RURAL NEW-YORKER 
701 
Later Milk Developements 
After going to ])ress last week a new statement was 
issued in reference to milk conditions. From an 
interview with ilr. Cooper we learn that the Borden 
Company withdrew from the agreement to accept the 
Federal Milk Commission price. It refused to accept 
the IMay price of ,^2.40 per hundred. This left 
them in a position to deal with the League direct, 
d'hoy finally agreed to pay the .$2.40 per hundred 
for May, provided the League agreed to $1.80 as 
the price for .Tune, and this has been accepted. 
The Federal Milk Commission will prohahly make 
the same price for June, othei’wise confusion would 
result. The only exception to the May price is in 
the case of one Borden iilant at Richmond. Vt, 
•which the Bordens claim is out of League juris¬ 
diction. 
The League officials and the Borden company 
,‘vre now, Mr. Cooper says, negotiating for future 
sales of the Borden supply of milk, involving a 
surplus provision, and an option by the League to 
buy the Borden country plants. No details of this 
proposition have yet been settled. 
Milk Company in Bankruptcy 
An involuntary petition in bankruptcy was filed 
last Aveek against the Paramount Condensed Milk 
Coi*poration by four creditors whose claims amount 
to about $1,500. The concern gave an address at 
201 Broadway, New York city, and headquarters at 
Prattsville, New York. Some mouths back Ave had 
occasion to look up the financial standing of this 
corporation for the infoi'mation of milk producers 
in Greene County, and could find no information at 
the time that Avould justify an extension of credit 
for milk, and so advised the producers. It is to be 
hoped that farmers acted on the information and 
e.scaped probable losses. 
Milk Farmers Retreat 
When the Mutual ('ompany Avent up they owed the 
patrons at Howells, N. Y., for 43 days’ milk, amounting 
to $12,000. The receivers offered us .50 cents on the 
dollar in payment for the plant and Ave bought it for 
$12,000. We considered it a good investment at this 
figure and took possession on .Tan. 23. We became a 
member of the Country !Milk Company and shipped the 
milk to them Avhen they sent us cans, h-om Jan. 23 until 
April 26. I say we became a member, rather we acted 
in the position of a trailer. When we had cans we 
shipped the milk, and Avhen we did not Ave churned, 
threw' it out or gave it away, according to the disposition 
of each member. Our milk checks became smaller and 
our feed bills larger. Some sold their dairies and others 
went over to Borden. 
At the time when the Country Milk Co. issued their 
circular letter deferring the payments 15 days and ad¬ 
vising members not satisfied to find other markets, our 
directors met and decided Ave must act quickly or close 
the plant. The Empire Milk Co. and the Farmer.s’ 
Company, running the ^liddletOAvn plant, both made 
overtures to us, and at a meeting of all the stockholders 
it Avas voted to accept the proposition of the Empire 
Company and they are now' running the plant, but the 
farmers OAvn it. 
I believe in the principle of co-operation and think 
the time is coming when the producers must oAvn all 
milk receiving stations, but sentiment must not interfere 
w'ith business. We read of the babies in New York City 
starving for milk and it Avas being thrown away here 
for w'ant of facilities to distribute it. 
I hope the experience of this community Avill be of 
A'alue to communities and producers in other jilaces. 
GEORGE E. UOAVEEL. 
This experience seems to confirm Avliat has already 
been expressed: 
1. We all knoAV that the farm-ow'ued co-operative 
plant is the backbone of the Tfairymen’s League, or 
any other organization of milk producers. They 
must bo encouraged and protected. 
2. The big milk dealers for their own protection 
and business reasons are opposed to farm-owned 
plants. They not only wish to coiitrol the milk at 
the source, but they Avant to take the profits in the 
handling of it at the local plants. Of course, no 
big milk dealer would mix different grades of milk 
in one vat; or adulterate it by removing cream, or 
adding skimmed milk; but if anyone did Avish to do 
these things, it Avould be desirable to have full con¬ 
trol of the plants. The control by the dealer, of 
course, takes the control out of the farmers’ hands 
to be used against the organization in case of a dis¬ 
agreement. 
