1910. 
761 
THE RURAIi NEW-YORKER 
PARCELS POST IN POLITICS. 
The following note shows what is go¬ 
ing on among the farmers of New York: 
At a Republican caucus of this town of 
Covert, Seneca Co., N. Y., held July 9, I 
introduced a resolution favoring parcels 
post, and instructing the delegates to the 
county convention to bring the matter up 
in that body. This was carried unani¬ 
mously. At the county convention held at 
Interlaken July 10 the resolution was 
brought up and referred to the county com¬ 
mittee with the instruction to take the 
question up with our Congressional Repre¬ 
sentative, Mr. Fassctt. This does not mean 
pigeonholing it, for the introduction of the 
resolution has excited so much favorable 
comment that the county committee will not 
dare to ignore it. If the matter of parcels 
post should he brought up in primaries 
throughout the State, especially the rural 
counties, it would aid materially in direct¬ 
ing public attention to it, and that means 
that the politicians will then give attention 
to it. D. H. AYERS. 
You will see that the farmers are be¬ 
ginning to learn how to do things. These 
politicians are very fond of saying that 
they stand on a “platform.” The foun¬ 
dations of that platform are laid in homes 
and quiet places where people think over 
their needs and desires. The “platform” 
is built up from just such places. The 
politicians would like to have the foun¬ 
dation strong and then nail on a few 
planks of their own. The foundation 
might be made of solid oak, but these 
politicians would put a few pine boards 
on top and then go out and say their 
platform repudiated oak in any form. 
The platform ought to represent true 
and free growth —not a few boards 
tacked on top. These Seneca County 
farmers have struck the right idea. They 
are making their own platform, and Mr. 
Fassett will be obliged to stand on it 
and acknowledge it or get off. Let this 
example be followed in every country 
caucus in New York and every other 
State. Pass the resolutions, and do it 
so they know you mean business 1 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Fire July 14 in the west 
central portion of Portland, Ore., on the 
edge of the business section, resulted in the 
loss of one life, the injury of several per¬ 
sons, the burning of 150 horses, and a finan¬ 
cial damage of about $300,000. The lire is 
believed to have started in the salesroom 
of the Oregon Brush Company. The burned 
district covered approximately 10 acres, but 
a large portion of this area was devoted to 
the athletic Held of the Multnomah Ama¬ 
teur Athletic Club, and, save for the grand¬ 
stand, capable of seating 5,000 people, was 
practically unimproved. 
The forest service reported July 14 that 
13 forest fires were raging in western Mon¬ 
tana, and that the situation was serious. 
Two fires were reported in the Coeur 
d’Alene national forest. There were nine 
fires in the Lolo National Forest, one in 
the Clearwater Forest, one in the Bitter 
Root forest, and one in the Missoula forest. 
The town of Whitefisli was in the center of 
forest fires sweeping the mountain sides, 
licking up logging and tie camps. The fire 
started on the west side of Lion Mountain. 
So far as is known there is no loss of 
life, but thousands of cords of wood and a 
half million ties have been destroyed. The 
timber and undergrowth are so dry that the 
fire sweeps through the forest like an ex¬ 
press train and rain appears to be the only 
thing that can save this part of Flathead 
Valley from terrible loss. 
The Government meteorological observa¬ 
tory at Cheltenham, Md., was wrecked by 
a bolt of lightning during a thunderstorm 
July 14. Eight sheep were killed and an 
electric car three miles away was put out 
of commission. The lightning struck the 
flagpole on top of the observatory, con¬ 
tinued through the roof of the dome and 
made splinters of the interior of the office. 
The delicate instruments, including the 
seismograph, were ruined and it will take 
some time and a good deal of money to re¬ 
place them. The sheep were huddled to¬ 
gether under a big tree whne the storm 
was approaching. 
An aggregate sentence of thirty-six years 
in the penitentiary was imposed by Justice 
Stafford of the District Supreme Court at 
Washington, July 15, on two men convicted 
of embezzlement and false pretences. John 
Barton Miller, former secretary-treasurer of 
the First Co-operative Building Association 
of Georgetown, was sentenced to serve 20 
years in the penitentiary at Leavenworth. 
