<lht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
New Plan for the Dairymen’s League 
At its meeting in Utica, March 22, the directors of 
the Dairymen’s League offered the following plan for 
future organization. It is submitted to the local 
branches for action. In this connection we refer our 
readers to page 612. 
The Dairymen’s League, Inc., which is acting as the 
sales agent for the producer, has experienced difficulty 
in securing satisfactory prices, due to the fact that at 
certain seasons of the year there is a surplus of milk. 
This surplus has had the effect of forcing down the price 
of fluid milk, not only during the period of its existence, 
but before and after, dealers claiming that they have had 
to protect themselves against losses incurred or likely to 
be incurred, due to the surplus. 
It is the feeling of the directors of the Dairymen’s 
League that some method should be provided to care for 
this surplus. The directors also feel that some method 
must be worked out so that each stockholder will stand 
on an equal footing in the sale of his milk with every 
other stockholder. 
SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE ACTS 
The way for action along the desired lines was made 
clear in 1918 when members of the League and other 
farmers secured the passage of an act by the Legislature 
of the State of New York known as Article 13A of the 
Membership Corporations Law, which act provides for 
the organization of co-operative marketing associations to 
market agricultural, dairy and horticultural products. 
In conjunction with this act the penal law was amended 
to allow collective bargaining by farmers, dairymen and 
fruit growers for the members of such associations. 
These acts, if taken advantage of, afford dairymen an 
opportunity to place their business on a sound, economic 
basis and allow them to act as a unit in making col¬ 
lective sales. To this end the directors, on recommenda¬ 
tion of the executive committee, proposed a new co-oper¬ 
ative marketing association to eventually market the 
milk of League stockholders. 
CO-OPERATIVE MILK MARKETING ASSOCIATION 
The objects of the co-operative marketing association 
are as follows: 
1. To provide a method whereby League stockholders 
may care for their own surplus milk. 
2. To regulate the supply of fluid milk and milk pro¬ 
ducts to meet the demands of the market. 
3. To pool the proceeds of the sale of such fluid milk 
and milk products to the end that each producer may re¬ 
ceive the same price, less equitable differentials due to 
varying freight rates, butterfat content, etc. 
THE LOCAL 
Local co-operative associations shall be organized and 
incorporated under Article 13A of the Membership Cor¬ 
porations Law of the State of New York throughout the 
milk-producing territory: 
The object of these local associations shall be: 
1. To provide a means of electing delegates to a re¬ 
gional co-operative association, to be hereinafter de¬ 
scribed, and 
2. To afford Dairymen’s League. Inc., stockholders 
who become members, the means of buying and selling 
farm produce and farm equipment co-operatively, except 
milk. 
The sale of milk by the members of such local organi¬ 
zations shall be kept separate from the sale of other ag¬ 
ricultural and horticultural products, and such sale shall 
be contracted for directly with the Dairymen’s League 
C-operative Association, Inc., which is to be organized 
and is hereinafter described and known as the Parent 
Company. Contracts covering the handling of such milk 
will be supplied by the Parent. Company, to be executed 
between the producer and the Parent Company, so that 
the handling and sale of milk and milk products may be 
centrally controlled in order to regulate the supply de¬ 
manded by the market and to equitably pro rate the re¬ 
turns. 
REGIONAL 
There shall be organized regional co-operative asso¬ 
ciations incorporated under Article 13A of the Member¬ 
ship Corporations Law of the State of New York with a 
membership of incorporated locals. These regional as¬ 
sociations shall be organized and incorporated for the 
same purposes as the locals and shall also serve for the 
purpose of providing a method of selecting the directors 
of the parent organization. 
PARENT COMPANY 
There shall be a central or parent organization com¬ 
posed of all the regionals and organized for the objects 
permitted by said law, and which shall act as agent for 
the producer in selling his milk and milk products un¬ 
der the uniform contract provided by it. The Parent 
Company shall receive all the proceeds of the sale of 
milk and milk products of the producer, which shall be 
blended into one general fund, from which general fund 
the net proceeds for his product shall be paid to the pro¬ 
ducer. 