3. The management of the League encourages the 
building of farm-oAvned plants, but does not make 
any provision for the sale of their milk except such 
l)roA'ision as is afforded through the Country Milk 
Company, AA'hich is not in a position to handle all the 
milk of the farm-owned plants, and Avhich does not 
pay the League price for milk testing more than 3.6 
per cent butterfat. Fnder such conditions the pro¬ 
ducers of a community are l)e1ter off Avithout a plant 
of their oAA'n than Avith one. They are discriminated 
against by the dealers. The League offers them no 
outlet, and the (’ountry Milk Company is not in a 
position to care for their milk. If w'e had no sub¬ 
sidiary milk companies, the milk could all be sold 
by the Dairymen's League, riant charges and dis¬ 
tribution costs could be standardized. There Avould 
l>e no incentive for the League management to dis¬ 
criminate bet.Aveen producers or plants, and dealers 
need not be permitted to do so. 
The Farmer’s Share of the Consumer’s 
Dollar 
Your article entitled “The City Opinion of Fai'rn 
Profits.” page 609, is the best ever. It ought to be in 
the hands of every official in our Government—city, 
State and national—from the humblest mayor to Presi¬ 
dent AVikson. It could not help but do a A’ast amount 
of good, for they would see in plainest possible terms 
who is benefiting by high prices. In our OAvn case Ave 
have to figure more closely than ever in order not to get 
caught Avith unpaid bills and no funds to pay them. 
In my mind there is no doubt- but that prices to the 
final consumer could be reduced 20 per cent by honest 
distributing methods and not lower them any to pro¬ 
ducers. AVe must shoAV city people Avho is responsible 
for the present high prices—not the farmer—and Avhen 
they learn that they can force a change if they Avant to, 
unless public opinion is first educated as to the real 
state of affairs we can never hope to accomplish much 
in the Avay of marketing reform. 
Give them facts and figures, for Avith a hungry 
stomach they can digest them, and w'hen they have done 
that Ave shall see a change that AA'ill benefit producer and 
consumer alike. I am Avith you in helping to bring 
that about. joiiN cologna. 
Missouri. 
The Profit in Direct Sales 
It pays to eliminate the middleman where you can. 
The truth of this statement W'as demonsti'ated strik¬ 
ingly a short time ago by the experience of my father 
and my brother. They had fed six steers through the 
Winter and haJ them in good shape for slaughter. A 
local buyer looked them over and offered 11 cents a 
pound. They held out for 14 cents, which was about tAVO 
cents beloAV the top in the city 50 miles away. The 
bu.ver threAV up his hands, saying that there were no 
14-cent steers in the bunch ; and added that they would 
shrink 70 pounds apiece on the trip. 
He did not get the cattle. Instead a truck w'as hired 
for $20 and the steers Avere taken to the city. The de¬ 
parture occurred at about 4 A. M. and the steers Avere 
delivered at the yards in time to be sold the same day. 
The commission merchant did not consider them in 
quite the same light as the buyer had done. His first 
remark W'as: "‘That's the stuff;” and he told the first 
buyer Avho looked them over that he w'anted 15 cents 
straight for the bunch. Eventually he sold five of them 
at 15 cents and one at 14 cents. 
After deductions Avere made for all the expenses in¬ 
curred, including an assumption that the steers shrunk 
70 pounds apiece on the trip, there Avas still left a 
balance of $152.90 more than the buyer’s offer. If he 
had got them he Avould have made as much as the 
feeders. Did it pay to sell direct? 
If j'ou have a fairly good sized bunch of stuff in fin¬ 
ished condition you can usually afford to ship direct. 
But plan to have good stuff. I’oor stuff is just about 
as hard to dispose of in the stockyards as at home. But 
what is the man going to do Avho feeds only one or tAvo 
animals? tr. E. mebn. 
Business Methods of the Dairymen’s 
League 
AA’hether or not one agrees with all the suggestions 
as to the management of the Daii'ymen’s I,eague made 
by The K. N.-\T, there can be no (luestion as to the 
desirability of an open forum somewhere for discussion 
of the League’s policies and methods. If this forum is 
not furnished by our farm i)apers, I do not knoAV Avhere 
it Avill be found. It is true that there is a general meet¬ 
ing of league representatives once yearly, at Avhich such 
things may presumably be discussed, but it is evident 
to those Avho have attended these meetings that one day 
is all too short for the transaction of even neces.sary 
routine business, let alone the presentation and discus¬ 
sion of plans and i)olicies. 
