1407 
Non-Poolers Win in a Contested Election 
Utica, N. Y. —On November 19 tlie local members 
of the Dairymen’s League held a meeting in Utica 
to elect officers and a delegate to attend the annual 
meeting of the League in Jersey City, N. J., on 
December 13. A contest arose between the non¬ 
poolers and those who favored the poolers’ associa¬ 
tion. led by officers of the association. After debate, 
a vote was taken by ballot for candidates nominated 
by both sides. The non-poolers elected their candi¬ 
dates and delegate to the annual meeting by a vote 
of substantially three to one. 
Two circumstances influenced the local dairymen 
against the pooling association. They have been led 
to believe that the dairymen who signed the pooling 
contract became members of the Dairymen’s League 
Co-operative Association. It is now known that this 
is not true. That association is a membership incor¬ 
poration of 36 members, 24 of whom are officers. 
The dairymen are not members of it, as they suim¬ 
posed that they were. 
The other circumstance grew out of the dual 
capacity of the officers in control of two organiza¬ 
tions. As officers of the pooling associations they 
made a basic price of $3.37 per hundred for pooled 
milk to the dealers in Utica. As officers of the 
Dairymen’s League they made price for the same deal¬ 
ers $2.27 to the non-poolers. This is a difference of 
$1.10 against the non-poolers. This was regarded by 
the non-poolers as a breach of trust to them and to the 
Dairymen’s League. The non-poolers say they are 
not opposed to the principle of pooling milk. What 
they oppose is this pooling contract, which contains 
several provisions which they do not like, and which, 
they believe, may involve them in serious financial 
losses. They object to the pooling association be¬ 
cause dairymen are not members of it, because they 
have no control over it, And because its officers have 
actually reduced the price of their milk to the extent 
of $1.10 a hundred pounds. 
A resolution which criticized the actions of the 
association was read and adopted by a majority vote, 
the poolers present voting against it. The criticism 
was principally of the two circumstances above cited. 
It directed the delegate to the annual meeting to 
bring the facts to the attention of the meeting, and to 
protest against it in the name of the local associa 
tion. It also directed that a copy of the resolution 
be sent to Governor Miller, and that lie be requested 
to make an Investigation of the conduct of the asso¬ 
ciation. and the disposition made of moneys, and to 
prevent discrimination against milk producers who 
refuse to sign the pooling contract. 
During the discussion Mr. Bradley Fuller and M>\ 
L. 11 j Eastman expressed themselves as opposed to 
coercion, and asserted that every dairyman had the 
right and the privilege and the duty to refuse to 
sign the pooling contract or any other contract that 
does not appeal to his good judgment, but neither of 
them explained the cause of the discrimination 
against the non-poolers in the prices made to dealers. 
Mr. Fuller was asked what was to become of tic* 
Dairyman’s League, the organization of which the 
Utica branch was a part, if it were true that the 
pooling association consisted of only 3(5 members, 
and why the association had opposed the Everett 
bill, which required it to make accounting of moneys 
like State banks? He declined to answer the ques¬ 
tions, saying that he did not wish to get into a con¬ 
troversy. 
The officers elected were: Thomas Parry, presi¬ 
dent: II. B. Williams, first vice-president; Wallace 
B. Hayes, second vice-president; 11. B. Sweet, secre¬ 
tary and treasurer. Mr. Sweet was later elected, 
without opposition, as delegate to the annual meet¬ 
ing of the Dairymen’s League. All are non-poolers. 
OBSERVER. 
Comments on the Milk Situation 
There is nothing alarming in the fact that local 
dairymen have had a scrap in one of their meetings 
at Utica, N. Y. It is rather a healthful sign that 
they turn out to local meetings and take a hand in 
their own affairs. Without such active interest ami 
concern, no organization could serve them long or 
well. Every precaution should be taken, however, 
to avoid friction, and especially to avoid the resent¬ 
ment that must always arise from discrimination, 
either in the price or in the steady sale of the pro¬ 
duct. But no man or group of men can serve two 
masters. If there must be two organizations, there 
should be two separate and distinct sets of officials, 
but there should be only one general organization in 
this territory to sell milk. The machinery of that 
organization should be simple and plain, so that 
( very farmer could understand it and be able to 
lit RURAL, NEW.YORKER 
operate it. The farmer should be a member of it, 
and have one direct vote in the control of it. 
Few if any dairymen object to a pooling arrange¬ 
ment for the sale of milk. As a matter of fact, 
pooling has always been practiced in one way or 
another. It is the machinery and complications of 
the pooling association that ai’e making the split in 
the organization. This can be easily changed. It 
seems to us that the management has an especial 
responsibility at this time and in this situation. 
Their power to control an annual meeting is not 
disputed. That power is inherent in the manage¬ 
ment, but no pride of power or vanity of authority 
should stand in the way of a united organization. 
