Vh RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
!fi75 
Latest Developments in the Milk Business 
UNFORTUNATE CONDITIONS.—The milk situ¬ 
ation at the present time is, to say the least, un¬ 
settled. The liquid milk is going to the city at $.‘{.05 
a hundred pounds. Some of the manufacturing 
plants have shut down, and producers are not abie 
le realize through their temporary provisions for it 
the full market price. It is estimated by the League 
that there is 10,000 pounds of this product on the 
hands of producers daily. It is also said that some 
of the dealers are approaching producers in this 
situation and offering to buy the milk direct on a 
year's contract direct with the producer. These 
producers, it is said, are demanding that the returns 
he adjusted so that the members who have a market 
help make up the loss to those who are without a 
market. The proposal to pool all the milk for this 
purpose is intended to satisfy this demand. 
LARGER CONSUMPTION NEEDED.—At the 
some time the proposition for November is again 
under consideration. Members of the board coming 
from the manufacturing districts, suggest a low 
price to induce a larger consumption to absorb the 
milk. The difficulty in this is that the dealers domi¬ 
nate the city market, and find excuses for keeping 
the price to consumers so high that the purpose, 
sound as it is, really is in the present situation 
impracticable. Tentatively, therefore, the price to 
ask is $3.65—the same as October. 
THE POOLING PLAN.—The pooling plan now 
adopted by the League is one way of equalizing 
returns, and putting all members, no matter what the 
price or the liquid consumption, on the same basis. 
This provision, however, carries with it other pro¬ 
visions of proposed contract that are objectionable 
to a large number of the best and strongest mem¬ 
bers of the organization. A meeting in the Harlem 
Liver Valley last week revealed the fact that the 
producers in that valley generally are opposed to 
the contract as it is. and refuse positively to sign 
it until modified to give t*h<xn protection. They are 
willing to share the loss in any section where the 
returns are to he less than their own. Standing 
alone they might have accepted the pooling plan, 
as it is: but they do not like it in that shape, and 
request a change so that they can contribute to the 
less either by increasing the levy per hundred 
pounds, or as a percentage charge on the returns; 
but they want the returns to come to the individual 
as before, or at best to their local branch. 
OBJECTIONABLE PROVISIONS.—There are 
three other provisions of the contract, any one of 
which they say would be enough to prevent accept¬ 
ance. These are: The provisions to make unlimited 
assessments to buy land and buildings and equip¬ 
ment. and general expenses in interest or overhead 
charges: the authority to borrow money on the 
credit of the associations and membership without 
limit; and the waiver of the members’ right to de¬ 
mand an accounting unless they could show fraud. 
It was conceded in the meeting by the local director 
that the contract gave the management the right 
to contract obligations either for business purposes 
or for borrowed money in unlimited amounts, and 
that in case of a default of the association the in¬ 
dividual members would have to come forward and 
make good. 
MODIFICATION DEMANDED.— While the gen¬ 
eral situation seemed to be critical, and something 
needed to he done, the conviction that they could 
not sign the contract with these provisions was so 
persistent and general, there was no hope in that 
section of approval, and the local director was di¬ 
rected to take the subject up with the management 
with a view of modifying the contract in a way to 
make it acceptable to them. Similar objections 
came from other sections, and other suggestions had 
already been made in the board for a modification 
of the terms to remove the objections to it of members 
in many sections, and it seems now that this would 
have to he done. At most the delay would only 
put off for a little longer the final adjustment with 
those who manufactured the milk. We do not be¬ 
lieve that any member with assurances that the 
adjustment will he worked out will contract inde¬ 
pendently with the dealers. They would not do so 
even without the assurances. They have had too 
long and too bitter an experience in that line, and to 
go back to the old system is unthinkable and imposs¬ 
ible. This problem will be worked out. because it 
must he worked out. It is not difficult. Our advice 
to members in the manufacturing centers is to stand 
pat. It will not be for long. The situation demands a 
change of policy that will soon improve the situation. 
TIIE DEALERS’ ADVANTAGE.—One peculiar 
feature the situation is that the dealers arc taking 
advantage of the attitude of producers to the con¬ 
tract to emphasize the members’ obligation to it in 
order to confuse the situation. Instead of increasing 
the opposition as they sought to do, the effect of 
their interference would be to cause members to go 
the other way and sign even if wavering before; 
but in the Harlem Valley, where they seem to have 
worked the hardest, the members do not feel that 
it would be prudent to do so, even as a protest 
against the dealers’ unwelcome advice. 
BETTER ORGANIZATION NEEDED.—It seems 
to us that this situation or crisis as it is sometimes 
called, again emphasizes the need of a thorough 
organization of the League. A full and carefully 
drawn constitution and by-laws would define the 
authority of the management and limit their powers. 
It would provide a definite policy. When the need 
came the management would be able to act within 
those limitations. They could commit the member¬ 
ship to obligations within the limitation of those 
powers, and no new contracts would be necessary. 
