The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 25, 1917, Page 14

A Women Interested in Milk Problem Another Letter Comes From “Alice” CAR Margaret: I am enclos- ing a letter from Will. You may have seen in the papers today that he is under indict- ment as a member of the “mills trust”.. 'We ought to be proud to have some of the family breaking into the “trust” business. I guess it's the first time any of us ever got into such aristocratic company. X Farmers are coming up in ‘the world. They've reached the plage where they know enough to organize to carry on theéir business, but they are only just learning that a business organization can’t get anywhere, urless 'its members can control politics—can &t ‘least 'help to make the laws and enforce them to suit themselves. I guess we ‘can safely leave that job to the WNonpartisan league. The farmers here are getting into it-as fast as they can. Some of them have their dues lying out waiting for the organizer to come after them. They are getting the idea ‘of furnishing their own campaign fund to elect thei: own men. ; WASTE ENERGY IN DISTRIBUTING MILK ‘What hurts me most about this millk business is the thought of ali the energy which is wasted in fighting the farmers and which ought to be used.in helping them and the consumer at the same time. If the consumer and farm- er would get together, if the govern- ment would help them to get together, we. could accomplish - something ‘that would be a great benefit to us all. I used to become quite excited over campaigns for public ownership of electric lights and ‘street railways. But they don’t worry me much any more in comparison with the milk problem. 1 believe that of the municipal public utilities, milk 1sithe next one that ought to 'step over into the ranks of public ownership, I think we women especi- ally ought to make it one of our first duties to help it step over. The year I lived in Chicago, T got to thinking what an insane method of handling milk we had. milk from Borden, the people on the second fleor bought from Bowman, and the people in the third flat bought from an independent concern. Borden and Bowman both covered the whole city every day, and several hundred other distributors wandered back and forth over the same territory. I don't sup- pose there is a single block which is not served by at least four milkmen. They all suffer from competition in at least three ways; their patrons are scattered; they will oftén change milk- men instead of paying their bills; ‘and they frequently destroy or fail to re- turn bottles because the miikman ‘dare not insist upon their return so long as they can turn to a rival milkman. WOMEN INTERESTED IN MILK PROBLEM I had a'better chance than some. people have to 'see how funny, the thing really is... You know that Will sells milk to Borden, and John sells. to, Bowman. Think . of:two brothers .selling their milk to rival concerns which have to make the extra costs of competition out of me, the sister.of the milk producers and the consumer of their milk! Why in the world can't my two. brothers and all the ' other: .milk producers get together to 'sell their milk to me, the ¢consumer,; directly? Why can’t they stop fighting each other, meandering over each other’s territory, taking over each other’s bad customers, and pocket the savings they would make? If they can’'t do it, why don't we the consumers get together and do it? Why doesn’t the city go into the busi- ness? I have asked these questions of so many' people that I have gained the reputation of being a crank on the subject. And'T haven't heard any un- answerable argument against it.' The lamest andmost common: objection is, . I was buying ° ~printed in the Leader. The milk problem upon which ‘‘Alice’’ touches in this, her third letter to her sister in the country, is not only a town problem—it 18 also a rural problem. The farmers who produce milk help pay for the duplicate delivery systems. If they could put it into the town and eity kitchens direct, not only would the city housewives and the children be henefited, but-the farm women who get the milk checks would have bigger ‘checks. 1is not that ‘her milk should bedelivered +in Mr. Jones" wagon or Mr. Johnson’s wagon, but that it should have a bacteria count and a butter fat test ‘which make it a safe and a nourishing milk, and that it should be of the qual- _ity for which she is paying and not of "a lower grade. What difference does it make to me whether I buy milk from "Bowman, to whom my brother John sells his milk; or from Borden, to whom my brother ‘Will sélls his milk? The only things 1 care about are that T get milk of the particular quality. for which I'pay, and that as much as possible of that price goes ‘to my brother who pro- duces the milk, and as little as possi- ble for wasteful fnetfiods of distribfit_— ing it. SR 5 : SAME OLD ARGUMENT ( “THEY CAN’T STICK" . Of course, the main argument against one central pasteurizing and distribut- ing plant is that it can’t be established and kept up. In the first place you couldn’t get the farmers to go into it; and in the second place, they wouldn't «stick ‘if they did go into it, they say. Somebody would always be getting raad and going off” to start a delivery wagon of his own. If the city instead of the producers tried to go into the business, promoters would Rave a long A NEBRASKA BOOSTER Hiyo Aden of 'Hazard; Neb., farmer, booster for the Nonpartisan league, member: of the state council of defense, director of the Nebraska Mutual Cyclone Tornado and Fire Insurance company-—and his family, all farms 720 acres of land. enroll members in ‘Nebraska. : League boosters. Mr. Aden He ‘has spent much time helping League organizers Cheer Up John Tditor Nonpartisan Leader: I should like to see enclosed poem It ‘was 'sug- gested by John Baer’s cartoon of him- ‘gelf sitting alone ‘on-the steps of the ‘capitol, ) i 2 e o o ‘Here itis:. . e Cheer up! We're with you, John, .