The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Non-pooling League Members Meet 
The non-pooling members of the Dairymen's 
League in Oneida County and vicinity are disturbed 
over the intimation that the Dairymen’s League is 
to be abandoned, the Dairymen's League Co-opera¬ 
tive Association taking its place in all respects; and 
that after October 1 dairymen who do not sign the 
pooling contract will be unable to sell their milk to 
plants operated by the association, or to plants buy¬ 
ing their supplies through it. 
Recently the following call was issued for a meet¬ 
ing: 
There will he a meeting of the non-pooling members 
of the Dairymen’s League, Inc., in this vicinity at the 
courthouse in the City of Ltioa, Oneida County. New 
York, on Wednesday, August 24, 1021, at 2 o’clock in 
the afternoon. 
The purpose of the meeting is to protect and safeguard 
the interests of the non-pooling members of the League; 
to protect their market for their dairy products; to take 
steps tending toward the continuance of the Dairymen’s 
League, Inc., for the purposes for which it was formed, 
and to transact any other business wdiieh n ay come 
before said meeting. 
This meeting will be held pursuant to a request of a 
large number of League members who object to the 
pooling plan, and who have refused to sign pooling con¬ 
tracts. and are in imminent danger of being shut off from 
marketing their milk. If you are in favor of continuing 
the Dairymen’s League. Inc., please come to the meeting. 
Morris Richards, Chairman. 
Between 200 and 300 dairymen from the district 
referred to responded. A working organization was 
formed, with W. S. Rhoades of Little Falls as chair¬ 
man; W. R. Pratt of Ftica, secretary, and Morris 
Richards of Oriskany, treasurer. The following 
resolutions were discussed and adopted: 
Whereas, the primary purpose of the Dairymen’s 
League, Inc., is to sell milk and develop an increased 
outlet for it, and 
Whereas, other organizations or subsidiaries 
within the League favor some members at the ex¬ 
pense of others, the effect being to cause dissatis¬ 
faction and dissension in the organization, and 
Whereas, unity of action is essential to the suc¬ 
cess of the organization, 
Therefore be it Resolved, that the chairman of this 
meeting be authorized to appoint a committee of 
dairymen comprehensive enough in scope and mem¬ 
bership to include the whole milk-producing terri¬ 
tory covered by the Dairymen’s League, Inc., with 
power to appoint sub-committees to make a study 
of the needs of the dairy industry at this time and 
to prepare policies and by-laws, and to* perfect the 
organization for the present needs, with special 
reference to the following suggestions: 
1. To perfect local organizations of uniform 
character in local sections for the ownership and 
control of local affairs. 
2. To define the scope and functions and powers 
of the central organization. 
3. To eliminate all subsidiary organizations and 
activities not directly connected with the sale of 
milk and necessary to it. 
4. To provide a system of voting by ballot by 
which each member will have the privilege and con¬ 
venience of one vote by ballot for the election of 
officers, and as a referendum on fundamental poli¬ 
cies, their business and credit. 
5. To provide for full and prompt publication of 
all meetings, business transactions and expenditures 
and financial'conditions for the public press. 
6. To study the feasibility of developing a wider 
wholesale outlet for milk through independent 
dealers and stores, and if thought practical to sug¬ 
gest means for the development of such an outlet. 
7. To make such other recommendations as the 
study, information and experience of the members 
of the committee may warrant. 
In the general discussion it was particularly em¬ 
phasized that the dairymen present were members 
of the League, and that the meeting was in no sense 
in opposition to it, but an attempt to protect their 
own interests in it and to help the League function 
in the way originally intended. 
The meeting adjourned subject to call when the 
new committee is ready to repprt. 
