THE POLICY OF GUARANTEED PRICES 77 



individualist who consumes milk demand im- 

 mediate public control over the production as 

 well as over the distribution of milk. 



Private enterprise does not safeguard us 

 against the delivery at our homes of filthy 

 milk, nor does it safeguard us against a milk 

 famine. There is no law at the present day 

 to prevent the loss of some of our finest young 

 cows owing to the practice of dairymen in 

 urban areas drying off their cows, and[fattening 

 them for the butcher. It is the practice of 

 some town dairymen never to send their cows 

 to the bull ; and one may depend upon it that 

 they only buy the very finest freshly calved 

 cows they can get at the market. 



Private enterprise thinks naturally only of 

 personal gain, and some dairymen seem to find 

 this the most profitable way of managing their 

 business. It was not, I think, until 1912, 

 when I had a long conversation with Mr. 

 Runciman, that England began to think of 

 emulating Austria- Hungary and Ireland by 

 supplying first-class sires to farmers. As late 

 as 1 91 7 it was pointed out before the Selborne 

 Committee " that the number of bulls subsidised 

 under the Scheme — i.e. 675 — was very small 

 compared with the very large number of bulls 

 in the country," and, further, "the experience 

 gained by the Board in the administration of 

 Calf Orders clearly proved that the use of 

 unsuitable bulls was very common among 



