Page 36

36            ElEhVENTII ANNUAL CONVENTION.
becoming true of the cheese industry. Unless the cheese-
dealers of Southern Wisconsin who are prilliarily at fault
in this matter will desist ill running all over this country
like hungry wolves devouring almost anything and every-
thing regardless of qualitv for about same price - our swiss
cheese industr y must suffer in fact it has already (lone s5.
We have sacrificed quality for (Iuatntitv an(l inl mallN cases
for the mere sake of getting the cheese. On this account
when cheese prices soar as high as thev (lid the past year
until they reached in a few instances 18 cents per poun(l
f. o. b. factory. Ab price which never was the market it
simply a price made by- the clheese dealers.  The was no
more call for 181 cent swiss cheese the past year than there
was for chicken teeth. It was simply a wild move onl the
part of the dea lers in Southern Wisconsin to out (1o one
another. In this mad(l rush for cheese quality wits sacrificed.
Consequently the cheese markets of this country turned our
cheese down and the imnportedl cheese took its place. I know
of one New York firm that importe(l 150)1 tubs. What has
beer. true of this firm has been true to a greater or less
degree of a great many other firms in this country   Our
swiss cheese was stored away because of high price and the
imported( cheese filled the market.
Because John Jones received 18 cents for his cheese after
Mr. Jones telephoned to all the available dealers and thru
hard work was stuccessful in getting meagre five cents raise
per hundred pounds from some dealer is no reason why his
neighbor Peter Baker should receive the same price. If
Peter Baker has a better grade of cheese he should receive
more, if he has a poorer grade he should receive less, for all
cheese should be bought according to quality and at market
prices. Because of these conditions, I beleive for the good
of the cheese industry, if possible, we should establish a
cheese board somewhere in this vicinity where farmers and
dealers can meet, where cheese will be bought at market
according to quality and not according to the whims of
dealers who carried away by the excitement of ringing