Dairymen Get Together at Utica 
UnpHE adoption of this proposition marks an 
X epoch in the dairy organizations of the east¬ 
ern part of the United States.” 
The above quotation was the comment of Dean 
Cook of Denmark, N. Y., and it was applauded 
spontaneously by every dairyman in the room. The 
resolution had been introduced by Mr. Cook and 
had just been adopted by unanimous vote. The 
time and place was Utica, N. Y. on Wednesday, May 
14. The occasion was the meeting of the dairy con¬ 
ference called to find means to unify our disturbed 
dairy industry in the New York territory, and to 
standardize the New York market for wholesale 
milk. 
The resolution was substantially as follows: 
Resolved, That a permanent committee of 15, con¬ 
sisting of three members each of our five dairy groups, 
including the independent organized units, he appointed 
to formulate their own rules of procedure and meet as 
often as necessary to establish a common basis for the 
sale of milk, to care for surplus, and to estimate a 
fair price for the liquid milk producer, the members of 
the committee to be selected by each group. 
A short recess was taken after the adoption of 
the resolution to allow the groups time to name their 
own members. The committee reported by the dif¬ 
ferent groups was the following: 
Eastern States.—Morgan B. Garlock, Utica; B. J. 
Van Alstine, Canajoharie; Roscoe P. Sargent, La- 
con a. 
Sheffield Farms. — Clark P. Halliday, North 
Chatham; C. Fred Boshart, Lowville; Fred E. Ma¬ 
ther, Ulster, Pa. 
Non-pool Association.—Clias. W. Newton. Buffalo; 
A. P. Williams, Mannsville; W. S. Rhodes, Little- 
Falls. 
Dairymen’s League Co-operative Association. — 
F. H. Thompson, Holland Patent; Henry Burden, 
Cazenovia; Bradley Fuller, Utica. 
Independent Group.—F. W. Bauder, Fort Plain; 
Stanley Pyszek, Newport; Homer Jones, Homer. 
The members of the committee convened promptly 
during the brief recess and organized by electing 
Henry W. Burden, chairman and Clark P. Halli¬ 
day as secretary. 
And so after more than a year of persistent effort 
off the part of friends of the dairy industry in the 
New York territory a movement is at last under 
way to unify 7 the dairy business in the interests of 
producers, without a doubt in anybody’s mind of 
success. 
The meeting had convened at 9:30 in the morn¬ 
ing. Heads of the four groups were present, with 
the exception of Mr. Slocum of the League, which 
was represented by Mr. Burden, Mr. Thompson and 
Mr. Tuck, and later on by Mr. Bradley Fuller. The 
independent local dairy associations that have no 
federation among themselves, or with the existing 
groups, were well represented, and there was also 
a good representation of lay dairymen without any 
official connection with any group. While intention¬ 
ally not large it was perhaps as good and strong a 
x'epresentation of the dairy industry as ever as¬ 
sembled in these parts for the consideration of the 
common interest. 
Mr. John J. Dillon of New York was elected chair¬ 
man and Mr. J. L. Craig of Canastota was elected 
secretary. A working program was adopted at the 
beginning to facilitate the work of the convention. 
The first in order was the presentation of plans to 
bring about the purposes of the conference. Some 
were presented in writing and some verbally. While 
differing a little in detail all of the plans presented 
substantially the same view, the same purpose and 
largely the same procedure. We are printing in an¬ 
other column the plan presented by Mr. Dillon sim¬ 
ply because the copy was in hand and we were able 
to put it in type in advance. Mr. Garlock’s plan, or 
any of the others, might be substituted for it and the 
general sentiment of the conference would be car¬ 
ried to the reader with substantially the same ef¬ 
fect. In all it was recognized that the different or¬ 
ganized groups as well as the isolated units and un¬ 
organized dairymen would need to get together with 
one general purpose before the wholesale market 
could be efficiently stabilized, and that means be¬ 
fore the producers can hope to get a fair and rea¬ 
sonable price for milk. It was also recognized that 
there must be a common basis for the estimation 
of prices and that so long as one group of producers 
was selling on the all-milk plan and the others on 
the multiple plan, no definite common price 
could exist, and that price cutting would be the in¬ 
evitable result. The principle was also accepted 
that every group and every producer must assume 
an equitable share of the surplus when it exists. 
