A Statement by the Dairymen’s League 
The directors of the Dairymen's League issued a 
statement September 2* regarding the October price 
for milk. Earlier in the month these directors de¬ 
rided to ask $3.85 for October milk. After two 
weeks' negotiations they found that the dealers 
would not pay that, price, and they therefore dropped 
20 cents on their figures. They say that this price 
of $3.65 is 41 cents below the cost of production, yet 
because of market conditions the directors thought 
best, not to force the issue to a strike at this time. 
This price of $3.65 is for milk testing three per cent 
bntterfat in the 200 to 210 mile zone. Those who 
live beyond this zone will receive somewhat less, 
price depending upon the freight rate. Farmers will 
also receive four cents per point for every one-tenth 
of one per cent above three per cent. The League 
statement says: Even at the low price at which 
League milk is offered, all of the milk will not he 
moved. The manufacturers in League territory have 
served notice upon the organization that they will 
not keep their plants open to buy milk at any price 
until such time as market conditions improve. This 
means that about 25 or 30 per cent of the League 
members will be without their regular market after 
the beginning of October. The directors of the 
Dairymen’s League say that a controversy or a strike 
at this time would have brought the cheaper milk 
now going into the condensery into the market to 
defeat the farmers. Even if the dairymen were suc¬ 
cessful. they say these dealers would have forced 
tlie price up to the consumer, reducing consumption. 
The directors also say that they took into considera¬ 
tion tin* market conditions which declining prices of 
all kinds of products have produced in the country. 
They apparently think the movement toward lower 
prices has begun. The farmers were the last of all 
to receive any benefit from the increase in prices. 
Thousands of them never did benefit at all, because 
they were charged more for everything they bought 
long before any increase in the price of their product 
was evident, and now they are first of all to have 
flic price of their product cut down. 
The statement says that the dairymen are signing 
up on the new plan as members of the Dairymen’s 
League Co-operative Association, with the view of 
pooling the milk and of controlling the country end 
of the business to the end that the markets will not 
be constantly threatened by the interference of the 
dealers. Farmers have come to see that some prac¬ 
tical plan must be adopted to treat all members alike 
and to avoid hardships to some, while others are 
favored with regular output and better prices, but 
they reason that pooling cannot do more than make 
an even distribution of the net proceeds to all. It 
cannot increase the sum total of the returns, and as 
a matter of fact, other things being equal, it will 
necessarily reduce the sum total by the extra cost 
of the pooling plan. The dealers dominate the city 
markets, as the statement says, and so long as the 
milk trust dominates the market it will dictate prices, 
and it will limit the consumption and determine the 
size of the surplus by the price it makes to the con¬ 
sumer. Inflated prices of everything during the war 
tended to obscure these conditions, though they have 
always been apparent to close and experienced stu¬ 
dents of the problem. Compared with the price of 
supplies the farmers have to buy. and the juice of 
l atter and cheese, the price of raw milk has never 
been comparatively so low before. In the old days 
dealers made the prices, but accepted all the milk 
in the territory. Now they propose to take only 
"hat they want, and producers who are not equijqied 
to make the most out of milk by manufacturing will 
he embarrassed, though for ourselves we do not take 
the surplus scare seriously, and we believe at this 
price the milk will be generally absorbed by the 
dealers, though there may be a temporary amount 
h‘tr <m the producer’s hands. The dealers do not 
agree to take the surplus now. yet the price is a cent 
a quart below the estimated cost of production. We 
cannot see how pooling the returns will allure them 
compel them to pay more. 
The New Housing Legislation 
1 tie special session of the New York Legislature 
! - Isst ‘d a number of so-called housing laws. The 
■ uain object of this session was to try to relieve the 
renting situation in New York City. There lias been 
comparatively little building during the last three 
tour years, and this, with the increase of popu- 
•tion, has made it difficult for many peojile to find 
comfortable homes. As the result, some of those who 
are aide to do so have moved out into the country, 
"here they usually find more comfortable quarters, 
in some cases the landlords have raised their rents 
beyond a reasonable figure, although it is true that 
Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
their expenses have increased heavily. The Legis 
lafnre passed a number of laws which may be 
briefly summarized as follows: 
That a landlord cannot dispossess a tenant unless he 
desires to obtain possession for personal use. intends to 
build a new dwelling house, non-payment of rent, or 
where the tenant is objectionable. 
