1913. 
THIS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
397 
THE SITUATION AT ALBANY. 
The publicity committee of the Na¬ 
tional League of Commission Merchants 
has obtained from the commission men 
throughout the State a list of their cus¬ 
tomers, and to these customers has been 
sent a circular letter enclosing Mr. 
Travis’ speech on the commission men’s 
bill and two postcards already printed. 
These cards are to be sent to the Sena¬ 
tors and Assemblymen, asking them to 
vote against the commission men’s bill. 
The consummate nerve of this move 
is surprising, and more astounding yet 
is the fact that some of the farmers are 
swallowing the bait, evidently not under¬ 
standing the bill in question; certainly 
not understanding the amendments to 
the bill which effectually remove the 
objectionable features to which the com¬ 
mission men call attention in their cam¬ 
paign. If this bill is fair—if it will 
establish the principle that the farmers 
have a right to know how their goods 
and their money is handled—if the bill 
will weed out some of the swindlers in 
the commission business, then it surely 
deserves the united support of the pro¬ 
ducers of this State. Other States are 
watching New York. The question in¬ 
volved is nation-wide in interest, and 
unless the farmers adopt effective meth¬ 
ods to bring about its passage at this 
session, they are setting back the clock 
of progress. 
No one wants to be regulated. The 
patent medicine man, the makers of 
adulterated foods, the race-track gam¬ 
blers, the crooked promoters, and even 
the honest men engaged in any sort of 
business into which fraud has crept, 
all resent regulation and restraint of 
long-continued practice. The wail that 
goes up from the commission men now 
about this bill is an echo of similar wails 
which have gone up in the past and 
which will continue to go up in the fu¬ 
ture as the people ask for and insist 
that abuses of the many in the interest 
of the few shall be stopped. 
If the support of the farmers of this 
State is divided now it is a clever dodge, 
whether this division is brought about 
by the commission men or by any body 
of farmers for political reasons, and is 
surely a way to defeat this and other 
progressive agricultural measures. 
The Farm Bureau bill, oleo bill, milk 
bill, and the bills relating to the license 
of commercial feeding stuffs and com¬ 
mercial fertilizer deserve, immediate at¬ 
tention. Send to your Senator or As¬ 
semblyman for copies of these farmer 
bills, study them carefully and do not 
be deceived as to what they mean, or 
how they will work out. It is fruitless 
to wait until the Legislature adjourns. 
It is foolish to wait until next election 
to register your kicks or your boost. 
Do it now. If farmers do not protect 
their own interests, they can only expect 
the gradual reduction of their share of 
the consumer’s dollar. marc w. coi.e. 
Chairman, Assembly Agricultural Com¬ 
mittee. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Dissolution of the Corn 
Products Refining Company, an $SO,000,000 
concern with offices at 17 Battery place. 
New York, is asked for by the Govern¬ 
ment in a suit in equity filed March 1 in 
the United States District Court. Charges 
are made that the company is a combina¬ 
tion in restraint of trade, that it has con¬ 
spired to destroy competition, has fixed 
prices and has done many other acts in 
violation of the Sherman anti-trust law. 
The Government asks also for an injunc¬ 
tion prohibiting the alleged restraint of 
trade and destroying of competition and 
“snch further relief as the nature of the 
case may require.” The Government’s pe¬ 
tition recites at length the history of the 
various consolidations through which it 
says the Corn Products Refining Company 
has obtained control of 66 per cent, of the 
entire production of starch and glucose 
and 80 per cent, of the interstate trade 
in mixed syrups. 
The so-called thread trust was attacked 
by the Federal Government in a civil suit 
filed at Trenton, N. J., March 3, by United 
States Attorney Yreeland. The petition, 
which was signed by Attorney-General 
Wickersham, seeks the dissolution of the 
alleged combination by what is termed the 
Coats interests of Great Britain of the 
thread trade of the United States, includ¬ 
ing that of the American Thread Company, 
itself a consolidation of fourteen American 
companies. It is alleged by the Govern¬ 
ment that under the style of ,T. & P. Coats, 
Ltd., of Great Britain, the interstate and 
foreign thread trade in this country has 
been restrained by combinations and unfair 
competitive methods. The court is asked 
to order the separation of all combinations 
in this country controlled by the Coats 
interests into such units as' will restore 
competition and to restrain the contin¬ 
uance of the alleged unfair methods. 