The general sentiment prevailed too that no time 
should be lost in arriving at a mutual understand- 
Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ing and a plan for the unification of the dairy in¬ 
dustry. Many of the members expressed the view 
that dairy organization itself is at stake; that 
while individual dairymen see their hope in organi¬ 
zation and are devoted to the principle of co-opera¬ 
tion, there is a limit to their financial endurance if 
not to their sentiments and principles, and that if 
organization does not function to their benefit there 
is a danger and a probability that the time is not 
far distant that in desperation they will throw it 
over entirely, with disastrous results to themselves 
and to the dairy interest as a whole. This \iew 
again suggested the fact that the potential strength 
as well as the potential responsibility of dairy or¬ 
ganization (and that means of dairy conditions) are 
right back in the hands of the men who are making 
the milk on the farms. It is not necessary that they 
go to conventions and present their sentiments in 
properly phrased resolutions. All they need to do 
is to make their sentiments known among them¬ 
selves, and to their leaders, and the resolutions will 
find expression in a very understandable form of 
English. 
After the presentation and discussion of plans the 
different groups were requested through a resolution 
to meet during the lunch recess and make a report 
of their recommendations. The spokesmen of the 
groups presented their reports immediately on con¬ 
vening for the afternoon session. None of them 
knew what the others were going to report but any 
one of the reports would have served for all. They 
were all to the same effect. They recommended that 
a permanent committee representing the five groups 
be created to work out the purposes of the confer¬ 
ence. After these reports were received it was a 
simple matter to frame a resolution to put the pur¬ 
pose into effect and this was accomplished in the 
above quoted resolution. 
A more harmonious meeting of the representatives 
of an industry was never assembled. There were of 
course, and properly, different views on the problems 
presented but there was not the faintest suspicion 
of a disposition on anybody’s part for dispute or 
partisan argument. The one universal purpose 
seemed to be to get something definite done, and 
judging by the readiness with which everybody 
conceded to that necessity, we have great hopes that 
that same spirit in the committee will be reflected 
in the June price for milk. 
A Plan for Unifying the Dairy Industry 
T HE following plan for unification of the dairy 
industry was presented by John J. Dillon : 
“If at this time I had the choice of a personal 
preference, I would suggest for the dairymen of the 
New York milk territory one single co-operative as¬ 
sociation, based strictly on local associations feder¬ 
ated together in a central exchange, with such ma¬ 
chinery of organization as would keep it permanent¬ 
ly in the immediate control of the membership. As 
is well known, this is my ideal for a farm co-opera¬ 
tive organization; but attachments to existing asso¬ 
ciations which have already made considerable prog¬ 
ress would, at this time, delay and probably defeat 
any new scheme of organization, and the present sit¬ 
uation in the milk business permits us no time for 
academic debate or controversy. 
“The immediate duty to dairymen is to develop a 
plan that will stop price warfare and provide for 
the orderly marketing of milk at a price fair to the 
producer. These results are possible without dis¬ 
turbing the autonomy of the four groups now exist¬ 
ing. This accomplished, if the need arises, more 
compx-ehensive and perhaps more economic changes 
in the whole scheme of organization may he deliber¬ 
ately considered later on. 
“For the present purpose, we have three impor¬ 
tant problems: 
“1. To agree upon a common basis for the pricing 
of milk. 
“2. To make provision for the care of the surplus 
milk when it exists in the most efficient and eco¬ 
nomic way, and to distribute the burden of it equi¬ 
tably over all producei-s. 
“3. To create a co-operative milk exchange or 
agency to estimate a fair price for milk and cream, 
and to sell it at that price, and to collect the money 
for it. 
“I suggest that we adopt the plan of selling to 
the dealer his requirements of liquid milk and cream 
to satisfy the demands of his liquid consumers. This 
will automatically solve the problem of a standard 
or basic unit. As far as the liquid dealer is con- 
817 
cerned, all milk will be Class 1. The word ‘surplus’ 
will be eliminated from the distributor’s vocabulary. 