A divided organization is no credit to its leadership. 
The ultimate success of the management and of the 
organization depends on a united membership. 
Now is the time to consider these propositions. 
They will evidently come up at the annual meeting 
They should be frankly, openly and fully discussed 
without heat or passion. Then when the annual 
meeting is over, all members should be working to¬ 
gether for the success of a united organization. 
A New “Scare Head” about Milk 
Several of our readers have sent us clippings from 
the New York Globe in which Alfred W. McCann 
makes some sensational statements about vitamines 
in eggs and milk. Briefly stated, McCann claims 
•that cows fed on what he calls “denaturized food” 
produce milk not only unfit for food, but dangerous 
to children. Much the same is true of eggs laid by 
hens improperly fed, according to McCann. Of 
course this man feels that he is compelled to speak 
or write in italics. He has got to be sensational so 
as to scare people, lie makes us think of the scare¬ 
crow our boys put in the cornfield. It was a good 
figure of a man, but the crows found that it. had no 
action, so they ignored it. Then the boys tied 
pieces of white cloth at the ends of the sticks which 
served as arms. This cloth fluttered in the wind 
and the crows kept away. McCann has taken what 
he says is a report by scientific men and magnified 
it so as to try to make the public believe that large 
quantities of milk are unhealthy or even dangerous. 
Of course, when McCann is cornered on this he wall 
claim that he never said any such thing, but lie is a 
master of the art of using a little knowledge to de¬ 
ceive the public and then working away from the 
full responsibility. We have referred this matter to 
two of the greatest authorities on nutrition in the 
country. They say that up to the present the rela¬ 
tion between the vitamines in the dairy ration and 
the milk produced from it has not been satisfactorily 
determined. The vast majority of dairymen who sell 
■milk for fluid consumption are feeding their cows 
just about right. Any ration which contains clover 
or Alfalfa hay, or any hay from the leafy grasses, 
will contain an abundance of vitamines. It would no 
doubt be possible to make up a ration so poor in 
vitamines and minerals that cows could not sustain 
life or produce good milk on it. That is shown by 
the experiments in feeding rats. Where no vita- 
mines were fed the rats stopped growing, slowly died 
and failed to produce or nourish their young. The 
same thing has of course been noted in cases where 
human beings are improperly fed. It is conceivable 
that a cow might be so poorly fed that her milk 
would be quite inferior for feeding children. But not in 
one case in a million are cows fed in any such way. 
Even if the grain is inferior they will obtain a rea¬ 
sonable supply of vitamines in the hay. especially 
if if be Alfalfa or clover. There is no excuse what¬ 
ever for such an article as McCann lias written 
about milk, lie just makes a guess at the truth and 
builds a sensational statement on that guess. That is 
about the meanest thing that a so-called “food ex¬ 
pert" can do. Intelligent people will accept the ex¬ 
planation and will not be deceived, but if does de¬ 
ceive many nervous and excitable people who should 
use milk freely, yet who are scared away from it by 
McCann’s unsupported insinuations. 
Vegetable Growers Review Problems 
In view of tlie growing menace from the European 
corn-borer, and the Federal quarantine against it. effec¬ 
tive November la. the progress of this pest received 
considerable attention at tin* annual meeting of the 
Vegetable Growers' Association of America at Albany. 
N. Y.. November 10 to la. Nearly 300 members and 
their friends attended tin* discussions tut the corn-borer, 
which has now worked its way into Northwestern 
Pennsylvania. Northern Ohio'•and Southern Michigan, 
as well as increased in the original infested territory of 
Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire. Maine and 
the province of Ontario. 
It was brought out at the meeting that tlie corn-borer 
has two broods each year in Massachusetts, the latter 
brood attacking all kinds of vegetable crops, as well as 
weeds and field plants of various sorts. The list of 
plants falling prey to its ravages now includes over a 
hundred different varieties. Experts pointed out that 
in regions where only one brood a year is produced the 
ravages of the borer are confined to corn. Principal 
control methods advocated consist of burning thoroughly 
the cornstalks and weeds in infested fields. Early and 
deep Fall plowing is also helpful, and any measures 
which help to clean up the fields tend to eliminate this 
pest. The corn-borer lives over Winter in brush. The 
moths which produce the eggs from which the borers 
emerge can fly five miles, and so the control methods 
must be carried out over a widespread area. (Congress 
has already been requested to grant an appropriation 
of $275,000 to fight the borer in infested territory. The 
association passed a resolution urging Congress to 
appropriate the money. 
Telling of the commercial practice in vegetable grow¬ 
ing being conducted on the Seabrook Farms in Cumber¬ 
land County, N. ,T., E. J. Rockwell said the farm showed 
what could he done with trucking crops from a small 
beginning. The farms have grown in scope until 
$250,000 worth a year is produced on the 400 acres. 
