ZTAc RURAL NEW-YORKER 
813 
Seven-Cent Milk for New York 
The milk trust pressed its advantage too far in 
the June contract. Milk at four cents a quart in the 
country, and from 10 to 20 cents a quart in the city, 
meant millions for the dealers. The high cost to 
the consumer meant a surplus, and any loss in the 
surplus is to be charged back to the producer. The 
month promised well for the big dealers. 
The farm-owned creameries, however, made N. A. 
I'an Son the responsible manager of the (’ountry 
Milk Company. There is no love between him and 
rhe big companies. lie was first aid to the depart¬ 
ment in the big milk fight two years ago, and the 
trust has never forgiven him. lie had more milk 
than he could sell at tru.st prices in .Tune. He was 
.struggling with the proldem alone, and wanted help. 
He came to The It. N.-Y. and got the best help we 
could give him. It was finally agreed to go Itack to 
the plan under which the milk war was fought and 
won. The plan was to fix a price and sell milk to 
anyone who would buy it and pay for it at that 
price. The four-cent price was already fixed for 
the producer for June. Loose milk can bo distri¬ 
buted for three cents a quart, so the price to the 
consumers M as fixed at .soAen cents for June. Bottles 
M'ere ordered, and early in July milk Avill be sold to 
the stores in bottles as Avell as in cans, and the bottle 
milk can be sold to consumers at or two <‘euts 
above the price for the loose milk. This is the plan 
oi-iginally adopted, but abandoned by the later man¬ 
agement of the League. City consumers as Avell as 
farmers had become familiar Avith the plan and ap¬ 
proved it. The press approved in both iieM’s and 
editorial columns. The first day the outimt increa.sed 
10.000 quarts and in fiA'e days It had increased 
70.000 quarts. It goes on increasing. 
The Mayor of the city gave an impetus to the Avork 
in the folIoAving letter: 
.Tune 7, 1018. 
My Dear Commissioner Dillon: 
I read Avith a great deal of interest the auuouucemcut 
in the press yesterday of your purpose to sell milk to 
local consumers during the mouth of June at seven 
cents a quart, a price which has been unknown to this 
city for many years. May I not offer any assistance you 
desire on the part of the city officials to make your 
Avork successful? Your effort to break the monopoly 
of such a A'ital necessity as milk in this city is deserv¬ 
ing of the highest praise. 
JOHN F. DYLAN, 
Mayor. 
Commissioner Day of the City Market Depart¬ 
ment turned in to help. Dr. Copeland, Commissioner 
of the Board of Health, approved, and both of the.se 
city departments prepared a card to put up in gro¬ 
cery stores all over the city to shoiv their coopera¬ 
tion. In the meantime agents of the dealers began 
to steal cans of milk that Avere delivered early in 
the morning at grocei-y store doors before the grocer 
appeared. The District Attorney put detectives to 
Avork at once to apprehend these troublemakers. 
Then the dealers, big and little, held a meeting and 
threatened to influence drivers to strike and refuse 
to deliA'er the milk. But the drivers have families 
of their oavii. They like cheap milk, too, and they 
stuck to their .iob.s. Then an attmiipt Avas made to 
arrange a conference Avith the dealers. But there 
Avas no time for conference, and no need of one. 
The job Avas to sell milk and increase C(msumptiou 
and Avipe out the surplu.s. One chain of 1.52 stores. 
Avhich .sold no milk before, put up milk signs and 
sells milk now. More than a thousand stores Avere 
selling seven-cent milk in less than a Aveek. 
Two things need change, fl'lie price is too low 
to the farmer; but the .Tune price aa’us fixed, and 
could not be changed before July. The ('ountry 
Milk Company can directly serve only its OAvn niem- 
ber.s. The M'hole membership of the League it can¬ 
not serve. While it played Avith tin; milk trust, and 
charged the same prices, it helped no one. Figliting 
for a reduced cost of distribution it serves all, but 
this Is a M'ork for all the members of the League, 
and the compans^ should be put in a position to 
serve all or, better yet, discarded and have the 
Dairymen’s League sell all the milk as it was in¬ 
tended to do. It is true that ^Ir. Cooper is oppos¬ 
ing the store plan and the three-cent delivery, but 
Mr. Yan Son noAv has his authority from the men 
M'ho OAvn the plants, and they AvaiAt an outlet for 
their milk. Besides the Country Milk Company is 
.short of capital to cai’ry on the M ork. The I.ieague 
has abundant capital; and seA’eral men with ample 
means have assured us that ample capital Avill be 
lurnished for the delivery of milk on this plan A,vheu 
needed, proAuded the AVork can be put in sympathetic 
hands and conducted by competent men. 
On this seven-cent milk the producer gets 57 cents 
of the dollar. Commission or no commission, in 
July we Avill give him more. Let us have no more 
kO-cent milk dollars. 