If it were thought necessary to exceed those limita¬ 
tions, a vote could be quickly taken of the members 
to authorize it, and little delay would occur. The 
majority vote would decide. A proper system for 
such a vote would he one of the features of a prop¬ 
erly organized association. We took the liberty to 
sound this warning four years ago. We have at the 
expense of repetition referred to it many times since. 
Members generally are in favor of it. We believe it 
is the crying need of the organization. 
What has Become of Charles H. Betts? 
That question has been asked by many of our read¬ 
ers. Last year he ran for the Assembly in Wayne 
Co., N. Y. The R. N.-Y. merely asked a question of 
the voters in that county —Do Wayne County fann¬ 
ers irant to be represented by Charles 11. Betts? 
They answered NO by a big majority, but the votes 
in a couple of towns put him over by a small major¬ 
ity. Now he is up again—but we will let Mr. Geo. 
R. Harrison tell the story: 
Wayne County farmers are again confronted this year 
with a problem which is becoming an annual difficulty. 
r Phe problem is to get rid of Charles H. Betts of Lyons. 
The farmers had no more than forced him to resign as 
secretary of the Food Commission than he had himself 
nominated as *a candidate for member of Assembly. 
That was last year. The farmers got busy and piled up 
a big vote against him in this Republican county, but 
the villages of Newark and Lyons managed to put him 
across by a very narrow margin. 
In spite of his narrow escape last Fall he has put him¬ 
self forward again this year, and this is the time he 
meets his Waterloo. For during the past year he has 
double-crossed Newark and his home town, Lyons. Both 
of these villages are now ready to help the farmer in the 
hope that they can drive him out of politics for good. 
To bring this about, independent Republicans have 
endorsed the candidacy of W. Ray Converse, the Demo¬ 
cratic nominee for the Assembly. Mr. Converse is a 
young lawyer who has the confidence of the people in 
this county. lie is well known because of his activity 
in county Sunday school work, he having been superin¬ 
tendent of the County Sunday School Association for a 
number of years. Mr. Converse enlisted as a seaman in 
the Navy the next month after war was declared, and 
continued to serve until after the signing of the armis¬ 
tice. The fact that all of the time Mr. Converse was re¬ 
ceiving $30 per month from the government Mr. Betts 
was receiving $5,000 a year from the State of New York 
and $6,000 a year from the county of Wayne in addi¬ 
tion to his other sources of income has been a powerful 
argument in the campaign. One of the campaign slo¬ 
gans has been “The High Cost of Bossism.” 
The direct antithesis of Mr. Betts. Mr. Converse has 
always stood on the right side of every moral question, 
lie has always been right on the Prohibition question, 
and has declared himself not only opposed to a nullifica¬ 
tion beer and light wines act which would restore the 
saloon, but in favor of the passage of an act similar to 
the Volstead act to secure the enforcement of prohi¬ 
bition in this State, lie stands against the breaking 
down of the laws protecting the Sabbath, and against 
abolishing direct primaries, which Mr. Betts in conven¬ 
tion at Saratoga voted to eliminate. 
As would be expected. Mr. Converse has taken a 
firm stand for the repeal of the daylight saving law. ad¬ 
vocating an out-and-out repeal, and stating that a law 
which would make it optional for cities and villages to 
adopt “new time” would only increase the present con¬ 
fusion. lie has also come out strongly for a more effi¬ 
cient operation of the Bureau of Farms and Markets, 
taking the position that the ordinary farmer does not 
reap the benefit of his labor in that he is forced to sell 
when prices are lowest, and that after he has sold, and 
the market price has gone up. someone else has the bene¬ 
fit of the advance. 
The farmers and the Grangers of the county are work¬ 
ing and hoping to see Mr. Converse elected, for they 
know that he has no nest of his own to feather, and that 
they will get a square deal. george k. uarktsox. 
Master of Palmyra Grange. 
A Good Friend of the Farmer 
No one will accuse us of any partisan political 
bias. With George Washington and Daniel Webster 
we see one of our greatest national dangers in a 
tendency to put the success of a party ahead of the 
best interests of the State. This year a large number 
of farm candidates are on the State ticket for the 
Legislature in both Senate and Assembly. No mat¬ 
ter what ticket they are on. if they are men with the 
interests of the farm at heart, they should receive 
the farm vote. It is not for their personal advantage 
or wish, bi t for the prestige a large number of farm¬ 
ers in the Legislature will give the farm interests. 
Next to this there are some men to be re-elected 
who have already proven their devotion to agricul¬ 
ture, and farmers serve themselves by returning such 
men to the places of service. In the Putnam, Dutch¬ 
ess and Columbia district James E. Towner is such 
a candidate for re-election to the Senate. He never 
loses an opportunity to help on farm measures. lie 
is one of the men we can always depend on in ad¬ 
vance. He is classed in the Legislature as a farm 
Senator. lie will be re-elected, but as a farm candi¬ 
date we would like to see him go back with prac¬ 
tically a unanimous farm vote. 