» FUNDS 
Initial capital will be raised by the Parent Company 
to start its operation by the sale of certificates of indebt¬ 
edness. These certificates of indebtedness to be in such 
denominations and to bear such interest an the directors 
of the Parent Company shall determine. They shall be 
payable in installments as follows: 20 per cent at the 
end of the first year, 20 per cent at the end of the sec¬ 
ond year, 20 per cent at the end of the third year, 20 
per cent at the end of the fourth year, and be entirely 
paid at the end of the fifth year. 
Expenses in connection with the handling of the com¬ 
pany’s business and the creation of necessary reserve 
funds shall be derived from the gross proceeds of the bus¬ 
iness. 
A special loan fund to provide for the development of 
the company, and to meet the payments due at. the end of 
each year on the outstanding certificates of indebtedness, 
shall be provided for by paying such a percentage of the 
m-t proceeds due each producer in certificates of indebt¬ 
edness of the Parent Company, due in five years, as may 
' - rmee=sary. By this method a producer will supply 
Company with capital in proportion to the 
■ • . .idled for him, and will cease to supply it cap¬ 
ita'. when he ceases to market milk through it. 
NON-RESIDENTS 
The parent organization shall deal with non-residents 
by contract. Means shall be provided so as to allow 
non-residents an equal voice in the selection of directors 
and management of the Parent Company. 
PROCEDURE 
In order to apply the plan of the Dairymen's League, 
Inc., locally, members of a local branch should hold a 
meeting. At this meeting arrangements should be made 
to incorporate a local association and those present 
should sign up the contracts furnished by the parent 
organization. A committee should also be appointed to 
canvass those League stockholders in the community who 
are not present, for the purpose of securing their signa¬ 
tures to the contracts furnished by the Parent Company. 
Supplies, such as suggested articles of incorporation 
for the locals, blank contracts between the producer and 
the Parent Company, by-laws for local associations, will 
be furnished by the Parent Company, which may be ad¬ 
dressed in care of the Dairymen’s League, Inc. 
CONCLUSION 
It shall be the object of the Dairymen’s League Co¬ 
operative Association, Inc., to cultivate the co-operative 
spirit, to look after the interests of all producers con¬ 
nected with it, to the end that there may be harmony of 
action ; that the consuming public may receive the best 
product at the least possible cost, and that all unneces¬ 
sary wastes may be eliminated between the producer and 
the consumer. Having in mind the interests of both the 
producer and the consumer, the Dairymen’s League, 
Inc., solicits your earnest co-operation and support of 
the marketing association plan. The services of the as¬ 
sociation are at your command at all times. 
TIIE DAIRYMEN’S LEAGUE, INC. 
Comments on the Proposed Plan 
The proposed milk plan is along the lines we have 
long advocated, but in our judgment it is not com¬ 
plete, and in some features is not economic nor 
practical. We suggest discussion on these points: 
1. Why have two organizations to sell milk? One 
is cheaper and better. 
2. Why take the local plants away from the co¬ 
operative companies, and place them with the central 
company? To do so will make the financing more of 
a burden, and add to the cost of operation. The 
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central body can well own and operate the necessary 
central plants. 
3. The financial arrangement should be made 
definite and clear. The installments to be taken out 
of milk lulls should be limited aud definite, and 
provision made for full and definite financial reports 
and publicity monthly. 
4. Why give the milk trust a monopoly in the 
city? Left free to charge the housewife what they 
like, the dealers can reduce consumption of fluid 
milk and increase the surplus to be thrown back on 
our hands, giving the trust an opportunity to substi¬ 
tute condensed, evaporated and powdered milk from 
distant points. If the cities are driven to municipal 
plants the door of opportunity will be closed to us. 
We need to increase the outlet and the demand for 
milk. This ni”st be the crux of auy successful plan, 
and farmers have always approved this principle. 
T.et this feature be fully discussed. 
5. Members should elect the board to organize the 
business. Incorporate with temporary trustees. Let 
them resign and have the directors elected and the 
plan approved by vote of all members. The incor¬ 
porators may he candidates for election. This is a 
big and serious undertaking. Seek the biggest " 
best headed men you have. They will he a 'e<. 
plan will succeed without capable m ana gem it. iiio 
right men will succeed with any plan. 
6. Don’t hurry. Farmers are asking for more 
time. Prices are fixed for six months. Let us take 
time lo digest the subject. 