Over 300 acres are umbjr irrigation. Mr. Rockwell 
showed a photograph of a yield of 004 bushels per acre 
of potatoes raised on the farm. Over 3,000 cars of 
produce were grown and shipped from the farms this 
year. 
The important point in the success of these farms is 
that the land has been used to its utmost by intensive 
intercropping, and by arranging so that all help was 
kept busy during the entire season. Auto trucks are 
used in carrying, the workers from one part of the farm 
to another, so that no time is wasted in non-productive 
effort. 
Taking up the problem of growing crops on muck, 
W. I’. Rogers of Williamstown, N. Y.. said that muck 
growers could use fertilizer to advantage. Application 
of nitrate of soda once before setting celery plants 
usually suffices to produce a good crop, especially if the 
season is sufficiently dry that leachiug is not excessive. 
Following a discussion on this topic, other muck land 
growers reported success with the use of 500 lbs. am¬ 
monium sulphate to the acre. Rye as a cover crop was 
not considered of great value except to stop soil 
washing. 
Fresh vegetable seeds each year were considered 
essential to most productive yields, according to the 
members who gathered for the market gardeners and 
truck crop section of the conference. Surplus from a 
preceding year is not generally safe, was the warning 
of George Starr, a prominent vegetable man from 
Michigan. Then. too. the seed must, be adapted to tlie 
territory where it is to be planted, all of which factors 
mean that gardeners should study closely the seed 
problem each year. In order to help the commercial 
seed growers, truckmen should report good success as 
well as failures, so that the growers of seed may be 
guided in their work and really cater to the farmers' 
needs. Prof. Paul Work of Cornell said that growers 
must be willing to pay a good price for quality seeds, 
and that by so doing if was economy in the long run. 
Better bank credit for vegetable men and farmers in 
general is needed, according to Walter Sears, the former 
president of the National Fanners’ Association. Better 
transportation, too, must bo had, and all facilities 
improved for placing the farmers’ crops quickly before 
the ultimate consumer. Proper storage of crops was 
also urged in his remarks, and where public warehouses 
would fill the bill, it is up to the proper authorities t<> 
see that they are made available to producers of food¬ 
stuffs. The'need of farmers’ selling organizations was 
brought out by C. R. White of the New York State 
Department of Farms and Markets. In the I nited 
States there are already 1.134 doing business at present. 
In this connection he also stated that standardization 
of packages for farm crops is also needed. 
At the close of the convention in Albany the delegates 
adjourned to New York City, where, under direction of 
the Department of Farms and Markets, an inspection 
of the wholesale and retail markets was conducted. 
ir. c. SIRI.EY. 
Where are the Workmen? 
Having tlie south side of my barn covered with figures 
and the weather too chilly to start on the north side. I 
have decided to come to you with my problem. How 
are we farmers to employ the unemployed if they do 
not want to work? My farm hand has decided to leave 
when his year is up. I. in need of someone to take 
his place, very naturally turned to the “want” page of 
The R. N.-Y. Hearing of those millions of unemployed-. 
I was surprised to find only two who wanted work on 
a dairy farm, and they wanted to be manager or fore¬ 
man. I then looked through the Dairymen's Leap-tie 
Xeirs and failed to find where anyone wanted work of 
any kind. Next I tried the Holstein-Friesian World. 
No one wanted work. Thinking the Comity Farm 
Bureau Xcirs would surely have some one who needed 
work. I found* nothing doing. As a last resort I looked 
in the Kniclerboclcr Cress. One man wanted farm 
work, but in the capacity of manager. Now it crimes 
to this: I do not take enough papers, or not the right 
ones, or there is not the amount of unemployment that 
has been reported. T can find a day man at $3.50 for 
eight hours’ work. Will you solve this problem for 
me and others who may need farm labor, not managers? 
Columbia Co., N. Y. PATH, C. woonNUTT. 
Judging from our reports, an advertisement in 
onr “Subscribers’ Exchange" will almost invariably 
bring some response. It is true that many who ad¬ 
vertise want to “manage” or superintend a place, yet 
we know there are some good workmen left who 
would like a good job. As a rule, the workmen do 
not advertise—they answer advertisements. There 
is not much use trying to get the unemployed city 
workers oqt on a farm. Most of them would he of 
little or no use. and more of them would not go. 
They have been taught to despise the country and 
the farmer’s life. In most cases the work they have 
been doing is not essential, and is not skilled labor. 
The adjustments of modern industry are ending such 
work as these men have been doing, yet they cannot 
seem to do anything else, and are disposed to blame 
society because a new disposition of economics has 
made their former jobs unprofitable. The problem 
is too much for us until you can change human 
nature. The educated man naturally wants to make 
use of his education as a manager. The uneducated 
city man will not leave the pavements if he can 
help it. 