Miller was convicted on two counts of an 
indictment which charged him with em¬ 
bezzling $100,000. As a result of Miller s 
peculations the building association sus¬ 
pended, and many persons lost their sav¬ 
ings. A sentence of 10 years in the Leav¬ 
enworth penitentiary was imposed on John 
C. Davis, a lawyer, convicted of embezzling 
funds given to him by several persons to 
invest. The Government charged that Davis 
made awav with nearly $250,000. .1 ustice 
Stafford before sentence severely arraigned 
both men for violating the trust imposed 
in them and thus causing suffering and loss 
to their victims. Both men were remanded 
to jail. It is understood that Miller will 
furnish the $20,000 bond fixed by the Court 
for his release pending the hearing of an 
anpeal which will be taken. 
Fire July 16 destroyed the old Red Star 
pier at West and Fulton streets, New York, 
burned away the superstructure of the Met¬ 
ropolitan Line’s freight carrier II. F. Di- 
mock, destroyed lighters and coal barges 
and ruined a vast quantity of valuable 
freight and a good deal of baggage. Two 
men from barges went to the hospital with 
faces and hands burned. Adam Neubert of 
8 Truck, who was engaged with others in 
looking over the debris on the pier to see if 
there were any bodies there, dislodged a 
packing box that fell on him and dislocated 
his shoulder. The firemen found three bodies. 
The turbine steamer Harvard, which was 
lying at the pier, escaped. As the pier was 
loaded with inflammable material the blaze 
was very rapid. Loss $750,000; it is be¬ 
lieved tiie fire was caused by smoking, In 
violation of pier rules. 
Bush fires are raging in the Kootenays, 
Canadian Rocky Mountains. The Govern¬ 
ment has a force of several hundred men 
fighting the flames, which start in unex¬ 
pected spots after they are extinguished in 
others. Practically the entire mountainside 
opposite Kaslo, B. C., is enveloped in flames. 
A destructive lire is raging at Bowser Lake, 
near Dardo. Unless rain comes the entire 
Kootenay district will be in flames. Fires 
are also burning near Nelson. The Govern¬ 
ment agent is ordering out men in every dis¬ 
trict to fight the flames. 
Fire which caused $300,000 damage to the 
plant of the Pullman Company at Pullman, 
Ill., July 17. marked the culmination of a 
storm which swept over Chicago causing 
loss of life, heavy damage to shipping and 
many other fires. The hlaze in the Pull¬ 
man Company’s plant was caused by a bolt 
of lightning striking the power house in the 
center of the freight car shops and lumber 
yards. Before the men employed in the 
shops could organize to fight the flames they 
had spread to an adjoining lumber yard 
and in half an hour the yards and freight 
car shops were swept from end to end. An 
east wind carried the burning embers for 
blocks and made the efforts of the fire de¬ 
partment futile. The fire covered an area 
of more than three blocks. The lumber 
yards, the power house and the three great 
freight car shops were destroyed. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Josephine, a 
Holstein dairy cow owned by the Agricul¬ 
tural College of the University of Missouri, 
has taken the world's milk record from 
Johanna, owned by .1. W. Gillett, of Rosen- 
dale, Wis. Johanna’s record for six months 
totalled 15,541 pounds of milk. Josephine’s 
total for the same period was 16,744 
pounds. Johanna's best single month in 
her year’s test was 2,783 pounds, against 
Josephine’s’s high mark for one month of 
2,960 pounds. 
United States Attorney John II. Jordan 
filed suits in the United States Circuit 
Court at Pittsburg, I’a., July 16, covering 
140 alleged violations of the 28 hour act 
by three railroad companies, which if con¬ 
victed may be fined a total of $70,000. The 
Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. 
