As already stated, numbers of German communities have carried the practice of municipal ownership into the supply of foodstuffs. In the United States, where municipal freedom is much more limited by the State consdtutions, specific laws on the statute books forbid local communities competing with private enterprises. Such proved to be the case when the Socialist party, electing the mayor and city coun cil of Schenectady, N. Y., in 1911, at-. tempted to establish a central depot for the supply of ice and groceries to the citizens. A decision of the courts com pelled the abandonment of the enterprise, which was turned over to a co-operative society.
With the rapid rise in the prices of foodstuffs during and after the war, a decided movement has been initiated for the municipal supply of foodstuffs in American cities. This was strongly stim ulated when the War Department, in Washington, placed its surplus food sup plies on the market for distribution in the fall of 1919, to be distributed among the people on a limited, or non-profit basis. Under the supervision of the city authorities, the city of New York dis tributed large quantities of these sup plies, utilizing the public schools as cen ters of distribution. Following this ex
ample, thousands of smaller communities throughout the country undertook to re ceive assignments of foodstuffs from the War Department and distribute them among their citizens at nearly cost price, the stipulation being that no profit should be made.
Municipal milk supply is a special phase of this class of municipal owner ship which has received much considera tion in recent years. In Great Britain this idea has been put into limited prac tice and is being advocated by many popular organizations, especially of women. Here, however, the question of public health is closely involved, so that milk is considered well within the legiti mate scope of municipal enterprise, even by people otherwise against too wide a broadening of municipal ownership. Of the political parties the Progressives have stood for a considerable extension of the principle of ownership, while the Socialists consider it one of the funda mental planks of their platform.