Federation of Agriculture Organized 
The attempt to head off the organization of the 
NeAA' York Federation of Agriculture Avas a dismal 
failure. A meeting Avas held on .Tune 7 in the city 
of Albany, and the Federation Avas permanently or¬ 
ganized Avith the folloAA’ing officers: President, 
Frank IM. Bradley, Niagara (’ounty; first vice-presi¬ 
dent. Samuel Fraser, Livingston County: second 
vice-president, Bohert Seaman, Nas.sau: third A'ice- 
president. Fred W. Yail, Ulster; secretary, Seth 
J. T. Bush. INlouroe; treasurer, Fred W. CornAA'all, 
Wayne. Councilors, Neil Strome, Walden; Paul C. 
Woodnutt. Boston Corners: Francis Hamlen, Me¬ 
dina; 1). I). Fennei, Jr., Mexico, and John J. Dillon, 
Ncaa' York. Councilors are yet to be elected in the 
fourth, sixth, eight and ninth districts. 
These farmers put up one of the most democratic 
organizations ever brought together in this State 
or in an.v other State. No officer or set of officers 
or ring of an.v kind can control this organization 
Avithout violation of its constitution and by-laAV’s; 
and if the.v .riumld attempt to violate these laAvs the 
members have the pOAver to undo their illegal Avork 
in a luiri’y. 
The plan of the organization is this: Farmers 
first organize in toAvnship or other local groups. 
These units and other organizations in the State 
elect one delegate to represent it in the Federation. 
The delegate gets his instructions from his OM'n 
local unit, and the Federation cannot commit the 
members to any policy until a majority of the mem¬ 
ber organizations luiA'e ai)proA’ed it. The officers 
shall also be nominated by the member organiza¬ 
tions. The details of the plan Avill be found in the 
by-hiAvs Avhich Ave aaTU print next Aveek. The funda¬ 
mental law of the organization folloAvs hex’e: 
CONSTITUTION OF 
NEW YOPvK FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE 
Article I. 
The name of this organization shall be New Y’ork Fed¬ 
eration of Agriculture. 
Article II. 
The purposes of the organization are : 
Sectiox 1. To increase the efficiency of the farmers’ 
oi-ganizatious by bringing to each of them the support of 
every other as.sociation organized for the benefit of farm¬ 
ers. 
Sec. 2. To enable the farmers of the State to speak 
in a united Avay upon questions of public concern. 
Sec. 3. To protect the interests of producers and con¬ 
sumers from unfair influences, political, commercial or 
educational. 
Sec. 4. To encourage and deA'clop all the interests of 
rural life, such as education, production, transportation, 
distribution, sale of products, purchase of supplies, and 
the deA-elopment of every rural agency which tends to in¬ 
crease the usefidness. elevate the character and increase 
the efficiency of the farmei*s of the State. 
Article HI. —Membership. 
Sectio.v 1. Any farmer.s’ organization in the State 
having not less than sixty per cent (60%) of its mem- 
b(>r.s farmers, and consisting of 25 or more members, is 
eligible to membershii) in the New York Federation of 
Agriculture, and may become a member under rules and 
conditions prescribed by the by-hiAvs of the Federation. 
Article TV.— Organization. 
Section 1. The officers of the NeAV Y"ork Federation 
of Agriculture shall consist of a president, three vice- 
presidents, .secretary and treasurer, and nine councilors. 
Sec. 2. There shall be an executive council and the 
folloAving constitutional committees: 
Financial 
Legislative 
Audit 
I’ublicity 
Nominations 
Tellers 
The constitutional committees shall be appointed by 
the executive council. Other committees may be pro¬ 
vided by the by-hiAvs. 
Sec. 3. The executive council shall consist of the 
officers and councilors. The executive council shall be 
the governing body of the Federation. It shall be con¬ 
trolled by a majority vote of its members. It shall haA’^e 
poAver to ai)p<nnt and discharge committees and to pi*e- 
scribe their duties, but it shall adopt no rule or regula¬ 
tion inconsistent AV'ith I.iav or this constitution or the 
by-luAvs of the Federation. 
Article "W—Meeting.?. 
Section 1. A meeting shall be held annually at such 
time and place as shall be de.signated in the by-laAvs. 
The by-laws may also provide for the manner of holding 
other regular or special meetings. 
Article VI.—Ter.minations. 
Section 1. Any organization may terminate its mem¬ 
bership in the Federation by a majority vote of its mem¬ 
bers present at a regular meeting or at a special meeting 
called for the purpose, and by serving a copy of such 
resolution on the Federation at its annual meeting. 
Sect 2. The membership of an organization may also 
be terminated by the executive council for failure to pay 
the annual clues, or by deliberate violation of the con¬ 
stitution or by-laws. Such a member, however, may ap¬ 
peal to the Federation, and such an appeal shall act as 
a stay until the Federation shall have acted on the case. 
Article 'ITI.—Referendum and Recall. 
Section 1. The by-laws may provide for the applica¬ 
tion of the principle of the referendum and recall to 
the administration of the business and conduct of the 
Federation. 
Article VIII.— Definition. 
Section 1. The term farmer, wherever used in this 
constitution or by-laAvs of the Federation, shall be in¬ 
terpreted to mean any person, male or female, who owns 
or rents land for farm purposes and personally devotes 
his or her time, in Avhole or in part, to the AA'ork of the 
farm and home, or to their management. The term 
farmer shall also include men and vc'omen employed on 
the farm, including members of the family. 
