142 THE MODERN MILK PROBLEM 



product and, on the other hand, he is opposed by the 

 milk producers from whom he secures his raw material. 

 In some districts these antagonisms have become so 

 acute that the large dealer has a tendency to believe 

 he must look upon the dairy farmers who produce milk 

 and the health authorities who supervise the industry 

 as permanent enemies of the milk business." Obviously, 

 the remedy for this is mutual understanding, fair 

 dealing, and the adjustment of aggravating conditions. 



Dealer and Farmer 



The general situation between dealer and farmer has 

 already been considered in Chapter II and need not be 

 further discussed here. Projects to eliminate the mid- 

 dleman, wholly or partly, as a supposed special ob- 

 stacle to the solution of the milk problem, have been 

 offered, the merits of which will be discussed in Chap- 

 ter V. We may consider for the present the concrete, 

 practical plan of farmers 1 co-operative milk depots in 

 country districts. One of the principal recommenda- 

 tions of the Boston Chamber of Commerce committee 

 of investigation into conditions in New England * 

 dealt with this idea as follows: 



A plant, [reported the committee] well built and equipped 

 would cost from $2,000 to $20,000, according to its capacity 

 and the number of operations carried on. The plant could 

 be owned by the farmers and business men of the locality. 

 Money could be raised by the issuing of non-voting preferred 

 shares to the business men and investors locally, and voting 

 common share to the farmers. 



* See Appendix E. 



