The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
I 109 
The Wrong Sort of Co-operation 
Some 11,000 employees in and around New York 
are having a demonstration of the kind of co-opera¬ 
tion that is promoted and managed by a self-selected 
management independent of the members. The 
losses at present seem to be .$200,000; but the assets 
will not mature for years, and the cost of liquidation 
is yet to be estimated. 
Four years ago. one Ingalls Iv. Kimball recognized 
two conditions: employment was general and wages 
high. Employees had money, and they could be in¬ 
duced to save it and invest it if the scheme were 
made alluring. Banks and brokers and institutions 
had paper securities that drew low rates of interest, 
as they were issued before the war increased interest 
rates. If these were sold for cash the money could 
be made to yield anywhere from 10 to .‘10 per cent, 
and in some instances more. 
The thing to do was to gather up the savings of 
small salaries and wages, and invest the money in 
the low-yielding securities. The men with the 
securities approved. The National Thrift Bond Cor¬ 
poration was incorporated. Four directors were 
now chosen from large banking and business insti¬ 
tutions. and the promoters were installed as mana¬ 
gers. The thrift literature was appealing and 
effective. It would relieve industrial unrest, pro¬ 
mote production and inspire patriot'sm. The argu¬ 
ment was right. It won with some employers, who 
urged it upon their employees because of the con¬ 
fidence they had in the trustees and directors. The 
securities bought were trusteed by the Equitable 
Trust Company and Thrift bonds issued to the mem¬ 
bers after they had completed installment payments. 
The theories and agreements were right, but the 
management did not even up with the promises. It 
was other people’s money, and no check was put on 
salaries and expenses. The organization cost 
$100,000. The business is now in the hands of the 
State Banking Department. The promoters and 
trustees refuse to do anything, to help the members, 
who must take heavy losses in a quick liquidation 
or wait years for the securities to mature. 
The record is not promoting thrift or patriotism. 
Tt is not encouraging co-operation among the masses. 
And yet thrift and industry and co-operation are 
worthy purposes, and should be a benefit to all. The 
fault came from selfish exploitation of the people 
who should be benefited. Tf these employers had 
taken the initiative themselves and managed their 
combined savings themselves under proper safe¬ 
guards of supervision and publicity it should have 
resulted in all the benefits claimed for it. 
A Sure-enough Wool Suit 
When an Ohio man has farmed and grown wool 
until fourscore, and been brought up on The R. 
N.-Y. doctrine, he surely merits all the good clothes 
he wants. I have plenty of the good k’ml, made 
before second-hand wool displaced the kind I grow, 
hut I thought my friends would be glad to see how 
I look in a new outfit. Our State Fair comes 
shortly, and my Summer suit has been there so 
often it could almost go the hundred miles itself, 
and my Winter suit could nearly pilot me to all the 
farmers' institutes and sheep meetings in Washing¬ 
ton and adjoining counties. 
Yes, in justice to myself and my friends, 1 thought 
1 would get a wool suit as good as the ones I have, 
so I bought the cloth and had a tailor cut, trim and 
fit it on me, and how good it looks and feels. Any 
sheepman is worthy of such a suit. If anyone de¬ 
serves good woolen clothes it is the man who grows 
Delaine fibers. “There is a fly in the ointment,” 
however. About me are many wearing second-hand 
clothes that no one knows who wore once, made 
over, even for wool growers. Why, the world is full 
of wool that should all have been on the persons of 
the people, and myself and other members of the 
Ohio Wool Association have 6.000,000 pounds which 
we can only sell in dribs. 
I want people to wear wool. We grow it for that 
purpose, and they should have it. They should make 
comforts, blankets, sweaters, socks and everything 
they can out of it. They should bring the old spin¬ 
ning wheel out of the attic, or get some handy old 
carpenter to make them one, and use wool as we 
did when I was young. There was no shoddy, nor 
unsold wool stocks then, but folks were nicely and 
warmly clad in wool. Here is a fact that every 
reader can bet on: If wool is not used there will 
be little or none grown. From what I see now I 
figure that sheep will fall off not less than one-fifth 
this year, and it will not be many years until the 
rag men have the whole population for regular cus¬ 
tomers every few months, or at farthest a year. 
Ohio. H - w - 8 - 
The Farmer and the Thief 
A Successful Barking Dog 
A woman in New Jersey sends us the following 
story from Washington. Here is a case where a 
barking dog does not need to bite, or to pay a license! 
Zillab, Wash., Aug. 25.—An old-fashioned talking ma¬ 
chine rigged in a beehive with records of violent barking 
by two tormented collie dogs is the police protection Ed¬ 
ward Delle uses in his orchard and vineyard here. The 
record is operated by an electric attachment, and if an 
auto is heard to slow down where the orchard touches 
the highway, the canned dog music is turned loose. 
It. has never failed to discourage prospective purloiners 
of fruit. 
