JT/ic RURAL N E W-Y O R K E R 
751 
The Federation of Agriculture 
On June 7 a mootiiii: of favnievs and accredited 
delejrates of farm organizations in Xoav York State 
\A-ill he held at the Ten Eyck Hotel in Albany. N. Y., 
for the purpose of effecting? a permanent organiza¬ 
tion to he known as the X’ew York Federation of 
Airricnltnre. Last Winter the nuclens of two orscani- 
zations was started in this State for identical pur¬ 
poses. One at Syracuse projjosed the federation of 
(lie farm organizations existing in the State. The 
other at X^ew York City proposed an entire new 
organization from the ground np to consist of local 
township units and a State organization composed of 
accn'dited delegates of these unions. The i)nri)oses 
vere .“^o practically identical in design if not in 
scope or detail that both movements gravitated into 
one. Some of the old organizations h:ive be¬ 
come members. Others no doubt Avill come 
in. Several township units have already been 
foi'ined. and others are in process of organization. 
The imrpose is to have a unit in every a.gricnltnral 
township in the State. Fi> to this time temporary 
oliicers have conducted the work, and meetings have 
been held in different parts of the State to find the 
sentiments of farmers toward the projiosition. The 
sentiment was general and spontaneous. The de¬ 
mand is insistent on the part of real farmers of the 
State. Their demand is that the organization be 
made to meet the pi'esent farm nec'ds. Call it pro- 
gre.ssive or radical as you please, they want it right 
away in a permanent form, and they Avant it on a 
democratic basis. That is to say. they want the 
individual farmers to have .a voice in its policie.s, 
and the.v want the ma.jority of those voices to gov¬ 
ern. They want the heads to be responsive and sid)- 
.iect to tbe rank and fde. They want no more anto- 
<ratic heads. This is in opposition for the most 
]>art to the men holding State .iobs. It is in protest 
against the system that has placed many of them in 
State positions, and they quite naturally oi)pose it. 
This is well, because the lines need to be drawn. 
It will divide the sheep from the goats. We Avill 
liave farmei’s and their friends on one side. The 
others will be opposed. There can be no di.spnte 
about this position, becatise farmers themselves will 
control the federation from the ground np, and 
dictate its policies and direct its 7 )ractices. 
We are asked if the Federation will be political. 
We an.swer frankly “Yes" and “Xo." just as you 
view it. The old party politics. “Xo"; of a new po¬ 
litical brand, “Y’es.” Tbe memliers will be farmers 
lirst. Tbeir politics will be to elect the best men 
they can find for public service. Instead of voting 
the party ticket for men forced on their party, they 
will select the men they want for the i)lace. They 
will A'ote for .such men Avithout regard to itarty. 
They will break np the ])artnership between big in¬ 
terests and our own organized government. They 
will increase the value of the .‘lo-cent dollar and 
secure throu.gh their own representatives a .square 
deal for the farm. Their first drive will be for 50 
farmers in tbe Legislature, and if tbat is not enough 
they Avill make it more. 
Every loc.al farm organization in the l^tate may 
send a delegate and i»ay the $25 annual fee and 
help organize the lA'deration. Representative indi¬ 
vidual farmers ai’O invited for their council, but only 
Ihe delegates fi-om member organizations can vote 
on the motions to iterfect the permanent organiza¬ 
tion. 
The Dairy Show and Its Lessons 
Last week a State dairy .show was held in the 
Crand f’entral I'alace, in New York (Tty. It is said 
that the entire cost amounted to $100,000. of this 
sum. according to our information. Ihe State appro- 
lu-iated $,‘)().0()0, the milk dealers $15,000 and the 
I'airymen’s League $10,000. Exhibitors and visitors 
also contributed. The exhibition served to show 
something of the extent of (he dairy industry of the 
State, the implements and utilities used in the pro¬ 
duction, manufacture and distribution of milk and 
milk i>roducts. Fonsiderable literature was distri¬ 
buted in the form of leaflets and pampldets from the 
r. S. Department of Agriculture and from the State 
(’olle.ge at Ithaca. The director of the work was 
1 >r. Xorth. who headed the uot-too-famous Mayor’s 
milk committee last year, jind who has long been 
identified with the interests of the milk trust of the 
city. As an exhibit the work was creditable. It 
sl’.owed a large aiiKuint of work and skill in the 
preiia.ratioM. The attendance was small during the 
(iuly days, but it was increasing during the latter 
part of the w(‘ek. 
