t 



selves despite tlie help received from 

 i;overnment indemnities to give the 

 public a pure and healthful milk supply. 

 The bill we are considerint; todav 

 provides for a representative and im- 

 partial bo.ird, ■ Mr. Smith said, "one 

 of whose responsibilities will be to 

 <letcrmine what portion of the con- 

 sumer's milk dollar should yo to the 

 producer and what part to distributors. 

 The bill in no sense provides for rais- 

 ing the price to the consumer. Hun- 

 dreds ol conterenccs have been held 

 but each time distributors have in- 

 sisted on maintaining; a certain mar- 

 gin of profit, and labor has insisted 

 on a certain wa^e scale. And the 

 producer cot what was left." 



Gradually producers have been or- 

 uanizint; to fortify themselves at;ainst 

 an unequal situation, he pomted out 

 I'armers have had to contend with the 

 power and force of money controlled 

 by lar^e milk distributors and some- 

 times the unreasonable demands of cer- 

 tain branches of organized labor. I hope 

 the power of ortranized farm people 

 vvill never have to be used in this wav. 



'Farmers have no cjuarrel with deal- 

 ers for seckini; a return upon an honest 

 investment and for needed services and 

 they have no cjuarrel with labor for 

 seciirini: fair wa^es and reasonable 

 working conditions. But when these 

 results are achieved by taking an un- 

 just toll from the producers of farm 

 products, farmers not only have a right 

 to object but will use every reasonable 

 means at their commanil to insure fair 

 dealings. 



Mr. Sir.ith said there apparently was 

 a need for an impartial board to look 

 into the records ot both dl^tributors 

 and organized milk producers to de- 

 termine costs of production and mar- 

 keting, the sale of milk in the differ- 

 ent classifications, and the division of 

 the consumer's milk dollar. Producers 

 have from time to time suspected and 

 have some evidence to support their 

 suspicions that the quantitv of milk 

 and cream sold in fluid form by some 

 distributors is not alwavs reflected in 

 payments in the Class I price. Milk 

 producers have been subject to all sorts 

 of regulations by city health authorities 

 yet they have absolutely no protection 

 .IS to the price they are to receive. 



Paul E. Mathias of the lAA legis- 

 lative committee opened the testimony 

 by explaining the contents ot the milk 

 marketing bill. Wilfred .Shaw. lAA 

 milk marketing director, revealed that 

 organized Illinois milk producers 

 throughout the state are united in 

 wanting the bill passed. 



Arthur Lauterbach. manager of Piirt 

 Milk Association, Chicago, told the as- 

 sembly that many farmers have lost 



JUNE, 1939 



STATE MILK CONTROL BILL 

 PROVIDES 



STATE MILK BOARD — three pro- 

 ducers and three dealer representa- 

 tives and the Director of Agriculture 

 with power of summons and sub- 

 poena in conducting hearings and 

 inquiries. 



LICENSE AND BOND — Each 

 dealer would be licensed and re- 

 quired to show financial ability or 

 give a suitable bond guaranteeing 

 payment of a two-months supply ol 

 milk. 



AUDITS — state board would 

 have authority to audit accounts of 

 dealers to determine if proper set- 

 tlements are being made to pro- 

 ducers. 



MINIMUM PRICE — Board could 

 fix minimum price to producer for 

 milk on any market when invited by 

 two-thirds of farmers supplying such 

 market. 



60 DAY RESALE CLAUSE — Board 

 could fix retail price of milk not to 

 exceed 60 days within any calendar 

 year. 



TWO-YEAR BILL — Would be 

 enacted only for two years, expiring 

 June 30, 1941. 



money because dealers failed to pay for 

 milk. He asserted that the mdustry is 

 'in a turmoil and needs an umpire. 

