1135 
Milk Prices for the Winter 
Tlie Dairymen's League has issued a price of 
per 100 pounds for milk to the producer, 
delivered to the shipping station for October, and 
$.1.84 for November, or an average of .$3.22 per 
100 lbs. in the first zone. This price is for “R” 
grade milk 3% fat and 4c per hundred pounds 
additional for each one-tenth of one per cent but¬ 
ter fat in excess of 3%. Little milk is produced 
in this zone, the freight rate is 26 cents per can. 
The extra freight rate in the more distant zones 
will reduce the price to the producer in accordance 
with the new schedule of freight rates. 
Advices from re.sponsible sources in Wisconsin 
say that the condensers seem to have an unlimited 
demand for conden.sed milk. In some sections they 
are paying as high as $3.75 per hundred at the 
present time. This is equivalent to 32c per 
pound for Wisconsin cheese and the competition is 
closing up many of the cheese factories in Wis¬ 
consin. 
Recent heavy frost damaged large quantities of 
corn in Wisconsin as well as in New York and 
other Eastern States, and the damage to corn will 
increa.se the cost of milk production. The New 
York City milk dealers have protested against the 
price. It was first intimated that they would re¬ 
fuse to pay the price and it was stated that if 
obliged to pay the IV 2 cent per quart increase to 
the producers, it would be necessary for them to 
increase the price two cents a quart to the con¬ 
sumer. A committee of the dealers visited Wash¬ 
ington to protest against the advance to National 
Food Administrator Hoover, but he declined to in¬ 
terfere. 
The advance to the farmer for milk last year 
was practically Ic per qt. for the whole year. Dur¬ 
ing that time the dealers advanced the price three 
times to the consumers who now pay 3^/4 per ((t. 
for “R" grade milk as an increase on last year's 
price, and on other grades a still higher increase 
was realized. This largely increased price to the 
consumer I'educed the consumption and the dealer 
claims that in order to make up for his loss and the 
volume of trade he must still further increase his 
percentage of profit on the small volume by further 
increases in price to the consumer. If this process 
is permitted to continue it requires no foresight to 
see that the consumption of milk will steadily de¬ 
crease and that the dealers’ interest of the State will 
necessarily decline. The only remedy is the stipu¬ 
lation in the contract that the price to the con¬ 
sumer is not to be increased, or a distributing plant 
in the city where we can demonstrate the exact 
cost of distributing milk on an economic system. 
The Towner bill of last Winter was designed 
for the purpose of making this demonstration 
on the part of New York State. The State Food 
rommission since appointed with the appropriation 
of more than one million dollars could do nothing 
l)etter for the people of the State than to make 
this demonstration, and without exhausting any of 
the appropriation. The business would pay its own 
way. The Federal Administrator also has ample 
appropriation to make this demonstration. If all 
refuse or neglect to do so, the Dairymen’s League 
has ample power and money to make the demon¬ 
stration itself. It is the one thing that will save 
the situation in the fuUire. 
An Example for New York Farmers 
The dairymen of Delaware County are going at it 
right. Heretofore they have stood by the party or¬ 
ganizations and voted the party ticket They have 
become dissatisfied with the results, and they have 
introduced a reform. Last June in a Grange meet¬ 
ing they had a non-partisan committee appointed to 
de.signate a non-partisan candidate for member of the 
Assembly to be elected to represent them at Albany 
next year. They wanted a dairyman to- represent 
dairymen. In August the committee met and desig¬ 
nated one of the most successful young dairymen of 
the county, J. Clark Nesbitt. The committee pro- 
po.sed to the various organizations of the county, re¬ 
gardless of party line.s, to make it possible by desig¬ 
nation or otherwi.se for members tc vote for or 
against Mr. Nesbitt in the primaries. The Repub¬ 
lican county committee did not hold a meeting to 
de.signate candidates and a petition was circulated to 
put Mr. Nesbitt on the primary ballot. The Demo¬ 
cratic committee accepted the propo.sal and put his 
name on the ballot. The Prohibition candidate had 
already been named, but he withdrew in favor of Mr. 
Nesbitt. It does not seem that there is much more 
to it. The dairymen of Delaware County will be rep¬ 
resented at Albany for the first time by a dairyman. 
Oie RURAL NEW-YORKER 
selected without regard to partisan politics by them¬ 
selves. To put it in their own language, they want 
to send a man whom they can trust without watching. 