Olticial work has ils own drawback.s. but it at least 
serves to make work for itself. AVhen it interferes 
with natural laws and liiids itself in trouble, it can 
busy its(df by nnersing the order of things and at¬ 
tempt to restore the old conditions. T.ast year we 
had an oflicial food propaganda to save milk and 
butter and cream. Having disturbed the regular 
order of things we now have an oflicial attempt to 
restore the equilibrium. This time, to sa.v the least, 
tluw are on the right track. Officials can make no 
mistake in encouraging the consumption of milk and 
milk products. The only question is the most effi¬ 
cient way to accomplish the <lesired re.snit.s. The 
city health authorities say that 51(1.000 school chil¬ 
dren are pale, anemic and sick for want of milk, and 
that 000.000 more are on the brink of breakdoAvn 
idiysically from tbe same cau.se. There was no evi¬ 
dence of any of these children or of their parents 
at the show-rooms. If the.v had been there a cup of 
milk would haA'e cost them live cents, or close to 25 
cents per quart. During the next month milk will 
be sold b.v farmers for four ceids per quart. For 
five cents it can be landed in the cit.v pasteurized, 
or .about one cent a cup at tbe car door, Xew Y^ork. 
If our officials used the $100,000 to devise a .system 
by which this milk could be put into the hands of 
the anemic children at two cents a cup, they would 
in our judgment serve a better purpose than they 
accomplished in the pnrel.v educational work of 
literature and exhibits. If the farmer can produce 
milk and pasteurize it, and deliver it to the gates 
of the city for one cent a cup, it would seem that 
the AA'ork of passing it over to hungr.y children 
ought to be accompiisbed for another cent, e.specially 
with a capital fund of $100,000 to start with. We 
do not complain of the educational work. It probably 
hfehis a little. Rnt every tbongbtful per.son stud.ylug 
the exhibit mn.st have been impressed with the ex- 
traA’agance of it, the cost of it, and the waste of it, 
Jlilk is despised as a suiqilus in the country, and a 
hundred-thomsand-dollar exhibit is held in the city 
where well-to-do people are being educated to accus¬ 
tom themselves to pay at the rate of 25 cents a quart 
for it within a stone’s throw of thousand.s of anemic 
children who, according to the authorities, are starv¬ 
ing for the want of it at prices within their means. 
Surely this is a Avork to plea.se the dealer interested 
in maintaing a high distribution cost. The State 
spends its money to help the dealer get his big profit. 
It does nothing for the hungry children. It does 
nothng to help the farmer get an outlet for the sur¬ 
plus milk. Dealers are certainly in the saddle now. 
J he.y may a.s aa’cII I'ide hard while the going is 
good. They ride to a fall. We Avill yet stop this 
camonflago and actually deliver milk at :i i-easonable 
cost. The rest Avill be done by hungry stomachs. 
A Milk Company Fails 
ITie Paramount (’ondcn.sed Milk (’ompany, oi)erating 
a creainer.y at Prattsville. N. Y., financial report on 
Avliich you furnished us .some time back, has failed The 
liabilities are placed at $50,(M)() and the assets were said 
to bo «pl;)»(K)(). b Jirinors in tho section urc heuvy losers. 
Most of them patronii^Hl the creamer.v during the month 
of April. On April o, 1918. the State; Department’of 
Agriculture was notified that the company wa.s oper¬ 
ating at IT-attsville without having filed bonds. The 
Department advised that the matter would be taken 
care of at once, but apparently the Department did not 
insist on a bond being filed. Your advice saved us per¬ 
sonally a number of dollars. Please accept thanks. 
New York. g, 
The Agricultural Department ha.s advised us as 
follows: 
The Paramount Condensed Milk Company started in 
.and purchased milk for .about two wi'eks before the 
farmers reported the matter to this Department; this 
Department has lu'ver receiv(*d a license or given a 
bond, but the company did business in violation of the 
law. Since we discovered that they were purchasing 
milk, we sent a man to I’rattsville, X. Y., to in\'estigate, 
and the company having failed to give a bond, we turned 
the matter over more than two weeks ago to the Attor¬ 
ney-General’s office for prosecuton, so the case is in hi.s 
hands and we expect to prosecute them for violation of 
the agriculturnl law. 
Whether the fault be with the law or with the 
enforcement of it (he proilucer as u.sual stands the 
loss. If there be jokers in this bonding law'^, they 
ought to be made known and corrected. If the law 
is right, then the enforcement should be prompt and 
decisive. Fooling producers Avith a full sense of 
security is worse fban leaving them alone altogether. 
We have had enough pretenses. It is time Ave had 
some real results. 
The Federal Milk Commission 
The Fedei-al .Milk (’ommission for (he Xew York 
Cit.A’ distinct is ajiparentl.v out of existence, or, to 
say the least, out of business. On Monday of last 
week it held a meeting, Imt unanimously decided 
not to make any price for .June milk. The com¬ 
mission adjourned .subject to the call of the chair¬ 
man, Avliich is geiK'rally interpreted to mean that the 
commission is a thing of the past. Dr. .Iordan Avas 
quoted later iis saying that to conliinn the League 
price made with P.orden's of $L.S0 per hundred for 
.lune Avould be to make a rubber stamp of itself. 
He Ava.s also quoted as saying that he considered 
the cost between producer and consumer too high, 
and that if left to the commi.ssion it would probably 
not have made the iirice less than .$2.10 per hundred. 
