172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



followed the method that was used out there. They had been 

 successful there, although their conditions were different from 

 ours and our territory was much larger. 



I believe that shortly after the 1st of October, about the 5th 

 or 6th, the supply of milk to New York City was cut down to 

 nearly 30 per cent, but I'm not going into the details of all that 

 went on in that milk strike. I was in New York at the time, 

 and it certainly was hard work. It was about a twenty-four 

 hour a day job, and I would like to state now that the job of 

 the President of the Dairymen's League is not an eight-hour a 

 day job — it's still a farmer's job of twelve, fourteen or sixteen 

 hours a day. However, we were, as we feel, successful in our 

 milk strike, although we were working against heavy odds. 

 Where was our strength? Our strength was in the farmers back 

 in the country and out in the hills that stood by us. It was the 

 farmers' victory, it was the men who were producing milk 

 around in the country for labor at possibly 8 or 9 cents an 

 hour. Those were the men who won that milk strike. 



I want to tell you that it was a very acute time in New York, 

 after that strike had been going on for some two weeks, to 

 know just how much longer those fellows in the country would 

 hold out and could hold out. Nevertheless, we were successful. 

 Since that time, however, many things have confronted the 

 League. We were, up to the 1st of October, in a dormant, a 

 semi-dormant condition, and I would state that in the middle of 

 the summer, along in August, we had about 13,000 members, 

 whereas to-day we have, I believe, over 31,000 members; we 

 represent over 400,000 cows, and we have over 560 branches. 

 Now, if you can imagine a body of farmers working together, 

 and at a time which seemed opportune combining all their 

 efforts and energies towards winning what belonged to them, 

 and then, after having sold millions of dollars worth of milk 

 find an organizaltion a corporajtion of this size, doing business 

 without any oflSce force, without any equipment or any system 

 in its office, you will see that the Lea^e had a large proposi- 

 tion. And the first thing after our winning the strike we felt 

 that it was necessary to go ahead and round out and perfect as 

 much as possible our organization, which has been growing 

 rapidly ever since that time. 