Throwing Away Liberty Bonds 
I am sending you a cartoon with this which to my 
mind speaks even louder than words. Unfortunately 
there are some people who can understand a thing 
through the medium of siglvt rather than through the 
medium of brain action. This cartoon ought to convey 
613' 
to such people the reason why they should have nothing 
to do with the class of fakers who are constantly solicit¬ 
ing the purchase of their Liberty bonds. a. c. I. 
Connecticut. 
The cartoon is taken from the Syracuse Post-Stan¬ 
dard, and is not a bad “take-off” on the way some 
people are acting with their Liberty bonds. Buying 
these bonds is a serious matter, and they feel their 
responsibility. Then some slick expert in human 
nature dangles the bait before them and they forget 
all their patriotic impulses and let the sure and solid 
Liberty bonds go in exchange for some gilt-edged 
gamble. We cannot understand how intelligent peo¬ 
ple, who, above all others, need to have their limited 
savings in the surest kind of securities, are willing 
to play tag with their financial future. Some of them 
will listen to reason when the facts are put to them; 
other, unfortunately, are beyond argument. 
The Growth of Co-operative Spirit 
I remember your saying to me when you were here 
a year or so ago that you had fought for years to get 
the co-operative spirit started among New York farmers. 
I congratulate you upon the success which you have 
attained in this line. I believe that you have the 
strongest feeling in this line of any State in the Union. 
and_ we sort of look to you as to the Star in the East, 
hoping that we can build around the nucleus which you 
have begun. chas. b. wing. 
Ohio. 
It certainly took long years to get the co-operative 
work under way. Only eight years ago prominent 
men stood in our State conventions and said it could 
not be done. As it is, we have only made a begin¬ 
ning, but as Mr. Wing observes, the sentiment is now 
strong for co-operation in New York State. Our 
only task now is to build our organizations right 
and to put them in charge of our most capable men. 
We have any amount of capable material, but it 
needs to be developed. We must build from the 
ground up. The membership of permanent success¬ 
ful organizations will control and direct its affairs. 
Authority from the top downward will ultimately 
do for farm organizations what it did for the Ger¬ 
man government through the Kaiser. 
Governor Smith and Agriculture 
The chief criticism which the farmers of Ne.v 
York have for Governor Smith is that he seems 
ready to swap the public rights and functions of 
agriculture in a trade with the Legislature for laws 
which he desires. Of course, both the Governor and 
the “leaders” will be likely to deny any such swap¬ 
ping. There were two Yankee deacons accused of 
trading horses on Sunday. They denied it, but the 
minister pointed to a pile of shavings where they had 
stood and whittled sticks while they talked! It was 
accepted as evidence! Any man who will go to Al¬ 
bany and spend a day at the Capitol will quickly 
realize what is going on. If he is a real farmer he 
will go home sick at heart to think how the rights 
of farmers are being used as “boot” in a common po¬ 
litical trade. Such farmers know just what would 
have happened if Governor Whitman had been re¬ 
elected. “Agriculture” would have been used to pro¬ 
note Mr. Whitman’s campaign for a Presidential 
nomination. Governor Smith never could have been 
elected had he not solemnly promised to clean up 
and reform the present extravagant and stupid ad¬ 
ministration of New York agriculture. The only way 
for him to prove that he is not using agriculture in 
a “swap” is to do what he promised to do before he 
was elected. New York farmers never will feel satis¬ 
fied so long as their interests are used as a step-lad¬ 
der or “boot” in a swap! The way to avoid such 
things is to create some fully responsible head for 
agriculture and then elect him by popular vote—as 
other State officers are elected. 
Milk Prices 
The price of milk for April has been set at $2.8»> 
per hundred at the 200-mile zone. According to testi¬ 
mony of Mr. Rareshide of the Borden’s company, 
he Ui rue has abandoned the Warren formula as 
or figuring cost of production for milk, and 
>ereafter prices will he figured on the market price 
of butter and cheese with a differential to cover 
cost of preparing milk for New York. The January 
strike grew out of the policy of fixing prices by the 
Warren formula, the dealers contending that it 
should be fixed on market conditions and market 
price of by-products, but condensed milk, which is 
in demand now for export, and which pays more 
than butter or cheese, or even fluid milk, is not 
included in the new formula. If this policy should 
be followed, the price of near-by milk to the producer 
would be the same as Western or Canada milk, inhere 
butter and cheese are produced on cheaper lands. 
