923 
What Does Dillon Want? 
A Plain Statement of Policy 
ANSWERING A QUESTION.—An intelligent and 
fair-minded up-State farmer is reported as asking: 
“What dors Mr. Dilloji irant?" The question indi¬ 
cates that some minds have been confused on the 
milk problem, and this question sliould be ausAvered. 
1. I want the Dairymen’s League organized so that 
the members control it instead of the officers. I 
unlit a constitution and by-laws to fix the policy of 
the League, and to authorize the powers and limit 
the authority of its officers. I want the salaries, if 
any, and expense allowances of officers fixed by the 
members and not by the officers themselves. 
2. I want the League organized as a business to 
sell milk. I want a big Imsiness man employed as 
business manager of the League to sell milk, to re¬ 
duce the cost of distriluiting it, to increase its con¬ 
sumption, to see that farmers get a fair price for it, 
to see that they get their money and get it regularly, 
to eliminate the trickery in grading and testing, and 
to handle the surplus when there is any. and find a 
market for sui’plus products. I believe the best re¬ 
sults would be obtained if the officers served without 
salary themselves, except to hai'e their expenses 
1 aid, and if the chairman of the executive committee 
was elected by the members, the principal duty of 
the committee to be to hire the manager and see that 
he does his work. He should hire and control his 
own help and be responsiltle for results. 
.3. I want to see every member of the League 
treated alike and all protected. I want to see the 
building of cooperative creameries encouraged, and 
not discouraged, as they have been for the past yeai\ 
I want to see their milk sold when other milk is 
sold. 
4. I want the League preserved as a unit. Our 
first success was attained on that plan. All the milk 
was sold by one man. We worked for years to attain 
that I’esult. But when the Marketing Association 
was formed we divided backwards. We had two; 
the Country IVIilk Company was the third, and every 
cooperative plant left without an outlet is another. 
At this rate we would soon be back where we started, 
to the individual farmer. The subsidiaries were 
organized for a selfish purpose on INIr. Cooper's ad- 
mis.sions. They have caused dissatisfaction among 
i.'iembers. They represent only a part of the T^eague 
jr.emhership, but League money of all the members 
has been used to finance them. T’p to .Tune first they 
\'ere run in full accord with the rules of the milk 
trust, and their losses at that time were so heavy 
tliat Mr. Cooper refused to make a written financial 
report of their condition to their members. These 
losses must be made up in one way or another by 
farmers. Expenses have been durtlicated in the 
ojieration of them, and officers have been paid need¬ 
less .salaries. Cooperative plants were forced into 
them because they were left without a market for 
their milk elsewhere. Complying with the milk trust 
rules prevented them from increa.sing their output, a 
surplus resulted and losses accumulated. I’roducers 
complain that that they do not get their money. 
r>. I want to see the subsidiaries entirely divorced 
fiom the League, or better yet. wiped out entirely 
and all the milk sold by a business manager of the 
L<'ague for all the members alike. 
Ci. I want to see the cost of the distribution of milk 
reduced. The interest of the producer is that lu' 
gets the cost of production and his rightful profit in 
the price of his milk. The cheaper it can be distri- 
l.uted after that the better for him because the lower 
the price to the consumer the greater the cons\imii- 
tion, and the less the surplus and gi-eater the demand 
and better the price at the farm. Farm-owned plants 
that make .$10,000 to .$12,000 a year on pasteurizing 
milk play into the hands of the dealers. The snb- 
sidlaries that maintain trust prices in the city do 
the same thing. So long as the dealers can raise 
l.rices to consumers and create a surplus to be thrown 
back on the producers they control the situation. 
7. AYhen I was in the Department of Foods and 
^Markets I wrote and had introduced the Towner 
1 ill to equip a plant in the city so that we conld dis- 
tribnte three or four thousand cans of milk daily in 
cans and bottles through the stores, and determine 
just what it does cost to distri’oute milk. That would 
settle the whole problem. Mr. Cooper opposed the 
l)ill and it failed in the Legislature. The use of 
three hundred thousand dollars for one year would 
be all the expense required. The milk would pay its 
own expense and interest for the use of the money. 
1 want to see the T.eague do this now. It has money 
enough to do it; and can get moi-e. 
5. I want the membership to have full information 
of League affairs. I want an audit committee com- 
I'.osed of members not officers to audit accounts and 
tell us in detail just what the money is spent for. 
JT/bc RURAL NEW-YORKER 
T.et members know just what each man costs them. 