“I would suggest that the members of the ex¬ 
change include the president or other represenative 
of the four existing associations, one representative 
of the non-federated oi'ganized local units, and one 
representative of the wholly unorganized producers. 
“From all available information the exchange will 
estimate the price to be charged dealers for raw 
milk and cream for city consumption, and this basic 
price will be invariable and final to all, with a def¬ 
inite allowance for pasteurizing and handling in 
farm-owned plants. I would suggest that contracts 
be made for three periods to cover the year: Oc¬ 
tober 1 to March 31, April 1 to June 30, and July 1 
to Sept. 30. 
“Having satisfied the demand for liquid milk and 
cream, the volume of milk left over on our hands 
will be our surplus over the liquid market require¬ 
ments. We will know definitely how much there 
is, and we will find ways to reduce it, and to utilize 
it without loss. 
“It is not economic to pi-oduce milk to suit the re¬ 
quirements for city consumption, and then woi-k it 
into by-products. We will, therefore, encourage pro¬ 
ducers who wish to avoid the strict city regulations 
to supply the local factories that ship no milk. Every 
quart of milk used in such factories of our territory 
reduces our surplus, and the dairyman saves the 
extra expense of regulated production. This general 
policy towards all by-product factories will tend to 
minimize our surplus. 
“The up-State city and village consumption is an 
important market. It is capable of better develop¬ 
ment. When completely stabilized It will take more 
milk and reduce our surplus. 
“When we contract with distributors to deliver 
their requirements, there will be no milk coming to 
our markets from territory outside our field, and this 
lack of imported milk will lessen our surplus. 
“Our great metropolitan city has never been fully 
developed as a liquid milk market. Condensed milk, 
powdered milk, evaporated milk, and various other 
forms of milk have been urged on the consumer as a 
substitute for liquid milk; but no systematic effort 
has ever been made to increase the consumption of 
just plain milk. Even at that, the consumption of 
milk is increasing, and the volume of consumption 
can be greatly increased with prudent means with¬ 
out much expense. The effect of a stable market 
alone will increase consumption, and this again will 
reduce the surplus. 
"If, after these means of absolution, we still have 
a surplus, we have many farm-owned plants in 
which it can be manufactured. 
“The whole product would scarcely be enough to 
furnish our own members with butter and cheese. 
"The exchange will confine itself to wholesale 
trade; but it will be concerned in steady and in¬ 
creased outlet, and it must be equipped and alert to 
see that consumers have a full supply of both milk 
and cream through retail channels without interrup¬ 
tion. 
"I would suggest that the business of the exchange 
be executed through a salaried manager, not a mem- 
ber, and that the returns for milk to each group be 
made as desired by the different groups. 
“Provision should be made to induce all unor¬ 
ganized producers to join an existing local associa¬ 
tion or form a new one, and to bring all organized 
units into affiliation with the exchange, either direct 
or through one of the groups. 
“The savings effected in the operations of the 
groups through this plan should more than cover the 
expense of the exchange. 
“Full publicity is an essential feature of this plan. 
All meetings of the exchange should be open to the 
agricultural papers of the territory, and fair and full 
reports made for the information of producers. 
Nothing can inspire the membership with greater 
confidence than full and detailed information 
through the independent press. 
“This plan is, of course, tentative and subject to 
modifications. In it I have tried to avoid any pro¬ 
vision that would be objectionable to any existing 
group or member, and to suggest only what would 
be fair to all, and at the same time, work us out of 
our present troubles. The intention is to leave the 
groups just as they are, and entirely free to work 
out their own problems in their own way; but in¬ 
stead of a ruinous price warfare, the groups will 
join in a fair estimate of prices for all, and jointly 
work out a practical solution of the surplus prob¬ 
lem in the hands of producers where it belongs. 
This should stabilize the mayket and ultimately 
serve the best interest of consumer and distributor, 
as well as producer.” 
