ISSUE CHEESE PRICE-FIXING COMPLAINTS
Issue Cheese Price-Fixing Complaints Two Monroe Companies Are Cited in 'Conspiracy' Charges Charges of conspiracy to fix prices and monopolize all foreign types of cheese produced in Wisconsin are...
...National Dairy, parent of the Luick Dairy Co...
...The respondents were given 20 days by the commission in which to answer the complaint, but the time may be extended on request...
...and the Borden Co., both of New York...
...Companies charged in the complaint are the National Dairy Products Corp...
...Operate in Wisconsin All of the firms named in the com-plant have extensive and numerous plants in Wisconsin where the great bulk of the nation's Swiss and lim-burger cheese is produced and more than half of all cheese manufactured in the United States is made...
...The commission alleged also that the respondents were able through such agreements to control the prices at which those types of cheese were sold over the country, to determine, at least in part, the prices nt which other ! dairy products were sold, to monopolize the entire supply of foreign types of cheese and to "unreasonably lessen, eliminate, restrict, stifle, hinder and suppress competition" in the purchase of foreign types - cheese from factories in the Monroe area...
...An investigation of the Monroe cheese area cheese industry conducted last fall by the Dane county board here resulted in a report declaring a state of monopoly to exist in the foreign type cheese industry...
...parent of Gridley Dairy Co., Milwaukee, controls the Carl Marty Co., Monroe cheese firm, and Lakeshire Cheese Co., Plymouth, besides milk concerns in Madison, Racine, and Fond du Lac...
...The board's special committee named the Borden and Kraft-Phenix firms as purchasers of "by far the bulk" of such cheese...
...Issue Cheese Price-Fixing Complaints Two Monroe Companies Are Cited in 'Conspiracy' Charges Charges of conspiracy to fix prices and monopolize all foreign types of cheese produced in Wisconsin are made against six corporations, including the Borden Co., New York, which operates milk concerns here, in a complaint issued by the federal trade commission at Washington last week...
...ert' products, so named after a combination with Milwaukee interests...
...27, 1938, representatives of the companies had held monthly meetings with representatives of the cheese factories at which agreements for prices and movement of cheese into warehouses were made...
...and J. S. Hoffman & Co., both of Chicago: and the Badger - Brodhead Cheese Co...
...Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corp...
...The complaint, based on an investigation conducted for some time by trade commission agents, alleges the firms have engaged in a conspiracy to control the price and monopolize the supply of foreign type cheese...
...It alleged that since Oct...
...The Kraft firm controls -Pabsf...
...The FTC alleges that the six corporations fixed prices to be paid for the four foreign types of cheese— Swiss, brick, limburger and Muenster —produced in t area around Monroe, Wis...
...and the Triangle Cheese Co., both of Monroe...
...Milwaukee fluid milk and milk products firm, is listed also as being in control of Kraft-Phenix...
...Controls Monroe Firm The Borden Co...
...The commission declared that the corporations named in the complaint purchase the Swiss, brick, limburger and Muenster type cheese output of about 200 of the 250 cheese factories in the Monroe area...
...Neither Luick nor Gridley is involved in the cheese purchasing or marketing operations of the parent concerns...
...The complaint charges that since 1921 there has been a gradual consolidation of cheese dealers, resu'ting in elimination of nearly all independent dealers in the Monroe area, and in fixing of prices and suppression of competition...
...There are other smaller companies in the field," the report said, "but In the last analysis, the ownership of all these companies is ultimately found to rest in either of the two large corporations...
Vol. 10 • April 1940 • No. 14
