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the situation is he is conducting a very bulky and a very wasteful business, 

 and notwithstanding the fact that he is collecting from the consumer five 

 times in that case what the ice costs in the house, and notwithstanding 

 that is only one-fifth the investment, he still does not get rich. That is the 

 point. With regard to the general proposition, I think we need consolida- 

 tion, as the large dealers and the small dealers should get together and have 

 a central plant. When we get to that happy condition, where the public 

 will let us work out our own salvation, we will try to work it out, but the 

 moment that we consolidate and come together, some newspaper charges 

 us with conspiracy and we are threatened with prosecution under the anti- 

 trust act, and consequently we are debarred from a combination. It is 

 not popular in these days to combine. We must go on in the old expensive 

 way, and perhaps in the course of fifty or one hundred years it will all work 

 out satisfactorily, but by that time some of us will be under the ground, I 

 fear. There is no question but what it is a great work. It is well said that 

 the farmer does not reckon his cost as he should. There is no doubt about 

 that. He does not reckon his cost as the manufacturer does. The manu- 

 facturer who would produce upon the loose methods that the farmer does 

 would go to the wall very soon. 



In the matter of the distribution of milk there has been very great 

 waste. There is no question about that. In running a dozen wagons 

 in one block there is great waste. When all these factors are reduced 

 to a good economical shape, the farmer will get more for his milk and the 

 producer will not pay more for it, but will pay for what it is worth. They 

 will learn to distinguish, as was drawn out here tonight, between milk 

 of low bacteria count and high fat and a high bacteria count and low 

 fat. The buyer does not discriminate and consequently we have a condi- 

 tion that it is very hard to get along with or to get results from. 



Mks. Smith: Professor C. W. Larsen, of Pennsylvania State College, 

 is now going to speak to us on the ''Cost of Milk Production." 



