CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED REMEDIES 251 



power. Hence farmers would actually have their market- 

 ing alternatives reduced. Instead of having a choice of 

 different dealers in the same city as well as different cities, 

 and different use-demands, they would have only the last 

 two choices. 



The consumer on his part would have to forego the 

 satisfaction at present enjoyed of selecting from among 

 several dealers according to the dictates of personal prefer- 

 ence. At present many consumers have very decided 

 preferences, based on such grounds as variation in quality 

 of milk, differences in time of delivery, or even personal 

 like or dislike of the dealer himself. 



Does the plan seem feasible and desirable? The answer 

 would seem to depend very largely upon local conditions. 

 With an alert citizenship who would put in power a 

 responsible man or set of men of ability who would be 

 held to account, such a plan should work. In most Amer- 

 ican cities, however, it is doubtful whether the plan would 

 be found satisfactory. Most of its advocates have, as 

 one writer puts it, tended to "minimize practical dangers 

 in organization and operation. " 1 A big disadvantage 

 might be found in the fact that much of the skill developed 

 in the milk business by long years of experience would be 

 lost by replacing experienced men with inexperienced 

 politicians. On the whole it is a question whether the form 

 of government in most of our cities is readily adaptable 

 to taking over so complicated a business as that of supply- 

 ing milk. 



Section J. Publicly Regulated Private Monopoly 



Another remedy which has perhaps even more fre- 

 quently been proposed than has municipal ownership is 



1 MacNutt, J. S., Modern Milk Problem, p. 140. 



