or the consumer, who wishes only to be protected against unfit food, 
manipulated prices and deception. 
The regulations drafted by officials charged with the enforcement of 
the laws have been generous and pertinent. The laws have been construed 
liberally and with regard for the Wwarehouseman. In general, goods held at 
low temperature in process of manufacture, such as beer and meats in 
cure, have not been held to be in storage. The technical features of the 
stamping and tagging have been made as simple as possible and in practice 
the dating of the time of entry and withdrawal is easily and economically 
done. There is still some dispute as to whether the small dealer, as for 
instance the butcher, who may carry small stocks of meats longer than the 
usual thirty-day period, and the hotel and restaurant, should be held to be 