That the anthracite coal companies have 
reaped vastly increased profits since the 
strike of May 20. 1912, and that the in¬ 
crease of wages for the miners represents 
only one-third of the sum exacted from the 
public by the coal trust, is the substance 
of a report sent to the House March 1 by 
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, Mr. 
Nagel. The report is the result of an in¬ 
vestigation of the anthracite coal com¬ 
panies by the Bureau of Labor, undertaken 
in compliance with the Difenderfer resolu¬ 
tion, passed by the House last July. Secre¬ 
tary Nagel reports that in money the 
strikers have x'eceived about ?4,000,000, 
while the increase of coal prices to the 
consumer lias brought the companies ap¬ 
proximately 813,450,000. The higher prices 
for coal, it is pointed out, were exacted 
largely on the theory that the strike agree¬ 
ment made such increase necessary. Mr. 
Nagel’s report is a refutation of that state¬ 
ment. 
Congressional distribution of seeds was 
ended by the Senate February 29, by elimi¬ 
nating from the Agricultural Appropriation 
bill a provision appropriating 8256,100 for 
that purpose. Among the more important 
amendments adopted was the bill by Sena¬ 
tor Hoke Smith, creating a bureau of mar¬ 
kets in the Department of Agriculture. 
The bill as it passed the Senate carried 
818,000,000, an increase of nearly $1,000,- 
000 over the House bill. 
Secretary of the Treasury MacVeagh 
March 4, compromised the oleomargarine 
frauds, amounting to more than 81)200,000, 
for 10 per cent, of that amount, so far as 
it concerned nine of twelve companies who 
were investigated by the Cox committee 
of the House. The compromise comes in 
the face of a special Grand Jury ordered 
by Federal Judge Landis, which convened 
March 5 for the express'purpose of probing 
the alleged frauds involved in the cases 
for which the Secretary of the Treasury 
accepts about 8120,000. The companies 
who have been absolved from civil liability 
are Armour & Co., Moxley Company, United 
States Butterine Company, Capital City 
Dairy Company, Hammond Company, Fried¬ 
man Manufacturing Company, Ohio But¬ 
terine Company, Blanton Manufacturing 
Company and Oakdale Manufacturing Com¬ 
pany. 
No cream shall be brought into New 
York City or sold here after July 1, 1913, 
unless it is produced from either Grade 
A. or Grade B. milk or is pasteurized. 
This is the latest endeavor of Health Com¬ 
missioner Lederle to bring about a pure 
milk and cream supply in this city, and 
was adopted by the Board of Health as 
part of its sanitary code effective July 1. 
In making known the passage of the new 
cream provision of the Sanitary Code, the 
Commissioner also announced that the 
Board of Health had passed additional 
measures of much importance. One of 
these is a resolution amending Section 42 
of the Code to include wormy vegetables, 
classified as “unsound,” and forbidden to 
be offered for sale anywhere in this city. 
Nuts, figs and dates, as such, or in candy, 
are especially aimed at in this provision. 
The candy trade, the Health Commissioner 
said, would be subject to rigid inspection 
as it had been found that much bad ma¬ 
terial had been used. It also applies to 
pie fillings in certain instances. By amend¬ 
ing Section 42-a of the Code it is aimed 
to entirely prohibit the sale of any eggs 
known as “spots” or “spot eggs,” which 
term is defined to mean all unsound eggs. 
For the last two years such eggs have been 
sold ■where the cases were plainly labelled, 
but owing to abuse of the regulations the 
new measure has been enacted. It will 
mean that all “spot eggs” will be dena- 
turized, making them unfit for food, but 
still possible to utilize them for manufac¬ 
turing purposes. 
WASHINGTON.—President Wilson’s new 
Cabinet is as follows: Secretary of State, 
William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska; 
Secretary of the Treasury William G. 
