“Rf RURAL NEW-YORKER 
425 
Famous Sheep Case and Political Agriculture 
9 
H eavy DAMAGES CLAIMED.—The Karakul 
sheep case has raised the question of the con¬ 
stitutionality of the New York State dog law. The 
question was raised by the Attorney General in op¬ 
posing a claim of approximately $16,000 put in for 
damage to fur-bearing sheep by the American Kara¬ 
kul Sheep Company of Syracuse. X. Y. The demand 
covered three different claims for three separate 
damages, on November S. 1917, and May IS and Sep¬ 
tember 20, 1918. Complete information in reference 
to these claims was not available in the Animal In¬ 
dustry Bureau of the Department. The original 
papers had gone to court and no duplicates or mem¬ 
orandums were available. The facts, however, seem 
to be this: The Karakul sheep industry was intro¬ 
duced into this State by F. E. Dawley and some as¬ 
sociates several years ago. The American Karakul 
Company was organized to do their business. F. E. 
Dawley was made president of the company, and 
the sheep have been located on his farm at Fayet- 
ville, near Syracuse. 
FACTS FROM THE FAST.—It is not our purpose 
to go into ancient history of the department, except 
when an understanding of present conditions makes 
it necessary. When the Agricultural Department 
was first legislated into existence. Mr. Charles Wiet- 
iug and Air. F. E. Dawley managed to make it appear 
iu political circles that they had influence with the 
Grange to influence votes for the election of a Gov¬ 
ernor. On this representation they secured from the 
campaign managers some political pledges during the 
campaign that elected Levi P. Morton Governor. 
The Governor later found himself bound to these 
promises without his knowledge or consent, and 
after announcing that he would appoint 8. D. Willard 
of Geneva. Commissioner, was induced to withdraw 
ii arid appoint Mr. Wietiug. Dawley, by the arrange¬ 
ment. was appointed Director of Farm Institutes. 
Between them they built up the most complete poli¬ 
tical machine in the State. They held the places for 
nearly 12 years. There was nothing too small or too 
petty in the state work or in the State Fair and 
other institutions to he used in furtherance of the 
political system, and in personal aggrandizements. 
Scandals were not infrequent. 
THE FAMOUS COW CASE.—Finally Dawley 
was accused by a farmer of selliug him a seven-year 
old registered Jersey cow with a four-year-old pedi¬ 
gree. The farmer could not make the pedigree fit the 
cow. Investigations developed complaints that Daw 
ley had made a practice of buy ing up grade Jerseys, 
registering them to barren or dead cows, and then 
selling them as purebred registered Jerseys. After 
long and careful investigation, a committee of the 
American Jersey Cattle Club justified the complaints. 
The club cancelled all the certificates of the Dawley 
record and expelled him from the club. Then Gov¬ 
ernor Hughes demanded Dawley’s resignation. Wie- 
fing’s term soon expired, and he was not reappointed. 
A NEW APPOINTMENT.—When Governor Whit¬ 
man organized the department under the Council of 
Farms and Markets, he made Air. Wietiug one of the 
Food Commissioners, and the political head of the 
department under the supervision of George Glynn, 
assisted by Billy Orr and Charles H. Betts. They put 
Dawley back iu the department as inspector in the 
Bureau of Animal Industry, where he passes on sheep 
claims. He is there yet. 
KARAKUL CLAIAIS.—During the past year a 
claim for three Karakul sheep came to the depart¬ 
ment at $250 each, or thereabouts. The claim for 
six or seven hundred dollars was approved and paid 
without Commissioner Wilson ever having known of 
it. or even having heard of it. After this precedent 
was established the $16,000 claim was presented by 
Mr. Dawley as president of the American Karakul 
Company, lie is also the inspector of the district, 
mid after an attempt to force the payment, he is now 
in court to enforce the payment over the head of Ids 
superior. Commissioner Wilson, who has assessed the 
claim at about one-teuth of the original demand. 
LEGAL ASPECT.—The case has been argued lie- 
fore Judge Hinman, and the Attorney General ques¬ 
tioned the constitutionality of the law among other 
reasons for opposing payment. 
FURTHER FACTS.—Tt is not our purpose here 
to set up any argument, but to reveal the exact facts. 
