20 Illinois State Dairymen's Association. 



milk and he said it would never again happen, and this year he 

 won a prize. This is one of the advantages of the milk contest, 

 it points out to the dairymen the defects in their milk and shows 

 them where they can improve, and they do improve to a point 

 where they get a better price for their milk in a great many cases. 



I want just to relate the effects one of these contests had 

 in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland was the first city that 

 ever held a milk contest and they had some sixty-five samples 

 this year; we had an all day dairy meeting and the dairymen 

 were very enthusiastic about the contest. Before that they had 

 been fighting the Board of Health because they were trying to 

 improve the dairy conditions, but after the milk contest was held 

 and the matter was explained, the dairymen began to look at it 

 from the right standpoint and decided the Board of Health was 

 all right and that it would be to their advantage to improve the 

 quality of the milk and cream and improve conditions in their 

 dairies, so thirteen of the better dairymen in that city got together 

 and sent this letter to the Board of Health. I simply read it to 

 show the position which the dairymen are taking these days on 

 the question of market milk. They want to be on the right side, 

 realizing that it is getting to be very important not only from a 

 health standpoint but from the standpoint of their pocketbooks, 

 and they are beginning to get more money for the better product. 

 The letter is as follows. 



We Milk Producers : — 



Who ship milk to the city of Cleveland, desiring to make 

 and ship milk of good quality and to observe the sanitary regu- 

 lations as prescribed by your honorable body, respectfully ask 

 that each and every person shipping milk to the city of Cleveland 

 be required to take out a permit, to be issued by your honorable 

 body, revocable at your pleasure. That said permits shall be 

 classified as 1 or 2. That dairies which score 50 points or above, 

 be classified as No. 1, and all dairies which score below 50 points 

 be classified as No. 3. That all milk dealers, shippers, and ped- 

 lers, who sell milk in the city of Cleveland be required to apprise 

 their customers by placard, or otherwise, at all times, of the 

 class of milk that they are offering for sale, and in case of failure 

 so to do, or in ease of said dealer, shipper or pedler offering 