M’Adoo, of New York; Secretary of War, 
Bindley M. Garrison, of New Jersey; At¬ 
torney General, James M’Reynolds, of 
Tennessee; Postmaster General, Representa¬ 
tive Albert S. Burleson, of Texas; Secre¬ 
tary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, of 
North Carolina; Secretary of the Interior, 
Franklin K. Lane, of California; Secretary 
of Agriculture, David F. Houston, of Mis¬ 
souri ; Secretary of Commerce, Representa¬ 
tive William C. Redfield, of New York; 
Secretary of Labor, Representative William 
B. Wilson, of Pennsylvania. 
The Senate passed the post office ap¬ 
propriation bill February 26 carrying ap¬ 
proximately 8283,000.000. which is an in¬ 
crease of about 83,000,000 over the amount 
authorized by the House. Senator Penrose 
of Pennsylvania, offered an amendment to 
pension postal employees who have served 
twenty-five years or more. The amend¬ 
ment went out on a point of order. The 
largest single item in the bill is $51,500,- 
000 for the transportation of mails on rail¬ 
roads. The rural free delivery service is 
provided for with 847,500,000. The ap¬ 
propriations in the bill exceed last year's 
authorization by 812,000,000, the increase 
being due to the inauguration of the parcel 
post system. The committee amendment 
providing for the election of fourth class 
postmasters was defeated by a point of 
■order. 
The collect-on-delivery feature will be 
added to the parcel post department of 
the postal service on July 1 next. An 
order to this effect was signed February 
27 by Postmaster General Hitchcock. Under 
the new regulations a parcel bearing the 
required amount of parcel post stamps may 
be sent anywhere in the country, and the 
amount due from the purchaser collected 
and remitted by the Postoffice Department. 
The parcel must bear the amount due from 
the addressee, and the collection will be 
made if the amount is not in excess of 
8100. The fee, 10 cents, is to be affixed 
by the sender in parcel post stamps, and 
will insure the parcel for not more than 
850. The collection feature was not pro¬ 
vided when the parcel post system was put 
in operation, because it was desired to 
simplify the work of pbstmasters as much, 
as possible in the first days of the service. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The seed corn 
contest arranged by Prof. C. II. Myers for 
the 1911 Farm Boys’ Company of New 
York State, was held at Cornell University 
during Farmers’ Week. Both Hint and dent 
corn was exhibited by boys from different 
parts of the State and the awards were 
as follows : Flint corn, first prize, Stephen 
B. Whitaker, Penn Yan; second prize, 
Robert P. Clark, Elnora. Dent corn, first 
prize, Deane It. Lightfoot. Geneva: second 
prize, Harvey Brunek, Alden. The corn 
was judged by Prof. Hutchison of Missouri, 
who is one of the best coru judges in the 
country. 
SEND THIS LETTER TO ALBANY, N. Y. 
Post Office, ..- 
March.-.1913 
Hon. 
The Capitol, 
Albany, N. Y. 
The shipper of farm products to be sold on commission has now absolutely 
no check on the man who handles the goods. He takes the commission man’s 
word for the price, the condition and the charges. When the shipper gets any¬ 
thing, the returns do not average in excess of 35 per cent, of the consumer’s 
dollar. Country producer and city consumer contribute 65 per cent, to the 
handlers of farm food products. 
In view of this situation the undersigned respectfully urges your influence 
and vote in the New Y'ork State Legislature in support of the Roosevelt-Cole 
bill in regard to the sale of farm products on commission. 
. Respectfully, 
Name 
Address 
No matter where you live, if you have 
ever shipped produce to market in New 
York State or ever intend to do so, fill 
out the blanks in the above letter and 
mail it, without delay, to one of the 
legislators in the following list: 
It would, of course, be still better if 
you would write a letter of your own. 
Even when you use this form you 
should write several of the other mem¬ 
bers in your own language. The com¬ 
mission interests have insulted the in¬ 
telligence of farmers in brazenly asking 
them to help defeat the bill. Now let 
us lick a few stamps and show them 
that there is a genuine demand for this 
bill. 
Following is a list of the senators: 
District No. 
District No. 
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District No. 
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•Members 
1— Thomas H. O’Keefe. 
2— Bernard M. Patten. 
3— Thomas H. Cullen.* 
4— Henry P. Velte. 
5— William J. Hefferman. 
6— William B. Carswell. 
7— Daniel J. Carroll. 
8.—James F. Duhamel* 
9—Felix J. Sanner.* 
10— Herman H. Torborg. 
