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A Greenstreet News Co. Publication
Consumers Testify At Milk Hearing
(continued from PAGE ONE)
Additionally, the court held that the board
_ did not present data required by law to justify
‘the price increase and ordered the board to
develop and promulgate a uniform ac-
counting system that meets the Milk Act’s
requirements.
The court, however, did not rescind the
price hike in effect, and thus consumers have
been forced to pay more than a million dollars
extra in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area
alone for milk under the illegal price order
- which went into effect in July, 1970.
Most supermarkets, which normally retail
milk. only in throwaway containers, are
selling milk for 5 cents more, or $1.20 a gallon.
Home delivery is generally a few cents a
gallon more.
CONSUMERS’ INTEREST
Elaine Freeman, chairman of the Scranton
Nutritional Workshop, a member of the
Justice Department’s Consumer Protect
Council, and a member of the Pennsylvania
Agriculture Department’s Consumer Affairs
“Council, told the milk board that she was
concerned about the spiraling cost of milk in
the gegion. ‘Who is upholding the consumers’
inte¥est,” she asked the board, ‘‘in the pricing
of milk ‘when this region is faced with the
highest unemployment rate since 1959, and a
per capita income not only below the Penn-
sylvania average, but below most of our
neighboring states which enjoy a lower milk
price and generally lower grocery prices.
~ “It appears that the Milk Marketing Board
is protecting the wholesaler or big distributor
rather than the farmer or more importantly
the consumer,” she charged, asking ‘who
‘protects the consumer, and what should we as
consumers do about lowering the price of
milk?”
. awiggesting a solution if nothing else
wodked, Mrs. Freeman asked the board if
consumers cannot appeal to the milk
marketing board to lower milk prices con-
shy with neighboring states must they
“unite in a massive boycott stress the point
that the consumer cannot continue to sit back
“and allow the price of milk to reach such
be ree ni ess mii Sa
“| am prepared to lower the price of milk to 96 cents a gallon in my !
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unrealistic proportions?’’ She further
suggested “more active participation of
consumer advocates on the Milk Marketing
Board, or in setting changes in the milk laws;
the gee of returnable bottles to be used in all
tor
sylyania;, and reasonable milk pricing
compalible with neighboring states.”
a 30 OR 40 CENTS MORE
1 Reting as counsel for Mrs. Freeman during
the hearing was Scranton Atty. John E. V.
~ Pieski, who earlier told the Agriculture
Department’s Consumers Affairs Council
that milk pricing needed reform. In a
prepared statement Mr. Pieski said, “The
Pennsylvania farmer receives no more for his
milk than in states bordering Pennsylvania,
but yet the consumer pays 30 cents or 40 cents
‘more per gallon in Pennsylvania than in
neighboring states. “For example,” he
continued, ‘‘one company sells milk in
Pennsylvania at $1.32 per gallon but the same
company, getting the milk from the same
farms, sells it in Ohio for 89 cents a gallon.
‘a. We must abolish price setting to con-
S¥mers,”’” he contended, ‘‘allowing free
competitive prices in the market place, while
at the same time protecting the farmer as we
do the laborer in a factory and the small milk
dealer.”
¥The consumer adovcate said that at one
~ time there were over 30 states that controlled
consumer milk prices but today there are less
than 10. “Consumers,” he maintained, ‘‘can
enjoy much lower milk prices and have the
freedom of choice of purchasing their milk if
the board would allow efficient milk dealers
to pass on their savings to consumers. It is a
known fact that consumers use more milk
when prices are lower.” ;
Retailer Mr. Sandfort has been a long-time
advocate of a lower consumer milk price. He
said Thursday that he had the benefit of ac-
counting records from his 82 outlets in New
Jersey which indicated that with a lower milk
_avice his volume would increase to more than
fset the difference in price, thus benefiting
m
since 1959
the consumer. He said he had filed a case in
the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1966 to
force the New Jersey Milk Board to permit a
price roll back to 87 cents a gallon from $1.08,
during which he still made a profit even
considering he was shipping Pennsylvania
milk to New Jersey for marketing. In winning
the New Jersey Supreme Court case, the
~ court ruled in favor of Mr. Sandfort’s Garden
State Farms operation, and lowered the price
“to his requested 87 cents a gallon. He said that
he was now doing the same thing, that is
transporting Pennsylvania milk, purchased
by Louden Hill under federal standards, to
New Jersey where he was retailing it for 96 a
gallon and making a ‘reasonable’ profit. He
maintains stiffly that in New Jersey his
volume increased for 14 consecutive months
after the price roll back, thus premitting him
to make more money in the long run.
