CHAPTER VIII 



CONCLUSION 



THE milk business is a business in which the public has 

 a particularly vital interest at stake. Public regulation 

 of all phases of the business is justified, but greater care 

 should be exercised than has been used in the past in im- 

 posing regulations upon the business in order not to un- 

 necessarily hamper the production or distribution of the 

 product. Producers themselves are beginning to see that 

 proper regulation is not only the rightful privilege of the 

 consumer but may actually benefit the producer as well. 



It would seem to be desirable to encourage a greater 

 degree of concentration in the city milk business, so as 

 to secure any advantages of large-scale operation, reduce 

 duplication to a minimum, make possible the use of the 

 most sanitary methods of handling milk, and facilitate 

 public regulation as to sanitary conditions and quality. 



The wastefulness of the competitive system in the milk 

 business is undoubtedly very great, but probably no 

 greater than in many other lines of endeavor. Cost of re- 

 tail distribution could undoubtedly be reduced one or two 

 cents per quart if the business could be centralized, pro- 

 vided it were conducted as efficiently as are the more 

 efficient privately operated concerns to-day. 



Municipal ownership and operation, regulated private 

 monopoly, cooperation by producers or consumers, zoning, 

 the milk commission or milk arbitrator plans, all offer 



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