That local legislative bodies may exempt new dwell¬ 
ings from taxation for 10 years. 
That a landlord cannot dispossess a tenant who re¬ 
fuses to pay an inerease in rent, providing the tenant 
pays the old rate. 
That a landlord shall not increase the rent of a 
tenant pending litigation with the renter. 
That hold-over actions shall not obtain except in cases 
where the tenant is an undesirable. 
These laws are all aimed at the landlords in an 
effort to make it easier for the tenant to obtain a 
home and avoid eviction. The laws are drastic in 
tying up the powers of the landlord in an effort to 
raise rent or compel a tenant to move in ease he 
will not pay the new rate readily. The law granting 
local governments the power to exempt new build¬ 
ings from taxation is opposed by many citizens, who 
feel that it is an injustice and discrimination against 
property holders. Tt is felt that under this provision 
speculators may he able to borrow money, put uj> a 
large number of new buildings, and avoid all taxa¬ 
tion for 10 years, which in many cases would give 
them a total saving of nearly 35 per cent. The 
farmers and country people are not particularly in¬ 
terested in this legislation. Tn many cases it would 
be far better to encourage many city people to move 
out into the country and rent some of the unoccupied 
buildings now standing idle upon farms. That would 
be the one solution of the housing problem which the 
city people do not seem to consider. It is now jiossi- 
ble for many of the town people to get back and 
forth from the country easily. Thousands of them 
are already doing it. and it would be far better to 
have a new distribution of population instead of 
piling more and more people up in the town. 
Western Farmers and Wool 
Reports from the Middle West show great activity 
among farmers in organizing for the handling and 
sale of their products. In Ohio the wool growers 
have developed a strong association. It started in 
May. IMS, with 15 members. They now have 20,000, 
and the association handled 2.000.000 pounds of 
wool. Now we are told that contracts have just 
been closed whereby Ohio Wool Growers’ Associa¬ 
tion gets control of headquarters for their business. 
They have secured a grouj) of buildings just outside 
of Columbus, Ohio, where there is a storage capacity 
for S.000.000 pounds. They propose to develop a 
capacity for 50.000,000 pounds. The property covers 
more than three acres of ground, and is well sup- 
jdied with railroad simrs and streets for trucking. 
The buildings are very well equipped for handling 
the business. The Ohio association has increased 
its capital stock to $500,000, and only a small jiov- 
tion will be issued at the present time. The amount 
of stock issued to any individual will be limited to 
about $1,000. The shareholders in any county will 
be pro-rated according to the wool production of 
that county. This new warehouse was the first of 
its kind to obtain a license as a bonded warehouse 
under the approval of the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. This license will permit it to isstte warehouse 
certificates, which are accepted as collateral at the 
bank. This big enterprise will, if worked out care¬ 
fully. prove of immense value to the wool growers 
of Ohio, and is only one of many stej>s soon to be 
taken all over the country for thorough organization 
of farmers. 
In addition to this, the Farm Bureau Federation 
of 13 States has called for a national wool-selling 
agency. Each of these States has organized what 
is called a State wool pool. These wool pools cover 
about 30.000,000 pounds of wool now in storage. The 
object is to hold this wool until a fair market price 
can be obtained. The object of the national pool is 
to preveut one State from competing with the other, 
and thus enabling the wool buyers to keep down the- 
price. This method of controlling the wool crop is 
entirely different from the old plan of selling each 
individual fleece at the front gate, as was formerly 
done. It is evident that the wool buyers and manu¬ 
facturers are watching these operations very closely 
in order to create public sentiment against them, and 
accusing the farmer of profiteering. The Wall Street 
Trade Journal in a recent issue contained the fol¬ 
lowing : 
While our farmers have had extraordinary prosperity, 
they still deserve a great ileal of sympathy which they 
do not get. But some of them are going the wrong way 
about getting it. Co-operation is an excellent thing if 
undertaken in good faith. But co-operation to extort 
famine prices out of a world’s necessities is merely a 
form of profiteering, and its inevitable failure will 
neither receive nor deserve sympathy. 
1583 
The only trouble with that is that these wool 
growers are not attempting in any way to extort 
famine prices. They will obtain fair prices, a very 
different thing indeed from famine prices. 
