In the large cities there has grown up an industry which largely monopolizes the milk supply and which until lately was powerful enough to dictate prices and conditions both for producers and consumers. Several attempts have been made from time to time by farmers to combine to regulate prices and dictate the terms to the middlemen. Such attempts have, however, invariably failed as long as they were built on false economic principles and prompted by selfish interests only. No farmers’ association can be strong enough to ignore the law of supply and demand, and it is only quite recently that the _Dairymen’s League_ has succeeded in influencing the market by taking into consideration the actual cost of production of milk as worked out by the agricultural colleges, and fixing the price on a scientific basis. There is one other element entering into the causes on which the price to the consumers depends, namely, _Transportation_, and while municipal boards of health are looking after the sanitary conditions and prevention of adulteration, State and Federal authorities are stepping in as moderators or arbitrators to reconcile the interests of the _Producers_, the _Railroad Companies_, the _Distributors_ and the _Consumers_. The next step in the development will no doubt be towards full co-operation between producers and consumers and, to a large extent, elimination of the “middlemen.” It should not be forgotten, however, that while the much abused middlemen in time past have been able to dictate terms and prices and have often abused the privilege; they have at the same time used their influence and power to improve the milk supply. As the supply of oil and gasoline has been perfected and cheapened by the all-powerful Standard Oil Co. as a monopoly crushing all competition, so the “Milk Trust” has improved the distribution of milk and has built up the magnificent sanitary plants in which milk is handled, pasteurized, bottled and distributed in a way that might not have been possible without the monopoly. It has served a good purpose, but has at the same time acquired such power that official control has become necessary for the protection of producers and consumers alike, and the time may be near when these two classes will combine and take the matter into their own hands so that the distribution may be done at actual cost. [Illustration: Milk station in the country where milk is received from the farmers to be shipped to the city ] =Milk Stations= are plants erected in dairy sections in the country either by the city milk supply houses or by co-operating farmers, where the milk is delivered and handled so as to make it ready for shipment to the city. As in the creamery and the cheese factory, the milk is carefully examined and, if it is not sweet and pure, it is rejected and sent back to the farm. Any impure flavor remains in the cover for some time and is easily detected by smelling of the cover as soon as it is removed from the can.