The day of the automobjle tourist has developed a 
new species of petty thief who while pilfering the farm¬ 
ers’ fields destroys as much as he carries away. Every 
orehardist and melon grower whose land adjoins a high¬ 
way is tormented and robbed every night by travelers. 
D’elle’s grapevines and peach trees are along the. 
Sunset highway at a point where the Yakima River 
takes a broad turn and a clump of trees hides that part 
of the orchard from the ranch house. Many tourists 
plan to drive along this road just after dusk and much 
fruit has been stolen every Summer. 
Since installing his barking apparatus Delle has had 
no losses and more fun than two circuses might give 
him. watching folks climb back into cars and speed 
away. 
Neighbors declare they can hear Delle’s two canned 
dogs barking a mile away, and that the effect is realistic. 
A Jerseyman Shoots Straight 
T HE following item has appeared in several 
papers. A few years ago a Paterson (N. J.) boy 
shot a man under somewhat similar conditions and 
was not prosecuted. A Massachusetts man shot such 
a thief and was convicted of manslaughter and then 
pardoned: 
Camden. N. J.. Aug. 28.—Harry Wolohan of Mag¬ 
nolia was awakened by a noise early today and when 
he peered into the yard saw a man tearing boards from 
his hennery. lie grasped his shotgun and rushed to 
meet the intruder. Wolohan fired, he said, as the man 
reached in his pocket as though seizing a revolver. The 
alleged chicken thief was killed instantly. 
lie was identified as Kelsey Benson, a negro, of 
Kawnside. A woman who said she was Benson’s wife 
was arrested near the Wolohan farm w'th a horse and 
wagon. Wolohan told the Camden police he had been 
robbed of chickens worth $4,500 in the last two years. 
We understand that Mr. Wolohan, who is 60 years 
old, will be charged with manslaughter. We have 
received the enclosed comment on this case from 
Mr. It. A. Millar of Philadelphia, The R. N.-Y. will 
glady help in this case: 
Enclosed clipping from this morning’s issue of the 
Philadelphia Tublic Ledger brings to mind the case 
described in last week’s It. N.-Y. of the farmer who 
was assessed damages for peppering with birdshot the 
boy who was robbing his melon patch. 
In the ordinary course of events, Mr. Wolohan is 
probably up against a pretty stiff situation. People 
who only eat hens, and do not have to keep them 
against marauders, are sure to feel that Mr. Wolohan 
should go to jail, if not hang. Especially is this true of 
those who are occasional or habitual marauders them¬ 
selves. 
The “Farmers’ Bloc” in Washington has shown 
what can be done by standing together. How about a 
little active suppoit for Mr. Wolohan? 
ROGER A. MILLAR. 
Ohio Elderberries and Boys 
An Ohio reader sends the following, taken from 
the Norwood Enterprise: 
The elderberries gathered by two young men of Nor¬ 
wood last week proved to be rather expensive. They 
went over to the farm of Ed Hopping, in Whitewater 
township, and after two or three hours’ hard work in 
the hot sun were completely discouraged by the appear¬ 
ance of Farmer Hopping, who made them throw several 
gallons away and leave the farm. To crown it all , 
justice of the Trace Oliver Swisher fined them $20J(5 
on a trespassing charge. Tt is not stated just what 
they wanted with .the elderberries. 
The reader who sends the clipping writes: 
I know both of these boys, and apart from their 
inability to see that farmers have rights, they are very 
decent, well-behaved boys. 
Raising Chickens on Paper 
I am contemplating starting a poultry farm and vege¬ 
table garden in partnership with my older brother. The 
farm is situated within commuting distance of New 
York, where we formerly made our home. We have 
patrons there who will consume all of our produce. 
Following is an estimate of our expenditure and income 
for the first year. Would it trouble you too much to 
glance over it and inform us if it is a nearly correct 
estimate? 
EXPENDITURES 
Rent, per year.$1,000.00 
Chicks, 2,000 at $20 per 100. 400.00 
Brooders, four. 100.00 
Ilorse and harness. 150.00 
Seeds and fertilizer, for garden. 250.00 
Cows, two, to produce necessary skim-milk.... 200.00 
Miscellaneous . 200.00 
Grain, two tons . 100.00 
Total.$2,400.00 
INCOME 
Eggs, sold to private families, averaging 40c 
per doz.; 900 hens producing 112 eggs per 
hen .$3,400.00 
Broilers, 9<X) cockerels, average weight 1 
lbs.; average price, 50c per lb. 600.00 
Truck and fruit. 1,000.00 
Total.$5,000.00 
We are experienced poultry men. The farm will 
either he leased for three years or for one year with the 
option of buying. w.d.l. 
Connecticut. 