I'he law was often proposed and rejected. During 
the war it was enacted for the purpose of increasing 
mutton for food aud wool for clothing. It was, how¬ 
ever, made broad enough to cover all domestic ani¬ 
mals. The claims now come in for $5 rabbits, $25 
fighting cocks, and fancy prices for alleged fancy 
fowls and animals generally. If the law is to stand 
as interpreted, a fancy breeder may go the limit in 
fancy claims. In the farm referendum there were 
about three votes out of four in favor of a limit to 
the amount to be paid. . Some voters did not under¬ 
stand the proposition. With further information the 
vote would probably be changed. 
FURTHER POINTS.—The whole situation will 
reveal why we reverted to past history. Both Mr. 
Wietiug and Air. Dawley are genial men and cordial 
companions. It would be hard to meet either of 
them without a pleasant thrill. In political lines 
they are extremely clever, but their methods are of 
other days. They did not avail Whitman, though 
they politically commercialized the department for 
his benefit. One example will show the policy. With¬ 
out warning the department politicians sent 1 errors of 
dismissal to 65 or 70 employees, many <>f them distrib¬ 
uted over the State. When asked an explanation, 
they were told to see their party leaders. That 
brought the leaders pleading to Albany, and the favor 
of reinstating the department employees bound the 
leaders to another term for Whitman. The employees 
kept their jobs. The department was used ; s a po¬ 
litical asset. In the old days the scheme would have 
work ed. In 1918 it failed. The system, however, is 
not yetdestroyed. Air. Dawley is still in the depart¬ 
ment. Air. Wietiug is on the State Fair Commission. 
Farm Legislation at Albany 
AITLK PRICE-FIXING BILL.—A canvass of the 
situation at Albany confirms our previous judgment 
that the milk price-fixing commission bill introduced 
by Senator Geo. F. Thompson will not become law 
in its present form. No one who is well informed is 
bothering working for or against it. The hearing for 
February 25 is a mere formality. 
CITY AIILK BILL.—The so-called city bill allow¬ 
ing the Commissioner of Health to engage to a limit¬ 
ed extent in the milk business will probably pass. If 
so. the city will have authority to buy milk where it 
can get it. cheapest and distribute it by the most 
economic means, and give the city consumer all the 
benefit of the saving. If successful it should in¬ 
crease the consumption of milk. It may and prob¬ 
ably will do this without much benefit to the liquid 
milk producers within the New York City producing 
zone. It will naturally work exclusively for the 
benefit of the city consumer. It can fail only through 
corrupt politics. 
I TIE 1 < >YS XER BILL of 1917 was designed to de¬ 
velop the milk distribution industry on the same plan 
by the state, for the common interest of both pro¬ 
ducer and consumer. It was a State instead of a city 
measure. It. was by all means the wisest and safest 
measure for the milk producers. The city law will, 
if efficiently managed, afford an opportunity to de¬ 
velop a little opposition to the present exclusive 
monopoly. 
OTHER A! ILK BILLS.—There are several other 
freakish milk bills in the Albany hopper; but they 
cannot be passed, aud it is a waste of time and en-, 
ergy to fight them. Their authors undoubtedly menu 
well. There is provocation in the price they are 
forced to pay for milk distribution, but they lack in¬ 
formation aud propose impossible measures. This is 
just what the trust likes to have them do. 
SOLVING THE PROBLEAL—The milk problem is 
not hard to solve, but it can never be solved by an 
exclusive privilege to the milk trust. You cannot 
overcome an enemy by putting your weapons into Ids 
hands. 
DAYLIGHT SAYING.—The daylight saving situ¬ 
ation is not fully understood by all. We have a State 
law similar to the National law that was repealed. 
Now we desire to repeal the State law. The Assem¬ 
bly will probably pass the repeal bill. The Senate 5 s 
not likely to do so. Senate leader J. II. Walters is 
opposed to the repeal. In the recent farm referen¬ 
dum conducted by The R. X.-Y. 9S per cent of the 
votes were in favor of repeal. If Senator Walters 
should continue to oppose a measure that is so uni¬ 
versally condemned by farmers it would be abun¬ 
dant reason why farmers should demand of candi¬ 
dates seeking their votes next Fall an assurauce if 
elected that they will oppose Senator Walters as 
leader of the Senate next year. For a Senator from 
a farm district to give a leader power to oppose farm 
measures is quite as dangerous to farmers as for 
the Senator to oppose the measure directly himself. 