11— Christopher D. Sullivan.* 
12— John C. Fitzgerald. 
13— James D. Clelland.* 
14— James A. Foley. 
15— John J. Boylan. 
16— Robert F. Wagner.* 
17— Walter R. Herrick. 
18— Henry W. Pollock.* 
19— Henry Sallant. 
20— .Tames J. Frawley.* 
21— Stephen J. Stilwell. 
22— xlnthony J. Griffin.* 
23— George A. Blauvelt. 
24— John F. Ilealy. 
25— John D. Stivers. 
26— Franklin D. Roosevelt.* 
27— Abraham J. Palmer. 
28— Henry M. Sage.* 
29— John W. McKnight. 
30— George II. Whitney. 
31— Loren II. White.* 
32— Seth G. Heacock.* 
33— James A. Emerson.* 
34— Herbert P. Coats.* 
35— Elon R. Brown. 
36— William D. Peckham. 
37— Ralph W. Thomas.* 
38— J. Henry Walters.* 
39— Clayton L. Wheeler. 
40— Charles J. Hewitt.* 
41— John F. Murtaugh.* 
42— Thomas B. Wilson. 
43— John Seeley. 
44— Thomas H. Bussey.* 
45— George F. Argetsinger. 
46— William L. Ormrod. 
47— George F. Thompson. 
48— John F. Malone. 
49— Samuel J. Ramsperger.* 
50— Gottfried II. Wende. 
51— —Frank N. Godfrey, 
of the last Senate. 
The members of Assembly and counties 
they represent are : 
Allegany—Ransom L. Richardson.* 
Broome—Mortimer B. Edwards. 
Cattaraugus—Clare Willard. 
Cayuga—Michael Grace.* 
Chautauqua—George W. Jude, John Leo 
Sullivan.* 
Chemung—Robert P. Bush.* 
Chenango—Walter A, Shepardson.* 
Clinton—Charles J. Vert.* 
Columbia—Alexander W. Stover. 
Cortland—Niles F. Webb. 
Delaware—John W. Telford. 
Dutchess—Myron Smith,* John A. Kelly. 
Erie—George F. Small, Clinton T. Hor¬ 
ton,* Albert F. Geyer, Edward D. Jackson,* 
Richard F. Hearn.* James M. Rozan,* Jos¬ 
eph V. Fitzgerald, George Geoghan, John 
Dorst, Jr. 
Essex—Spencer G. Prime. 2d.* 
Franklin—Alexander Macdonald.* 
Fulton-IIamilton—James II. Wood. 
Genesee—Clarence Bryant.* 
Greene—J. L. Pa trie.* 
Herkimer—E. Bert Pullman. 
Jefferson—IT. Edmund Machold.* John 
G. Jones.* 
Kings—John J. Kelly, William J. Gillen,* 
Frank J. Taylor. Harry W. Kornobis. Vin¬ 
cent A. O’Connor. Lester D. Volk. Daniel 
F. Farrell,* John .T. MoKeon,* Frederick 
S. Burr. George E. Dennen, Karl Soden 
Deitz, Win. P. Hamilton, Jr., James H. 
Finnigan, .Tames H. Garvey,* Thomas E. 
Willmot, Jesse P. Larrimer, Frederick Ul¬ 
rich, Joseph H. Schifferdecker, Cornelius J. 
Cronin, Harry Heyman,* Joseph J. Mona¬ 
han, Thomas L. Ingram. 
Lewis—James B. Van Woert. 
Livingston—Edward M. Magee. 
Madison—Morell E. Tallett.* 
Monroe—Jared W. Hopkins,* Simon L. 
Adler,* August V. Pappert,* Cyrus W. Phil¬ 
lips,* Charles H. Gallup. 
Montgomery—Walter A. Gage.* 
Nassau—Thomas B. Maloney. 
New York—Thomas B. Caughlan,* Alfred 
E. Smith,* Harry E. Oxford, Aaron J. 
Levy,* James J. Walker,* Jacob Silverstein, 
Peter P. McElligott,* Solomon Sufrin, 
Charles D. Donohue, Meyer Greenberg,* 
John Kerrigan, Joseph D. Kelly, James C. 
