12C3 
The  Battle  For  Milk  Prices  Goes  On 
Plain  Facts  About  the  Situation 
AN  ENCOURAGING  OUTLOOK.— At  the  present 
writing  the  New  York  milk  situation  is  most  encourag¬ 
ing  to 'the  producers.  The  territory  is  pretty  well  or¬ 
ganized,  and  the  vigorous  work  by  the  members  of  the 
Dairymen’s  League  promises  a  complete  organization, 
by  October  first,  when  the  real  test  comes.  This  work 
on  the  part  of  the  workers  in  the  different  sections 
is  almost  heroic.  Men  have  left  their  work  and  their 
personal  interests  behind  them  and  gone  ont  night  and 
day  to  help  organize  this  work  and  make  it  effective. 
In  many  sections  the  county  agents  have  done,  and  are 
doing,  most  effective  work;  and  leading  and  directing 
it  all  are  the  tireless  members  of  the  executive  commit¬ 
tee.  Messrs.  Cooper  and  Thompson,  who  know  no  rest. 
They  put  in  long  hours  by  day,  travel  long  fatiguing 
rides  by  night,  and  are  again  at  work  in  the  early 
morning  hours  for  another  long  day.  Men  do  not  do 
these  things  for  glory  or  for  hire;  only  the  love  of  the 
cause  ran  inspire  men  to  such  efforts  and  such  devo¬ 
tion.  They  deserve  to  win;  and  win  they  will  if  the 
dairymen  of  the  State  stand  solidly  behind  them,  and 
catch  some  of  the  zeal  and  determination  of  these 
leaders. 
NEW  CONTRACTS. — Every  day  contracts  are  be¬ 
ing  made  for  milk  at  the  League  prices.  Every  avail¬ 
able  cooperative  association  is  signed  up  for  a  six- 
months’  contract  for  its  output  at  the  League  prices. 
Many  of  the  small  dealers  who  own  or  rent  creameries 
and  cheese  factories,  have  also  agreed  to  pay  the 
League  price.  Business  men  and  local  bankers  through¬ 
out  the  State  are  helping  all  they  can.  In  some  places 
they  contribute  to  the  fund ;  in  other  places  they  offer 
to  build  shipping  stations  and  put  in  pasteurizers.  One 
farmer  in  Orange  County  put  up  his  personal  check 
for  $3,000  for  an  order  of  milk  cans  to  have  ready  for 
an  emergency.  The  hesitating  producer  who  likes  to 
pussy-foot  with  the  big  dealers  who  have  been  choking 
him  to  death  for  years,  is  told  by  the  blacksmiths  that 
his  horses  cannot  be  shod  in  their  shops.  If  he  is  so 
intent  on  independence  be  has  a  chance  to  carry  his 
independence  to  the  limit.  He  must  shoe  bis  own 
horses.  In  many  ways  this  independent  producer  is 
learning  that  the  industry  has  a  claim  on  him.  In 
some  places  it  looks  as  if  he  would  not  be  able  to  buy 
a  hat  in  his  own  town — certainly  not  on  credit. 
LEAGUE  PRICES. — Not  a  single  member  of  the 
League  as  far  as  we  can  discover  has  signed  up  with 
tbe  dealers  who  refuse  to  pay  the  League  price.  To  a 
man  they  stand  by  the  organization  and  the  extra  sop 
offered  them  serves  only  to  make  them  the  more  de¬ 
termined  to  stand  for  their  own  price. 
CITY  CONDITIONS.— In  tbe  city  the  Department 
has  had  no  trouble  to  sell  at  League  prices,  all  the 
milk  that  League  members  and  cooperative  plants  can 
offer  pasteurized.  The  small  dealers  are  as  anxious  to 
get  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  big  receivers  as  the  farm¬ 
ers.  They  are  obliged  to  pay  what  the  receivers  ask. 
They  cannot  always  get  all  the  milk  they  want,  and 
if  they  do  not  obey  the  rules  they  cannot  get  any. 
They  are  obliged  to  soil  at  prices  fixed  by  the  trust 
and  dare  not  buy  their  supplies  from  forbidden  sources. 