That is the an.swer of Delaware County dairymen to 
the politicians at Albany who forced legislation on 
them during the last year that they did not want and 
protested against. It is their answer to the man who 
said farmers would forget all about it in a year, and 
if they did not he would put enough money in the 
doubtful counties to maintain the party vote. It 
would be some picnic to follow the gentleman or his 
agents with the “doughbag” through Delaware Coun¬ 
ty. Of course, they will elect .1. Clark Nesbitt, and 
in doing .so they will not only be properly represented 
at Albany, but they will set a good example for the 
rest of the State. 
A Tractor Demonstration in New Jersey 
The tractor demonstration at Plain.sboro, N. J., on 
Sept. 18-19-20 was a great success. The weather 
was perfect, and at least 4,000 farmers saw the 
tractors at work. The following machines were in 
the field: Happy Farmer, New T.eader, Moline, Taff, 
Case, Staube, “Cleveland,” Avery, Gile, Mogul, 
New Huber. The Walker-Gordon farm is large 
enough to provide ample space for .such a trial. 
The tractors worked at plowing—not, as was ex¬ 
pected by some, at haiiling corn harvesters and 
other work. This plowing was done in corn stubble 
where the stalks had been cut for silage, and in an 
old Alfalfa sod. Anyone who has ever tried plow¬ 
ing a field of healthy Alfalfa will remember how 
the big roots try to hold back the plow, as though 
it were tied with ropes. It put the tractors on 
their muscle, and cut the job out for them. The 
field where they worked on this date is nearly 
level—with a gentle slope at one side. All the 
machines did fine work in this sod. They turned 
the short growth under and tucked it out of sight, 
and few plowmen with a horse would care to 
guarantee a straighter or more even furrow. They 
were all working at their best and, of course, 
this field gave them a far better chance than they 
would find on the smaller field of the average East¬ 
ern farm. No one could see these machines at work 
without admitting that the farm tractor has surely 
arrived. It is following along the course made 
possible and practical by the auto, and will, in 
time, become as thoroughly adapted to various farm 
conditions. The demonstration was a great success 
and will result in placing many tractors on the 
farms of the Delaware Valley, and Eastern New 
•Tersey. 
New York Wheat Prices 
Our readers report wheat at $2 to $2.10, according 
to gi-ade. Some of them sold at .$2.25 before the 
new price was established. The following report 
is from Genesee Co., N. Y. 
The millers here and so far as we know throughout 
Western New Y’^ork are paying today $2.10 per bushel 
for Winter wheat just as the fanners draw it in from 
the thra.shing machine uncleancd. The price as made 
by the Government Committee—$2.20 per bushel—was 
for No. 1 hard Northern f. o. b. Chicago; that same 
grade of wheat would figure plus the freight $2.25 per 
bushel f. o. b. Ruffalo rate points. Some of our farmers 
here in Western New York thought we should be en¬ 
titled to ,$2.25 per bushel, but we know none of our 
wheat grades No. 1 hard Northern. 
There was a recent meeting in Ruffalo of dealers 
and millers of W^estern New York, and a number of 
our dealers took samples of wheat to this meeting and 
had them graded by the Ruffalo Government Inspector. 
Out of something like a dozen samples, as I remember 
it, only one or two graded No, 2, seven or eight samples 
graded No. .3, two or three camples No. 4 and one 
sample No. 5, so that at $2.10 our millers and buyers 
are paying on a basis of No. 3 wheat. If they get 
some choice lots of No. 2, tlmt is the best they can 
possibly get. The price of $2.10 per bushel is not an 
unfair one. There are here and there a few isolated 
lots of vstrictly choice No. 2 red wheat that would 
probably bring around .$2.20, but these lots are few and 
far between. The white wheat contains quite a per¬ 
centage of moisture and will not average more than 
No. 3. 
Another farmer iii Tompkins Co. reports: 
Three weeks ago, when I got my wheat thrashed, 
I had to clean it up and get it off the floor. I then 
covild get only .$2 offered for it, so I built a bin and 
put it up “for a more convenient season” and bet¬ 
ter price, which I think is sure to come. After the 
Civil War, when the price of wheat went to $1 and less, 
I could not afford to raise it, and have raised only 
just for my own use until this year. Now I cannot 
raise wheat under present conditions for $2 per bushel 
as well as I could then for $1. I have to hire it all 
done now, and with the price of labor and the un¬ 
certainty of getting it at any price, and weather con¬ 
ditions also, I can’t see much in it for me. 
The daily papers have printed sensational reports 
about Western farmers who are holding up the 
wheat market. 'The secretary of the Food Admin¬ 
istration Grain Corporation writes us as follows 
about this: 
“We see no e^ridence of any special holding back on 
the part of the farmer. There seems to be some disap- • 
pointment on the part of tlfe producer at the price 
given by the GovernmenL The farmer, however, seems 
to be taking a very patriotic position and is marketing 
in his wheat at his convenience. The receipts in the 
Northwest are increasing and it will probably not be 
long until mills and exporters have all the supplies they 
can take care of. The movement in the (^anadian 
Northwest is in excess of last year.” 