Louis Railway Company is charged with 
114 violations, the Pennsylvania Company 
with 25 and the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and 
Chicago Railway Company with one. The 
act was passed to prevent cruelty to ani¬ 
mals in transit. It is the duty of the trans¬ 
porting company to take all animals out of 
the cars at the end of 28 hours for a period 
of at least five hours for rest and for food 
and water. At the request of the owner 
of the stock this period may be extended 
to 36 hours. 
Buyers for commission houses in New 
York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and 
other large distributing centres travelling 
in the northwestern and Pacific States es¬ 
timate that 15,000 cars of from 9,500,000 
to 10,000,000 boxes of apples suitable for 
eastern markets will be shipped from or¬ 
chards in Washington, California, Colorado, 
Grogan, Idaho, Montana and Utah this sea¬ 
son'. It is also estimated that between 
3,000 and 4,000 cars will be required to 
supply the local and European trade. The 
market value of the crop in the several 
States is placed at from $27,000,000 to 
$29,000,000 at present prices. 
THE BOSTON MILK WAR. 
Cost of a Quart of Milk. 
before 
Legis- 
” The 
Prof 
Mass., 
[We continue the testimony taken 
that committee of the Massachusetts 
lature during the farmers’ “milk war.’ 
following record is continued from 
Sanborn's testimony on page 738.J 
Mr. Sage, of North Brookfield, 
said: 
“1 can substantiate the figures given here 
in regard to the cost of production of milk. 
1 think they were not exaggerated in the 
least. I have looked them over carefully 
again, and the fact remains that you cannot 
charge up to the cow the cost at selling 
price of the feed, and the care of the cow, 
and get your money back at the present 
price of milk. The most significant fact to 
my mind is that the farmers all over New 
England have come to that conclusion that 
it is utterly impossible for them to make 
milk at the price that has been offered them. 
And for that reason they are holding back 
their milk and disposing of it in other ways. 
I think the public should know that all we 
are asking for our milk in the middle zone 
(which is practically an average price) is 
in effect four cents a quart. This is what 
we received in Winter, and we feel we can¬ 
not make milk for any less price from now 
on. The price offered by the contractors is 
practically three cents a quart. I think the 
public should know this : that of the eight, 
nine and 10 cents which 1 find they are 
paying in some instances for milk, the pro¬ 
ducers have only been getting four cents a 
quart, and are offered for the present Sum¬ 
mer-time only three cents per quart. They 
find it an utter impossibility to produce the 
hulk at three cents a quart, and make both 
ends meet.” 
“Can you make milk at four cents a 
quart?’’ 
“Well, not to make much out of it.’ 
“Can you make anything out of it?” 
“I don’t think I can.” 
“What do you make it for, then?” 
“If we are to count the cost—all the cost 
of the feed for the cows, the care of the 
cows, and the interest on the money—we 
cannot make it even at that price. The 
question then arises, how we are living and 
making it at that price It seems to me like 
this : To illustrate, a farmer told his daugh¬ 
ter she might have all the returns from the 
poultry—the hens—if she would take care 
of them. She took excellent care of them 
and told a friend recently how much she 
received. The friend said : ‘Yes, but what 
did the feed cost you?’ To which she re¬ 
plied: ‘Oh, that did not cost anything; we 
got it out of the granary.’ And that is the 
substance of this matter with the farmers. 
They get the produce from the farms and 
give it to the cows; they put the whole 
labor of themselves and their families into 
it, and if they are then able to make both 
ends meet they think they are doing ex¬ 
tremely well.” 
“What could you produce milk at in order 
to have a reasonable profit?” 
“I think perhaps we might make it at 
four cents in the Summer, and five in the 
Winter, possibly. It would not give a very 
large profit, but it would give the farmers 
a living. They don’t expect a large profit 
out of it.” , ... , 
“At how much advance price do you think 
the contractor should sell the milk over 
what he pays you, or the farmer?” 
“Not at a iy more than he is getting at 
the present time, to make a handsome profit 
out of it.” 
"That is about what price? 
“I think, nine cents." 
"So that if he received five cents for the 
milk he would be receiving a liberal profit?’ 
“Yes, sir. Of course this is the retail 
price of milk I am talking about. They sell 
very largely in a wholesale way.” 
