Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
47 
New President of the Dairymen’s Leag, 
ue 
THE NEW LEAGUE PRESIDENT.—George W. 
Slocum, the new president of the Dairymen’s League, 
gave us a full, frank and friendly interview for The 
R N.-Y. last week. Members of the League who 
have not had opportunity to meet the new president 
will he interested to know something about him per¬ 
sonally. Physically he is what would be called a 
-large man, above average size, middle aged, well 
proportioned, well preserved, apparently healthy and 
capable of enduring hard work and fatigue. He is 
deliberate in manner and speech, yet active, and by 
no means dull. He is not what we call a fluent 
speaker, yet his mind acts quickly. When your 
thought coincides with his he responds promptly, 
fully and frankly. When the minds differ he debates 
his point with moderation, but with intelligence and 
force. When he speaks out either in approval or 
dissent you feel that you receive just what is in his 
mind and heart. He does not use words to hide 
thoughts; and he makes no attempt to create mys¬ 
tery or feign wisdom by a profound paralysis of the 
organs of speech. He is courteous and considerate 
in manner. Given the right information, we take it. 
his judgment is good; and while not easily diverted 
from a conclusion once reached, we would always 
expect to find him ready to listen with an open mind 
and fully capable of changing his position and judg¬ 
ment if the information satisfied his reason. 
A FARMER.—The new president is a farmer. He 
comes from Nortliumbeidand County, Pennsylvania, 
where he owns one thousand acres of dairy and 
grain land. We should judge that he is more of an 
employer and manager than of a worker; but we 
would suspect that when need be he could qualify 
between the plow handles or in any of the working 
duties of the farm. His business outside the 
farm is his connection as director with his local 
bank at Milton. He is, to our mind, the type of 
farmer to whom we have often referred both in 
print and in speech as most needed in co-operation 
work. He is the kind that would not put himself 
forward as candidate for a position, but when 
drafted feels frankly complimented and serves with 
pleasure; a man who would not allow himself to 
profit by such a position, and consequently who 
could accept it only at personal inconvenience and 
sacrifice. We take it from general information and 
his personal bearing that he has been successful in 
his own business; and while he comes into an in¬ 
heritance that needs readjustment, we anticipate 
from his administration a practical evolution of the 
proper functions of the Dairymen’s League. 
BETTER CO-OPERATION NEEDED.—Mr. Slo¬ 
cum’s first statement was that we must have better 
co-operation from the head office right through to 
the membership than heretofore. To this end he 
proposes to develop strong local organizations and 
county or regional organizations. He will furnish 
these organizations prompt information of just what 
is being done in the meetings of the Executive Com¬ 
mittee and of the Board of Directors. He also 
approved the suggestion to furnish the press with 
a synopsis of the proceedings of the meetings and 
activities of the representatives of the organization. 
In harmony with this policy one of the first acts of 
the new board was to pass a resolution that all 
important plans for new plants and the like must 
be in the hands of the directors for consideration 
five days before the meeting at which they are to 
be considered. The new administration, he said, is 
not to be a one-man affair; but a real functioning 
of the whole organization. 
A COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATION.—The work 
is now passing, he said, from a mutually protective 
organization to a commercial organization; and the 
foundation of this work is the pooling plan and in¬ 
expensive central plants to take care of surplus milk 
when it appears. While not going into the future 
with any detail for publication at this time, the 
president’s policies do not differ materially from 
what has been advocated in The R. N.-Y. from the 
start. The only material point of difference seemed 
to be that.he seems to favor the central organization 
plan spreading out and down to the members instead 
of the local organizations unit and building up to a 
center; but Mr. Slocum nevertheless fully appre¬ 
ciates the importance of local development, and if 
that is not accomplished in one way it can probably 
be worked out to the same end in another way. 
Besides, he is open to conviction. He has no wisn 
to hide his head in a sand pit. He will meet dairy¬ 
men who come with a suggestion or a complaint. 
He invites suggestions, discussion and criticism. 
Cornwall Dairy Hearing 
At a meeting of creditors of the Cornwall Dairy 
Company, held before the referee in bankruptcy at 
the Postoffice Building in Brooklyn, last week, the 
Orrs Mills plant, equipment and farm were sold, to 
the highest bidder for $25,500. The farm was sold 
subject to a $10,000 mortgage, and included with it 
were 58 cows, five horses and farm tools and 
machinery. Parties associated with I. Cohen, a mem¬ 
ber of the bankrupt concern, bid $25,000. The suc¬ 
cessful bidder was one Goldburgh, who is understood 
to be associated with Mr. Edelstein. also a member 
of the defunct concern, and -who previously bought 
the city end of the business. 