It is the misfortune, not the fault, of the Ijoague offi¬ 
cials that they have no Avay of reaching the thought of 
the League members save as they can gauge it by the 
apparent attitude of delegates to a meeting held but 
once in the year. They are thus deprived of the help 
Avhich such knoAvledge Avould give them. AA'hile the offi¬ 
cial publication of the League serves Avell as a medium 
of expression for those in the office, it does not get back 
to them the ideas of the man on the farm. If they are 
to knoAV the mind of those for whom they are Avorking, 
the kiioAvledge must evidently be carried to them through 
other channtds. 
q’he suggestion of an independent audit committee, 
made on page (i51, is one that sooner or later must be 
heeded. No one questiltns for a monumt the absolute 
integrity of our present League officials, but. Avhere 
hundreds of thousands of dollars are involved, no officer 
Avho values his rei)utation Avill fail to insist that his 
detailed accounts shall be checked by those Avho have 
no interest in concealing irregularities or cov<>riug up 
mistakes. This must be done.for the i)rotection of offi¬ 
cials as Avell as to safeguard the League from possible 
future delinquency. In the nature of things, the present 
officers AA'ill not always hold their i)osts. And financial 
reiJorts should be so made that they tell hoAv money has 
been used. 'J’o report that a certain sum has been ex¬ 
pended in “salaries” and “exi)enses” gives no informa¬ 
tion. The members of the Dairymen’s League are en¬ 
titled to know to whom, and in Avhat amount, salaries 
are paid and to whom and for Avhat purpo.se expenses 
are allowed ; and this information should come from an 
audit committee, not from those who have received the 
money. Surplus funds invested or in the treasury should 
also be explicitly accounted for. 
If all this seems captious or unnece.ssary, it should 
be remembered that the Dairymen’s League is not only 
a corporation of tremendous size and doing an enormous 
amount of business, but that it is absolutely dependent 
for its stability upon the confidence of Avidely scattered 
thousands Avho are open to the infiuence of those avIio 
AA'ould destroy it by instilling suspicion and distrust. 
In financial matters, too much care cannot be taken to 
guard ag.ainst an.A' possible criticism. m. n. dean. 
Tioga Co. President Dairj'men’s League. 
Up State Ne'w York Farm Notes 
The Tompkins County Wool GroAA’ers' Association will 
1 C co-operatively this year, and thev have 
L8,9()() lbs already pledged. A committee consis'ting of 
Fj. h. Hill of F reoville, J, C. Woathorsby, Trumans- 
nnd W. E. Hine of NeAvfield AA’ill adA'crtise and 
call for bids. Avhich Avill be opened about July T5. All 
consignors of aa'OoI^ must state their AA'illingness to co¬ 
operate by ^IMay li>, and must be members of the asso¬ 
ciation. When a bid is accepted the buyer Avill arrange 
for three or four places of delivery about the country. 
()n delivery days representatives of the buyer also of 
the committee Avill weigh and grade the wool, payment 
being made cash down. 
Seneca County growers are also planning for co¬ 
operative soiling o'f their wool. Cortland County is 
arranging for .a_Sheep Growers’ Association. Cortland 
County lost .$1 ,;j 00 AA'orth of sheep by dogs AA’ithin the 
year. 
Warm Aveather di.scloses the fact that many up-State 
\V inter Avheat fields are hopeless, and many entire fields 
have been ploAved up. More in the writer’s region than 
has been knoAvn in many years. Some will be replaced 
by Spring wheat, but mostly by oats or other grains. 
Respite the urgings of the Federal authorities. Manager 
J. K, Toall, of the Onondaga Farm Bureau, issues a 
Avarning to farmers of his section not to risk Spring 
wheat. lie believes it unpatriotic to gamble on any 
crop. B hen Central New York farmers know they can 
successfully grow good crops of oats, barley, buckCvheat 
and corn ; and he considers Spring wheat as purely a 
gamble in this section. 
Fruit growers of Central and Western New York are 
aghast at the jump in price of fruit packages of all 
kinds, from berry baskets up to apple barrels. The 
pr.oe in 1917 AA'as high, but this year sees a rise of 25 
to 80 per cent over last year’s prices. The added cost 
must be passed along to consumer, and in some cases 
AA^' ’■ make a prohibitive price, reducing consumption to 
the point where forced sales to canneries may be ex¬ 
pected. Light bushel baskets for peaches and apples 
last year sold for $1.25 per dozen, and are now ,$2.20 
per dozen ; 14-quart peach baskets Avere $65 per 1,000, 
this ye.y they are $110 per 1,000; 10-quart baskets 
were $.1,1, noAv they are $75. The cost of package of 
picking and hauling a barrel of apples Avill come to 
$1.2;j per bbl., entirely outside of the cost of producing 
the apples. 