and supermarkets throughout Penn-
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Louden Hill Atty. Myers said in an in-
terview Wednesday night that milk was the
only commodity in which the price is
regulated by the state, with the exception of
liquor, which the state retails outright. He
said the need for a milk marketing board
dates back to depression days when farmers
found it difficult to sell their milk at any price.
“But in 1937,” Atty. Myers added, ‘the
Federal Government got into the act and
passed legislation which guarantees 90
percent of the farmers a fair price for their
milk,” thus eliminating farmers from any
benefits they might otherwise receive from
the state milk board.
FARMERS
“Farmers are skeptical over the outcome
of state control,” Atty. Myers added, ‘‘but it’s
a simple fact that farmers are not helped by
the state board.”
In his three-year fight with the milk
marketing board while representing Louden
Hill, Atty. Myers charged that there was still
no uniform system of accounting, even though
the Pennsylvania Legislature stipulated that
such was a must back in 1968.
“Even if the board’s accounting system
were a good one,” Mr. Sandfort charges, “it’s
hard to see how the board could use it to
justify the price increase. How can you justify
a September 1970 hike from data starting in
September 1971—a whole year later?
“The board should have admitted it was
wrong when Commonwealth Court ruled last
February, and rescinded the increase until it
could come up with the actual costs in the
dairy industry as required by the Milk
Marketing Act,” Mr. Sandfort added. “In-
stead, the board has stalled for over 10
months, overcharging Scranton—Wilkes-
Barre consumers over a million dollars in
unwarranted high milk prices.”
Among others who testified during the
Scranton hearing were Bernice Rabin,
chairman of a Luzerne County citizens group
known as FED-UP; William F. Matson of the
Pennsylvania. League for Consumer
Protection; Agnes Peoples of the Wilkes-
Barre Rights Organization; and Kennetl
28 retail outlets within the hour.”
Cannon of the Luzerne County Office of
Economic Opportunity. :
J. Lin Huber, milk marketing board
chairman, who presided at the Scranton
hearing last week, has been under fire
recently from Gov. Milton Shapp for ad-
ministration practices ‘which the governor
has called’ “‘negligent and inefficient.”
In addressing members of the rural electric
cooperative last November, Gov. Shapp said,
“I have not made a secret of my unhappiness
with the Public Utility Commission. Frankly,
the time has come in this state to put an end to
the outmoded agencies of government which
for too long have been the defenders of the
industries they are supposed to regulate,
instead of being the protectors of the con-
sumer.
Gov. Shapp added that'‘“‘the time was ripe
for abolition of old boards and commissions
such as the PUC and the Milk Marketing
Board and creation of a new Department of
Consumer Affairs which would be empowered
to act in behalf of the people and not in behalf
of the special interests.”
Likewise, Pennsylvania Agriculture
Secretary James McHale has advocated
abolishing the milk control board, over which
he has no jurisdiction. In a news conference
recently in Scranton’s Holiday Inn, the
secretary said that Pennsylvania consumers
are paying at least $80 million a year more for
milk than the national average. He atributed
the high price to chain stores ‘‘pinning down
milk cooperatives and dealers.” He added
that chain stores are making about 40 cents on
a gallon of milk.
The remaining deep dark secret, of course,
is what milk dealers and supermarkets really
make in profit on milk in retail operations.
The milk marketing board is evidently in the
dark about such data as anyone else. Some
consumer advocates, however, say retailers
are making almost 40 cents a gallon in profits,
but hide such earnings in complicated ac-
counting procedures.
At any rate, the milk board will reconvene
“Who is upholding the consumers’ interest in the pricing of milk
i
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| when this region is faced with the highest unemployment rate
!
its Scranton hearing again in January, during
which consumer advocates are expected to
again stack the deck in favor of lower milk
prices. ;
3 Goodluck
A big wonderful round
of New Year's greet-
ings from us . . . to you.