The Same Old Story 
The Public Market Neirs is the title of a little 
paper issued by the Market Master of the public 
markets in Endicott and Johnson City. N. Y. These 
markets are handling nearly 100 loads of produce 
each day at good prices. The following item appears 
in the Market yeies for October 16: 
We were out in the country about 20 miles from John¬ 
son City the other day and were informed that a potato 
buyer was going t > begin buying potatoes delivered at 
the car in a few days, at 75c a bushel. 
That same day potatoes were selling in the large mar¬ 
kets for $4.50 per bbl. Just twice what this “dealer” 
was paying the poor farmer. 
We, on the Endicott and Johnson City markets, could 
not get enough at $1.25 per bu. only 20 miles away. The 
farmer has in many cases paid nearly $5 per bu. for hiss 
seed, took all the chances and did all the work of raising 
them, and now they are only half a crop, but the farmer 
needs ready money and the dealer knows it. so he offers 
him just half what he gets and makes as much profit as 
the farmer does for his product. 
Not only that, but the dealer robs the whole com¬ 
munity. for if the farmer could get what his crop was 
worth he would have double the amount of money to pay 
his bills and spend in that same community. Instead 
the “dealer” pockets his profits, and keeps on playing 
the game, and the farmer keeps on letting him. 
Selling a Small Apple Orchard 
I have about 125 barrels of apples—several standard 
varieties, but about half Tolman Sweets. I am unable 
to handle this fruit myself, but wish to advertise it for 
sale on the trees. What would be a fair price for such 
fruit, buyer to do all the work and furnish packages? 
Saratoga Co., N. Y. c. L. w. 
C. L. W.. not being able to pick and handle his own 
crop, is at a serious disadvantage. The recent develop¬ 
ment in apple growing in the United States is largely 
tending toward a large commercial orchard, where apple 
and other fruit growing is the main object in view, and 
a lessor development of small orchards where the grower 
will grow extra fancy fruit and pack and market it di¬ 
rectly to the consumer, making the fruit and pack of 
such high quality that his customers will be willing to 
pay the top market, price with a small premium for hi.s 
choice products. Small orchards of the kind described 
are an expensive proposition to the buyer to handle, in 
that the time lost in picking the various varieties in 
season, etc., necessarily makes the proposition expensive, 
and. further, the crop is not large enough to make the 
profits attractive. The crop of fruit in mixed orchards 
of this kind has been sold, in many instances this Fall, 
at a very low price on the tree, $50 to $100 being about 
the range of price being paid. 
It would seem to me that the writer might better get 
in touch with some local storekeeper in one of his neigh¬ 
boring towns, the buyer to pick. pack, haul and store the 
fruit himself, or else the owner might better hire a man 
to pick the fruit and sell it to some local storekeeper at 
a fixed price per barrel. He to take all varieties. Tol¬ 
man Sweets are not a profitable market sort and sell 
usually slower, but in some sections there is a special 
demand for this variety, and where this special market 
has been developed the price ranges as high as for other 
good market sorts. B. d. v. 
The Troubles of a Silo Filler 
We have a wonderful crop of corn. Early in the 
mouth I built an extra silo. 14x42 ft. My old silo was 
IS ft. across and only about 24 ft. high. This gives me 
now three silos, as I have another one 12x32 ft We 
have filled this one and have the tall one about half full. 
We will have more than corn enough for all three, 
which will give me a supply of Summer silage to use 
next year, something that I have been striving to get 
ahead on ever since I began to run the farm. 
This year T grew early Eureka. Sweepstakes and 
Luce's Favorite. There is no question that the latter 
variety earns its popularity. It is not quite as large as 
either of the other two kinds, but is very heavily eared. 
We are planning to husk it standing, the way they do 
in the corn sections, and then cut the stalks and blow 
them into the silo. 
You ran quite a little discussion in the paper last Fall 
relative to the advisability of treading silage. This year 
I have hit on a brand-new scheme. We have a distrib¬ 
utor on the end of the blower pipe with which the silage 
can be diverted to any point in the silo. I have a man 
sit up in the silo and work this distributor and occa¬ 
sionally go iu and walk around on the silage. This is 
all that t am doing. By means of the distributor I am 
able to secure an absolutely even mix of butts, leaves 
and ears, which I think is the essential thing, after all, 
in filling a silo. Early in the week we broke our blower 
and we are now marking time, waiting for our repairs 
to come. As you probably know, there is almost no 
stock of machine repairs in the country districts. I 
had found this out by experience with other machines 
and had secured some extra blower parts before filling. 
I did not anticipate such a complete wreck of the ma¬ 
chine. however, as we had when a stone went in along 
with a bundle of corn. PAIBYAIAN. 
