RURAL NEW-YORKER 
733 
The New York State Legislature and Its 
Treatment of Farmers 
THE FOOD PROBLEM.—Xo\v that the New York 
State Tvegis^lature ha>! adjourned, we may review its 
work through the .ses.^ion of 1017 as it affects the 
agricultural interests of the State. There is no 
longer any doubt about the imiiortance of the food 
jirobleni. The threatened shortage of food and its 
high prices has thrown the whole country and the 
whole world in fact into a state of hysteria. The 
])re.-<ent supply is short, and the future, according 
to present information, is not encouraging for a 
large supply. In this situation it Avould be fair 
to expect that the legislatiA'e party of the State 
would take a calm account of the situ.ation and 
resort to practical means for the correction of it, 
and for the encouragement of the production of the 
food sujiply in the futiire. The present crisis in 
the food conditions of this co\mtry is entirely due to 
a discouragement of production in the past. Every¬ 
body knows that this country is callable of )>ro- 
ducing food in almost unlimited quantities as com¬ 
pared with any possible demand of the present pop¬ 
ulation of the world. Many people who are willing 
and anxious to produce food have not been aide to 
do it at a pi‘ofit. and have been obliged to leave the 
farm and discontinue the pi'oduction of food, and 
devote themselves to other lines of business that 
return a fair reAvai'd for their labor a)ul enterprise. 
.\t the ssime time, if the farmers have been finding 
it difficult to get the cost of production out of the 
food the.y prodiice. the consumers in the city have 
been hungering for it. paying high prices for it. and 
complaining that the cost of food had reached a 
price beyond their ability to pay. 
EV1L8 OF EXIS5TINO COXDITIOXSJ.—Between 
the producer Avho is di.s'couraged in his production 
by low prices and the consumer who is restrained 
from consumpton by high prices, we have a 
system of di.stribution that is little less than legal¬ 
ized inracy. This system of di.>itribution has been 
built up and encouraged and pi’otected by the gen¬ 
eral polic.v of the Ooverninent. by legislative acts 
and by State and Federal administration.s of law. 
Business has been concentrated and monopolized, 
and the system so developed that it has become the 
mo.st promising enterprise for money-making by 
large corporations and trust organizations in the 
world. The interests in it have become rich, pow¬ 
erful and strong in their organizations. The s.vs- 
tem is complete in eveiy detail. It has followed its 
advantage to such an extent that production has 
keen reduced to a minimum and consumption re¬ 
duced to the necessity of the people, and in a coun¬ 
try with all our possibilities for pi'oduction we are 
now confronted with hysterical aiipeals for increased 
production as a patriotic duty. Without regard to 
pn)lits or rewards the farmer is reipiested to in¬ 
crease his production and the pe<n>le are dire<-ted 
to save the ciaimbs and deny themselves the luxui-ies 
they have heretufore enjoyed. 
lEXroT'RAElXO rRODFCTTOX. — Palliatives 
and exiiediencies of <»ne kind or anorher are offered 
the farmer as an encouragement to increase pro¬ 
duction. He is offered facilities in the securing of 
seeds, assistance in emidoying farm help and small 
gratuities in the loaning of temporary help for sow¬ 
ing and harvesting of farm croi>s, but the system 
of )»iracy is through it all maintained. There is 
no suggestion that the system be reformed and that 
the farm be placed on an economic basis, .so that 
the farmer, like every business man, may figure 
the cost of ]iroduction of his product and name a 
price for it that Avill cover the cost of ju-oduction 
and a reasonable profit. Tf the system of conti’ol 
uf distribution can be preserved and the bulk of the 
Avealth created by the fai-iner extracted from it 
rhroAigh the system of distiibutiou. the interests are 
Avilling to grant gratuities to tide over the present 
crisis in the hope that when it is over their privil¬ 
eges Avill remain intact. 