A bid for the equipment of the Blakslee plant on 
behalf of the farmers there who own the building 
was held up by Cohen on a technical point which 
might involve good title to the equipment on account 
of his objection. This involved another hearing 
and another delay for the dairymen, who have al¬ 
ready been embarrassed several months for the use 
of their own plant. The R. N.-Y. is representing 
the dairymen and secured consent of the court to 
use of the plant by the dairymen pending final ad¬ 
justment. The plant at Cato has not yet been 
sold. As usual, the liquidation involves heavy ex¬ 
penses. Mr. Cohen’s objection to the sale of the. 
Blakslee equipment will probably cost the creditors 
$250 at least. No dividend has yet been paid. It 
is doubtful if it will exceed 80 cents on the dollar. 
Yet this precious bunch of dealers, with apparently 
plenty of cash to buy in the plants, carry an air of 
injured innocence, because dairymen insist now on 
security or cash for their milk. Such proceedings 
always suggest the weakness in our bankruptcy 
laws. 
Prices of Chemical Fertilizers 
There has been no time in recent years when the sav¬ 
ings to be realized from the home mixing of fertilizers 
are as great as today. J. Stanley Owens, of the 
Connecticut Agricultural College, has just completed 
a systematic study of the price quotations of fourteen 
large handlers of fertilizer operating in Connecticut. 
This study shows the difference between prices of mixed 
goods and the same amount of plant food in unmixed 
forms. For example, six firms quote a fertilizer con 
taining 2 per cent ammonia, 8 per cent phosphoric 
acid and 2 per cent potash at $4S.50 per ton, while 
the same amount of plant food in the nitrate of soda, 
acid phosphate, and muriate of potash would cost 
$27.08, which would mean a return of $21.42 per ton 
for home mixing. In the case of a 4 per cent ammonia, 
8 per cent phosphoric acid, 4 per cent potash material, 
eight firms quote it at $05.50 while the plant food 
ingredients would cost only $39.30, a difference of 
$20.14 per ton. There is also a wide range of prices 
for similar goods as given by different companies. Acid 
phosphate runs from $29.10 per ton to $38 in 107 lb. 
bags. A 4-S-4 is quoted from $54 in one instance to 
$05.50 in eight cases. The above are list prices on a 
ton basis. In car lots lower prices can be secured. 
If Connecticut farmers were to buy their normal 
amounts of fertilizer on the market at today’s prices 
they could save 40 per cent of the cost by home mix¬ 
ing combined with judicious buying. Since our normal 
consumption represents, according to the statements 
made by Dr. Jenkins at the co-operative association’s 
meeting on December 8, 1920, a money outlay of over 
$2,500,000, the possible saving by home mixing today 
would amount to somewhat more than $1,000,000. It 
is apparent that if conditions remain as at present, 
Connecticut farmers should mix their fertilizers at 
home just as far as possible. Connecticut, with her 
numerous and well organized local co-operative asso¬ 
ciations is especially well situated for handling agri¬ 
cultural chemicals in car lots. 
Except perhaps for some special crops, such as a few 
vegetables and tobacco, there need be no fear that a 
fertilizer mixed at home from nitrate of soda, acid 
phosphate, and muriate of potash be inferior to any 
factory-mixed fertilizer, according to Mr. Owens. In 
nearly every case it will be superior, everything con¬ 
sidered. For special crops, such as tobacco, cotton¬ 
seed meal can be added and effect a decided saving at 
present prices. Mr. Owens also points out the fact 
that many dairy farmers may make a decided saving 
this year in not using low grade fertilizers contain¬ 
ing small amounts of potash and ammonia.* Instead, 
he recommends using acid phosphate with manure. 
Director Haskell, of the Massachusetts Experiment 
Station, speaking at the December 8 meeting of Con¬ 
necticut co-operatives, said: “Speaking as a farmer 
and a purchaser of fertilizer, in my opinion the prices 
of mixed fertilizers, as they are quoted in Massachusetts 
today, are so high that we shall have very slight expec¬ 
tations of profit from their use at present prices of farm 
products.” Mr Haskell stated it to be his opinion 
that farm crops would not, as a whole, be higher next 
year than this. Director Jenkins, of the Connecticut 
Experiment Station and Horace W. Tinkham, of War¬ 
ren, R. I.. corroborated this statement. Mr. Tinkham 
said: ‘We shall not purchase any fertilizer until after 
the first of January and very likely not until the middle 
of February. We believe that we can do no worse if 
we wait.” 
