Inside  History  of  the  Milk  Battle 
How  Close  They  Came  to  Defeat 
Wlion  the  milk  controversy  was  settled  some  one 
asked  us  what  Herbert  Myriek  would  now  say  about 
the  Department  of  Foods  and  Markets  and  The  Rural 
New-Yorker.  Wc  answered  promptly  that  Myriek 
will  claim  he  settled  the  whole  trouble. 
A  DREAM. — His  issue  of  October  14th  abundantly 
justifies  our  predictions.  From  it  one  would  judge  that 
the  milk  producers  of  the  State  had  a  nightmare.  They 
thought  they  were  in  a  fight  for  the  price  of  their 
milk.  The  Dairymen's  League  had  a  dream,  and  act¬ 
ually  thought  that  they  were  working  from  14  to  20 
hours  a  day,  going  without  lunches,  and  sometimes  had 
their  dinner  at  10  o'clock  at  night.  As  for  the  De¬ 
partment  of  Foods  and  Markets  and  Commissioner 
Dillon,  neither  of  them  existed  The  City  of  New 
York  had  an  illusion,  and  the  State  and  City  officials, 
including  the  Commissioner  of  Health,  saw  a  mirage 
in  the  sky.  The  milk  dealers  were  wide  awake  and 
President  Brill  was  keeping  them  company.  Two 
gentlemen,  one  identified  with  agriculture — editing  a 
one-time  agricultural  paper,  the  other  a  university  as¬ 
sociate,  for  some  years  the  spokesman  of  milk  dealers 
in  hearings  at  Albany  and  elsewhere — got  together, 
waved  the  magic  wand,  all  that  were  under  the  spell 
woke  up  and  the  war  was  ended.  Dr.  Charles  William 
Burkett,  Mr.  Myriek's  man  Friday,  held  the  wand  and 
settled  the  strike. 
MISLEADING  WORDS.— We  had  no  intention  of 
referring  to  this  work  of  magic,  but  in  the  issue  of 
the  .American  Agriculturist  of  October  21  Myriek  and 
Burkett  undertake  to  justify  the  late  President  Brill  of 
the  Dairymen’s  League  in  going  over  the  head  of  the 
authorized  representatives  of  the  League  and  surren¬ 
dering  every  principle  and  everything  else  that  the 
League  was  fighting  for.  They  say  that  the  agreement 
made  between  Mr.  Brill  and  the  12  small  dealers  on  Oc¬ 
tober  6  was  identical  with  the  contracts  finally 
signed  with  the  League  by  these  12  and  more  than 
100  other  small  dealers  during  the  first  week  of 
the  fight.  The  only  trouble  with  this  statement  is  that 
it  is  not  true.  lie  further  states  that  the  executive  com¬ 
mittee  had  offered  to  compromise  by  putting  aside  the 
organization  if  the  dealers  would  meet  its  demand  for 
the  six  coming  months.  The  Committee  was  never  will¬ 
ing  to  do  anything  of  the  kind.  The  agreement  reached 
on  October  0  with  the  12  intermediate  dealers  was  made 
in  full  recognition  of  Collective  bargaining,  of  the 
League,  of  its  executive  committee,  and  of  its  agent, 
Mr.  Dillon  and  the  Department  of  Foods  and  Mar¬ 
kets.  It  contained  the  proviso  offered  to  the  mayor 
that  the  contracts  should  be  straight  for  six  months 
at  League  prices,  with  the  only  proviso  that  for  the 
months  of  January,  February  and  March,  if  it  could 
be  proven  that  the  price  for  these  months  was  more 
than  the  cost  of  production  with  a  reasonable  profit 
to  the  farmer,  the  price  would  he.  voluntarily  adjusted. 
A  committee  of  two  appointed  by  the  dealers,  two  by 
the  producers,  and  one  chosen  by  these  four,  would  con¬ 
stitute  the  committee. 
UNACCEPTABLE  PROPOSALS. — In  place  of  this 
Mr.  Brill  and  his  associates  proposed  a  committee  of  11 
be  appointed,  only  three  of  which  would  safely  repre¬ 
sent  producers’  interests.  After  the  dealers  themselves 
and  their  attorney  had  conceded  the  fairness  <>f  Mr. 