Some Arguments with Auto Hogs 
New Hampshire Gets One 
The Sentinel of Keene, N. IT., prints the following 
story of what was handed out to an auto hog: 
It was proven today that it is cheaper to buy apples 
than to pick them on another man’s property when 
John Sweeney of this city paid $21.67 for entering upon 
the land of G. Fred Tattle in Alstead last Sunday and 
taking some apples. Sweeney pleaded guilty to the 
charge and Associate Justice C. B. Jordan imposed a 
fine of $15 and costs. 
Judge Jordan stated that he did not. believe that it 
was necessary for people to post their land, build high 
fences around it or guard it with a shotgun to protect 
fruit and vegetables from thieves. 
The respondent stated that he had not taken apples 
hr fore from the tree, but just went the time he was 
caught and took a few apples to eat. Mr. Little stated 
that a few days previously there had been more than a 
bushel on the tree, and there were only a few left 
Sunday, 
The thing to do is to convince all these auto hogs 
that in the end they will save money by paying for 
fruit instead of stealing it. One man tells us that 
be caught a gang of these thieves in his berry patch. 
They were well dressed and apparently well-to-do. 
Their excuse ivas that they intended to make the 
fruit into jelly to give to the poor, and of course the 
farmer wanted to join in such a fine charity! The 
campaign against these thieves is well under way 
all over the country. If j-ou are not big enough to 
punch them, get their car numbers and if possible 
get the thieves before a justice of the peace. 
These Were Costly Pears 
A reader sends us the following clipping from the 
Walton Reporter of Walton, N. Y. In this ease the 
female in the case was the more “deadly than the 
species,” but they paid for the fruit all the same. 
That woman needs a good shingle, properly applied! 
Whether one pear or 50, we know the fruit caused a 
peck of trouble at the Arkville station for a city man 
Monday afternoon when he tried to get some from 
George Purcell’s tree to take home with him on the 
night train. 
Mr. Purcell swore out a warrant and Officer Cluett 
and the two Purcell boys met the man at the station. 
Owing to the man’s inclination to leave on the train 
and Officer duett’s inclination to take him to Margar- 
ctville, the resulting disturbance was somewhat full of 
action. The lady slapped the- officer’s face quite roughly. 
The man jumped on the train and was pursued and re¬ 
taken and finally landed at Margaretville, where he was 
allowed to settle for $23.50. 
It is said he only took three pears and offered the 
owner $1 apiece in settlement, but it seems the law was 
invoked for the moral effect it may have on city visitors 
inclined to trespass too freely, of which there is con 
siderable during the Summer months. 
Citing an instance of this freebooting business, last 
Summer cars would stop in front of an orchard and 
four or five jump out, and when chased leap into the 
car and speed away. Apples, berries, flowers and gar¬ 
den truck were among things taken by these out-of- 
town and in-town buccaneers last Summer and this. 
Long Island with a Gun 
Here is another report of a Brooklyn paper. Let 
this man remember the case reported last week, 
where the old man shot the melon thieves: 
South Huntington, August 12.—Automobile depre¬ 
dations continue in this section. Several arrests have 
been made, but that does not seem to deter the raiders. 
Last evening persons riding in a $5,000 car were seen 
or the turnpike, picking nearly ripened apples from a 
tree in an orchard. They had bags for the fruit and 
made a business of it. 
Harry Jones, who is one of the wealthiest and best 
known farmers in this section, guards his orchards and 
fields on Sundays, carrying a shotgun. He is of calibre 
sufficient to string up any city folks caught helping them¬ 
selves. He declares it is necessary to patrol his grounds 
to save his crops. 
He Needed More Than a Lecture 
The Kingston (N. Y.) Freeman prints a note about 
a Kingston man who undertook to make free with 
the fruit on the farm of John Free. The sheriff did 
not give this man all he deserved: 
The Kingston man stopped his automobile alongside 
the road near the Free farm, and began using the crank 
of his automobile as a club to knock down some par¬ 
ticularly good-looking apples that grew ou a tree by 
the roadside. 
Free came out and yelled to the automobilist to stop. 