“Well, should he pay you five cents, and 
charge five for his profit, he cannot sell tin; 
milk at less than 10 cents per quart?” 
"Well, he might possibly have to charge 10 
cents. I can tell vou in a few words just 
about what they pay us and what the differ¬ 
ence between that and the price they charge 
the peddler is. In our particular zone (about 
(50 or 70 miles from Boston) the zone rate is 
nine cents. We give them in addition to 
that (and have for some years) two cents 
per can for carrying the surplus, which is 
also charged up to the peddlers. We give 
them an extra commission of one cent, which 
makes three cents, and so they get 12 cents 
a can for bringing that milk into Boston, 
and selling it to the peddlers. I am talking 
of the w.holcsale price of milk. This is 
apart, of course, rrorn the retail price of 
milk, and what they get from sales to res¬ 
taurants and hotels, the committee can 
easily ascertain.” 
“Well, Mr. Sage, can you blame the con¬ 
tractor if lie can buy his milk in New Hamp¬ 
shire or other plaices at three or 3(4 cents 
a quart, and because the transportation 
rates are low, brings it to Boston, and make 
his profit on it—not buying from you at 
five cents?” 
“We are not asking, and never have asked 
for five cents. We are simply asking for 
four cents a quart.” 
“Well, even at four cents. If he can buy 
milk and add to it the transportation cost 
from places 100 to 150 miles away, and then 
have it cost him less than yours, can you 
blame the consumer (who of course is in¬ 
terested i for wanting him to do so, or the 
contractor for doing it?” 
“Well, if they can get equally as good 
milk I suppose it is very natural they should 
want to get it as tow as they can. We have 
a rigid inspection, especially in Massachu¬ 
setts, and whether they can get milk that 
is so thoroughly inspected as ours is on the 
premises, and get it delivered here in as 
good condition, I think is very doubtful.” 
"Do you think the ordinary • roducer rec¬ 
kons. when he says he can make milk for 
three cents or four or five cents, the inter¬ 
est on his investment?” 
“No, sir.” 
"Taxes, insurance?” 
"No. sir. I don’t think you can put all 
those things in the cost of making milk at 
its present nrice, a-nd make the milk pay 
for it.” 
Mr. Robinson, of Hardwick, Mass., said: 
“I have a few figures I would like to 
submit, perhaps on a little different line 
from any yet given. Mine would run on 
the line of running the farm entirely for 
a year, and not giving the price per can; 
and I want to say that various items have 
crept into our contracts with the milk deal¬ 
ers from time to time (such as the low 
bacterial count per centimeter and the cool¬ 
ing of our milk to 50 degrees) till the 
board of health and the contractors between 
them have made it impossible for us to 
make milk at the price that we are getting at 
the present time ; and I will submit to you 
the figures that it costs me to run my farm 
of about 200 acres for a year. It is im¬ 
possible for me, with the present rules of 
the board of health, to‘ run my farm with 
one man caring for 20 cows. It takes three 
men and a boy to do that work, and do it 
in a manner that is pleasing to the con¬ 
tractors, and I expect to the consuming 
public, and these three men, and a boy, cost 
me $1,028. It also takes a woman in the 
house, or a girl, to run the household, and 
I pay a girl $3.50 per week for 52 weeks 
in the year, making $182. I paid $11,000 
for this farm, stock and tools, and the in¬ 
terest at five per cent is $550. I pay fire 
insurance on $8,500, which for one year 
would be $44.58. The taxes on this place 
are $221. Last year the season was dry 
and I had to hire pasturing, which cost me 
$89. 1 have figured the repairs on the 
farm at $50, which you will all agree with 
me is very low. The shrinkage of a herd 
of 40 cows I figure at $200, or $5 per head. 
