THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
70S 
The New York Live Poultry Market. 
The Inside Works Exposed. 
Part II. 
THE TRUST INVESTIGATED.—Baff and the 
Chicago man as the first steps after closing their con¬ 
tract laid the case before a lawyer to find out what 
action they should take to protect themselves against 
the trust. The lawyer had a statement of facts sworn 
to regarding the operations of the trust, and submitted 
the same to the District Attorney's office. Assistant 
District Attorney DoFord was assigned to the case and 
after investigation submitted the evidence to the Grand 
Jury, who returned indictments under the Donnelly 
Act against all of the receivers and jobbers and about 
SO of the kosher killers were indicted for conspiracy. 
The trial lasted fifty-one days and 13 were convicted 
and sentenced to the penitentiary for three months, in 
addition to paying a $500 fine, each: Charles Jewell, 
Charles T. Hawk. Charles Thatcher. C. W. Wester- 
berg. Smith of Westerberg Co., Sol Frankel, Sam Wern¬ 
er. Irving Dwyer and his brother, C. Bishop, Charles 
Werner, J. X. Norris and his son Doc Norris, of J. 
N. Norris & Son. These men served 13 days in the 
Tombs and were released on bond, under a writ of 
reasonable doubt, and granted an appeal to the Appel 
late Court. On February 14th the Appellate Court de¬ 
cided unanimously in favor of the lower court and up¬ 
held the conviction, and an appeal was then taken to 
the Court of Appeals, where, on March 15th. the case 
was argued, and it is expected that a decision will be 
handed down soon. In the meantime after the trial 
and conviction the same dealers who were convicted 
continued to handle the business and continued to fix 
the quotations, but they had a new factor to contend 
with. 
LIVE POULTRY AUCTION.—During 1914 the 
live poultry auction, at 425 West 14th Street, sold live 
poultry at auction almost daily, and the result has 
been to establish in place of the quotation made once 
each week, a daily quotation on live poultry, based on 
the law of supply and demand. Comparing the price 
current for five years back, the result of the auction 
sales shows that the average price returned to the pro¬ 
ducer and shipper has been about three cents per 
pound in excess of the price returned to the producer 
and shipper when there was no auction in operation. 
Investigation also shows that the consumers have bought 
their poultry within from one to two cents per pound, 
of the auction price, the auction company selling poul¬ 
try direct to the kosher killer and charging the shipper 
from three to four per cent, commission, in place of 
five per cent, formerly charged by the receivers and the 
10 to 25 per cent, profit taken by the jobbers. Compe¬ 
tition among the kosher killers permitted the consumer 
to buy his poultry so chose to the wholesale market 
that the result has been extremely beneficial to the 
consuming public, who are very largely Hebrews. 
While under the old regime shipments were restricted 
to 55 cars per week, the volume of poultry handled 
during 1914 has averaged about 140 carloads per week, 
or a total of 7.200 ears per year. 
BERNARD BAFF KILLED.—During 1914 the 
competition in the business was keen and much bit¬ 
terness and hatred displayed. Bernard Baff & Son, 
who were large buyers at the auction, and owned sev¬ 
eral killing plants in different sections of New York 
City, were threatened repeatedly, as well as the offi¬ 
cers of the auction company. But little heed was paid 
to these threats and the business was carried on in a 
manner which indicated to those in control of the old 
combination that unless some active steps were taken 
to check the auction sales, the business would very 
soon become one in which all the poultry arriving in 
New York City alive would be sold at auction. About 
November 25th. 1914, Bernard Baff was called on the 
telephone and asked to come to the live poultry auction 
company’s stand in the market. He had been there but 
a few minutes before and was surprised at being asked 
to come around to the stand so soon again. However 
he started for the stand and when, about 50 feet from 
his own place of business two men stepped up behind 
him and shot him through the back, killing him in¬ 
stantly. Although 50 men connected with the old live 
poultry trust were within a few feet of where Mr. Baff 
was assassinated, not one of them could give any evidence 
as to who had done the shooting. The drag net was put 
out and it was found that men who do the unloading of 
patent live stock cars had become bitter against Mr. 
Baff. Also men who do the carting of live poultry were 
very bitter. 
UNLOADING CHARGES.—The reason the un¬ 
loaders were dissatisfied with Mr. Baff was because of 
the fact that their employers, the men who paid them 
their money, were constantly complaining that Mr. 