As a matter of fact, the Kingston man, after making a 
few heaves into the tree, found that the crank was 
stuck in a limb, and he was endeavoring to loosen it 
when Free appeared upon the scene. 
An argument followed, which resulted in the Kings¬ 
ton man telling the farmer where he could get off, and 
adding that he could “lick him.” 
This exasperated Free to such a point that he de¬ 
cided to call the sheriff’s office, which he did. The 
Kingston man was given a lecture, hut was not held. 
They Picked His Elderberries 
The Buffalo Express has this little story of a wise 
fa rmer: 
While three city chaps labored in the rain early yes¬ 
terday morning stealing every elderberry in his patch, 
William River, a South Wales farmer, loaded his shot¬ 
gun and went forth to meet the intruders. 
Just outside his gate the men had parked a touring 
cai to carry away the berries. River took a rear seat 
in the machine and awaited them. In a short while, 
struggling under three bushels of elderberries, the men 
approached. 
“Much obliged, hoys, for picking the berries. Now 
the chap that has the key to this machine give it here,” 
said River, poking the business end of the shotgun into 
the noses of the men. 
Without argument one of them stepped forward and 
handed over the key. River instructed the men to load 
the berries into the car and then back it into his yard. 
Again there was no argument as the three men got into 
the front seat and all backed into the barn. River then 
told the trio to make themselves comfortable or choose 
the alternative of walking to Buffalo in the rain. 
They divided their gazes for a brief moment between 
the rain and River’s bulldog, aud then by a unanimous 
vote decided to sleep in the barn. River tied the dog 
nearby and hade the trio good night and a happy sleep. 
Then he went to bed and dreamed of elderberry wine. 
In the morning River was out in the barn at sunrise 
to arouse his boarders. After giving a hand at a few 
chores around the barn River asked them to have break¬ 
fast with him. They accepted. 
After breakfast River explained to the men that he 
had sold the patch of elderberries to another farmer 
for $160 minus the cost of picking. lie had not planned 
1085 
to pick them so early, but it was all right since they 
had saved him the expense of a hired man. 
Then River told the men to get into their automobile 
and drive home. Yesterday River called Sheriff Waldow 
and told him of the incident. When asked if he had 
taken the names of the men or their automobile number 
the farmer said that he had not. 
“They picked the berries for nothing and were such 
good sports that I let them off easy,” he said. The 
sheriff is not looking for the men. 
An Auto Trip Through New York 
The other day we took a trip of nearly 200 miles 
among the smaller lakes of the State. If one should 
judge of the potato crop by what he would see the first 
15 miles of the trip, he would say potatoes would he 
plenty and cheap, but for over 150 miles out of the 
100 the direct opposite is very noticeable. Over the 
greater part of that distance one would think farmers 
would hardly have enough potatoes for their own use. 
much less have them to sell, not merely on account of 
unfavorable conditions, but because they simply were 
not planted. There were’thousands of acres of corn and 
beans; in fact. I never saw so much corn, and pretty 
generally in good condition. It reminded me of the 
change in conditions which The R. N.-Y. predicted some 
time back, of farmers going back to hay and corn, rais¬ 
ing their own feed. The potato situation in this State, 
outside small, specially favored sections, as far as we 
can learn, looks like a great shortage, and now, if ever, 
the Farm Bureau could render a great, service in getting 
a pretty close census of the crop, and avoid sacrificing 
crops at a low price by those who are likely to have a 
good crop, if frost holds off and blight does not strike, 
for the crop is nearly all very late, and conditions are 
very favorable here, just now, for blight. 