Anyone of you who knows what it costs, 
not only to'take care of the cows that go 
wrong, but also to keep your ratings in 
order to make an even supply of milk, 
knows that it would be almost impossible to 
make that figure as low as I have. It cost 
me for filling the silo $27.60, outside of my 
regular help. I paid for ice $25 on the 
platform. I have estimated the next item, 
the tools, at $100, and l think you will say 
that is small on a farm of that size. For 
grain I paid $1,983. The board of four 
men and a girl at $3 per week would be 
$780. Blacksmith’s bills were $59.45. That 
is in connection with the dairying. Vet¬ 
erinary bills were $12. Incidentals I have 
figured at $100. This, I think, you will 
agree with me, is small also. I have a tele¬ 
phone hill of $18, and phosphate, which 
would come under the head of raising corn, 
etc., $135. These, gentlemen, are actual 
figures that it *ost me to run my farm for 
1909, which in any way could be connected 
wfth the milk business.” 
"What do you raise besides milk?” 
“I raise some vegetables and keep board¬ 
ers, but if I should go into those details it 
would only make the other matter a little 
worse than I have already made it; as I 
have other help that I have to charge up 
with that. The milk receipts were $4,796.- 
01. 1 have figured 28 calves for $70, and 
hi order to get at the grain bill fair I fed 
75 hens and the gross receipts from them 
were $225; also red four hogs from that 
grain, which brought me $72. You see 1 
only credited 28 calves. The other 12 I 
raised, and being short of hay I was obliged 
to sell them to keep my rating up, so that 
I would not be cut on my whole year’s 
production or milk, and had to sell them for 
a small price, which was $175, making me 
an income of $5,338.01, and my expendi¬ 
tures were $5,618.63, leaving a deficit of 
$280.62.” 
“Have you figured anything there for 
your own labor? 
“I figured one man, $360, that I consid¬ 
ered was a good, competent man to run 
the place with my oversight; but I am 
leaving my oversight out of it—entirely out 
of the question. 1 paid this man actually 
these figures, but I haven’t charged myself 
up with anything, reckoning that my sal- 
arv Would come out of my other business, 
to’make this showing as fair as possible to 
make it.” 
“So that without charging anything for 
your own partial supervision you still show 
that shortage?” 
“Yes, sir. Now, I wish to say that if 
we had what we ask for, this four months’ 
advance in price, I would just about come 
out so that I could pay interest on my 
capital, pay my help and run it outside of 
It would take that 
capital, 
milk to 
my own supervision, 
to make me good.” 
"To make five per cent on your 
what should you charge for your 
the contractor, by the quart?” 
"If we had 4(4 cents a quart it would 
just about make me whole—just about give 
me five per cent on my money.” 
“As between five years ago and now, 
about how much do you think the cost of 
producing milk has Increased?” 
“I can’t say positively how much, but 
the State Board of Health of Massachusetts 
has made it cost me through the five or six 
months we keep our cattle in the barn $120 
for help besides his board.” 
“lias grain increased in five years?” 
"Grain has increased probably five or 
six dollars a ton.” 
“Are farm laborers working the hours 
that they were ten years ago?” 
“Mine don't.” 
“You say the cost has increased along all 
these lines, how much more is the con¬ 
tractor offering you to-day than he was 
paying five years ago?” 
“Well, I should say five years ago they 
were offering the same Summer price. I 
think this seven cents addition has been 
made for the Winter months.” 
“You said there were some regulations 
which made it cost you $120 for a man's 
board?” 
“Yes. In our section they want us to 
keep the cows reasonably clean. So we 
have to clean them off every day, 40 of 
them. It takes a man prety near all day 
to do it. It costs me $3 per week to board 
him.” 
“That is for the benefit of whom?” 
“Of the consuming public.” 
PRICES FOR NEW YORK MILK. 
The investigation of the “Milk Trust” of 
New York City was conducted last Winter 
by John B. Coleman, a special Deputy At¬ 
torney. lie found that the dealers had 
organized a sort of "gentleman’s agreement” 
to fix the price paid to farmers. In an 
issue of the Editorial Review Mr. Coleman 
says: 
“In connection with the raising of the 
price to consumers the testimony developed 
the fact that an association of dealers had 
been organized in New York City imme¬ 
diately after the dissolution of the old Milk 
Exchange, under the Membership Corpora¬ 
tion law. This association, while organized 
ostensibly as a social club, comprised in 
its membership a great number of the deal¬ 
ers in the city, who agreed among them¬ 
selves to sell to stores and consumers at a 
uniform price, generally 38 cents a can 
above the Exchange price. 