How exceedingly easy it is to figure out profits on 
paper! These people would have astonishing good luck 
to raise 900 cockerels and 900 pullets from 2,000 day- 
old chicks. The loss —10 per cent—is often reached by 
deaths in a full matured flock of hens. Analyzing the 
food supply, we find two tons allowed. Two tons equal 
64,000 ounces. If 900 hens have one ounce a day for 
360 days, it would require 328.500 ounces. The “two 
tons” would give less than one ounce a day for each 
five hens, to say nothing about the 900 cockerels. There 
would be no “112 eggs per hen” on that amount of food. 
What are the two cows going to live on? There is no 
allowance for grain, hay, etc., for them. If the hay is 
to he raised, allowance must be made for mowing ma¬ 
chine, hay rake, farm wagon and tools. Allowance is 
made for “horse and harness.” hut nothing for wagons. 
The $200 for “miscellaneous” would be quickly used 
up for other appliances. Are all the brooder houses, 
poultry houses, rat-proof grain house, etc., already on 
the place? Or must they be built? 
I suppose the “$1,000 expenditures” is for living ex¬ 
penses. 
It seems to me that two men would have a lively job 
to raise and market $1,000 worth of garden truck and 
fruit without spending any time on poultry. No allow¬ 
ance is made for hired help, so I suppose they intend to 
do all the work themselves. But no matter how hard 
they work, the figures won’t come out as they have 
them on this paper. GEO. A. COSGROVE. 
Chicago Milk Problems 
For some time complaints have been made by dairy¬ 
men in the Chicago district that the Milk Marketing 
Company of that district was being badly and extrava¬ 
gantly managed. A meeting of producers was held in 
Elgin. III., on August 12, at which 70 per cent of the 
shareholders of the company were present or repre¬ 
sented. It is said that 30 per cent had discontinued 
selling through the company because of heavy assess¬ 
ments to pay debts, reports that it was to fail and had 
management. A committee was appointed to study the 
situation and to recommend to the directors what should 
be. done to. save the organization. 
Another meeting was held at Elgin on August 111 to 
receive the report of the producers’ committee. The 
committee grouped its recommendation# for changes 
under three heads: 
First: In the organization. 
Second: In the management of the company. 
Third: In the methods of financing and accounting. 
Under the first suggestion the committee expressed 
the conviction that the management of the Milk Mar¬ 
keting Company is not living up to the principles of 
co-operation in that each member should benefit in pro¬ 
portion to his contribution to the amount of business 
done, and that the company should be governed in a 
representative way. It criticised the directors in ac¬ 
cumulating and voting proxies, thereby taking the man¬ 
agement out of the hands of producers. The autocratic 
way of electing directors, the committee found, is con¬ 
ducive to centralization of management, and tends 
to lack of responsi /eness to the will and judgement of 
the majority of the members. It recommended to do 
away with proxy voting, and recommended that the 
stockholders of each district should elect their own di¬ 
rector. It also recommended that there be a roll call 
in the board of directors on every important question, 
and that each member’s vote be recorded, and published, 
on the ground that members are entitled to know how 
their representative votes on important questions. It 
suggested also that when considering broad, general 
policies, the board of directors should call in one repre¬ 
sentative from each local, and confer with them as to the 
sentiment of members. 
Under the head of management the committee rec¬ 
ommended that because of the larger business, involving 
millions of dollars and management of much help, a 
business manager should lie a man of training, experi- 
anee and special ability. It holds that a manager should 
not be a member of the board of directors, but that a 
manager from outside the board should be employed, 
and clothed with authority to conduct the business. It 
further suggested that the secretary of the board of 
directors should not be the bookkeeper of the company; 
that employees should be selected for their training, ex¬ 
perience and ability, and that field work intended to 
hold the organization together should not bo necessary 
and that this expense should be avoided through efficient 
management, and results that would command the vol¬ 
untary co-operation of members. 
As to financing and accounting, the committee criti¬ 
cizes the management in that financial statements are 
not made. All of the affairs of a co-operative company, 
it says, should be open and above board. Nothing 
should be covered up. The lack of knowledge of the 
business and financial affairs of the milk marketing 
company has saused a great deal of dissatisfaction and 
dissensions, and the committee urges that efficient audits 
and financial reports be made at least quarterly, and 
perferably monthly. Further expensive by-product 
plants should be secured only when absolutely needed, 
and then only as fast as income from the stock will 
permit. 
The members of the committee as well as the 500 
members present asserted that the present movement 
was undertaken only in the interest of organization 
and that the Milk Marketing Company may continue 
to function and better to serve the interests of dairy¬ 
men. Inefficiency in the management was admitted, 
but loyalty on the part of members was emphasized 
oy all. and a general purpose was manifested to assume 
the obligations of the company and pay its debts. The 
purpose and tone of the meeting was healthy and en¬ 
couraging as coming from the rank and file of the mem¬ 
bership. If the policies recommended are adopted and 
the vigilance of the membership is maintained, nothing 
can be surer than success. producer. 
I llinois. 