LEdBSLATIVE POLICY.—The session of the 
XeAv York Legislature just adjourne<l has main¬ 
tained its general i»olicy. It has suggested ex¬ 
pediencies and administered some State gratuities in 
the way of education, and a feA\' facilities to en¬ 
courage production, but it has dune nothing Avhat- 
ever to strike at the root of the trouble that has 
brought the present crisis upon us. It has done 
nothing to disturb the system of distribution that 
has been robbing the producer and swindling the 
consumer for a half century. It has rejected every 
practical measure proposed to adoi>t a system of 
economic distribution direct from the producer to 
consttmer Avith the elimination iff the needless mid¬ 
dleman and the manipulation of prices through ex¬ 
changes and boards of trade. 
the WICK.^ COMMITTEE.—La .St year tbe milk 
producers of the State Avere driven almost to des- 
peratu)!! through the losses forced upon them through 
the production of milk. A practical measure Avas of¬ 
fered the Legislature to reduce the cost of distribu¬ 
tion. In place of it. the farmers gor an investigation 
by the so-called Wicks committee. After months of 
inquiry and the expenditure of tAventy-live thousand 
dollars the committee calml5' came to us Avith the 
report that the distribution was all right and eco¬ 
nomical, and that the profit to dealers in the dis- 
rribution of a rpiart of milk was so small that you 
could hardly see it. .and as a result of this finding, 
it Avas pr<A])osed that we give the half dozen lai*ge 
receivers of milk an absolute monopoly of the dis- 
trilmting business in the city of Xcav Y<jrk. The 
prouqtt .and vigorous protests of the farmers to this 
propcAsition disposed of the original Wicks bill, but 
in order to save the faces of the men aa’Iio created 
it. and suiqmrted it. a neAv bill AA'as offered and 
l>assed. the ultimate fate of AA’hich yet lingers in 
the balance befoi-e the Governor of the State for 
his approval or veto. If there Avas anything of 
it but a shadoAv and a pretence, nobody has yet 
discoA’ered Avhat the other qualities are. It has 
been a source of derision and apology ever since it 
Avas ]>roduced. and the fate of it is a matter of uni¬ 
versal indifference. 
THE TOWXER BILL.—Again, a measure was 
introduced by .'Senator Towner of Dutchess County 
to provide a way to demonstrate an economic meth- 
(Ad f(Ar the distribution of milk. .lust now the far¬ 
mer is receiving an average of about 4^4 cents for 
the quality of milk that is being distributed to the 
Consumers of the city of Xew York. The dealers 
get 014 cents for the distribution of it. The grocery 
stores in every nook and corner of the city are 
anxious to buy the milk and distribute it at a cost 
of one cent a quart in bottles to the doors of the 
consumers. They are unable to get it. Dealers 
refuse to sell it to them. The farmer’s cent 
milk can be distributed to these stores Avith a rea- 
•siAuable profit at seven cents per quart, and the 
milk delivered to the consumer at eight cents. He 
is now paying 11 and 12 cents per quart; in some 
cases more.. Here was a practical means by which 
the Legislature c<Auld help reduce the cost of living. 
It could hell) increase vhe consumption of milk. It 
could encourage the production of one of the most 
important food products in the world. At the be¬ 
ginning of the Avar Germany neglected its milk sup¬ 
ply. Its .statesmen and economists noAA* say that 
this neglect was the biggest mistake of the German 
people in the conduct of the Avar. We had an oppor¬ 
tunity to profit by her mistake. The Legislature 
had an opp(Artunity to seiwe the producers and con¬ 
sumers. Avhich means every person in the State. 
They listened to the lobby of the milk trust. They 
yielded to the arguments and the other influences 
of the milk trust. The ToAvner bill Avas held in the 
-Vgricultural Committee until by desperate means 
.Sen.ator ToAvner forced it out, and then it was 
promptly thrown in another committee under the 
leadership of the Senate, from Avhich it neA’er 
emerged. Fai-iners all OA'er the State made the 
unanimous demand for the passage of this bill. 
They appealed in person, in letter and in telegrams, 
but all in A’ain. A half dozen milk men in the city 
of Xcav Yoi'k had moi'e influence Avith the Xew York 
Legislature in 1017 than the forty thou.sand milk- 
])roducing farmers of the State. That record is not 
intended ]i:irticular]y to increase the A'anity of the 
farmei- in his own powers in influencing the State 
legislation. 