It the contract is that producers must pay a rebate 
fvu* losses on surplus,, I want them to know it. When 
a proposition is made to buy old plants on a contract 
involving millions of dollars axrd tying farmers up 
for 25 years, I want it thoroughly and openly dis¬ 
cussed. 
tl. I want the League revenue collected by the 
I.eague itself. I believe it costs expensive conces-^^iuns 
to induce the milk dealers to collect it. I believe it 
can be best collected by the local branches; I want 
the local branches to have enough of it for their 
m^eds and to furnish the League officials only enough 
for their economic needs. No more should be col¬ 
lected than is needed. Piling up large balances is 
sura to lead to extravagance and to scandal. 
10. I want to see farmers select the best and big- 
gesl men to direct their organizations. The big 
capable men will not scramble for the places because 
they would not allow themselves to profit personally. 
If asked they would feel complimented and make 
personal sacrifices. We do not often ask them. Less 
capable men with selfish purposes seek the control 
and get it. This is one of the difficulties of farm 
organization work that we must learn to overcome. 
11. I want to see cooperative farm-owned plants 
locally owned and controlled by producers to as¬ 
semble, pasteurize and ship milk. I Avant to .see the 
League oavii condensing and manufacturing plants in 
suitable locations to supply by-pi"oducts, and to ab¬ 
sorb surplus if occasion requires. I Avant to see a 
distributing iffant or plants in the city to distril)ute 
at least enough milk to stores in cans and bottles 
to shoAA’ the reasonable cost of distribution. The 
League is collecting in excess of .$200,000 annually, 
and I believe it should use the money for the.se pur¬ 
poses. Big men interested in the League and mem¬ 
bers of it approve this plan and have offered to help 
finance it, if assured of capable management. 
12. I .want to see the Dairymen’s League a big. 
powerful organization, doing the greatest service 
possible to milk producers, and a model and an en¬ 
couragement to farmers of every class and in every 
place. joiix J. uiLLox. 
The Price of Wheat 
As Ave predicted. President Wilson vetoed the bill 
Avhich Avould have put the basic price of wheat at 
.$2.40 per bushel. We do not agree with all the 
President's arguments and rea.^ions for his action. 
We believe it was a mistake in the first place to 
liT to regulate Avheat prices without at the same 
time regulating other grain prices, and also that 
of cotton. The failure to regulate prices of coim, 
oats, rye and barley, while Avheat, in .short supply, 
was held at too low a figure, enabled the dealers 
to put prices for these ‘‘.substitutes'’ so high that 
it became a real hardship for the public. The fail¬ 
ure to regulate the price of cotton has introduced 
the old sectional issue into the coming Congressional 
campaign. It is true that thousands of our Northern 
farmers feel that they have lo.st large quantities of 
money through the fixing of Avheat prices, Avhile 
cotton, now an essential for Avar purpo.ses, has been 
left. free. Tlie explanations for this Avhich are 
given from Washington do not satisfy our farmers. 
Presid(‘ut Wilson does not want a definite price 
fixed by hiAV. lie prefers the ])resent plan of giving 
?.Ir. Hoover power to d('cide tlie price accoi’ding to 
his idea of the country’s needs. I'nder this plan 
the price may be raised or loAvered anywhere above 
$2.20. At the pi’esent time the price for the nexv 
crop. No. 1 grade, is -fixed at $2..30i/^ in New York. 
Had President Wilson signed the bill the basic price 
Avould have been .$2.40. and Mr. Hoover could not 
liaA'e put the price below that figure, though he might 
have raised it. The fact seems -to 1)0 that the I’rosi- 
dent and his advisers are apprehensive- at what 
might happen in tlie event of an early jieace. There 
are large stores of Avheat in Australia and probably 
in Russia and some other countries awaiting ship¬ 
ment. The opening of the ocean for traffic Avould 
throw this AA'heat into the Avorld’s market and bring 
doAvn the price probably below the basic price made 
by this government. The re.sult would be that our 
groAvers Avould receive a bonus over the price paid 
for imported Avheat. At the same time, the govern¬ 
ment should stand for that rather than ask Avheat 
growers to produce the grain at a loss or at a 
loAver rate of profit than other classes of business 
men enjo.v. 
Work for the Federation of Agriculture 
“Fifty farmers in the Legislature!” Probably hun¬ 
dreds of your 'readers said “That’s it,” but hoAV many 
started to init o//e there'? It is said “What’s every¬ 
body’s business is nobody’s business,” so probably there 
will be few farmers to help make our laws unless some 
one in each community starts something. That is Avhat 
the Avriter thought Avhen he was cultivating corn, so he 
brought it up in the Grange and asked if the members 
could not vote by writ fen ballot Avho in the county 
wou-ld be a good man to put in the Legislature, and it 
was done. Then it was suggested that it be taken to 
our I’omona Grange; thei'e it was pretty well thrashed 
out, and it was decided that each Grange in the county 
should elect one member, and these men (Avith the 
Master of the Pomona Grange as chairman) should 
compose a committee that Avould ask that proper men 
.should be placed in nomination—men Avho would give 
the farmers the rights that belonged to them. We hope 
to do something this year at the Fall elections. 
