January 19, 1924 
78 
that it could put the pooling plan in operation with 
50,000 members. 
The writer has urged upon the executive com¬ 
mittee of the League the adoption of the flat price 
system with all the persistence at his command, 
ever since about three days after Sheffield bolted 
the pool group of dealers. As yet they have not 
seen their way clear to do it. Some of the diffi¬ 
culties in the way are imaginary, and the rest are 
not so serious as are the present divisions in pro¬ 
ducers’ ranks. 
There is some milk now being manufactured into 
butter and cheese at a serious loss, that ought not 
to be borne by the members of the pool. Some of 
it is milk that is under board of health inspection. 
This could all be shipped as market milk and made 
to replace an equal amount of other market milk 
that can be diverted to Class 3 purposes. Class 3 
milk has for some time been selling for about the 
same price as has been returned to pool producers, 
so there would then be no loss on that. Some milk 
is also being manufactured into butter and cheese 
that is not under board of health inspection. There 
is no justice in saddling any loss on this milk upon 
pool producers. 
Under Article 3 of the pooling contract all mem¬ 
bers have agreed to produce milk of a quality and 
under conditions as required where the milk is to be 
finally sold. The members who are now doing this 
cannot in justice be required to recoup any loss in 
connection with the milk of members who have 
failed to do so. They should either be suspended 
until they do so comply, or else paid only the manu¬ 
facturing value of the milk. I believe some of the 
plants owned or operated by the League are not 
under board of health regulation. This also in 
justice should be remedied in some way as being 
of primary importance. 
At times there has been some loss on milk dis¬ 
tributed in the city or cities. If the League can¬ 
not pay the same price to its producers that is re¬ 
quired of its pool group of dealers, without loss, then 
the distributing part of its city business should be 
disposed of and the proceeds invested in additional 
pasteurizing equipment for the better protection 
of producers and consumers in emergencies. If 
these things are done, a flat all-milk price will soon 
convince all groups of producers that there is no ex¬ 
cuse for them longer to hold apart. 
iSome one must take the responsibility of deter¬ 
mining a fair price, as market conditions fluctuate. 
Organized producers having wrested from the deal¬ 
ers the power to do this must use the responsibility 
wisely. I see no other way but to unite in one big 
organization, announce its price from time to time 
and let buyers take it or leave it. The present plan 
of meeting with the Milk Conference Board for 
price determining is a farce in so far as it applies 
to the responsibility for having the price correspond 
to market conditions at the time; 
The first thing to do as I look at it, is to get 
representatives of all the different groups of pro¬ 
ducers in joint session and try to agree on a flat 
price for all milk, just as high as market conditions 
will warrant, and notify all dealers what that price 
is to be on a specified date. Only one party is bound 
by any agreements reached. The Conference Board 
is not a buyer of milk. The organization of pro¬ 
ducers is bound to abide by the price agreed on, and 
each individual member of the board goes home and 
does just as he pleases about it. Let us have the 
different groups organized all under one head, and 
there will be no necessity of a divided responsibi¬ 
lity. o. w. MAPES. 
One of the unique and valuable functions of The 
R. N.-Y. is to interpret accurately farm sentiment; 
1 know of no fann periodical so free of control, so 
devoted to traditional, historic and present-day agri¬ 
culture, and so faithful to the true interests of our 
farm population. The good will you have built up 
is a valuable asset to all of us. To know you is in 
itself an education. 
I look constantly to The R. N.-Y. for guidance 
and understanding of the marketing problems of the 
New York State farmer, and while I am grateful 
for the opportunity to present some of my impress¬ 
ions of this subject, yet I frankly confess that my 
true interest is in what I am going to learn myself 
out of the discussion by dairy farmers of what the 
true spirit of co-operative marketing is and how it 
should be applied. 