7
THE DALLAS POST, DEC. 28, 1971
A new book called Drag
Racing by Julie Morgan is now
available at the children’s
annex of the Back Mountain
Memorial Library. The
photographs were taken by
Hank Morgan and Ernest
Baxter. Cars have a strong
appeal for most young people
and driver’s license can be a
badge of importance. Many
youthful drivers care about
more than just sitting behind
the’ wheel. How are cars put
together? How fast can they be’
made to go? Drag racing,
growing to be one of today’s
most popular sports, is proof of
this interest.
Church Service
At Trucksville
Worship services at the
Trucksville United Methodist
Church will be held Jan: at 9:30
and 10:50 a.m. The Rev. Dr.
Laurence T. Beers, pastor, will
speak on the subject: ““GOD’S
KINGDOM—HOW NEAR?” in
his series from the Gospel of
Matthew. Each service will
conclude with the traditional
Methodist Covenant Service for
the beginning of a New Year.
Church will be held Jan. 2 at
9:30 and 10:50 a.m. The Rev.
Dr. Laurence T. Beers, pastor,
will speak on the subject:
“GOD’S 'KINGDOM—HOW
NEAR?” in his series from the
Gospel of Matthew. Each
service will conclude with the
traditional Methodist Covenant
Service for the beginning of a
New Year.
Jones Aids in
Crew Recovery
Navy Petty Officer Third
Class Edward A. Jones Jr., son
of Mr. and Mrs. Edward A.
Jones Sr. of 79 Oak Drive, RD 4,
Dallas, has returned to San
Diego aboard the destroyer USS
Henry W. Tucker, following a
six month deployment off the
coast of Vietnam.
While deployed, his ship
supported allied forces in the
Gulf of Tonkin, and helped to
recover the crews and debris of
two downed strike aircraft.
- He attended Wilkes-Barre
Business College.
Completes Training
Marine Pfc. William G.
Youells, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Marvin Youells, 34 Carverton
Road, Trucksville, has com-
pleted specialized training in
Aviation Electronics at Marine
Corps Air Station, Cherry Point,
N.C. #
He is a 1970 graduate of
Dallas Senior High School,
Dallas.’ Sr 72
Some cars are raced along an
oval track, or over a difficult
course. Drag racing is set up as
a contest of speed between two
cars at a time, along a straight
quarter-mile runway.
The thousands of entries in
these races mean that there
must be many different
categories of cars. They range
from the topspeed, totallv
rebuilt professional vehicles to
cars driven in off the road with
very few ‘changes 'in' their
motors or bodies.
Professionals and amateurs
mingle together in this sport.
Speed, plus the abilities of the
‘car and its driver, are what
concerns them and the large
crowd cheering them on.
The
book entitled
| Snowmobiles is also by Julie
Morgan. This is a very complete
book on the subject for anyone
interested in snowmobiles. The
icy bite of winter used to drive
people indoors from November
through April. All across the
“Snow-belt’’ states of upper
North America, humans
hibernated. Now, the months of
winter monotony have turned
into a time of winter play, due to
one invention: snowmobiles.
Snowmobiles are motor-
driven sleds with two steel skis
sledding.
. Racing Is Topic of New Books
attached in front for steering
and a rubber tanklike tread in
back. This tread grips the snow
and propels the vehicle across
the sculptured white land-
scapes, many of which were
formerly seen only by those on
snowshoes or skis.
With fiberglass bodies and
light, two-cylinder engines of
from 10 to 75 horsepower, these
compact machines usually
travel 15 to 40 miles per hour,
and ‘the “average cost is abofit
$1,000. J 3
A racing vehicle can increase
its speed up to about 90 mph and
is usually bought for about
$1,800, although snowmobiles
with engines modified for the
racing track can cost over
$4,000. The snowmobile speed
record is 114.5 mph.
Riding in a snowmobile has
been described as a cross
between skiing. and bob-
Operating the
machine is very simple, and the
basics can be learned in
minutes, even by children.
Whipping through the snow on
these sleds has become the
fastest-growing sport in North
America. In 1960, there were
only about 300 vehicles in the
country; now there are over a
million being operated in The
United States and Canada.
RETAIL ONLY
Washable Papers
£79 OR HAVE US DO IT FOR YOU
Prepasted and Strippable Papers
Wallpapers With Matching Fabrics
Showroom Hours 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.—Evenings by Appt.
