5000 Pure Milk Producers Meet 



in Cliicago 



Chicago iUilk Shed Dairymen Deluged With Surplus 



Seek Means of Maintaining Fair Prices 



l/^NE warm, sunshiny morning in 



l"^ I mid-March, some 3,000 dairy- 



\_y men from the Chicago fluid milk 



shed arose earlier than usual, milked 



their surplus-producing herds of Hol- 



steins, Guernseys, Jerseys, Brown Swiss, 



and Durhams, changed hastily to Sunday 



• clothes and pointed their cars cityward 



" for the I4th annual meeting of the Pure 



Milk Association. 



Faced with a deluge of milk and but- 

 terfat, the lowest butter price in five 

 years (21%c a lb.), a federal indict- 

 ment affecting their organization, and 

 marketing conditions bordering on chaos, 

 producers were interested in learning 

 what their organization could do about 

 their No. 1 economic problem. 



No rabbits were pulled out of the hat, 

 nor effort made to hide or gloss over 

 cold, hard facts as courageous, level- 

 headed. Arthur H. Lauterbach, new man- 

 ager of the Association, told Pure Milk 

 members meeting in the historic Audi- 

 torium theatre that, "we are facing a most 

 discouraging situation right now. 



"Milk distributors are buying milk 

 from non-members for less money than 

 the PMA price ($1.71 for 3.5% in 

 Feb.). If this situation cannot be cor- 

 rected, it will break down our entire 

 price structure," he said. Known by few 

 producers is that dealers are cutting milk 

 prices right and left for quantity orders 

 to consumers, that milk wagon drivers 

 have lost many customers who save 2c 

 and more per quart by going to stores. 



Keenly aware of the big, cheap milk 

 supply of excellent quality in the cream- 

 ery, condensery and cheese factory re- 

 gions just beyond the fluid milk shed, 

 Lauterbach warned producers that they 

 cannot look for cost of production (esti- 

 mated at $2.00 a huncired for 3.5 per 

 cent milk) even for the average efficient 

 farmer until butter and cheese prices are 

 higher. Going price at condenseries 

 range around $1.17 or less for 3.5% 

 milk. 



Commenting on the federal milk in- 



dictment, Lauterbach said, "In our brief 

 to the court we have tried to point out 

 that as a co-operative we are exempt 

 from the Sherman Anti-trust Act be- 

 cause we are operating under the Capper- 

 Volstead Act which was passed to exempt 

 co-operatives. We are doing everything 

 possible to reach an agreement with the 

 government because we believe that a 

 long drawn out court case will cost farm- 

 ers millions of dollars in costs and losses 

 in the price of milk." 



The possibility of an AAA marketing 

 agreement at Chicago looms ahead be- 

 cause of the indictments and reluctance 

 of dealers to agree to any plan to sta- 

 bilize the milk market, Lauterbach said. 

 "If that becomes a fact there will be no 

 alternative but to insist that Secretary 

 Wallace under the law call a hearing and 

 give us aid under the Agricultural Ad- 

 justment Act. This may become em- 

 barrassing for the Department of Justice 

 and the Department of Agriculture, but 

 if milk prices go any lower the financial 



A. H. "AHr- LAUTERBACH 

 "now we are looking ior on umpue** 



condition of many of our farmers will 

 be serious." 



He cautioned dairymen "not to be too 

 hasty in abandoning our present agricul- 

 tural AAA prograrh for something that 

 may not be as good as we now have. . . . 

 The present program is not perfect but 

 it is the best we have ever had and I 

 am sure out of it will develop some 

 permanent good for agriculture." 



Advocated was an additional one cent 

 check off "to make some changes in 

 plant operations .... to pay indebted- 

 ness against plants .... to put in cream 

 separators, to stop duplicate hauling and 

 plant costs .... to provide more working 

 capital." 



Prospects of Chicago being opened to 

 the distribution of milk and cream in 

 waxed paper bottles is another disturb- 

 ing situation facing established milk deal- 

 ers. A suit was recently filed by a paf)er 

 bottle company against the City of Chi- 

 cago for damages resulting from a health 

 department ruling banning the use of pa- 

 per bottles for alleged sanitary reasons. 

 Suburban housewives in the meantime 

 are buying milk and cream in paper bot- 

 tles at less cost and seem to like the new 

 package. 



"In Chicago the milk industry which 

 includes producers, labor, and distribu- 

 tors has been guilty of selfishness which 

 develojsed chaos, and now we are look- 

 ing for regulation, for an umpire that 

 will tell us when we do not play the 

 game according to the rules. ... In my 

 opinion milk control is here to stay and 

 the extent to which it will go will de- 

 pend onAow co-operative we as an in- 

 dustry wUI be, also on how far the courts 

 will go in approving such regulation," 

 Lauterbach said. 



Presiden\ G. H. Ekhoff reported that 



(C^iinued on page 13) 



APRIL, 1939 