“What is keeping our dairy groups apart?’’ I 
should say that it is the persistence of old-estab¬ 
lished conditions in which the individual kept his 
own interest wholly in his own hands and depended 
upon his own ability and experience to cope with 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the world. This sense seems to be stronger in agri¬ 
culture than in any other occupation. 
“How can these dairymen and dairy groups work 
together in permanent co-operative union?*’ Broadly 
speaking, by establishing a group interest in the 
producing field that may be comparable to that of 
the New York Milk Conference Board in the field 
of distribution. Such a board should be an in¬ 
stitution of producers only, and should be truly de¬ 
voted to the security and permanence of invest¬ 
ments of labor and capital in the basic milk in¬ 
dustry. 
It is essentially to the interest of the producer 
to re-establish his control of the markets for his 
product, which can only be accomplished by group 
action. This is easier, for fluid milk is essentially 
a finished product in itself. It ought to be easy to 
establish a group interest for the protection of this 
great industry, especially with public favor behind 
the producer as it is today, and interest so keen in 
the quality and purity of dairy products which it 
is the single interest of the producers to protect. Like 
the rest of us the small dairyman must depend upon 
leadership and to find that of a quality that at¬ 
tracts support and confidence is a hard job. Be¬ 
cause leaders disagree on methods and policies is 
no reason why they should not come together and 
discuss as sensible men enlisted in a common cause 
to serve the welfare of the dairy industry. The 
problem is not too large a one to solve. It does 
seem as if the dairymen of the metropolitan district 
should be represented in a Milk Conference Board 
ot their own in which they could have confidence 
that it is not a stalking-horse for antagonistic in¬ 
terests, and that its work is to be truly construc¬ 
tive and useful. All that is required is the will to 
take this action and the right kind of spirit to back 
up the work of the board. These qualities when 
they are largely and enthusiastically expressed 
among dairymen will go a long way toward guar¬ 
anteeing the success of any co-operative movement. 
mark g. dubois, Editor Sunday Courier. 
Organize a Producers’ Conference 
I do not think we have learned the real concrete 
methods of co-operation. Instead of individual 
scrapping as in former times, we are doing it by 
groups, which may be more dangerous than the old 
way because there will be more force with the larger 
numbers involved. This does not indicate in my 
mind that all dairymen should enlist under a com¬ 
mon banner any more than should one business 
concern handle all the milk produced. In either 
case the producer or the dealer will have to carry 
such a load of responsibility that they would be 
crushed by the weight. 
I would advise the formation of as many groups 
as the situation may warrant. Any number of dairy¬ 
men who may find it to their mutual benefit to work 
together have as much right to exist as another 
group a thousand times larger. In fact I believe 
that this is the only way to work out true methods 
of co-operation. No one group of men know all 
things, and surely no group has up to date learned 
all we shall have to know before the job can be 
called complete. I think we should therefore shape 
our goings and comings after the fashion of the 
dealers, who go their.own way in details, but who 
come together on fundamentals in what they choose 
to call a conference board, which serves admirably 
as a piece of co-operation among those who sell and 
deliver our products. Then why not a Producers’ 
Conference Board that shall stand in the same rela¬ 
tion to producing units as the dealers’ conference 
board stands to dealers? It would be easy then to 
find out which group should bear a burden which 
now no one seems to be able to locate. 
DAIRYMAN. 
It must now be plainly evident to the farmers 
supplying milk to the New York market that the so- 
called Co-operative Dairymen’s League is a failure 
from every point of view. It has cost the farmers 
more money than any claims ever made against any 
former dealers’ organization. It is in no sense co¬ 
operative now, because there are twice the number 
of farmers, and more, outside the organization than 
there are in it. It destroyed the aims and objects 
of the original Dairymen’s League. The contract 
it imposed upon all farmerstwas the worst that ever 
could have been conceived, and was more drastic in 
its provisions than any that ever could be conceived 
or would be asked by any dealers’ organizations. 