Dillon’s  proposed  committee.  Mr.  Brill  and  his  asso¬ 
ciates.  not  members  of  the  League,  persisted  for  some 
time  on  the  plan  which  he  proposed.  Now  it  seems 
this  was  not  the  work  of  Brill,  but  was  a  Burkett 
proposition.  They  insisted  on  a  surplus  clause  by  the 
terms  of  which  the.  dealers  could  advance  the  price  to 
the  consumer  as  much  as  he  pleased,  and  in  that  way 
maintain  their  profits  for  a  decreased  consumption 
caused  by  the  advance.  They  then  proposed  to  make 
the  surplus  thus  artificially  created  up  into  butter  and 
cheese,  charging  the  farmer  for  the  manufacture,  for 
the  storage,  for  the  insurance,  for  the  sale,  and  re¬ 
turning  him  what  was  left  of  the  proceeds  for  the 
surplus  milk.  There  was  no  need  to  go  into  a  fight  for 
such  a  contract.  The  dealers  would  jump  at  it  any  time. 
INJUSTICE  TO  THE  FARMER.— Representing 
the  executive  committee,  Mr.  Dillon  showed  that  this 
Would  he  crossing  the  farmer  three  times.  First  by 
reducing  the  price  of  milk  on  the  months  of  greatest 
production,  then  creating  a  one-sided  committee  to  re¬ 
duce  it  further  if  possible,  and  lastly  creating  a  Surplus 
and  throwing  the  burden  of  it  back  on  the  shoulders  of 
the  farmer.  This  would  give  the  dealer  the  benefit  of 
the  low  price  for  all  of  the  milk  sold  to  city  consumers. 
He  showed  further  that  the  surplus  was  abundantly 
cared  for  in  the  adjustment  of  the  prices  during  months 
of  large  production,  and  that  while  the  dealers  got  the 
benefit  of  this  low  price  in  milk  distribution,  they  were 
already  covered  in  any  loss  that  might  occur  in  a  sur¬ 
plus. 
THE  SURPLUS  CLAUSE— Again,  after  the  deal¬ 
ers  conceded  the  justice  of  this  argument.  Mr.  Brill  per¬ 
sisted  in  his  surplus  clause.  Since  the  dealers  were  sat¬ 
isfied  to  contract  without  it,  the  only  inference  could  he 
that  Mr.  Brill  and  his  associates  desired  the  provision 
as  an  overture  to  the  big  dealers.  Such  a  concession 
would  put  the  milk  producer  in  a  worse  position  than 
he  has  ever  been  in  in  the  history  of  the  business. 
Never  for  a  single  moment  would  Mr.  Dillon  and  the 
executive  committee  consider  the  proposition  as  even  a 
possibility.  They  would  flinch  prefer  to  have  lost  the 
fight  entirely  and  allow  the  dealers  to  make  their 
own  prices  again  and  take  care  uf  their  own  sur¬ 
plus.  Again,  when  the  verbal  agreement  was  concluded. 
Mr,  Brill  was  anxious  to  have  the  milk  released  before 
the  contract  was  put  in  writing,  but  the  committee  re¬ 
fused  to  send  out  a  single  telegram  until  the  whole 
matter  was  closed,  and  remained  up  until  two  o’clock 
in  the  morning  to  finish  the  job. 
AN  UNCONSCIOUS  COMPLIMENT.— Again,  the 
American  A  i/ricultuHst  unknowingly  and  unconsciously 
pays  Commissioner  Dillon  the  highest  compliment  that 
is  in  its  power  to  express.  It  says  that  the  dealers  re¬ 
fused  to  recognize  him.  and  the  Department,  and  t ho 
executive  committee  because  of  its  association  with  him. 
The  only  logical  inference  from  this  would  be  that  the 
dealers  felt  they  could  force  bettor  terms  from  other  rep¬ 
BAc  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
resentatives  of  the  producers.  There  is  a  strong  sus¬ 
picion  that  this  sentiment  emanated  more  from  Mr. 
Brill  and  his  associates  than  from  the  dculers.  hut  the 
fact,  remains  that  each  and  every  one  of  the  dealers  rec¬ 
ognized  Mr.  Dillon  and  the  Department:  in  the  nego¬ 
tiation  of  the  sales  and  in  the  making  of  the  contracts. 
The  compliment  is.  however,  not  entirely  merited. 
Members  of  the  executive  committee,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  Mr.  Brill,  stood  for  everything  that  Mr.  Dillon 
stood  for.  and  backed  him  up  ns  their  spokesman  to  tint 
full  limit  of  their  power. 