“If an independent dealer attempted to 
sell at a lower price than that established 
by the association, what was known as the 
‘dead wagon’ was started after him. This 
was a large wagon painted white, with no 
name or lettering upon it, and was driven 
by the so-called ‘can collector’ of the asso¬ 
ciation. The peculiar duty of this ‘dead 
wagon’ was to follow the delivery wagons 
of the independent dealers from customer 
to customer and offer them milk at a lower 
price than that at which the independent 
was selling. This work was instigated and 
paid for by the members of the assot iation. 
“If the operations of the ‘dead wagon' 
were not successful in putting an indepen¬ 
dent dealer out of business, an attempt was 
usually made to cut off his supply of milk 
by coercion, threats, or influence exerted 
upon the man who was furnishing it. Some¬ 
times as much as $1,500 was offered to the 
producer or wholesaler if he would break 
his contract with the independent, or send 
him sour milk for a few days. In addition 
to this the independent frequently found 
that his horses were poisoned and his driv¬ 
ers beaten.” 
CROP NOTES. 
The freeze of April 23 took the fruit 
crop so that this part of the State has not 
a single apple, peach, cherry, plum, pear, 
quince or grape; wheat and oats are a fail- 
crop; corn a large acreage and growing 
well. Hay will not fall short. Weather 
favorable. H. a. s. 
Christian Co., Ill. 
The fruit crop in this part of the country 
will be light. Fears about one-fourth of a 
crop; Bartlett and Anjou mostly, quality 
not the best, as the late frosts left them 
rather rough. Apples one-fourth of a crop ; 
these are affected the same as pears, many 
of them cracking very badly, as well as 
dropping. Peaches about one-fifth of a 
crop. Plums, grapes and cherries nearly a 
failure. Strawberries have been a good one- 
half crop; currants and gooseberries a fail¬ 
ure. Raspberries and blackberries a good 
crop. E. A. 
So. Haven, Mich. 
We are having an unheard of drought; no 
rain to speak of has fallen in weeks (July 
16). About 300 acres of peas planted for 
canning factory were only 10 to 60 per cent 
yield, and clover is lighter. A severe Win¬ 
ter was followed by Summer weather in 
March, then late frosts and freezes fol¬ 
lowed; in early June men were still wearing 
fur coats. Then a sudden jump to extremely 
warm weather, which has kept up since. 
Oats are suffering; fruit is very light. 
Many Chicago people are coming here to 
get “back to the land.” J. J. o. 
Van Buren Co., Mich. 
We have had four weeks of very wet 
weather, and during most of this time it 
has been too wet to plow corn and wheat. 
Cutting was delayed because the ground 
was too wet and soft for the horses and 
for the binders to run. Very little clover 
hay has been made yet (July 18), and no 
hay has been made without getting it wet 
while curing. A few wheat fields are yet 
to be cut, making it the latest wheat har¬ 
vest since 1907. Cornfields are not very 
weedy yet, as there was good weather for 
corn plowing during most of June. The 
wet weather has greatly improved the hay 
crop, and the hay is late in maturing, but 
hay making now seems out of the question 
with rains so frequent. This condition 
to be local, however, as in many 
of the West rain is badly needed 
elsewhere in Ohio there has been 
less rain than in Highland County, 
we had 2(4 inches of rain and 
day about one inch more, giving 
a month’s rainfall in two days. There 
so much moisture in soil and air that 
slight changes in atmospheric conditions 
cause precipitation, copious at times. Corn 
is looking fine except in poorly drained 
fields, when- it is firing badly; weeds are 
starting, but the corn has a good start. 
Highland Co., Ohio w. E. D. 
seems 
parts 
while 
much 
One day 
the next 
us 
is 