- You're .lonesome now; we know, But in another 'lection, John | . We'll send you 'steen or so. You must break the road, John, For the worker of the soil, But in another "lection, John, Some ‘more ‘will help you toil.- A On shoulders young as yours, John, A nation’s care ‘is laid, The elders are too cautious, John,: Of you we're not afraid. - . So stand by all the farmers, John, 1 + As they will stand by you, And in another ’lection, John, We'll 'be cheered by quite a few 1| . into business. . favoring the city plant would have to U.'S. Food Admin- istration Shield of ¥ Service, a PLEDGE CARD To the Food Administrator: ! I am glad to join you in the service of food_ conseryation for our nation and I hereby accept membership in the United States Food Administration, pledging my- self to carry out the-directions and advice of the Food Administrator in my home, ' insofar ‘as my circumstances permit. 2 / 3 U. 8. Food Admin- istration Shield of Service. Ns.me.....-...............................-...-.o...u.mm..o.....—o"o.—.“}( Street “But Mrs, Smith' won’t give wup ‘her - milkman. ~ She thinks he has the best * milk she ever used.” If it really is a fact that there are women who feel that way, then it cer- tainly is time 'to begin the education of the public on the milk question. It cer- tainly is time for Mrs. Smith to learn that the really important thing for her . i eedons .-.--’..-‘.n.....-.-'.o..'n....-.-_'.’:un...-..»..»—.-&-uu’;u-..n’u« CltYoieiaieosiesvivoasses casmosisssassamsnvssss cotato. ) tossssansnete s trssanesali There are no fees or dues to be pald. The Food Administration wishes to have as members all of those actually handling food in the home, : Anyone may have the Home Card of Instructi are entitled to Membership Window Card, which signed pledge. You can fill this ou as your pledge. ion, but only those signi led will ‘be delivered upon rece“l{)tnot '{fi: t, clip It and send It to the Food Administration at Washlnq&ir road to go before they were ready for . ‘business. They would have to have a state law giving them the right to go into business; then each city would have to get its city council to let it go That means that those fight all the big distributorsin the legislature and in the city council. -And they would be pretty sure to run up against a limitation ‘on ‘the bond issue. There is really just one answer to all these arguments; and that is, that whether it seems possible ‘or not; it is going to be done. When a few “agita= ‘tors” have talked abouf‘ it long enough, and the consumers have grown mad enough, and the producers have grown mad ‘enough, somehow ‘or other, it is : going to be done. I almost forgot that this started out as a letter. T guess there isn’t much except the start and the finish that look anything like a letter, but it is too long already to add any news items. Yours for the speedy public manage= mont of milk distribution, ALICE. i VIEWS OF A HAYSEED i My man and 1 are all broke up About the price on ‘grain; Since Hoover ‘tried to fix things up Our hearts have had a pain. For many years we've tugged along And tried to get ahead, /But now it 'seems we've worked in vain, We might as well be dead. Since Uncle Sam got in this war ‘We read the papers some To get the start of Kaiser Bill And put him on the bum. ‘So as we look the papers ‘through "We learn a 1ot of things, : About how millionares ‘are made And how our dough takes ‘wings. The swell folks tell us ‘we should plant A lot more corn-and wheat, So they can live in idleness ‘With lots of time to eat. The steel men and the powder men Become as rich as sin, Their profits mount up to ‘the skies Since war has ‘started in. My man and I, we were two fools So put in lots of ground, ‘We saved like sixty all ‘this year And this is what we found: A bunch of men sit in a room, ‘With collars stiff and white, They ;gamble on the farmers work They sometimes 8it all night. They make believe they're helping us, They button up their coats, They look as innocent as lambs,’ But plan to get our goats. My man and I are onto this, ‘We're getting ‘kind of wise 'We'll Tet them skin us Just ‘this once And then spring a surprise. No, I won't tell you ‘what it is, But plans are being laid, ! So they can scratch and dig a white . And we sit in the shade, MRS. E. W. FENNO, Berlin, N. Dy MICHIGAN WANTS LEAGUE ° : Detroit, Miohe A; C. Townley, St. Paul, Minn: I have noted with pleasure the growth of your organization and hope it will spread over the whole United States soon. I do not see why the present is not an opportune time for the movement to start in this state. A few of us in the Detroit Federation are in the movement to have the price of potatoes reduced to the consumer, ‘We also would like to see the farmer get a fair price for his product. The middleman is getting the lion’s share and has done ever since he began te mix politics with his business, If we can enable the farmers in the outlying districts to get a better price than the middleman will pay them, we will have their good will at least, H. L. BENSON. “NEVER PUT OFF UNTIL 'TO- . MORROW WHAT YOU CAN DO TO- DAY,” — WE WERE THINKING ABOUT OUR WINTHER TUNDER«