THE F.VRMERS’ OrPORTUXITY.—Whether the 
rebuke to the farmers administered by the members 
of the Legislature Avas merited or not the farmers 
themselA'es must decide. They Avill decide the next 
time the membei's of the Senate are elected in the 
State of Xew York. If the same members in large 
numbers go back to the Legislature the rebuke will 
be AA'ell merited. The farmers aaTII deseiwe the 
c.iutempt Avith Avhich they Avere treated, and the 
nuunbers of the Senate aaTII be abundantly jmstified 
in voting for the interests of the milk trust against 
the interests of the farmer. MTU the milk farmers 
of this .'^tate sAvalloAA' the rebuke and retiirn the 
men that ignored them to the Senate at Albany 
again? Ti’e doubt it IVe believe these men are 
s]KAtted. M'e believe their names appear in mem¬ 
orandum books all over the State. M"e Avish they 
Avere po.sted in a conspicuous place on the door 
of every coAv-barn in the State Avith a black border 
around their names on the Avhite paper, as an in¬ 
dication of AA'hat Avas coming to them the next time 
they appealed for farm votes. If oA’ei’y one of these 
men that represented farm districts, and particularly 
dairy districts, were relegated to jArivate life, it 
Avould give fai-mers an iuflAience at .Vlbany that 
they have U(>vei- enjoyed before, and it Avould be 
many years before another Legislature Avould i‘e- 
fuse a just, fair measure demanded by forty thou¬ 
sand farmers p) please and encourage a combina¬ 
tion of dealers avIio are constantly groAving fat and 
o])ulent through the St.ate protective monopoly in 
the distribution of milk. 
Letters from Farmers 
The CleA'elaml tGhiol Plain Dealer recently in¬ 
timated that fai-mers avouUI not state Avhat they 
will pay farm hel]). Due of our I’eaders took this 
up and sent the folIoAving letter to the Plain Deal¬ 
er. This idea of chasing .such statements right up 
from the farm is good. Xo better AA^ay of putting 
the fai’iuer's side bel\)re the public. 
You say that farmers AA'ere not specific enough to 
state to the farm bureau employment agency the amount 
of Avages they would pa.v for farm help. I wonder what 
the bureau Avould say about farm Avages if they knew 
how much my l!)-year-old son and I accomplished last 
Aveek on the farm. We hauled out three spreader loads 
of manure, plowed about three-fourths of a day Avith 
one team, and planted three bushels of potatoes. We 
did this work uejirly all in 1^2 days. The balance of 
the time Ave were not able to do farm work, as it was 
too Avet, and prospects for doing much more Avork this 
Aveek are no Ix'ttt'r at i)reseut. We had four days of 
cloudy, AA’et Aveather. beginning May 4th, and this morn¬ 
ing, May 8, there Avas a heavy frost Avith ice, which no 
doubt has frozen some tender vegetables. Better ad¬ 
vise some of your food enthusiasts and city farmers and 
advisers to go sIoav under such conditions. Their expe¬ 
riences might discourage them too soon. We farmers 
Avill do our part, but tliere is one thing Ave cannot con¬ 
trol or regulate, and that is the Aveather. If we could 
make it to our onh'r every one of us Avould double or 
treble our output at present prices or less. If these 
food enthusiasts Avho are afraid Ave are going to starve 
Avill just make us faimiers the most favorable conditions 
possible to gnnv things. Ave Avill show them what Ave 
can do. But I expeet about the very best we can do is 
to jog along at our usual rate and do the best we can. 
A farmer’s avoiL .a ml income are usually an uncertain 
(juantity, and Avhoever <loes not believe it, try it. 
Huron Go., Ohio. .saml. iikymaxx. 