One  small  distributor  was  threatened  last  March  that 
if  he  bought  from  a  certain  wholesaler  his  trade  would 
be  destroyed  by  competitors.  He  paid  $100  a  month 
more  for  his  supply  for  six  months  than  it  would  have 
cost  him  if  he  ignored  the  threat.  Naturally  these 
small  dealers  are  pleased  to  know  that  they  can  now 
buy  as  cheap  or  the  big  dealers  themselves,  and  further 
that  the  Department  will  protect  them  on  their  selling 
routes. 
SMALL  RECEIVERS. — Many  of  the  small  receivers 
are  also  paying  the  League  prices.  The  new  situation 
please*  them  also.  They  realize  that  to  hold  out  with 
the  big  receivers  for  a  week  would  result  in  driving 
them  out  of  the  business  entirely. 
BIG  DEALERS  AND  DISTANT  SUPPLIES.— 
The  big  dealers  are  going  outside  of  the  regular  milk 
territory  and  buying  all  the  milk  they  can  get.  They 
have  appealed  to  the  dealers  of  Boston  and  other  New 
England  towns  and  one  big  dealer  has  contracted  for 
two  carloads  a  day  from  Pennsylvania  and  pays  $2.40 
a  hundred  f.o.b.  for  it.  In  New  York  State  we  offer  to 
sell  it  to  them  for  $2.05 ;  and  they  refuse  it,  but  they 
pay  $2.40  iu  distant  parts  of  Pennsylvania.  This 
rule  of  discrimination  against  New  York  milk  is  not 
new.  It  is  a  regular  practice  in  times  of  scarcity.  In 
New  York  tbe  price  is  kept  low.  and  production  is  dis¬ 
couraged.  The  high  price  is  paid  in  other  sections  to 
make  up  shortage. 
AN  INCREASE  OFFERED.— The  Sheffield-Farms 
Company  have  offered  an  increase  of  25  cents  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  are  disappointed  that  farmers  refuse  to  ac¬ 
cept  the  sucker  bait.  They  say  this  is  the  last  fraction 
of  a  cent  they  can  afford  to  pay.  The  company  at¬ 
tempts  to  prove  that  their  profits  are  only  three  per 
cent.  But  a  little  more  than  a  year  ago,  the  Sheffield- 
Farms  concern  advertised  iu  the  city  papers  to  sell  its 
capital  stock.  It  had  $1,000,000  six  per  cent,  preferred 
stock  and  $1,000,000  common  stock.  Its  advertisements 
stated  that  the  company  earned  48  per  cent,  on  the 
common  stock. 
A  PLAIN  STATEMENT. — The  plain  language  of 
these  big  dealers  is  like  this :  “Farmers  who  have  high 
yield  cows  and  ample  capital  and  maximum  efficiency 
in  equipment  and  method  get  along  now.  The  others 
who  are  largely  in  the  majority  ought  to  go  bunkrupt 
and  starve.  But  low  prices  in  the  past  have  discouraged 
Bfce  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
consumption  and  the  supply  of  milk  is  short.  We  have 
already  advanced  the  price  to  consumers.  You  have 
all  made  a  fuss  about  it  and  farmers  have  threatened 
to  refuse  to  send  us  milk  after  October  first,  or  to 
sell  it  on  any  terms  except  through  their  authorized 
agent.  To  tide  over  this  emergency  we  will  make  a 
slight  advance  to  the  farmer  now,  but  we  will  not 
again  advance,  to  the  consumer,  as  we  have  already  gone 
as  far  as  is  safe  now’  in  that  direction.  Buc  we  will 
not  contract  through  the  farmers’  agent.  He  would 
make  troublesome  demands  and  insist  oti  having  some¬ 
thing  to  say  about  the  price  and  we  propose  as  usual 
to  make  the  price  to  suit  ourselves.  We  will  make  a 
slight  advance  and  farmers  will  fall  all  over  themselves 
to  get  it;  and  the  organization  will  go  to  pieces.  The 
farmers'  representa fives  and  agents  will  disappear  and 
when  it  all  blows  over  we  will  be  in  a  position  to  re¬ 
duce  the  price  again,  and  it  will  he  years  before  we 
have  any  more  disturbance.  Your  agitation  has  forced 
this  concession,  hut  we  will  make  it  appear  as  a  volun¬ 
tary  advance.” 
