AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 



From the Chicago area the strike spread into southern Illinois. There 

 the farmers asked $1.40 for 3.5 per cent milk sent to the St. Louis market. 

 But although a strike was called, it failed because the producers were un- 

 able to restrict the supply of milk sufficiently to enforce their demands. 

 The distributors managed to beat the strike by getting milk from non- 

 striking farmers and condensery districts outside the area and even by 

 hauling it in from great distances. 



By September, 1916, stories of the success of the organized dairymen had 

 reached the members of the Dairymen's League of New York, and a 

 leader of the Chicago dairymen was asked to come to New York. He 

 helped to arouse the enthusiasm of the farmers there and they set a new 

 price of $2.05 per hundred for 3 per cent milk. After a couple of months, 

 distributors handling 65 per cent of the milk were reported to have met 

 the League prices; the other distributors gradually fell in line and the 

 strike was at an end. Meanwhile, the strike idea had spread among pro- 

 ducers in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. 



The strikes staged by the milk producers during the years 1916 to 

 1920 were fairly successful, despite their temporary effects. They helped 

 focus attention on the sources of the cities' milk supplies and told the 

 public that the farmers had to have a fair price. They were responsible 

 for the increases in retail prices paid by the consumers, and they helped 

 strengthen the cooperative ties of the producers. It is worth noting that 

 the resistance of the consumers to these price increases was less than it 

 might have been because of the general rise in price levels. 



The only strike of importance during the twenties was that of the Pure 

 Milk Association of Chicago in 1929. Once under way, a committee rep- 

 resenting the public was appointed to probe the strike. Interestingly 

 enough, the investigating committee advised price increases to the pro- 

 ducers. The producers had demanded $2.85 per hundred, but the distri- 

 butors were willing to pay only $2.50 for 3.5 milk. The distributors chose 

 to ignore the committee's recommendations. A strike was called that was 

 later put into the hands of an arbitrator. The arbitrator put the price at 

 $2.64 for the first three months and ruled that the distributors were to pay 

 one cent per hundred pounds to the Pure Milk Association on all milk 

 received ; the distributors also were bound to reject milk from producers 

 who were not members of the association. Perhaps the big difference be- 