What do you think of it? IIoav improve it? max. 
Seneca Co., N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—A fine plan—there being but one sugges¬ 
tion. Such a movement should not be limited en¬ 
tirely to the Grange. All farm organizations should 
come into it, so as to make the nominating com¬ 
mittee as broad as possible. Get them all in. It is 
for just this purpose that the NeAV York Federation 
of .Vgricultxire has been formed. There ought to he 
a dozen units of that Fedei’ation in your county. 
Then it could take up such a matter as the repre- 
seutatiou of all farm organizations and select candi¬ 
dates upon Avhom all could agree. 
Up-State Farm Notes 
FARMERS’ GATHERINGS.—The Wayiie County 
Breeders’ Association is giving much attention to both 
the breeding of sheep and registered cattle. A field 
day is planned for August 22 on the farm of George 
Stearns, near East Palmyra. Prof. H. IT. Wing, a live¬ 
stock specialist of the State College of Agriculture, will 
give an address, as Avill R. D. Cooper, president of the 
Dairymen’s League. A cattle-judging demonstration 
will be held, and a registered Holstein calf will be 
sold for the Red Cross. The county officers of Cort¬ 
land, with Editor Adams of Marathon as president of 
the day, aauII hold a picnic on August 20. This is 
always a popular event in this county, and this year 
the speaker of the day Avill be John Mitchell, chairmjtn 
of the State Food Commission, and the farmers and 
general public will be invited. 
A SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION.—Over''100 
farmers and town poultry keepers witnessed the all-day 
demonstration of caponizing, given by a Cornell poultry 
expert in a Cortland druggist’s barn last week. Many 
of them brought birds on Avhich they operated them¬ 
selves after watching the work of the expert. This 
was the result of a purely local interest in caponizing, 
brought about by the successful work of the druggist 
last year in rai.siug capons which sold this Spring at 
05 cents a pound. 
GROWTH OF INTEREST IN WOOL.—As a result 
of the government’s allowing farmers to sell their avooI 
direct to the federal buyers, saving four to six cents a 
pound in commission, Avool-growing is on a much 
firmer foundiition in many counties of the State than 
has been the case in years. Several counties of Western 
New Y'ork have arranged to sell their clip to a New 
York concern for 08 cents a pound at loading, and as 
much more as the government appraisers’will allow. 
Twenty-five per cent Avill be taken off for rejects, con¬ 
sisting of black, burry, seedy and cotted wool. These 
rejects may be taken home for Aise. The Avool growers’ 
associations stand the expense of grading and packing. 
Many farmers in watching the work of the exi)ert 
graders have learned much about Avhat constitutes a 
high quality in wool, and Avill be able to produce it 
better in future. The co-operative methods of selling 
and grading wool in practice throughout the State have 
a very real educational value for the growers, and must 
tend to help the industry in future. Cortland, never 
before a big producer of wool, has just sold 12,07.'> 
pounds of wool, viilu(>d at $8,222. This wool, with that 
of Tompkins, Tioga and Cayuga counties, was sold to 
a Boston firm, the Jeremiah Williams Co. In Cayuga 
County the farmers sold over a carload, valued at 
$11,000, the freight house being off’erod by the agent 
of the New York Central Railroad as a place for the 
grading to be done in. 
ANOTHER BIG TRACTOR DEMONSTRATION. 
—Many farmers of Onondaga and Madison counties 
Avill Avitness a competition and demon.stration of at least 
fifteen makes of tractors in Fayetteville on July 27. 
T"ses other than ploAving to Avhich tractors may be put 
Avill also be shown in full. 
FARMERS’ POLITICAL VIEWS.-Farmers every- 
Avhere vioAV the political oAitlook, and the various candi¬ 
dates so far up for State offices, Avith a great deal of 
seriousness. It may be saitl with emphasis that farmers 
have yet failed to hear of a candidate Avith whom they 
care to trust the agricultural interests of the State. 
They care little about party this year, but they do want 
men Avhose training and whose past record shows them 
capal)le of handling agricultural interests wisely. 
Lawyers and politicians will m-t fill the bill, and 
farmei's feel a great distrust of the future, as the good 
of the entire State depends so greatly on a Avise choice 
noAV. They feel that a complete organization of fanners’ 
interests so planned that farmers may speak as a body 
politically Avill be the only hope for agriculture. They 
AA'ould like to see the neAV Federation of Agriculture 
complete its organization at once and go ahead and 
give the men behind the ploAV a chance to si)eak promptly 
and effectively. The present administration has failed 
to do justice by agriculture and more unselfish men 
are Avauted. m. ci. F. 