During the Aveek the League officials held several 
conferences with the Rorden’.s peojile in reference to 
details of an option on the Borden’s country plants; 
but nothing definite has been decided. 
Facts About FetJeral Bank Loans 
Reading your editorial on page TOO in regard to get¬ 
ting help from the Federal Farm Loan Bank, I will 
give my experience in applying for a loan, and Avhat 
ha.s so far blocked its success. Wishing to buy the farm, 
on which I h.ave been living, and which I have rented for 
four seasons, I applied for a loan with Avhich to make 
a payment to the owners. The place was offered to me 
for $1,500. and having no cash on hand, the bank of¬ 
fered to loan .$0.50, or 50 per cent of the valuation, 
they to take .a first mortgage for that amount, and the 
present oAvners to hold a second mortgage for the bal¬ 
ance. This was agreeable to mo, although it gave me 
no capital to Avork with, but the hitch came Avhen the 
present owners refu.sed to take the second mortgage, 
even Avhen the first was held by a U. S. bank, whose 
ob.’>ct was to help worthy farmers, and who would not 
foreclo.se unle.ss I proved no good. My loan was ap¬ 
proved by both local and Federal appraisers, but cannot 
be completed until I find some one to take the second 
mortgage. This difficulty would not come up in every 
case, .so I tell of it to .show how some might be able to 
go ahead, whose wealth consists of a family of children 
.‘ind good character. I have been offered GO cents an 
hour as machinist (my ohl trade), but am sticking to 
the r.aising of food, knowing that the army of farmers 
is small and needs recruits more than the other one; 
also that one is sure of food, where it is produced, ami 
that cannot be .said of the city workers. J. A. S. 
Massachusetts. 
We learn from Washington that “a great many" 
loans have been made Avhere tbe owner of the farm 
takes a second mortgage—tbe first being held by 
tbe Federal Land Banks. .Such loans ai*e made for 
the express purpose of financing some extra good 
renter so he may oaa'u a farm. Most men do not like 
a second mortgage, but under the present system of 
loaning from the Laud Banks it is evident that some 
of those .second mortgages must be accepted if the 
tenant or landless hired man is to obtain land. We 
find tbat jirobably about 50 per cent of the Federal 
T.and - Bank loans haA'O been used to pay off old 
mortgages and assume neAv ones at a lower rate of 
interest. In some ca.ses the farmer has been able to 
borrow enough from the land bank to pay the old 
mortgage and have enough left for a fair equip¬ 
ment. yiost of the loans of this character are made 
in the West and Northwest. In the East and .South 
more of the money goes toAvard equipment and im¬ 
provement. 
Prices for Mill Feed 
The Food Administration announces what it calls 
a neAV schedule of prices which mills may charge 
for Avheat products. The price of a ton of bran is 
placed at .58 per cent of the average cost of a ton of 
Avheat at the mill. IMlddlings AA’hich Avere formerly 
A%Mlued at .$9 a ton above bran prices have been 
reduced to .$2 difference, and tbe price of red dog 
is made tbe same; that is, $2 above the regular 
price of bran. Mixed Avheat feeds are [fiaced in Aalue 
at $1.25 above the jirice of bran, Avliile tbe former 
difference Avas $4. The bulk price of all these feeds 
must not exceed the price of bran liy $2. 'ITiese 
prices are for carloads in Inilk at the mills. Persons 
Avho bu.v in small quantities at retail must pay in 
addition to this the freight, dealer's profits and the 
cost of sacks. The last item alone represents .$5 to ,$6 
a ton. The Administration ha.s attemi»ted to limit 
both jobbing and retail profits, but they do not 
attempt to interfere with contracts made before the 
original .schedule Avas made out. and under these 
contracts dealers seem able to ebarge very much 
higher prices than the Administrator albnvs. It is 
stated that the total amount of Avheat mill feeds is 
small in proportion to the demand, ami it Avill not be 
increased until tlie neAv crop is brought to the mills. 
The Administrator says tbat mill prices of hominy 
feeds IniA-e largely declined in iirice, and rye and 
barley feeds the same. Oil meal is low in price as 
compared with many other feeds, this being due to 
the .stopping of .shipments abroad. .September and 
October Avill be good months this year in Avhich to 
buy Winter supjilies of feed. The products of corn, 
rye and barley, and oil meal should tlimi be loAver, 
and the neAV Avheat crop coming into market rapidly 
ought to give a large increase in the supply of mill 
feeds. There has been so much disappointment. Iioav- 
ever, in the past resulting from statements as to 
Avhat prices ought to be, that Ave hesitate to advise 
our readers definitely until Ave haA’e more positive 
knoAvledge about the size of the coming Avheat crop, 
and the Avay .it Avill he put on the market. AVe 
think that many, at least, of the “previous contracts'’ 
made betAveen millers and feed dealers ought to be 
given u]). In most ca.ses the.se “contracts” are re¬ 
sponsible for the system of robbery which farmers 
have been obliged to face. 