THE  DEALERS’  ATTITUDE— Do  they  size  the 
farmer  up  right?  Wc  doubt  it.  Iu  an  advertise¬ 
ment  in  the  city  papers  they  complain  that  children 
will  famish  if  farmers  refuse  to  send  them  milk  after 
October  first.  They  know  that  milk  cannot  be  sold 
in  New  York  City  until  it  is  pasteurized  and  they 
know  that  the  milk  trust  owns  and  controls  most  of 
the  cans  and  pasteurizers,  and  they  conclude  that  no 
milk  can  come  to  the  city  except  through  them.  We 
think  the  trust  magnates  are  mistaken.  Children  will 
not  be  allowed  to  starve  while  milk  is  plentiful  and 
wasting  in  the  country.  The  trust  can  cause  a  shortage 
for  a  time.  It  can  get  some  milk  itself  from  outside 
sources,  but  farmers  are  discovering  more  resources 
than  we  first  thought  available.  We  have  more  pas¬ 
teurizing  plants  than  we  knew,  and  rnauy  of  the  small 
dealers  who  have  country  plants  promise  to  keep  them 
running  night  and  day  to  pasteurize  milk  for  the  whole 
section  for  miles  arimiul,  and  local  committees  are  being 
advised  to  utilize  all  these  facilities  to  the  utmost  limit. 
MORE  CO-OPERATIVE  PLANTS  NEEDED.— 
The  one  great  need  is  more  co-operative  pasteurizing  and 
shipping  plants.  No  matter  what  may  be  the  outcome 
of  the  present  struggle,  these  plants  must  be  organized, 
as  fast  as  possible.  If  we  had  enough  of  them  now  there 
would  be  no  doubt  about  the  result.  The  Department 
has  means  of  distributing  the  milk  all  over  tbe  city ; 
and  the  farmers  can  he  paid  the  League  price  and  the 
milk  sold  and  delivered  in  bottles  to  consumers  for  at 
least  a  cent  a  quart  less  than  they  now  pay.  This 
problem  of  tbe  distribution  of  milk  is  one  of  the  great 
big  undertakings  of  this  country.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  New  York  city  supply  amounts  to  $80,000,000  an¬ 
nually,  anrl  the  method  and  price  established  there  will 
affect  many  times  this  amount  throughout  the  State 
and  in  cities  outside  the  State.  The  cost  to  the  pro¬ 
ducers  in  providing  cans  and  pasteurizing  plants  will  be 
made  up  to  them  in  short  order  by  the  extra  price,  and 
the  lower  price  to  the  consumer  will  increase  the  con¬ 
sumption.  The  Department  has  its  part  well  developed 
for  the  city  end.  The  producers  have  only  to  furnish 
the  milk  to  comply  with  the  city  regulations.  The  city 
people  want  the  milk  and  means  exist  for  the  city  dis¬ 
tribution  of  it  with  or  without  the  big  dealers. 
Line  Up  the  Candidates 
If  you  are  elected  will  you  give  fair  support  to  the 
Foods  and  Markets  Department  or  will  you,  oppose  it f 
That  is  the  question  we  are  putting  up  to  all  can¬ 
didates  in  New  York  for  the  Legislature  or  for  State 
offices!  We  do  not  know  any  quicker  or  better  way 
of  lining  them  up  on  the  biggest  business  question  which 
our  farmers  and  the  consuming  public  have  ever  faced. 
These  candidates  will  have  a  chance  to  say  yes  or  no  or 
dodge,  and  we  hope  to  put  them  all  on  record.  There 
is  going  to  be  a  big  contest  for  the  State  Senator  in 
the  Forty-seventh  District,  comprising  the  counties  of 
Niagara  and  Orleans.  Orleans  is  a  strictly  agricul¬ 
tural  county.  There  is  more  manufacturing  in  Niagara, 
tut  the  Senator  will  represent  chiefly  farmers  and 
fruit  growers.  The  two  candidates  who  have  any 
chance  of  election  are  Marc  W.  Cole  and  Geo.  F. 
Thompson.  Mr.  Cole  sends  ns  tbe  following  statement. 
