American Agriculturist, September 20, 1924 
Why Connecticut Dairymen Believe in Cooperation 
An American Agriculturist Wednesday Evening Radio Talk Broadcast from WEAF 
A LARGE majority of the milk producers 
in Connecticut believe in cooperative 
marketing, because they have learned 
from sad and costly experiences that it is 
not possible to maintain a permanent and suc¬ 
cessful milk-producing industry without being 
organized. Milk production costs in Connecticut 
have constantly increased with the increases in 
the price of grain which are partly caused by the 
higher freight rates on the transportation of grain 
from the West to the East, as well as increases in 
all other cost factors, so that it is no longer pos¬ 
sible to produce milk in large quantities for the 
production of butter or other manufactured dairy 
products in the State. Inasmuch as 75 per cent, 
of Connecticut’s milk is consumed as fluid milk, 
it became necessary for the producers to find a 
means of maintaining prices for milk that would 
cover the increased costs. 
Increased Population Brings Middleman 
As the population of Connecticut cities has 
grown, it became impossible for producers to 
market their milk at retail except such producers 
as were located convenient to the markets. The 
middleman or milk distributor became a neces¬ 
sary agency for the distribution of milk, which 
must be shipped from areas many miles from the 
cities. In the absence of an agency to establish 
a uniform price on milk so handled, the milk 
distributor was obliged to offer to producers 
prices for milk that were frequently below pro¬ 
duction costs, each dealer realizing that he must 
buy milk at least as low as his competitor. 
Individual producers found themselves in the 
position of having prices dictated to them on 
every item of production costs and also of having 
prices dictated to them on their finished product. 
It became plainly evident that the dairy business 
coidd not long survive under such a lack of sys¬ 
tem and the dairy farmer faced the problem of 
going out of business, or organizing. They 
By C. E. HOUGH 
General Manager, Connecticut Milk Producers’ 
Association 
I • 
therefore followed the latter course and formed 
the Connecticut Milk Producers’ Association in 
1917. We have not been without our difficulties 
and troubles. For several years we were in 
constant conflict with milk distributors who 
looked upon us as a dangerous factor in their 
business. - - 
Our production of milk was uneven in volume, 
often being far in excess of the needs of the 
market, with the result that the milk was not all 
salable in fluid form. Many producers would 
find themselves without a market at certain 
seasons of the year and as a result of the endeavors 
of these men to market their product the price of 
milk often fell below the cost of production. At 
other seasons of the year production would fall 
below the needs of the market and it became 
necessary for the dealers to import milk from 
distant areas to supply the needs of the markets. 
Under these conditions many producers criticized 
distributors for wlrat seemed to them unfair 
practice, while the distributors were simply pro¬ 
tecting their business in the only possible way. 
On April 1 , 1921, the Connecticut Milk Pro¬ 
ducers’ Association, seeing the necessity of a more 
even supply of milk, devised a form of yearly 
contract which was executed between groups of 
producers and distributors that contained a 
penalty of two cents per quart that was charged 
against producers for fluctuations in the supply 
above and below" contracted amounts of milk. 
One year’s experience with these contracts 
proved the value of the contract system, but also 
disclosed a weakness which was that it did not 
provide a market for all of our members for all of 
their milk all of the time. 
On April 1, 1922, a pooling contract w r as de¬ 
vised in which the penalty clause w T as retained. 
From that time on we have been able to main¬ 
tain a market for all of our members for all of 
their milk all of the time. The money accumu¬ 
lated from the penalties charged against each 
group of producers is returned to them each month 
on a percentage basis, which constitutes a reward 
to the producers who most nearly fulfill their 
contracts. The use of this pooling contract for 
nearly two and one-half years has clearly demon¬ 
strated that its principles are sound, it having 
solved the greater part of the surplus problem. 
Pooling Plan Takes Care of Seasonal Surplus 
We have found that it is possible to utilize 
seasonal surplus of milk for human food with 
advantage to both producer and consumer and 
our pooling system enables us to so merchandise 
our surplus milk that none is wasted. It has made 
possible the establishment of cordial relations 
between milk producers and milk distributors. 
It has enabled us to stabilize our price by having 
stabilized the supply. Milk distributors in our 
State are now able to secure milk to supply their 
customers at all seasons of the year without the 
necessity of losing money on seasonal surplus. 
Our members can depend upon a permanent 
market at all times and can, therefore, afford to 
produce an adequate supply of fine quality milk 
every day in the year. 
The consuming public have confidence in the 
Connecticut milk industry because it never fails 
to ^supply them with an ample quantity of excel¬ 
lent quality milk at prices that are fair to pro¬ 
ducer, fair to distributor and fair to consumer. 
