76 THE MARKETING OF WHOLE MILK 



worked hard to build up a trade, however, he usually finds 

 that he has difficulty in holding it, first, because it is 

 not an easy matter to get help which will care for milk 

 equipment and do the milking in such a way as to keep a 

 uniformly high standard of quality regularly, and, second, 

 once the demand for a high-grade milk has been estab- 

 lished, it is always relatively easy for a competitor with 

 milk claimed to be "just as good" and offered at a few 

 cents less to attract some of the customers, thus dividing 

 up the business and perhaps making the route unprofit- 

 able. This is particularly true because the demand for 

 a high-grade milk is limited. 



It is sometimes suggested by writers in our daily papers 

 and elsewhere that we go back to the direct method of 

 distribution. Even though it were possible to produce 

 sufficient milk within a reasonable driving distance, such 

 a change in a city like Columbus, for example, would mean 

 more expensive rather than cheaper milk, since it would 

 bring about the extreme of duplication. At present we 

 have several dealers each with the city nicely parceled off 

 so that his delivery-men have certain small areas to cover. 

 Under direct distribution we should have each of many 

 producers seeking customers wherever he could find 

 them, driving over long routes and frequently crossing 

 the routes of other producers. Since producers distribut- 

 ing their own milk usually sell at the same price at which 

 other dealers sell, one would think that if they were mak- 

 ing a large profit, more farmers would take up the market- 

 ing by that method. As a matter of fact, however, the 

 number has been gradually decreasing. 



That it is possible, however, for an individual to enter 

 the business and maintain a trade even under adverse 

 conditions is shown by the fact that a few men are always 