Apple Prices in New York 
New York apple growers have their troubles this 
year. There is a large crop, and for various reasons 
the demand is limited. It is often impossible for 
growers to obtain packages. The railroad service 
is also very bad, and rhe markets all over the coun¬ 
try have slumped as has seldom been known before. 
Our reports indicate that prices vary. From Wayne 
County a report comes that buyers are offering all 
the way from 50 cents to $1 per bushel for “tree 
run” of good quality. Some of the packing asso¬ 
ciations have been offered $4.50 j>er barrel for A 
grade packed. Cider apples are bringing around 
3;> to 50 cents per hundred. In Ulster County very 
few apple buyers are yet reported. In fact, the 
apple business has hardly oj>ened uj> except for a 
few sales through co-operative associations. Best 
Greenings are bringing $5.50, the grower to pack and 
furnish barrels. One lot of extra McIntosh has 
been quoted at $7 j>cr barrel. Several growers 
have sold their fruit at $4 per barrel, while eider 
apples are quoted at 50 cents per hundred. Tn 
Dutchess County the conditions have not yet set¬ 
tled down. One large buyer is said to be offering 
$2.50 per barrel for tree run fruit, he to furnish 
the crates, which the fruit grower fills and returns. 
So much has been offered at that figure that the 
1 'rice later dropped to $2. with the buyer making 
a close selection and rejecting some orchards. Some 
sales of grade A fruit have brought $4.75, the 
grower to pick, pack and furnish the barrels. Of 
course at these prices, there can be no profit. Our 
reporter in Dutchess County makes the following 
statement: 
There are very 'large offerings of good commercial 
apples which find no buyer at any reasonable price. 
Many growers having 50 to X) barrels of Winter 
fruit are without packages rim hi the absence of an 
offer on their fruit- a*-e .contemjdr.t ig shaking them and 
selling for cider. There is apparently a very large 
r mmt of grade A surr.; ed fruit that will be h: u- 
< d in this way this \<: r unless the market becomes 
mole active. Many of mu* growers will not riake an 
earnest effort, to find pickers and pay the higli prices 
demanded with the uncertainty of being able to get a 
fair price for the fruit. 
Cider apple buyers are offering 65 cents per hun¬ 
dred, anil will unquestionably get very large offerings 
at this figure It appears certain that much fruit that 
might pack A grade will go into eider at this figure, 
the cuter manufacturers will buy up many carloads 
at a price whieh will only pay the growers for their 
labor in harvesting and hauling. 
!|E?500 l!it.-™"'“ n " iv " ;? 2&J 1®» 
How the Retailers Manage 
The daily papers have, of late, been filled with 
statements about a cut in jiricos for necessities. The 
most careful investigation fails to find any evidence 
of tiiis “cut except in the jirices j>uid to farmers 
for food products. These have certainly been cut 
to the death. In our own case all farm produets are 
being sold at least ::i) jier cent lower than last year. 
Housekeepers who finally lmy this food assure us 
that there has been no “cut’* in their prices, The 
game has simply been to gouge the farmer, hold up 
the consumer and make the latter think that the 
farmer is robbing him. The director of the National 
Retail Dry Goods Association puts it this way: 
It is unfortunate that announcements of price reduc¬ 
tions, ns they have lately appeared in the press, have 
hi i-ii calculated to create in the minds of consumers the 
impression thar these price reductions might be expected 
at once in retail stores. Obviously, this is not possible, 
because all retail stores are carrying heavy stocks of 
merchandise purchased prior to the reductions made bv 
the manufacturers. 
I o cut prices on merchandise purchased at peak prices 
would involve a very heavy loss, not only on prospective 
profits, but in actual capital employed by the retailer 
in his business. 
Now what we want to know is why the same law 
should not be applied to farmers. They have pro¬ 
duced this crop at great extra expense. Every item 
of cost is heavier than ever before. It never cost 
so much to put a bushel or pound of our products 
on the market as it lias this year. The retail dealers 
propose to hold up the consumers in order to get 
back their cost and a profit. The farmers are ex- 
peeted and compelled to sacrifice their goods regard¬ 
less of the cost. They are expected to do it because 
they have always done so. They are compelled to 
do it because they have not the power of organiza¬ 
tion needed to prevent the outrage. 
