77 



The consumer has a responsibiUty in the milk problem which should 

 not be overlooked. Dairying is the only business which is not compen- 

 sated on the basis of merit. Every other commodity in use is valued 

 according to its quality. This is true of sugar, meat, fruit, vegetables 

 and so on, but it is not true of milk. Practically all milk is sold on the 

 same basis. The community does not distinguish in either price or 

 patronage between the producer who makes clean milk, rich in butter 

 fat, under sanitary conditions, and that of the farmer whose milk is of 

 uncertain quality. Nevertheless the cost of milk production, like other 

 commodities, varies according to the diligence of the operator and the 

 care which he bestows on his work. 



A milk which contains five per cent of butter fat is much more 

 nourishing than is one which contains only three per cent and is there- 

 fore more valuable. At the present time the community makes no dis- 

 tinctions on this basis and pays as much for a milk poor in cream as it 

 does one which contains a high percentage. Certain types of dairy cattle 

 produce large volumes of milk of a low fat percentage. Other types 

 produce smaller quantities of milk with higher fat percentage. Under 

 the present method of buying and selling, the farmer is encouraged to 

 propagate the first^mentioned type of cattle. The obvious conclusion 

 from this is that milk should be bought and sold on the basis of its 

 nutritive value and not according to its mere bulk. It may be said, 

 therefore, that the community by its method of purchasing milk without 

 reference to its food value, and without discriminating between the 

 different grades of milk, puts a premium on bad methods of farm manage- 

 ment and inferior products. 



Those seriously interested in the milk industry and who have its wel- 

 fare at heart can ill afford to much longer delay attacking these funda- 

 mental evils. As before mentioned, if the individual interests cannot or 

 will not make pure milk possible at a reasonable cost for all the commu- 

 nity, then the community itself will take it in hand. This would not be 

 a revolutionary thing to do, for nearly every city in the United States at 

 the present time is engaged in doing this very thing. Milk stations 

 operated by the city for the benefit of the poor are now nearly as common 

 as schools. The establishing of milk depots for the benefit of the whole 

 community would not mean the adoption of a new form of government, 

 but rather a question of arithmetic; not one of abstract political philos- 

 ophy, but rather a matter of self-defense and simple numbers. I repeat, 

 the question of pure milk is of vital public concern. Those engaged in 

 the industry should solve it with the aid of the community. They can 

 scarcely afford to do otherwise. 



[From this point on. Dr. Williams illustrated his remarks by the use 

 of the stereopticon.] 