REVISION OF AGRICULTURAL LAWS.—An at¬ 
tempt has been made to secure a committee to revise 
the agricultural laws in accordance with the wishes 
expressed in the referendum. Several members favor 
it. Some oppose, lest it might disturb some of tlieir 
political friends. Others are lukewarm. Few really 
know the need of it. The referendum vote was no 
surprise to us. because our daily mail proves the 
hardships and losses that some of these measures in 
their present form impose on farmers. We get im¬ 
patient in waiting and pleading for remedies that 
should be granted promptly. With 50 real farmers in 
the Legislature they will come easier. 
The Farm Referendum 
The referendum which the last issue of The R. X.-Y. 
contained is splendid. If such a system could be per¬ 
fected so that practically all the farmers would b*- rec¬ 
orded, rural public opinion would become so greatly ac¬ 
celerated that our .problems could be quickly -worked out, 
instead of being lived out or ourselves outlived. We have 
replied to your referendum. 
When the Farm Bureau organization and the Dairy¬ 
men's League adopt this plan for election of officers and 
the approval of policies, we shall have democratic organ¬ 
ization. and there will be no lack of interest iu the mem¬ 
bership. d. b. r». 
New York. 
There is no patent on the ballot system. It is not 
even original in principle, though it has not been 
adapted to farm needs. Due of the hopes is that ir 
may !>e universally used by farm organizations to de¬ 
termine farm policies and to select farm spokesmen. 
What the New York State Grange 
Exchange Has Done 
A Brief Account of Its First Year’s Business 
The first annual audit of the New York State Grange 
Exchange has been completed, and discloses some inter¬ 
esting facts about this new business organization which 
the Grange has instituted. The path of the Exchange 
has not been smooth. Iu the first place, Grange mem¬ 
bers themselves have not bought liberally of the stock 
of the Exchange. This has made it continuously short 
of capital, and has made impossible many deals that 
would have resulted iu substantial savings. Further¬ 
more, it has meant that the directors have had to assume 
personal liabilities which no meu should be asked to as¬ 
sume for the benefit of their fellow men. 
FEED DEALERS’ ASSOCIATION AIEX ON THE 
JOB.—The evidence shows that practically every move 
of the Exchange has been opposed by local dealers, aud 
that these dealers have enlisted the support of whole¬ 
salers and manufacturers. In some cases wholesalers 
have refused absolutely to sell to the Exchange became 
of its method of direct sale to its consumers. In other 
cases wholesalers have insisted that when the Exchange 
made shipments into its agents’ territory the agents be 
given their usual rake-off. At least one instance also 
exists which proves that the Feed Dealers’ Association, 
which has been pretty quiet since its operations were 
exposed by the Wicks committee, is still very much 
alive aud working. This is in the case of a feed manu¬ 
facturer who wrote the Exchange that he could uo longer 
supply them with feed because the Feed Dealers’ Asso¬ 
ciation was threatening to boycott him. 
BUSINESS OYER HALF A MILLION.—The most 
significant item shown by the report is the one which 
shows that the total sales of the Exchange were $529.- 
694.39, and that its operating expenses were but 4.7 j«*r 
ceut of this ainotiut. Surely, to start a new business 
with sales of over half a million dollars the first year 
at au expense of about 4 per ceut is no small accom¬ 
plishment, aud considerable credit must be given to 
Prof. II. II. Wing, chairman of the board of directors, 
and Richard Hall, manager of the Exchange, for such a 
record. The largest item of the sales is $207,609.74 for 
feed and grain. Another large item is $82,101.29 for 
field aud garden seed. These included the certified Luce’s 
Favorite seed com aud the hardy Alfalfa seed which the 
Exchange distributed iu co-operatiou with the Farm 
Bureaus. Other large items are $70,000 worth of fer¬ 
tilizer sales, $87,000 worth of binder twine, $27,000 
worth of silos aud 814.000 worth of groceries. 
LOOKING AHEAD TO A PROSPEROUS YEAR. 
—As matters now stand with the Grange Exchange, its 
management is fully justified in looking forward to a 
prosperous year in 1920. The Intsiuess, hpwever. will 
never be on a sound baeis until the eutire stock issue is 
subscribed by Grange members. There has been quite i 
little talk of the decadence of the Grange. By purchas¬ 
ing this stock and getting squarely behind this business 
enterprise which has done so well under severe handicap 
its first year, loyal Grangers can give such an argument 
a knock-out blow. it , 