How Government Wheat Prices Work Out 
Would it not be well to publish the rights of the 
producer under the existing minimum price for 
1917 wheat? With No. 1 wheat at .$2.20 Chicago, and 
an added difCei-ential of 10 cents at New Y"ork City, 9 
cents at Philadelphia and Raltimore, and presum¬ 
ably, the latter differential at Virginia points, what 
protection have we, and how are we to obtain our 
rights to the established minimum basis? As I un¬ 
derstand it. No. 2 red soft wheat is based 3 cents 
per bushel under No. 2 hard, or say $2.17 ]tlus 9 
cents, equals .$2.26, as the e.stablishe<l minimum for 
this district. I just talked Avith the buyer for 
our local mills; he is paying $1.90 to ,$2.10; says 
Richmond mills pay ,$1.80 to .$2.10 for “bag lots.” 
The Richmond Grain Exchange quotations are $2.25 
for No. 2 red. Western, and $2.20 for Vli’ginia. Ac¬ 
cording to the local buyer, the Richmond mills are 
penalizing sevei-ely—demanding ab.solutely clean 
wheat, free from cockle or any other foreign grain, 
etc., and scaling the price arbitrarily where such for¬ 
eign matter is present. It strikes me that there is 
here an opportunity for an interesting campaign of 
educiition. kdwin eaui.e. 
Virginia. 
This matter Avas referred to the United States 
Food xVdministration and the following reply is re¬ 
ceived : 
Your correspondent* from Virginia is right in his 
understanding of the price given for Chicago and 
the relative basis for New York, Philadelphia and 
Raltimore. He is a little mistaken in one point: 
While the No. 1 red hard Winter and No. 1 Northern 
Spring at Raltimore Avill be .$2.29, No. 1 soft red 
Winter Avould be 2 cents less this price, or $2.27 at 
Raltimore; then the No. 2 of each grade is 3 cents 
less than the No. 1 of each of those grades, and the 
No. 3 6 cents less and the No. 4 10 cents less. 
The millers of the United Stares are signing an 
agreement Avith the Food Administration that they 
Avlll pay only the relative prices compared to the 
zone points, less freight and expenses, etc. This Avill 
be uniform throughout the United States, so a farm¬ 
er or dealer in any particular vicinity can figure the 
expemses, freight, etc., under the zone i)oint—Ralti¬ 
more, for example—and can then tell just what he 
ought to receive for his Avheat if it makes a certain 
grade. 
H be is not satisfied Avith the price offered at this 
loc.il station and is not satisfied that the grade is 
right, he can shiit the Avheat himself to the Govern¬ 
ment at, say Raltimore, and when it has been un¬ 
loaded, the Government Avill remit the proceeds to 
him on the Government price plus 1 per cent Admin¬ 
istration charge. 
FOOD ADMINISTKATION GRAIN CORPORATION. 
An Independent Farm Movement Needed 
In response to your remarks on an independent farm 
movement, I can make only a feAV observations. 
It is ''needed” to an extent, to a degree, and in such 
varied and numerous particulars that very few farmers 
realize. 
No man can live in modern society without using the 
services of many organizations. Rut if he has no or¬ 
ganization of his own, these very “services” subject him 
to the control of the masters of these organizations. 
The control is indirect and therefore obscured, but it is 
as real as the exactions of an autocracy. 
Your analysis of the State Food Control bill shows 
clearly that this legislation is not in favor of the farmer 
nor the city consumer, but of the trading class of the 
towns, and especially of a well-paid officehokling class 
that is becoming a bureaucracy. Any fai’mer who 
realizes this, if he feels as I do, must be ready to throw 
off many of his old habits of thought, and discard his 
old political shibboleths, in order to take his first place 
in modern society within organizations of his own. The 
concern of these organizations must be the political, in¬ 
dustrial and social interests of the farmer. Since the 
farmer ministers to the whole national life, efficient 
farmer organizations are essential to the national Avel- 
fare. I offer only one suggestion ; that a btwlyof repre¬ 
sentative farmers get together in conference to issue an 
address to the farmers of the State. Then in all the 
localities of the State hold meetings to discuss the ad¬ 
dress, organize local committees, and elect delegates to 
a State convention. If this movement is to succeed it 
will take a long time and require the most thorough edu¬ 
cational campaign that this or any other State ever yet 
anw T* J- IXOYD. 