 Ihis is one of the mildest bills writ- 

 ten.' he said. It doesn t do all the 

 things the newspapers claim for it. .-Ml 

 honest dealers and organized prodiiccr 

 groups would be protected. The bill 

 puts all distributors under a license and 

 put> the dishonest dealer out ot biiM 

 ness. It provides tor a bond and an 

 audit with payment for milk, according 

 to use " Some form of milk control, he 

 added, is here to stay and unless a mod- 

 erate solution is worked out, milk is 

 headed for treatment as a public utility 



E. ^X'. Tiedeman, president of Sani- 

 tary .Milk Producers, St. Louis, said 

 The St. Louis market has been operat 

 ing under an AAA license, similar to 

 the provisions in this bill, tor tivc 

 years. Nobody has been hurt. The 

 producers get a fair price which has 

 been averaging about 'i cents a quart 

 for Class L The consumer has been 

 paying from eight to l.s cents a ijuart 

 The dealers are making money and 

 labor is employed. The house\*ife can 

 get Grade A milk delivered at her honie 

 from 1(J cents to 1 .S cents a quart or 

 she can buy it at the store for nine 

 cents in two quart bottles. Is the con 

 sumer being hurt? The record doesn't 

 show it. This bill proposes nothing 

 new. nothing experimental, nothing 

 radical. The bill requires that all 

 dealers pay the sanu- price for milk 

 sold in the same class. We believe 

 milk producers on the intrastate mar- 

 kets should have the same protection 

 that producers around the inter-stare 

 nwrkets now have under the .A.A.-K. 



Senator Paddock and Rep. Kelsey of 

 Lake C^ounty, Rep. Wilson. Kankakee 

 county. Rep. Eidler and others took 

 part in ijuestioning the speaker. Re[v 

 Dennis Collins, chairinan of the House 

 .Agricultural ( onimitee ably presi.led 

 .md introduceil the speakers 



President Hurkholder of the Illinois 

 Milk Dealers .Association, who operates 

 a dairy at Decatur called attention to 

 llie need lor ironing out sharp fluvtu.i 

 tions in quantity of milk delivered by 

 producers during the year "^X'e should 

 organize our own industry and solve 

 our own jiroblems. ' he said 



Paul Potter, stvrelary of the organ- 

 ized Chicago milk dealers, s.iid that 

 the bill was not a solution of the 

 problem and suggested that the pro 

 duiers and dealers could solve their 

 problems without the liel|-> of a state 

 marketing board. 



Since the recent one cent reduction 

 in milk prices announced by the larger 

 distributors in Chicago (from 12 cents 

 to 1 1 cents per quart delivered to tbe 

 liomc. .ind nine lents at the stores), in 

 dependent dealers, led by .Meadow 

 moor Dairies, have cut prices in their 

 numerous stores to ~' j cents per quart 

 Destructive conijxtition is under 'v.iv 

 among tiiilk dealers throughout < hi 

 cago and its suburbs. Meantime dealers 

 are reported to be negotiating with 

 producer represent.it ives tor .imxher 

 price cut. Producers in the fluid are.i 

 are netting only about \-2'' iwi. lor a'l 

 milk. In the lovy income sections ot 

 ( hicago and outhini; industrial tuv, iis. 

 reports indicate that hundreds of milk 

 wagon drivers have lost their jobs 

 Thrifty housewives are saving up to 

 four cents a cpiart purchasing at stores 



riimnifiil Fruiii liiiiiiiiiii llii 

 JVIilL rnmmilti't' 



If the l.uts .IS pieseiited by the 

 Illinois .Milk Investigating Committee 

 regarding operation of the Indiana act 

 ire any criterion .is to the .u curacy ot 

 the balance of this report, as a whole 

 it would not be a very good gauge 

 lor determining the future course ot 

 action by either Ieg4sl.it u res or the in 

 dustry. cominents Leon C. C ol!--r. ad 

 ministrator of the Indiana .Milk ( ontri>l 

 .Act in the .May issue of his Milk M.ir- 

 ket Bulletin iust ott ihc press 



'We can sjx-.ik oni\ ot that po,- 

 tion of tlie committee s findings which 

 apply to Indiana. he s.iys ^X'e do 

 know facts here, md knovK :liat many 

 of the statements vvliic h have been made 

 .oncerning operation of the act in this 

 state are misleadini;. erroneous and 

 without foundation, and are in a jmjsi 

 lion to prove this. 