It may be a dream, theoretically, but practically 
it is a failure. The original contract shows it dis¬ 
trusted the farmer, and gradually the farmer begins 
to distrust the organization. At its very best, it is 
a burden upon the milk-producing farmer. It made 
a mistake in trying to bulldoze farmers to join, 
and abusing those who did not see things from 
their viewpoint. It would appear from present 
chaotic conditions, that an effort should be made to 
join the poolers and non-poolers on some sensible 
plan that they could agree upon. Co-operation that 
does not co-operate is a failure in anything. Get 
them together. . sincere. 
Too Much Selfishness 
The reason for separation into groups seems to 
be too much of the necessary quality called selfish¬ 
ness. Possibly also not yet sufficient time to come 
to a realization of personal obligations to our neigh¬ 
bor far and near. 
The remedy will have to come through calm con¬ 
sideration of duties towards others, and a spirit of 
conciliation and justice more assiduously cultivated. 
That does not apply to any one group in particular, 
but to every one of them. 
The small groups of farmers will have to ac¬ 
knowledge some dependence on the major group and 
become willing to help in a reasonable compromise, 
or the war must continue. The leaders of those 
groups will need to cut loose from dealers if they 
have such leaders who are not dealers. The lead¬ 
ers of the major group will need to cease their 
strife for position and salaries, and secure trained 
men to assume supreme command, demanding of 
those men actual results that shall be beneficial to 
the members. °* 
Organize a Conference Board 
The League pool is, no doubt, the largest single 
dairy group, and the conditions they put up to us 
are too one-sided for us to live up to. They seem 
unwilling to make any concessions and for that 
reason we lack confidence in them. 
I think most of us believe in the co-operative 
movement, and the only hope I see of a successful 
co-operative union is for each dairy group to be 
properly represented at a permanent conference 
board of all dairy groups. This conference board 
to have its own by-laws that it must work under. 
This in a general way is what I would suggest. 
Thank you for the interest you are taking in the 
dairymen’s welfare. h. s. wanzer. 
No one has yet evolved a workable plan which 
will get and keep the support of a large part of the 
dairymen in the New York milk zone. They are 
scattered over six States and produce milk of 
varying grades for various kinds of markets under 
different producing conditions. This diversity of 
interests is responsible for the several dairymen’s 
organizations. Each is organized to serve a special 
group of producers whose problems and interests 
are not identical, and often conflict with those in 
the other groups. The fact that no one plan has 
ever been evolved which secured the permanent sup¬ 
port of a large majority of the dairymen is no proof 
that such a plan will never be evolved—but it sug¬ 
gests that none will be evolved in the near future. 
It is this conflict of interests which caused these 
different organizations and which has kept them 
apart. 
Upon what broad principles and general policies 
can dairymen and dairy groups work together in 
permanent co-operative union? Despite their con¬ 
flicting interests, which are of minor consequence, 
all the dairymen and all the dairy groups have a 
great many things in common. Let them forget some 
of their differences—lay aside all petty ambitions, 
jealousies and suspicions, ignore dealer propaganda, 
and help each other. 
We are more concerned in the price of milk in 
February, 1C24, than in February, 1930. We need 
some plan which will bring immediate relief and 
some kind of order out of chaos. It must be simple, 
legal, inexpensive and efficient. It may be only a 
temporary plan until something better is found. 
Why not start by having representatives of these 
groups meet each other often enough to clear the 
air of some of the suspicions and jealousies which 
now exist? If they really desire to help each 
other, a’way can be found. Co-operation between 
these organized groups in promoting their common 
interests and in accomplishing their common pur¬ 
poses will do more for the dairymen in the next six 
months than any other plan that can be suggested. 
Possibly all can at present support some agency 
which will do for them what the New York Milk 
Conference Board does for the competing New York 
City dealers. That is a simple plan, and if it is 
tried there may come out of the combined wisdom 
and experience of these different groups some plan 
for a single organization to which all dairymen may 
belong. g. 