MISLEADING  STATEMENTS.— Again  Myriek 
and  Burkett  insist  that  the  agreement  of  Mr.  Brill  with 
the  big  dealers  on  October  12,  was  the  same  as  the 
League  contracts  with  the  small  dealers  on  October  (5, 
and  the  big  dealers  on  October  14,  except- that  the  com¬ 
mittee  to  ascertain  the  cost  of  production  in  January, 
February  and  March  was  reduced  from  11  to  5.  This  is 
also  untrue.  In  the  first  place  there  was  no  writing 
to  show  what,  the  Brill  agreement  was,  if  one  existed. 
On  the  morning  following  this  alleged  agreement  no 
two  of  the  parties  concerned  had  the  same  under¬ 
standing  of  it.  Tim  only  written  expression  of  it  was 
in  Borden's  advertisement  the  next  morning.  This 
version  was  for  only  a  three  months’  contract  with  a 
committee  of  seven  city  interests  and  two  farm  inter¬ 
ests  to  decide  wlmt  the  price  should  he  for  January, 
February  and  March.  There  was  no  contract  for  six 
mouths,  and  if  the  committee  was  not  appointed,  or 
tailed  to  act.  or  failed  to  report,  the  dealers  would  set 
their  own  price  as  of  old.  and  the  surplus  clause  was 
again  presented  as  a  prominent  feature  of  the  agree¬ 
ment.  On  the  strength  of  this  proposition  Mr.  Brill 
bragged  of  going  over  the  heads  of  Mr.  Dillon  and  the 
executive  committee,  and  ordering  the  delivery  of  milk 
to  the  big  dealers  by  wire.  Mr.  Brill's  associates  seem 
to  be  the  aforesaid  Burkett.  Mark  Du  Bois.  editor  of  a 
Sunday  paper  in  Uoughkeepsie,  Mr.  Paul  Brady  of 
the  AVtstinghouse  corporation,  Mr,  Breed,  sin  attorney 
for  corporations  with  a  boasted  acquaintance  with  the 
big  milk  dealers.  Mr.  Jennings,  the  aforesaid  spokes¬ 
man  of  milk  dealers,  and  Warren  Smith,  editor  of  the 
Milk  Producer,  the  recognized  organ  of  the  milk  dealers. 
We  do  not  assume  to  know  what  the  motives  or  in¬ 
fluences  were  that  induced  these  gentlemen  to  advocate 
such  an  agreement  for  farmers,  but  without  hesitation 
we  can  say  that  if  their  purpose  was  to  work  for 
the  interests  of  the  dealers,  they  could  perform  no 
greater  service. 
HURRIED  "WORK. — If  Mr.  Brill  and  hie  asso¬ 
ciates  felt  that  his  alleged  agreement  would  meet  the 
approval  of  producers  when  fully  known  and  under¬ 
stood,  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  have  had 
the  stipulations  in  writing  just  as  the  committee  got 
their  agreement  later,  and  if  would  have  been  time 
enough  to  order  the  release  of  the  milk  when  the  terms 
were  mutually  understood  and  approved.  The  fact 
that  he  went  hastily  over  the  heads  <>f  the  committee 
in  ordering  the  release  of  the  milk  without  their  knowl¬ 
edge.  showed,  to  sa.v  life  least,  if  working  for  the  farm 
cr  an  imprudent  haste,  and  if  working  for  the  dealer  his 
willingness  to  take  a  desperate  chance.  The  prompt 
and  drastic  action  taken  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
the  League  iu  removing  Mr.  Brill  saved  the  situation, 
and  six  hours  after  the  publication  of  his  removal  the 
conferences  were  arranged  with  the  big  dealers  and  a 
contract  was  made,  conceding  everything  that  the 
farmers  asked. 
Notes  from  Department  of  Foods  and 
Markets 
204  Franklin  St.,  New  York  City 
EGGS. —  Nearby  henneries  continue  in  light  supply 
and  of  irregular  quality.  The  finest  nearby  white  hen¬ 
nery  eggs  advanced  to  60c  on  Tuesday,  the  finest 
hennery  browns  sold  for  46c.  About  sixty  per  cent, 
of  our  receipts  show  effects  of  being  held  and  such  eggs 
will  not  bring  top  prices.  Nearby  brown  and  mixed 
gathered  Mir  to  lie. 
BUTTER. — Fancy  Western  creamery  higher  than 
last  week  selling  at  M614c  top.  Fancy  Eastern  dairy  in 
tubs  M2c  to  35c;  mixed  packages  28c  to  31c. 