By cooperation we have been able to learn the 
needs of our markets and are thereby enabled to 
adjust milk shipments to each market in ample 
quantities by the most direct transportation 
routes and in large and economical loads so as to 
eliminate many wastes in transportation that 
were formerly a curse to the industry and a loss 
0 Continued on page 196 ) 
When You Speak In Public 
sill of Us Cannot Be Orators, but We Can Learn How to Express Ourselves 
By EMMA G. WALLACE 
I F w r e have a message to deliver, or something to 
say which is really worth listening to, we ought 
to be willing to give a little attention to the manner 
and method of utterance or delivery. 
Many a fine message is spoiled because the one 
who gives it is not plainly heard or clearly under¬ 
stood. 
It is very tiresome as v r e all know, for anyone 
who sits in an audience to hear part of what is 
said and to lose the rest. The interest is broken 
and usually the finest points of all are 
lost. 
Public speakers who are successful, 
nearly all cultivate the habit of clear 
—very clear, enunciation. This is 
absolutely necessary, because fin a 
room large enough to accommodate a 
number of people, there are sure to 
be echoes or acoustic properties which 
will tend to muffle the voice or to 
make the words seem to run in to¬ 
gether. Clear enunciation is the 
remedy for this. 
Then we can not enunciate clearly 
if- w-e indulge in rapid-fire speech. 
The successful public speaker, again, 
is inclined to talk slowly but without 
dragging.. 
There is a reason for this, and a good one. 
The listener in the audience doe,s not know what 
is coming in the way of description, explanation, 
or statement of fact, while the speaker has all 
this worked out and ready to pour forth. If the 
speaker talks too fast, tumbling one idea rapidly 
on top of the other, the listener is bewildered, and 
while he is assimilating one idea, loses two or 
three others. The thoughtful speaker will con¬ 
sider his hearers in this regard, and will be reason¬ 
ably deliberate in speech for his own benefit, as 
well as for that of the audience. 
A third pointer well worth remembering, is to 
avoid exaggerations of expression. As soon as 
the speaker indulges in these, he arouses suspicion 
of the accuracy or truth of what he is saying. 
Reasonable self-restraint, modesty in the putting 
forward of claims, accompanied by a real sin¬ 
cerity, will make a much better impression than 
an inclination to exaggerate or overstate. 
A fourth principle to remember is that oratorical 
effects are to be avoided unless one is really a fin¬ 
ished and trained orator. Such attempts are likely 
to make the amateur speaker somewhat ridiculous. 
One very w r ell-trained public speaker declares 
that he even avoids exaggerated inflections of the 
voice wffiich w r ould be intended to make his mean¬ 
ing clear, for he assumes that his audience is 
intelligent and able to follow a logical, plainly 
expressed discourse without the aid of verbal 
gymnastics on his part. 
Mannerisms which distract the attention of the 
hearer are to be avoided. These are usually the 
result of nervousness, although sometimes they 
are habit. 
The writer recalls hearing and seeing a widely- 
advertised speaker who assumed the most dis¬ 
tressing posture. With both hands, he clutched 
the back of the collar of his coat, and he clung to 
this part of his garment with frantic intensity 
throughout a long address. It made his au¬ 
dience very uncomfortable and amused some of 
them. 
Some speakers rock back and forth 
from heel to toe in a sort of dizzying 
motion. Others scowl and never 
permit a really human or genial ex¬ 
pression to flit across their counte¬ 
nances. 
Thrusting the hands into the 
pockets, clasping the hands behind 
the back, or continually fumbling 
wdth some article like a handker¬ 
chief, are all mannerisms to be 
avoided. 
A very good rule is to be simple, 
to be natural, to forget oneself, to 
have something worth-while to say, 
to say it clearly, and to support the 
saying with provable facts — then 
w T hen the message is finished, stop. 
It is often remarked that certain speakers have 
poor terminal facilities. That is, they do not 
know how to close wffiat they have to say. There 
is.an art in starting with a striking sentence wffiich 
will challenge interest, and there is an art also 
in closing before the audience is wearied or the 
impression of the message is blurred by unneces¬ 
sary after-remarks. 
The public speaker who is successful even in 
a small group, is clear-cut, straightforward, direct, 
and reasonably brief. 
Public Speaking a Necessity 
I T has been said that one reason why farmers have not obtained 
all that was their due is the fact that generally speaking they 
find it difficult to express themselves. Many people know what 
they want to say but they dread the thought of trying to say 
it in public, even though it may be just a simple business state¬ 
ment. Most people could stand up and say at least a few words 
in a pleasant way if they would just make the effort. 
With the coming of fall, Grange and other local farm meetings 
will commence again. Therefore, we think you will be interested 
in the article on this page giving a few hints about speaking in 
public. 
