FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER 173 



would suffice. The delivery wagons could be owned 

 and operated by the city, or the right to deliver 

 could be granted to individuals under bond to the 

 city that they would not charge more than a fixed 

 price; and the license should be revoked if the agree- 

 ment was violated or the milk was watered or other- 

 wise depreciated. It is believed that milk could be 

 sold, under such an agreement, at from 6 to 8 cents 

 a quart instead of 10 or 12 cents, which is the pre- 

 vailing price. Then the farmer would be assured a 

 permanent market; he would be able to insist upon 

 a fair price and would be protected in his dealings 

 all along the line. Then it would be to the interest 

 of the city to promote cattle-raising in the neighbor- 

 hood, not only for dairy but for food purposes. 

 The distributers could not play one section of the 

 country against the other; they could not beat 

 down the producer by bringing in milk from another 

 territory and, after having developed the industry 

 in one part of the country, play the producers against 

 one another as was done during the milk strike of 

 the farmers in New York State. When it is consid- 

 ered that the life of the babies of the city depends 

 on milk, that it should be the commonest of food 

 products, it needs no demonstration that the city 

 should be as much concerned over its milk supply 

 as it is over sanitation, cleanliness, or any other 

 subject that affects the life and well-being of the 

 people. But only by eliminating the middlemen 