CHEE8E. — The  finest  large  colored  State  selling 
from  21 1  i  to  21  %e;  common  to  good  l!)e  to  21e.  We 
sold  one  lot  of  newly  made  State  clmese  qt  20%,c. 
DRESSED  POULTRY. — Receipts  continue  in  lib¬ 
eral  supply,  with  fair  demand  for  heavy  fowls  and 
large  masters;  medium  and  small  chiekcus  are  selling 
slow.  Dressed  fowls  20  to  22%e;  roasting  chickens  22c 
to  23c;  fresh  broiling  turkeys  irregular,  selling  from 
32 e  to  35c ;  old*  hens  anil  toms  25c  to  2!)e.  L.  I. 
ducks  23c  to  24c;  dry  picked  or  scalded  roosters  15c  to 
15V.se. 
LIVE  POULTRY.— With  the  Hebrew  Feast  of  the 
Laws  commencing  at  sundown  on  Wednesday  the  de¬ 
mand  was  light  and  stocks  aeeuinimihited.  Nearby  ex¬ 
press  receipts  of  Leghorn  fowls  sold  slowly  at  from  15c 
to  16c;  some  as  low  as  14c  on  small  fowls;  chickens 
sold  generally  at  17c. 
LIVE  CALVES.— Prime  to  fancy  sold  ll%e  to  13c; 
com  mem  to  good  9%c  to  12  Vi  v ;  buttermilks  5c  to  6c. 
DRESSED  CALVES.— Country  dressed  calves  in 
liberal  supply,  market  lower;  fancy  17c;  common  to 
good  lie  to  16c;  buttermilks  lie  to  13c. 
APPLES.-  Demand  for  smooth  high  colored  fruit 
continues;  market  overstocked  with  ungraded  apples 
which  are  selling  at  low  and  irregular  prices.  Alex¬ 
ander  .$2  to  $2;  Fall  Pippin  82.50  to  83.50;  Greening 
.81.50  to  $3;  GravenStein  $2.50  to  .83,50;  1 1  nbhrtl'dston 
.81.75  to  $2.25;  Jonathan  83.50  to  $5;  King  $2  to 
$2.25:  McIntosh  $3.50  to  85;  Snow  $2.50  to  $3.50; 
Twenty  Ouiiee  $2  to  $3;  Wolf  River  $2.50  to  $3.50; 
Vo.  York  ItitpT  $2  to  $2.75;  N.  Y.  State  Baldwins  $2 
to  $3.50. 
PEARS. — Tn  moderate  supply  with  good  demand: 
Clairgeau  $3  to  $4  ;  Bose  $4  to  $5.50;  Anjou  $2.50  to 
$4;  Bartlett  81  to  $6:  cold  storage  Bartlett  $5  to 
$6.50;  Seckel  $3.50  to  $4.50;  Jersev  KiolTer  $1.50  to 
$2;  N.  Y.  Slate  Kieff.r  $1.50  to  $2.50;  Up-River  Kief- 
fers  selliug  $2.25  f.u.b.  loading  stations. 
POTATOES. — Market  lower  with  moderate  demand; 
prices  25c  lower  on  Lung  Islands.  Long  Island,  per 
1)1)1.,  $1  to  $1.25;  Maim1  Cobblers,  165-lb.  bag,  $3.75 
to  $3.v  5 ;  Green  Mountain  10c  less;  Jersey  Round 
$3.25  to  $3.65;  Jersey  Long  $3  to  $3.50. 
ONIONS. — In  liberal  supply  with  limited  demand. 
Orange  County  Reds.  100-lb.  bag,  $1.50  to  $2.65; 
Orange  County  Yellow  $2.25  to  $2.65;  Jersey  White, 
per  basket,  $1.25  to  $3;  Jersey  Yellow,  $1.25  to  $1.50. 
NUTS. — Moderate  receipts  and  good  demand  ;  South¬ 
1373 
ern  chestnuts  $5  to  $.8  per  bushel;  State  and  Penn, 
chestnuts  $S  to  $9;  hickory  uuts  $3.50  to  $4  per  bu. ; 
black  walnuts  $1.50  bn. 
IIONEY. — Fancy  No.  1  comb  clover  14  to  15c:  low¬ 
er  grades  11c  to  13c;  clover  extracted  6%c  to  7i/>c; 
buckwheat  extracted  6%c  to  7c. 
toiler 
19,  1.916: 
12 
cases  . . . 
6 
cases  . . . 
17 
cases  . .  . . 
31 
cases  ..  .  . 
15 
cases  ..  .  . 
1 
case  .... 