In order that the reader may have a view of the na¬ 
tional situation the following summary of conditions 
in the country as a whole is appended: “The normal 
tonnage of fertilizer used in the United States is 
<,000,000 tons; 4,000,000 tons of this is used in the 
cotton belt. The amount of fertiizer used in the 
South this year will be very materially reduced. The 
same will be true to a less extent of the corn belt. The 
demand in the country as a whole therefore, bids fair 
to be less than heretofore.” 
The Department of Agriculture under the provisions 
of tl?e Lever Food Control Act have notified the fer¬ 
tilizer trade as follows: “With the break in general 
commodity prices there has been a recent break in 
the prices of many of the fertilizer materials. This 
price adjustment has not yet been accomplished. The 
indications are now that we are on a continually fall¬ 
ing market with certain of the materials. Therefore, 
the Department is strongly of the opinion that prices 
fixed for the entire Spring trade to July 1, 1921. on 
the basis of present values are not justified. Your 
prices for Spring delivery should be lowered now to 
the fullest extent, having in mind the reductions which 
recently have taken place in many fertilizer materials 
and also the probable future prices of these materials, 
and they should be still further lowered later if con¬ 
ditions in the fertilizer material market justify.” The 
Department of Agriculture statement says: “Within 
the past two weeks, however, the acid phosphate prices 
have declined from $20 a ton to $17 a ton on the basis 
of Baltimore quotations, and the price will probably 
continue to decline, as the stocks on hand are. in reality, 
large. Information has reached the department that 
not only is the cost of material falling, but that the 
cost of manufacture is also decreasing.” j. q. d. 
A Yankee in California 
am uere tor rne winter. 
1 T , use gas ior cooking. uak 
wood, I am told, is $44 a cord, but you don’t really 
need any wood. Hard coal in Bingham. I am told bv 
a lady who just came from there, is $20 a ton, with 
prospect of higher prices. I got, a letter from Fort 
1 airfield, Maine, saying that coal there is $27 a ton. 
I went the other day to the poultry show at Balboa 
lark and saw Bellows Bros.’ prize pen of Leghorns, 
winners at the Santa Cruz egg-laying contest. It seems 
to me I would prefer New Jersey if I were to go into 
the poultry business. The. San Diego Poultry Associa¬ 
tion d'd last year a business amounting to between 
one and 'two million dollars. This is a co-operative 
institution, paying six per cent to the stockholders who 
must be in the poultry business, and a trade dividend 
according to the amount of your purchase. They ship 
eggs by carload to New York, and have without doubt 
kept the poultry business alive in this section They 
can and do ship eggs to New York and make a profit 
to the poultryman. 
We started from home September 3 and crossed the 
country with a Ford, following nearly the route traveled 
by Mrs. W. E. IL, whose story is in The R. N-Y of 
December 4. As she says, it is a land of “fruits, 
flowers and sunshine.” There is too much sunshine. 
Outside of the irrigated parts, the land is as barren 
and unproductive as a desert, without timber of any 
kind till you get back in the mountains. Have just 
been in a 20-acre orange orchard, with every tree dead 
from lack of water. There is a much better chance to 
make money on an apple orchard in Maine than on an 
orange orchard in California. h. b. Whipple. 
Coolie Contract Labor in France 
Referring to your editorial on page 1918. about effi¬ 
ciency. of coolie contract labor in France, Major Bar- 
rows information that they were only used behind the 
lines on military work is correct. There was some gar¬ 
dening about the coolie camps, but a very limited 
amount, and I imagine only for the benefit of their own 
messes. 
I have handled the coolies only as house boys, mess 
boys, etc-., but I have handled the so-called “cheap labor” 
of many races, and observed, casually, some of the work 
of the coolie gangs in France. There were some stu¬ 
dents among them, who had joined for the experience 
and acted as interpreters, having acquired some knowl¬ 
edge of French. If my memory is not at fault, one of 
the interpreters told me the men received our equivalent 
of (50c per day. food and housing. 
From casual observation, considering the pay. food 
fuel and housing expense involved, I would rate them 
as being about on a par with peon labor; a bit below 
the Italian peasant, and a considerable cut below 
American labor. They have considerable manual dex¬ 
terity, no mechanical instincts whatever, and are ex¬ 
clusively hand laborers. They have an instinctive ar¬ 
tistry in landscape work, but their habitations and per¬ 
sonal habits are ordered with a porcine simplicity. 
They could hardly be regarded by any stretch of a 
sane imagination as assimilable, and in my judgment 
there can be no place for them, either temporarily or 
permanently, in our country. The above i6, of course, 
largely impression and opinion. Some of our engineers 
could give you exact information, as they handled a 
number of these laborers, I suppose under some arrange¬ 
ment with the French governmen . thurlow white. 
Late Captain U. S. A. 