Article IX.— Amendments. 
Section 1. Proposed amendments to this constitution, 
if endorsed by 12 member organizations, shall be sub¬ 
mitted by the secretary to all the member organizations 
at least 30 daj’s before the annual meeting or a special 
meeting called for that purpose. The proposed amend¬ 
ments may then be adopted by a tAvo-thirds vote of the 
members present at such meeting. 
To more particularly amplify the general principles of 
the constitution, the folloAAuug specific purposes Avere 
affirmed, but not included in the constitution : 
(1) To crystallize the principle in the minds of the 
people and in the policies of state that efficient and 
economic distribution of food is a public function. 
(2) To eliminate profiteering, speculation and man¬ 
ipulation in the distribution of farm products and farm 
supplies. 
(3) To develop a system to take food products from 
the hands of the producer and deliver it to the city con¬ 
sumer at reasonable cost, and to pi-ovide the facilities to 
assemble, grade, pack, store, deliver and sell most 
efficiently and economically. 
(4) We encourage a non-partisan moA'ement to select 
and elect men for public office, Avithout regard to polit¬ 
ical party considerations, but solely because of their fit¬ 
ness for the position, and to encourage the principle 
that the position should seek the candidate, instead of 
accepting the man Avho seeks the place. 
(5) To elect enough real farmers to the New York 
State Legislature fairly to represent the agricultural 
interests of the State, and, at the same time, to select 
for this service men and Avomen M’ho Avill ask for agri¬ 
culture only AA'hat is justly due it; A\'ho aauU permit no 
injustice to any interest; and Avho A\ ill protect and serve 
all the interests of the State. 
(6) To help win the Avar; to provide an abundant 
food supply by bringing about such economical and 
political conditions ns AAnll permit food to be produced on 
the farms at a profit; to provide a spokesman wherever 
and AA'hereon the interests of the farm needs a defender 
and the just rights of the farm demand a champion ; to 
reward honest, faithful .service in public officials; to 
drive from office men who use public money and func¬ 
tions of office to promote selfish personal ends ; to pro¬ 
mote justice and inspire patriotism ; and to cultivate an 
appreciation of the privilege, the dignity and responsi¬ 
bility of American citizenship. 
Evaporated Apple and Bean Prospects 
During the past foAv Aveeks tiie government has pur¬ 
chased several cars of evaporatecl apples in Western 
Ncav York. The fruit Avill be forAA’arded to the Expe¬ 
ditionary Forces in France. It is impo.ssible to say 
positively Avhether the government Avill be in the market 
for further supplies before Fall or not, but the imi)res- 
sicn prevails that there Avill be a demand for some stock, 
at least, for government use, during the next feAV 
m.onths. 
If the apple crop in sight today materializes it Avill 
be necessary that some real action be token tOAA’ard in¬ 
creasing the demand for evaporated apples in the domes¬ 
tic markets; otherAvise there is every indication that 
there Avill not be the necessary outlet to take care of the 
.stock that M’ill be made up this season. There can 
hardly be any hope for foreign business, once the main 
outlet for American dried fruit. In fact, such busiue.ss 
cannot be anticipated until after the close of the war, 
and it is impossible to say anything as to Avhat the de¬ 
mand M’ill be from European countries even after the 
close of the war. It has often been said by experts that 
AA’ith a systematic nation-AA'ide advertising campaign the 
domestic demand for evaporated apples would be such 
that there Avould be no surplus for export under normal 
conditions. 
Conditions are such that it behooves all operators of 
evaporators this season to see that they have the neces¬ 
sary parts for their machines and have their machines 
OA-erhauled at an early date. This work should be 
started much earlier than in the average year. There 
is so much delay at the present time in getting machinery 
that it is often Aveeks after parts are ordered before 
they can be had. 
The prospects are that there Avill be a big cut in the 
acreage of beaus haiwested in Westei-u Ncav York this 
year. Three successive years in Avhich the growers have 
met failure AAuth their crops, together wfith an increasing 
competition from groAvers in California, New’ Mexico 
and Colorado, constitute the leading reasons for the 
falling off. The Eastern markets are Avell filled Avith 
pinto beans and other Western varieties, and the dealers 
are hesitant about handling beans from this territory 
because of the likelihood of excessive moisture. Reports 
from the leading bean counties of the State place the 
acreage at from 15 to 00 i)er cent of that of last season. 
One exception is that of Montgomery (^ounty, Avhich has 
recently taken up the croj) and experienced a most suc¬ 
cessful season last year. Here the acreage will be fuUv 
200 per cent that of last season. 
The Wayne County Farm Bureau now has a member- 
.ship of oA’er 1,450, an increase of nearly 60 per cent 
over last year and comprising 36 per cent of the entire 
number of farmers in the county. This is one of the 
most progressive bureaus of the State. Bv arrangement 
with the Department of Agriculture the county farmers 
are supplied with nightly telegraphic Aveather forecasts. 
These are sent to the county telephone central and from 
this point distributed to the telephone centrals of the 
county, being the same forecast as published in the fol- 
loAving morning paper. a ii p 