Baff, in his operations with the auction company, was 
making it impossible for them to make any money and 
that they could not continue to pay the price that they 
were now paying for having live poultry cars unloaded 
and the carting done. For unloading the live poultry 
cars the charges now are $15 per car. Five men, com¬ 
mon laborers, do this work in about 1 *4 hour, so that 
the unloaders receive a larger salary for common la¬ 
bor. But this does not all remain with unloaders. These 
unloaders are employed by a man who has a contract for 
unloading most of the live poultry arriving alive in New 
York City and it has been his custom to employ ex¬ 
convicts very largely in doing this work and paying 
them only a part of the money which he has received 
from the dealers for such work. It is not unlikely that 
if the unloading were done in a businesslike and sys¬ 
tematic manner, the charge would not exceed $5 per 
car for unloading. The cartage now charged is 25 cents 
per coop, and there are from 80 to 100 coops to the car. 
Thus the trucking company receives from $7.50 to 
$10 per load for bringing live poultry across the river. 
If the business were handled in a businesslike manner 
and this carting done at the lowest possible cost to the 
shippers and producers, the charge would not be in ex¬ 
cess of 10 cents per coop, or a saving from $12 to $15 
on each car. Again the shipper is charged by this 
combination for coop rental 50 cents per coop. For 
many years the charge was 30 cents per coop, but in 
the past two or three years the price has been raised 
to 50 cents. The cost of these coops new is SO cents 
each and they are used over and over again. There 
are people who would be willing to supply these coops 
at a reasonable price but they realize that their life 
would be in danger should they attempt to handle any 
part of the live poultry business in Greater New York. 
Death of Prof. Van Deman. 
Prof. Henry E. Van Deman, well known to readers 
of The R. N.-Y. as a frequent and valued contributor, 
died at his home, Washington, I). C.. April 28. He 
was born at Concord, Ohio, his early life being spent 
upon his father’s farm, where he gained his first knowl¬ 
edge of fruit-growing, both his father and grandfather 
being practical orchardists. While preparing for col¬ 
lege, in 1SG3, he enlisted in the First Ohio Heavy Ar¬ 
tillery. remaining in the army until the close of the 
Civil War, after which he was associated for a time 
with Dr. ,T. A. Warder of Ohio, a famous old-time 
pomologist. From here Mr. Van Deman went to 
Michigan, and later settled in Kansas, where he took 
up a homestead, and became an important factor in 
the development of fruit growing in that State. From 
Prof. Henry E. Van Deman. 
1878 to 1880 he held the chair of botany and horti¬ 
culture in the Kansas Agricultural College. In 1SSG 
Prof. Van Deman was appointed' pomologist of the 
National Department of Agriculture, with the work of 
organizing the new Division of Pomology. He con¬ 
tinued in charge of this important work until 1893, 
when he retired. Since then he was very active in lit¬ 
erary work, as a contributor to many farm and garden 
publications, and was also in frequent demand as a 
judge at fruit exhibitions all over the United States, 
both local and international. lie was much interested 
in the development of pecan culture in the South, as 
well as northern fruits. He is survived by a widow, 
a son and daughter. 
Farm Bureaus and Business. 
Ever since the farm bureaus were established there 
has been some discussion regarding their relation to 
established business. Usually the farm bureau mana¬ 
ger will find farmers eager to buy goods cooperatively 
if they can make money by doing so. This saving must 
often be made at the expense of agents or dealers who 
have been dealing individually with farmers for years. 
These men sometimes complain bitterly when farmers 
try to combine and buy at wholesale rates—as they 
have long been forced to sell. Prof. M. C. Burrett, 
Director of Farm Bureaus in New York, has sent out 
the following guide to the New York managers to be 
followed in this matter: 
“Farm bureau managers may furnish information as 
to where lime, fertilizer, seeds, and other supplies can 
be secured, and if asked to do so, may quote wholesale 
and retail prices. Since the chief wastes in farm buy¬ 
ing are that it is done in small or retail quantities and 
on credit, they should also call special attention to the 
advantage of buying in large quantities at wholesale 
rates and paying cash. But the manager should never 
personally take or transmit to shippers orders or money 
for supplies, although if requested he may buy directly 
from wholesalers and manufacturers. 
"It is a function of a farm bureau manager to furn¬ 
ish information as to market conditions in different 
cities, even quotations and shipping instructions and 
advice, in cases where this information is asked for 
and necessary. But he should never conduct corres¬ 
pondence with dealers or commission men with any 
view other than securing information. It is not his 
function actually to ship or to sell, and he should never 
agree to do so. 
“These principles also apply, though perhaps not 
with equal force, to a farm bureau association, whether 
incorporated or not. While such an association has a 
perfect right to buy or sell, it is not, in our judgment. 
good' policy for it to do so, since it will he impossible to 
distinguish between the function of such an association 
to buy and to sell, and to conduct a farm bureau, in the 
minds of the general public. 