Campbell,* Robert Lee Tudor, Theodore H. 
Ward, Martin G. McCue,* Mark Eisner, 
Mark Goldberg,* Thomas F. Denney, Patrick 
J. McGrath,* Thomas Kane, Edward Weil,* 
David C. Lewis, Owen M. Kiernan, David 
H. Knott, Abraham Greenberg, Raymond 
B. Carver, Salvatore A. Cotillo, Charles J. 
Carroll, Louis A. Cuvillier,* Michael 
Schaap, Louis D. Gibbs, Thomas J. Lane, 
Patrick J. McMahon, Ernest E. L. Ham¬ 
mer. 
Niagara—Frank M. Bradley, Eugene A. 
McCollum. 
Oneida—Fred F. Emden, Herbert E. Al¬ 
len,* John B. Fuller. 
Onondaga—Patrick J. Kelly, Stephen G. 
Daley, Thomas K. Smith.* 
Ontario—Herman F. Scbnirel. 
Orange—Caleb H. Baumes, William T. 
Doty. 
Orleans—Marc W. Cole. 
Oswego—Thaddeus C. Sweet.* 
Otsego—La Verne P. Butts. 
Putnam—John R. Yale.* 
Queens—Samuel .J. Burden. Alfred J. 
Kennedy,* Alfred C. Benninger, Howard 
Sutphiu. 
Rensselaer—C. Fred Schwarz,* Tracey D. 
Taylor. 
Richmond—Ralph R. McKee.* 
Rockland—Frederick G. Grimme. 
St. Lawrence—Frank L. Seaker,* John A. 
Smith. 
Saratoga-—Gilbert T. Seelye. 
Schenectady—Arthur P. Squire. 
Schoharie—Edward A. Dox. 
Schuyler—John W. Gurnett.* 
Seneca—Augustus S. Hughes. 
Steuben—Charles A. Brewster, James L. 
Seely, Jr.* 
Suffolk—Stephen A. Fallon, John J. Rob¬ 
inson. 
Sullivan—John K. Evans.* 
Tioga—John G. Pembleton.* 
Tompkins—Minor McDaniels.* 
Ulster—Lawrence M. Kenney, Samuel C. 
Waring.* 
Warren—Henry E. H. Brereton.* 
Washington—Eugene R. Norton. 
Wayne—Albert Yeomans.* 
Westchester—Tracy P. Madden, Verne M. 
Bovie, Wilson R. Yard, Mortimer C. O'Brien. 
Wyoming—John Knight. 
Yates—Edward C. Gillett* 
•Members of the last Assembly. 
Jamestown. N. Y„ March 6.—Auction 
sales have been very frequent the past 
two weeks. Standard dairy cows are bring¬ 
ing from 845 to 865 each, record high 
prices for this section. Yearlings bring 
from $28 to 835. Barn run hay is from 
87.00 to $10 in the mow. Mill feed shows 
a little drop, meal being quoted at $1, 
corn at 62 and oats at 40. Eggs are 
steady at 22; creamery butter, No. 1, is 
bringing 36. held creamery, 31 and 32. and 
fair to good dairy. 30 and 32. New cheese 
is scarce and worth 16 %. good held cheese 
is scarcer and bringing 17V» and 18. Eggs 
are surprisingly strong at 22. Heavy hogs 
are bringing 8 and 9 and light pigs are 
scarce and top market price is 11. There 
is no market yet for local veals. Cow 
beef brings 8 and 9 cents. Poultry is 
scarce at 15, live weight, wholesale, ‘and 
retails freely at 20 to 22. Potatoes retail 
at 70 and 75. Beans are very scarce and 
bring four to six cents per pound. No. 
1 apples are scarce and retail at 75 to 
81 per bushel. Ordinary - stock retails at 
50. The condenseries continue to pay $2 
for milk, local creameries report dividends 
from $1-35 to $ 1 - 55 . No cheese factory 
dividends are available. Jamestown dealers 
are paying four cents per quart to secure 
a supply. More farms are changing hands 
by sale than for many years past. Prices 
are hard to get. but the trend is upward 
materially. Sales of back dairv farms seem 
to indicate a valuation of from $30 to $40 
per acre, dependent upon location and 
building. l. 