Mr.  Thompson  is  yet  to  be  heard  from : 
As  my  name  is  attached  to  the  law  licensing  and 
bonding  commission  men,  which  was  the  first  step  In 
the  present  campaign  for  market  reform  in  New  York 
State,  it  is  certain  that  I  will  use  my  influence,  my 
experience,  and  my  vote  to  further  in  every  legitimate 
way  the  cause  of  “better  markets”  if  I  am  elected  to 
the  Senate  from  the  Forty  seventh  District, 
All  efforts  to  make  farming  more  profitable  through 
the  adoption  of  better  business  methods  a  re  constantly 
iouglit  by  certain  organized  interests.  These  same  in¬ 
terests  are ,  however,  always  willing  to  hack  any  agency 
which  only  seeks  Iu  make  crops  bigger.  I  know  their 
game  from  bitter  personal  experience.  And  this  ex¬ 
perience  together  with  my  record  in  the  Assembly  and 
iu  tbe  Department  of  Agriculture  should  warrant  the 
belief  that  I  will  give  unstinted  service  to  the  promo¬ 
tion  and  the  development  of  the  Department  of  Foods 
and  Markets.  marc  w.  cole. 
Albion,  N.  Y. 
Notes  from  Department  of  Foods  and 
Markets 
204  Franklin  St.,  New  York  City 
EGGS. — There  is  a  slight  increase  iu  nearby  white 
hennery  eggs  with  a  large  percentage  of  pullet  eggs  in¬ 
creasing.  It  is  quite  evident  that  most  of  the  farmers 
in  this  State  bold  the  eggs  until  they  commence  to 
shrink  and  by  the  time  they  arrive  on  the  market  here 
they  cannot  be  graded  nr  classified  as  strictly  fresh 
eggs  and  must  be  sold  under  the  highest  quotations. 
The  market  continues  firm  on  fancy  new  laid,  full, 
chalk  white  eggs  at  48c.  per  dozen.  Where  the  per¬ 
centage  of  pullet  eggs  is  large  the  prices  range  down  as 
low  as  44c.  Cream  colored  eggs  when  large  and  full 
are  bringing  44c.  to  15c.  Brown  hennery  selling  at  40c. 
to  47c.,  mixed  white  and  brown,  4tc.  to  40c. ;  held 
mixed  lots  down  to  50c. 
BUTTER. — Fancy  Western  creamery  firm,  selling  at 
-35c.,  and  extra  fijric.v,  special  makes.  35 ^c.  to  50c. 
Average  run  of  State  butter,  28c.  to  20c. 
DRESSED  POULTRY.— Dressed  fowls  firm  at  22c. 
to  25c.  on  those  weighing  from  4  to  5  lbs.:  fancy  heavy 
dry  picked  fowls,  2514'  Rousting  chickens,  averaging 
4  lbs.,  in  good  demand  at  20c.  to  2Sc. ;  chickens  weigh¬ 
ing  214  to  3  lbs.,  more  plentiful  and  selling  from  22c.  to 
24c. 
Iil\  E  POULTRY. — The  Hebrew  New  Year,  which 
will  be  observed  on  the  28th  and  20th.  has  attracted 
considerable  poultry  to  this  market,  but  there  is  a 
very  heavy  demand  and  it  is  thought  that  over  200  car¬ 
loads  will  be  required  to  meet  the  supply  for  these  hol¬ 
idays.  Yorn  Kippur  or  Hebrew  Day  of  Atonement,  will 
be  observed  on  October  7th,  when  there  will  be  nn  extra 
large  demand  for  young  Leghorn  cockerels,  which  are 
used  by  the  Hebrews  for  ceremonial  purposes.  Ship  in 
all  the  young  roosters  you  can  for  this  occasion  as  the 
prices  are  invariably  higher  at  this  holiday  than  at  any 
other  time  of  the  year.  Hold  back  Leghorn  hens  until 
the  following  week. 
SPECIAL  NOTE. — Do  not  crowd  too  many  chickens 
into  coop,  leave  plenty  of  room  for  ventilation  and  have 
crates  high  enough  to  perm  it  the  chickens  to  stand  up¬ 
right;  this  will  reduce  shrinkage.  If  shipped  in  crowd¬ 
ed  coops  a  great  many  of  the  birds  arrive  dead  and  in¬ 
jured,  making  a  shrinkage  from  10  to  15  per  cent.  The 
demand  has  been  mostly  for  fancy  colored  chickens  and 
fowls.  Leghorn  chickens  sold  at  20  to  22c  •  heavy 
colored  chickens  and  fowls,  22c.  to  23c 
LIVE  CALVES. — Receipts  have  increased  this  week 
and  market  declined  to  13% c.  per  lb. ;  buttermilks,  7  to 
7%c. 
---  - - -  — .7  xut.rvttri  u  i.rr  UUU  Him- 
ket  farm  at  _0c.  to  20%c.  for  prime  veals;  buttermilks, 
14c.  to  16c. 