Farmers were widely criticized for not purchasing 
bonds more freely for the First and Second Libertv 
Loan. Committees in charge of the Third Loan hail 
facts brought to their attention that led them to beliei’e 
farmers did not respond as expected because they had 
not had the opportunity, nor the knowledge of the 
country’s need for such support. So, in preparing the 
campaign for the Third Loan, State and countv leaders 
Avho had the respect and confidence of the farmers, were 
secured as Avorkers for the loan. Through the officials 
of the farm bureaus the Grange, the Dairymen’s League, 
and many other rural organizations the farmers Avere 
reached and the result has been throughout the State 
that the farming sections Avere first to raise their quotas, 
most of them oversubscribing, while the cities lagged 
behind. Cortland County was the first in the State to 
report every towiishij) as raising its allotment, also 
every village and city in the county. Most of the 
toAvns oversubscribed largely and sent their reports in 
very earily, Avhile the city of Cortland Avas sloAver. At 
an original celebration of this fact addresses by av<>11- 
known State speakers and a junior four-minute speakers’ 
contest for a $50 bond Avas a feature. I’liere Avere five 
schoolboys and girls contesting, each a Avinuer in pre¬ 
viously held contests for other generous prizes given by 
the citizens of the county. The topics Avere appropri¬ 
ately AA'ar subjects and AA-ere capably handled by the 
young orators. 
Prof. Livermore, of Cornell College of Agriculture, 
spent three days recently Avith 80 boys and girls Avho 
are .students of that institution, inspecting the farming 
operations on the farm of J. I‘. Carty of Little York, 
one of the fine farms of Central New York. Other 
dairy and general farms have been under observation 
by the students the past Aveek. 
The Cayuga Dairy Company has been incorporated 
for the purpose of producing, purchasing, marketing, and 
de.aling in dairy and allied products, with $5,000 capital. 
Milk producers of Auburn are asking 7c a quart for 
their milk. The dealers of the city i)rotest. and Avill 
rai.se the retail ))rice Ic.—or to 12c per (juart. if the 
wholesale price is' increased. The ucavs that the Dairy¬ 
men’s League has a six months’ option on all Borden 
plants is most Avelcome, and farmers of this section 
hope for a purchase. The June price of $1.80 for 3 
per cent milk in the 150-mile zone Avill be A'ery disap¬ 
pointing. but only accents the need of the farmers con¬ 
trolling the distribution of their product. 
The Gouverneur Dairy Board adjourned Saturday 
Avithout fixing a price on cheese, as the buyers preseiff 
Avould not ))ay over V2y,i-. The IM.vmouth Board made 
Sales at 21 to 2114. and 1,63() boxes Avere registered as 
compared with 1..5.59 boxes last year. The WatertoAvu 
Board accepted 21i/l>c for cheese. 
Cortland County farmers are disappointed to get Avord 
from their local draft board that every application for 
furloughs from farmers of the county for soldiers in 
nearby training camps had been denied by the com¬ 
manding officers because the contingents Avere so soon 
to leave for France. Help is badly needed at this time, 
and i)urchasers of tractors Avho cannot get their ma- 
chine.^J delivered in time for Spring Avork are badly 
handicai>ped. Freight conditions are in a bad Avay. 
Buyers of purebred Holsteins at the big sale held re¬ 
cently report that a system of tipping raihvay employes 
has developed, and only those avIio understand it can 
get prompt service. One buyer reported that he Avas 15 
hours getting 5 miles Avith a carload of cattle. When 
told hoAv to proceed he Avas attended to promptly. Car¬ 
loads of tractors are standing on prominent sidings/ up- 
State, it is said, Avaiting for similar inspiration to 
move. Shippers of country produce by express report 
the poorest service ever kuoAvn. All persons having 
knoAvledge of carelessness, negligence, or plain graft 
should i)romptly lay s/uch facts before Mr. McAdoo as 
the quickest means of securing prompt, patriotic co¬ 
operation in these matters, m. g. e. 