The Situation in New Jersey 
lu time of Avar the truth should come out, if ever, 
aud Ave .shall make ihc truth about the farmer's 
side clear if avc can. The folioAviiig statement is 
made by ti i)rogrcssive and reliable farmer in Cen¬ 
tral New Jersey: 
I cannot refrain from telling you some of the things 
we are up against out here in Ncav Jersey. We agree 
that most farm products are very high in the city mar¬ 
kets. IIoAv often Ave are remindetl of the high prices, 
and told that Ave are getting rich by forcing the prices 
up on the con.sumer! I’m sick and tired of hearing 
that stoi*y. .Vt the present time there are 10 or 1‘2 
firms in the hay juid grain business within a radius of 
10 miles of here. They buy and sell hay, grain and other 
farm products. ScA'eral of these presses are owned by 
one firm, the chief tbject being to state .a price aud 
control it, and then buy at the lowest possible price 
by all agreeing to keep the price doAvu. For instance, 
there has been no time in the last several mouths that 
Timothy hay has not been quoted from .$20 to .$22 per 
ton in Ncav York City, I do not knoAV of the first man 
in this section Avho could get more than .$12 per ton for 
his hay, and inost of it lias been bought for $10, some 
less. Help is very scarce. Every person who goes 
around the country baling hay for a business is' Con¬ 
trolled by these (h'alers, and he Avill not bale your hay 
if you do not sell to these so-called dealers. We are 
too far and too busy to cart it loo.se to Trenton or Xcav 
B run.SAvick, conseipieutly Ave are obliged to sell to these 
dealers for any i)riee they agree upon. I sold 75 tons 
of hay for considerably less money than it cost me to 
groAV and market it. 
Another arti<4(' is rye, Avhich is higher than ever be¬ 
fore in the history of the country, .$2 and ,$2.50 per bu. 
These dealers buy rye in the sheaf and thrash it them¬ 
selves. AVe cannot get the help to do it on the farm. 
They kuoAV Avell th<>y Avill get all the grain in the terri¬ 
tory by agreeing to any price. It has been bought all 
Winter at $17 per ton, lately it advanced to .$20. Any 
fairly good rye Aviil turn out 12 to 14 bu. per ton. and 
rye straw is (pioted at .$1,') per ton. Not a very difficult 
thing to see Avho is making tlie money. I have sold 
hundreds of bushels of Avheat for 75c per bu., and lost 
money on every bushel I greAV. Fxactly the same Avith 
milk; Ave could not get the cost of production 214c per 
quart and (piit lu’oducing it. Fruit I get a fail' i>rice 
for because I sell it myself. Homethiug has got to be 
done to eliminate the (‘iiormous profits of the middle¬ 
men, or farimu's Avill be forced to (piit the business. 
What the Farmers Say 
If we could get our Congressmen to read Avith con¬ 
viction some of flit' ojiinions of the food producers ap¬ 
pearing in Thk R. X.-Y., and then to legislate in ac¬ 
cordance AA’ith thes(‘ null musis of the falmers, the food 
shortage distress Avould disappear in one season. The 
most hopeful sign on the farmers’ horizon is the exist¬ 
ence of a trade journal for the farmer, such as Thk R. 
X.-Y., Avhich has the sense and the courage to enter 
politics, to iiresent the farmers’ real needs to them¬ 
selves, and to stimulate them to think and to Avork out 
their oAvn salvation. t 
Of the four primal soun-es of wealth, farming, fishing, 
grazing and mining, though farming is the most impor¬ 
tant. yet the farmer receives little of the Avealth he jiro- 
duces, the bulk of it going to the handlers and the spec¬ 
ulators. If the Government Avere Avilling to contract 
for food as it does for firearms, with the producei-s and 
not Avith the jobbi'rs, and at a price based on cost and 
reasonable profit, bumper crops Avould be the rule, aud 
not the exception. 
AVhen the munition makers, in a burst of patriotism, 
offered to cut doAA’u their profits on Goveniment ordt-rs 
to a mere 10% above cost, they Avere extolled by the 
press for their unselfish loyalty. But the farmer is 
asked to triple his ;)roduction as a jiatriotic duty, Avith- 
out a guarantee of any profit Avhatsoever. AVith Avhat 
enthusiasm Avould he jump into the furroAV and sAveat 14 
hours a day. if tlu' (Continued on page 7.'>7) 