“For the above reasons, it is not advisable for a 
farm bureau manager to take a further part, in the or¬ 
ganization and development of cooperative buying and 
selling associations than to furnish full information 
and the experience of other cooperative organizations 
to farmers who desire to organise. Tie should never 
have any business connection with them after they are 
organized. This policy is further supported by the 
facts that the public is just now over-stimulated in 
regard to commercial cooperation and that cooperative 
societies are frequently organized on an unsound and 
an uneconomic basis, which will almost certainly lead 
to failure. Such a policy on the part of farm bureau 
managers with reference to cooperative organization is 
also desirable, in order to avoid promoting them, since 
a fundamental principle in their success is that the 
initiative and responsibility in starting them should 
come from the people themselves, as the result of real 
needs. This also a fundamental principle in all farm 
bureau effort. 
“It is also sound policy for the farm bureau mana¬ 
gers to avoid interfering more than is necessary with 
established business relationships in the various com¬ 
munities. There is much foolish talk about the elimin¬ 
ation of all middlemen. Some middlemen will always 
be necessary, because they actually perform service. 
The only middlemen who should be eliminated are those 
who do not perform service. A middleman who re¬ 
ceives in large quantities, distributes in small lots, af¬ 
fords railroad siding and storage facilities, performs a 
necessary service in the community. Cooperative or¬ 
ganizations which do not afford these facilities in all 
lines of trade throughout the year, cannot effectively 
take the place of our present distributing and purchas¬ 
ing agencies. 
“Good judgment and a sound policy would seem to 
favor the use, as far as possible, of established channels 
of trade, and we recommend that preference always be 
given to such agencies as reputable and honest local 
dealers, to well-established and properly constituted 
local cooperative societies, and to Grange purchasing 
agents.” 
Rural Savings and Loan Association. 
Membership in the Rural Savings and Loan Asso¬ 
ciation will now be accepted from any quarter. Sav¬ 
ings shares may be taken on which $1 or more is paid 
as frequently as will suit the convenience of the mem¬ 
ber. On installment shares a monthly payment of 50 
cents a share is required regularly. 
The assets of the association are accumulating and 
a loan has been approved, so that the funds will now 
be earning G% regularly. So far the business of the 
association has been conducted without expense and 
the earnings will be net. It is hoped through this 
association to familiarize the membership with the 
workings <>f an association so that they will become an 
educational factor in their own locations for organiz¬ 
ing local associations to be become members of the 
Land Bank of the State of New York, for the purpose 
of financing mortgages on farms and homes through¬ 
out the State. 
New York State News. 
XEY\ APPLE LAW.—The new apple law, made so 
by the Governor's signature, supersedes the law of last 
year. It is somewhat less stringent as to enforcement 
and less drastic in other respects. It increases the 
limit of variation from standard in all grades amount¬ 
ing to practically five per cent. It eliminates a para¬ 
graph in the old law and thereby does not require the 
marking of packages containing apples which are not 
hand picked or are wormy or diseased, scabby or fuu- 
gused as descriptive of the condition of the contents of 
package. While it is contended that the provisions of 
this eliminated paragraph are covered in the para¬ 
graphs specifying the grades yet th re are growers who 
feel that it is a lowering of the demands which under 
the old law sought to raise the standard so that State 
fruit should not feel the competition of the Western 
States so keenly in that particular. 
A LEGISLATIVE LIBRARY.—The governor has 
signed the hill providing for the establishment of a 
legislative library, to be open all the year. It is said 
that Chas. R. Skinner, former superintendent of edu¬ 
cation. is slated for the position of librarian. The sal¬ 
ary of the office is $3,GOO a year. The librarian and 
his two assistants will be chosen in a few days. 
RETRENCHMENT IN AGRICULTURAL DE¬ 
PARTMENT.—It is announced that Commissioner 
Wilson will cut down the force of the Agricultural De¬ 
partment by about 50 per cent. Some of the men who 
are dropped are law students who are working their 
way through college. Others are high salaried officers 
who were appointed by the previous administration. 
DR. FIN EG AN HONORED.—The State Board of 
Regents has appointed Dr. Thomas E. Finegan to the 
position, recently created, of Deputy Commissioner of 
Education. Heretofore the three assistant commission¬ 
ers have been of the same rank but now the new official 
will be the executive head in the absence of the Com¬ 
missioner. 
SUGGESTIONS WANTED ON TAXATION.— 
Your correspondent is in receipt of a letter from a mem¬ 
ber of the Committee on Taxation of the Constitutional 
Convention, who asks that publicity be given to the 
fact that the Committee would be glad to receive any 
suggestions from Granges or other agricultural socie¬ 
ties with reference to the question of taxation, aud to 
hear from any persons interested in the subject. The 
Committee will take up the consideration of these mat¬ 
ters at an early date and invites information as speedi¬ 
ly as possible. Communications may be addressed to 
the Chairman of the Committee on Taxation, Consti¬ 
tutional Convention, Albany, N. Y. ,r. w. ». 