One very interesting part of the trip was noting the 
condition of crops and the great variation in the 
amount of rain in different sections. This has been a 
good year to show the difference between neglected or¬ 
chards and those under cultivation. The surprise of 
the trip was the immense crop of apples in some of 
these well-cared-for orchards, especially as there are 
practically no apples here. Very seldom did a neglected 
orchard show many apples, and these in favored loca¬ 
tions, with fine crops of apples, were generally in sec¬ 
tions short of rain, and directly opposite as far as 
weather conditions are concerned, to those sections in 
which we found fine potato prospects, hut with the dif¬ 
ference that the man with the nice crop of apples is 
informed as to conditions, while the potato grower has 
to go largely by guess, and by what the potato buyers 
tell him, though the latter will make it a business to 
know what conditions are. 
We hear a lot these days about “road hogs,” but on 
the 190-mile trip met only one, and passed only one that 
showed the bristles. However, the roadside hogs, with 
their little stands of fruit and such products as they 
have to offer were not lacking in some sections. The 
truth is that we saw almost nothing of these roadside 
stands excepting between Canandaigua and Geneva, or 
in that vicinity. Stops made at a few of these revealed 
the fact they were offering windfall Bartlett pears at $3 
to $5 per bushel which others along the road, with less 
“thrift,” left to rot. and a purchase of a small quantity 
of fruit revealed a very low standard. 
There seems to be far loss of these roadside stands 
than were in evidence a few years back, and the reason 
seems to be plain enough. How many city people are 
cursing farmers, due to the policy of those who run 
these wayside stands? The big idea seems to he to get 
money out of these stands, regardless of whether the 
other fellow gets anything out of it or not. One place 
we stopped a glance was sufficient, hut the woman who 
came out went off in a great huff because we drove over 
to the next stand, where we made a small purchase and 
got hit. I- c '- R - 
A Grange Discusses Schools 
At a meeting held at Kendaia Grange Hall, Kendaia, 
Seneca Co., N. Y., July 27. for the purpose of discuss¬ 
ing the rural school question, the following resolutions 
were unanimously adopted: 
Whereas. We are heartily in favor of any recom¬ 
mendations that will improve our present rural school 
system, and pledge it our heartiest co-operation and sup- 
port; 
WnEREAS, Our present improved roads will accom¬ 
modate in transportation less than 5 per cent of the 
school children of Seneca County; 
Whereas, Our dirt roads are rendered slow and im¬ 
passable and obstructed by mud and snow for a great 
many days of the school year, making transportation 
impractical. Be it therefore 
Resolved. That consolidation of rural schools and 
transportation of children be stricken from the recom¬ 
mendations of the Committee of Twenty-one for Seneca 
County, New York, and our present district schools be 
maintained. Be it also . 
Resolved. That a copy of these resolutions be sent to 
the chairman of the Committee of Twenty-one, and also 
to The Rural New-Yorker for publication. 
t. c. m’whorten, Chairman. 
The “Spread” in Coal Prices 
I am enclosing you a circular that happened to fall 
into my hands. I had originally supposed that the coal 
operators were the ones who were gouging the people. 
Rut the prices quoted in this circular would indicate 
that the carriers aud retailers are getting just half, 
or making the price to the consumer just double what 
it cost at the mines. Chestnut is retailing in yard here 
at $14. Consumers have been delaying purchasing coal 
on account of published statements in many papers that 
the Government intended to do something to lower the 
price of coal. The probabilities are that if it is ever 
done, the consumer will not receive any benefit this year, 
as dealers have filled up at present prices, and will ex¬ 
pect to retail accordingly. E. L. J. 
R. N.-Y.—That is sent by a reader in Yates Co., 
N. Y. The prices which follow are quoted in Erie 
Co., N. Y. 
August 4, 1921. 
I offer, subject to terms aud conditions of sale and 
shipment printed at the head of this circular, aud of 
which they form a part, the same high grade quality 
of Wyoming-Scranton district anthracite coal that T 
have shipped for years, if shipped in August, at the 
following prices per gross tou at mines: 
Grate . 
Egg . 
Stove . 
Chestnut _ 
Domestic pea 
$7.95 
8.35 
8.45 
8.35 
6.15 
