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sion that liigli prices are the result of manipulation somewhere between the 

 farm and the consumer rather than a decreasing supply for an increasing 

 demand, the legislation enacted may be assumed to have definite value both 

 to the warehouseman and to the consumer in that on the one hand the 

 consumer knows where and how much goods are being held for future use 

 and the warehouseman is protected from a criticism which, if persistently 

 indulged in, must prove a serious injury to his business. This statement 

 may, indeed, be applied to all the phases of cold storage legislation, and 

 where the laws have been in force the longest, I believe that without ques- 

 tion the industry receives most credit from the consumer, and cold storage 

 food properly handled in storage and sold under an open label out of 

 storage is not only viewed without suspicion, but indeed purchased and 

 consumed with greater satisfaction. 



The cold storage industry is not a local business, but is very largely a 

 feature of interstate commerce. Public warehouses could not be main- 

 tained for the convenience of local trade. They must depend upon the 

 large shipments collected in one part of the country to be distributed at 

 centers of population. For this reason legislation affecting the industry 

 should properly originate at Washington instead of as at present in the 

 several States. It is perhaps unfortunate that the Federal government did 

 not point the way to uniform and reasonable state legislation by itself 

 enacting a fair and equitable law. The bills proposed for enactment by 

 Congress have, however, been framed without a proper understanding of 

 the subject, and for that reason have not met the favor of those engaged in 

 the industry, the states' officials charged with the regulation of the food 

 supply, the retail trade dependent so largely for a supply upon the ware- 

 house, or the consumer, who wishes only to be protected against unfit food, 

 manipulated prices and deception. 



The regulations drafted by officials charged with the enforcement of 

 the laws have been generous and pertinent. The laws have been construed 

 liberally and with regard for the warehouseman. In general, goods held at 

 low temperature in process of manufacture, such as beer and meats in 

 cure, have not been held to be in storage. The technical features of the 

 stamping and tagging have been made as simple as possible and in practice 

 the dating of the time of entry and withdrawal is easily and economically 

 done. There is still some dispute as to whether the small dealer, as for 

 instance the butcher, who may carry small stocks of meats longer than the 

 usual thirty-day period, and the hotel and restaurant, should be held to be 