5 
cases 
8 
cases  . . . . 
1  % 
eases  .... 
29 
cases  .... 
EGGS. 
1% 
5 
10  V> 
1 
1 
1 
1 
case 
eases 
cases 
ease 
ease 
case 
case 
$0.60 
.59 
.58 
.57 
.56 
.54 
.53 
.52 
.50 
.45 
.43 
.42 
.40 
.38 
.37 
.33 
.30 
400  lbs. 
423  lbs. 
1038  lbs. 
.857  lbs. 
2292  lbs. 
1491  lbs. 
6501  lbs. 
17  lbs. 
237  lbs. 
1780  lbs. 
1404  lbs. 
454  lbs. 
505  lbs. 
320  lbs. 
4717  lbs. 
169  lbs. 
58  lbs. 
24  lbs. 
251  lbs. 
95  lbs. 
23  lbs. 
118  lbs. 
fowl 
fowl 
fowl 
fowl 
fowl 
fowl 
POULTRY. 
broilers 
broilers 
broilers 
broilers 
broilers 
broilers 
broilers 
ducks 
ducks 
ducks 
old  cocks 
old  cocks 
1  calf.  67  lbs.  .  , 
1  calf.  126  lbs. 
2  calves.  216  lbs. 
2  livers  for  .... 
1  calf.  124  lbs.  . 
1  liver  . 
1  calf,  100  lbs.  . 
1  calf.  92  lbs.  . . 
1  calf,  87  lbs.  .  . 
3  calves.  260  lbs. 
1  hog,  219  lbs.  . 
1  hog.  202  lbs.  . 
2  hogs.  386  lbs. 
1  calf,  66  lbs.  . 
1  calf,  87  lbs.  . 
1  calf.  97  lbs.  . 
1  calf,  86  lbs.  . 
1  hog,  12.8  llis,  . 
1  hog,  122  lbs.  . 
1  calf,  84  lbs.  . 
1  calf,  82  lbs.  .. 
1  head  . 
1  calf.  103  lbs.  . 
1  skin,  9  lbs.  .. 
1  calf,  92  lbs.  . 
1  liver  and  head 
1  calf,  70  lhs.  . 
1  calf,  85  lbs.  . 
DRESSED 
$0.21 
.20 
.19 
.18 
.17 
.16 
21 
20 
19 
18 
17 
.17 
.16 
.15 
.16 
.14 
$0.16 
.20 
.19 
1.20 
.19 
.65 
.19 
.1914 
.20 
.15 
.13 
•11% 
.10 
.15% 
.16 
-17% 
.18 
.13 
.121/2 
.17 
.16 
.20 
.15 
.39 
.191,4 
.60 
.16 
.17 
BUTTER. 
22  lbs . 
10  lbs . 
$0.32 
.30 
32  lbs. 
JIISCEI.A  YKOUS. 
1  coop  rabbits.  50  lbs . $0.18 
1  horse  hide  for  .  2.50 
255  lbs.  honey  . 13 
24  lhs.  honey  . 15 
1  box  chestnuts,  56  lhs . 07% 
1  box  chestnuts,  25  lhs . 15 
1  hag  chestnuts,  32  lbs . 15 
1  hag  chestnuts,  43  lhs . 13  1-3 
1  hag  chestnuts.  33  lhs . 12 % 
2  bags  chestnuts.  133  lhs  . 07% 
VEGETABLES. 
10  baskets  peppers  . $1.75 
4  baskets  peppers  .  1.31% 
14  baskets  peppers  . „ . 50 
14  baskets  peppers  . 40 
42  baskets. 
4  crates  tomatoes  . 40 
20  baskets  tomatoes  . 60 
10  baskets  tomatoes  . 40 
10  baskets  tomatoes  . 30 
15  baskets  tomatoes  for  .  2.00 
55  baskets. 
42  bu  itches  celery  . 35 
150  bunches  celery  . 30 
34  bundles  celery  . 25 
36  bunches  celery  . 17 
262  bunches. 
7  bids,  cauliflower  .  3.00 
1  bbl.  cauliflower  .  2.75 
7  bills,  cauliflower  .  2.50 
3  bbls.  cauliflower  .  2.25 
18  bbls. 
1  crate  cauliflower  .  2.25 
1  crate  cauliflower  .  1.75 
2  crates. 
1  bbl.  squash  .  1.25 
5  bbls.  squash  .  1.00 
14  bbls.  squash  . S5 
20  bbls. 
(Continued  on  page  1383.) 