CAMEO PAINTING & DECORATING CO.
933 Wyoming Ave. West Pittston ;
DO IT YOURSELF
Vinyls and Murals
FOLTONK WYOMING VALLEY MALL
I Wilkes-Barre Pa.
Page 5
| For The Record
- Congress Votes is issued every week that Congress is in session.
It covers all votes of record and reports the position taken on
each measure by ihe elected official whose name appears
below.
Daniel J. Flood
11th Congressional District, Pennsylvania
Week ending Thursday, December 16, 1971
The legislative business of the first session of the 92nd Congress
was concluded on Friday. The work of the second session will
begin on January 18, 1972, and accordingly the next issue of
Congress Votes will be dated January 20th.
The Economic Stabilization Act amendments of 1971 (H.R.
11309) authorize the President to control the level of prices,
rents, and wages until April 30, 1973. Before passage (see below)
there were three record teller votes on amendments to H.R.
11309. :
Whether fo require the retroactive payment of wage increases
for which contracts existed prior to Aug. 15, 1971 and where
funds have been provided to cover such increases. Ayes 209.
Noes 151. Agreed to, Dec. 10. :
MR. FLOOD VOTED NO.
Whether to make public selected information received in
justification of wage or price increases. Ayes 73. Noes 275.
Rejected, Dec. 10.
MR. FLOOD VOTED NO.
Whether to allow the President to designate which private
pension and welfare plans are subject to controls. Ayes 170.
Noes 184. Present 1. Rejected.
- MR. FLOOD DID NOT VOTE.
Whether to pass H.R. 11309. Yeas 325. Nays 33. Passed, Dec.
10.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
Whether to agree to H.R. 11341, a bill authorizing a federal
base payment of $173 million to the District of Columbia in fiscal
1972 and $178 million in fiscal 1973. Yeas 242. Nays 93. Agreed to,
Dec. 10.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
Whether to pass H.R. 11628 which authorizes $70 million for
construction grants to hospitals in the District of Columbia.
Yeas 160. Nays 200. Rejected, Dec. 13.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
Whether to agree to the Conference Report on H.R. 10367,
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Yeas 307. Nays 60.
Agreed to, Dec. 14.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
Whether to agree to the Conference Report on H.R. 11731,
providing funds for the Dept. of Defense in fiscal 1972. Yeas 292.
Nays 39. Present 1. Agreed to, Dec. 15.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
Whether to agree to the Conference Report on H.R. 11932,
providing funds for District of Columbia operations. Yeas 260.
Nays 79. Agreed to.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
_ Whether to agree to the Conference Report on H.R. 6065,
whiéh provides arn-added 13 weeks of benefits to the unemployed
in those states with a high jobless rate. Yeas 194. Nays 149.
Agreed to, Dec. 15.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
Whether to pass H.J. Res. 1005 which provides funds until
Mar. 15, 1972 for those agencies whose appropriations for fiscal
1972 have not been approved by Congress. The measure includes
$3.0 billion for foreign aid. Yeas 234. Nays 86. Passed, Dec. 15.
MR. FLOOD VOTED YEA.
| Ambulance log |
NOXEN
Dec. 22—Helen Rhode was taken from Wilkes-Barre General
Hospital to Carpenter’s Nursing Home. Crew: Earl Crispell and
Roger Boston.
(we will close at 5:30 New Year'‘s Eve)
¢. regular store hours
Monday thru’ Saturday
0S mM 9:30°til 9
CANNONe
Sibyl amily
MADE IN WR <>
JANUARY WHITE SALE
Feature:
CANNON NO-IRON
PERCALE SHEETS & CASES
SALE
Twin flat, reg. 4.50, fitted, reg. 469 2.99
Full flat, reg. 5.50; fitted, reg. 5.69 3.49
Twin X-long, reg. 5.69 4.99
Full X-long, reg. 6.50 5.79
Cases, 42 x 36, reg. 3.25 pr. 1.79 pr.
; other Cannon Royal Family
bedding . . . and towels . . . at comparable savings
Domestics, second floor
DIAL 823-4141
24 hours a day
7 days a week
Dick cnx Walker
WILKES-BARRE
»