LIA  E  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS. — Market  firm  on 
prime  Spring  Lambs  at  $11  to  $12  per  100  lbs.;  sheep, 
$o  to  $6.50;  prime  wethers,  $7  per  100  lbs. 
LIVE  HOGS. — Market  advanced  to  $11.06  per  100 
lbs.,  closing  firm. 
DRESSED  HOGS. — Country  dressed  hogs  in  mod¬ 
erate  supply  and  market  firm  at  14c.  to  16c. 
f  HLESE. — Under  strong  speculative  buying  from 
Europe  the  market  has  advanced  14c.  per  lb.  over  last 
■week.  Fancy  State  white  and  colored  in  large  and 
small  sizes  firm  at  20c.  State  common  to  fair  grade 
sold  18c.  to  19c.  as  to  quality,  with  some  inferior  makes 
selling  at  17c. 
«  4  1 . 
,  •  7  V.  tuI,rK,c  extremely  higfi  in  fancy 
smooth  colored  fruit,  ordinary  fruit  selling  at  low  prices, 
lie  pnweiit  prices  are  higher  now  than  previous  rears 
thw  season  of  the  year.  Fancy  State  Wealthy  and 
^  olt  River  sold  $4  to  $4.50;  Jonathans  brought  the 
v  a.  jl ork  Imperial,  to  $:L5() ;  Va.  Northwest- 
Gr^,°,n?  *4-50  to  *K75;  Va.  Jonathans,  $4.50  to 
$4./o ;  Illinois  Jonathans,  $4.25  to  $4.75. 
PEARS. — Fancy  cold  storage  Bartlett.  $4  to  $5 
Gurrent  receipt  over-ripe,  selling  $2  to  $5.75 :  Sockets! 
8“  to  $5  <  blemish  Beauty.  $1.75  to  $2.25;  Buerre 
Lose,  $5.50  to  $4.50 :  Bnerro  Glnirgeau.  $5.25  to  $4.25  • 
.uerre  d  Anjou,  $2.50  to  $5.50;  mixed  varieties.  $1.50 
I O  ♦p— < . 
hie  grapes,  wine  stock  higher,  Niagaras  from  50c  t, 
Gdc  per  crate ;  Concords  45c  to  60c;  Champions  35 
to  00c;  Niagaras  and  black  varieties  in  baskets  fron 
-  4 c  to  .,c  per  lb.  W  me  stock  in  active  demand  an< 
advancing  with  sales  at  $50  to  $55  per  ton. 
ONIONS  —Onions  under  active  buying  from  Rebrov 
bellow  advanced  to  $2.75  per  100  lbs. ;  re, 
to  $2.o0;  white  from  $1  to  $2.50  per  crate  a 
to  size. 
POTATOES. — Demand  stimulated  by  Government  re¬ 
port  showing  a  shortage  of  over  40.00(1000  bushels  com¬ 
pared  with  last  year.  Growers  holding  back.  Market 
n-  :,f' j?;’;,'-*  peI  365-lb.  bag  on  round  stock;  long  kind 
selling  $3.25  to  $5.35. 
Summary  of  sales  of  miscellaneous  farm  products 
during  the  week  ending  September  21st,  1016: 
EGGS. 
4o  easels  . $0.48 
3  eases  . . . . .  .  .  !l7 
7  eases  . 4<i 
4  «uw . :X 
1  ease  . . 
16  eases  . . .  ’40 
J  1  eases  . . . 
10%  cases  . .  41 
12%  eases  . !!!!!!!!!!!  !io 
4  eases  . 50 
8  eases  . .  30 
26  eases  . 37 
1  case . ”  35 
6  cases  . 33 
2  cases  .  30 
165  cases. 
BUTTER. 
56  lbs . $0.31 
<50  lbs . 20'> 
in;  lbs. 
POULTRY. 
132  lbs.  broilers  . $0.26 
106  lbs.  broilers  . 25 
213  lbs.  broilers  .  !24 
1405  lbs.  broilers  . 23 
1044  lbs.  broilers  . 22 
937  lbs.  broilers  .  ’24 
4827  lbs. 
385  lbs.  fowl  . . . 22 
1128  lbs.  fowl  . *.  oil, 
1766  lbs.  fowl  . 21 
878  lbs.  fowl  .  .20% 
{Continued  on  page  1271) 
