Meeting of the Dairymen’s League 
Co-operative Association 
HE annual convention of the Dairymen's League 
Co-operative Association, Inc., was held in 
Utica, N. Y., Thursday, June 19, 1924. The whole 
League territory was represented by delegates, and 
the meeting was marked by the usual enthusiasm 
of the representatives. 
In his annual address President George W. Slocum 
said that he was addressing the third anniversary of 
the association, and he challenged any co-operative 
association in the world to show a better record in 
the same time. The association had just passed its 
banner year, having secured new markets and ex¬ 
panded business generally; had brought higher effi¬ 
ciency into the management, and that the movement 
is more generally endorsed today than any time in 
its history. For the year, he said, 1923 showed a 
sad plight for agriculture. A year ago he antici¬ 
pated larger consumption and shortage in produc¬ 
tion, but as surplus was handled throughout the 
year, even in the normal short months, a break m 
the market in November was brought about by com¬ 
petitive conditions within the territory, and follow¬ 
ing that a decline in the value of cheese, condensed 
milk and butter. Nevertheless the average gross price 
for all Grade B milk was $2.10 per 100 lbs., which is 
20c per 100 lbs. above the price of the previous year. 
The average net pool price, which includes cer¬ 
tificates of indebtedness, is $2.01 per 100 lbs., as com¬ 
pared with $1.83 for the previous year, or 18c more. 
The average cash distribution is $1,917, as com¬ 
pared with $1.(192 a year ago, or $.225 more. The 
average deduction per 100 lbs. for certificates of in¬ 
debtedness is $.0957, as against $.1376 last year, or a 
little over 4c less. The average total administrative 
charges are $.0016, against $.0695 a year ago, or 
nearly lc per 100 lbs. less. 
Of all the milk handled through dealers, as well 
as through the League’s own plants, 41 per cent was 
sold in Class I as fluid milk, as compared with 35.8 
per cent the previous year, an increase of 5.2 per 
cent. Of all the milk marketed by the association 
through its own plants, 51.4 per cent went into the 
fluid markets, as against 28.5 per cent the year be¬ 
fore, or an increase of 22.9 per cent. 
“Our gross sales of all products for the year are 
$75,132,46S.64. That our gross sales are slightly 
less than last year is accounted for by the decrease 
in production of milk. Til total quantity of milk 
handled by the association during the year is 3,095,- 
000,000 lbs., as against 3,734,000,000 lbs. a year ago. 
"Let me briefly call your attention to one or two 
features in our sales report. Total sales through 
our own ope rations were $25,087,515.62, as against 
$22,428,406.36 a year ago. The biggest increase is 
shown in sales of fluid and skim-milk through our 
own operations, compared with $8,359,362.30 last 
year, or an increase of more than $5,500,000. Our 
ice cream sales increased from $(572,285.59 last year 
to $935,769.43 this year.” 
Slocum said: “The Dairymen’s League will 
raise the price of Class I milk just as soon as it can 
sell that milk at the classified price.” 
The feature of the gathering was an address by 
John D. Miller, who as vice-president and general 
counsel and architect of the association, is the one 
man responsible for its form and policies. Mr. 
Miller said that the association has not a single fun¬ 
damental defect. 
Two features marked Mr. Miller’s subject. The 
first was his defense of the so-called Sapiro bill, 
which became a law in the last Legislature. He 
said that every bona fide farm organization in the 
State endorsed the bill, and he mentioned The Rural 
New-Yorker as the climax to the bad elements and 
enemies who opposed the Sapiro bill. He defended 
the Sapiro law with considerable detail, but avoided 
the vital defects of the law. 
Turning to the Committee of Fifteen, Mr. Miller 
flatly repudiated its recommendations for an increase 
of the price of Class I milk for June, and vigorously 
assailed The Rural New-Yorker for its part in get¬ 
ting the groups together. He said the committee con¬ 
sisted of three poolers and 12 non-poolers, while the 
pool members outnumbered the other groups. The 
creation of the committee, he said, would not be so 
objectionable if they had restricted their activities to 
the recommendation of plans to get competing groups 
together, but at the first meeting it converted itself 
into a price-fixing committee. This was unlawful 
and unworkable. 
“Now, the Committee of Fifteen either knew their 
act was unlawful, or they did not know,” continued 
Mr. Miller. “If they did not know it, they stand con¬ 
victed of meddling in great problems they do not 
‘Ihe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
understand. If they did know it, their real purpose 
was to put the Dairymen’s League in a hole, because 
they know the Dairymen’s League, as the greatest 
co-operative association, if it participated in that, 
illegal transaction, would be the first attacked. 
“I say to you with all seriousness that in my judg¬ 
ment the competitive scramble for the best markets 
will never be ended until the inducements for price 
cutting are removed, and that will be only when 
every farm and every group of farmers find it im¬ 
material whether the milk goes to the city market or 
into the surplus market, because he will receive the 
same price.” 
The speaker led up to a climax in his speech when 
he said: 
“The Dairymen’s League Co-operative Association 
has no authority to say to the three able League 
members on the Committee of Fifteen to withdraw, 
but if that committee at its next meeing, June 28, 
again converts itself into a price-fixing committee,, I 
hope the three League members will immediately 
withdraw. 
“The only result so far has been to supply enemies 
of the co-operative marketing movement with ammu¬ 
nition to attack the League. The League kept the 
price of Class I milk near where it ought to be for 
three years. The directors consented to a reduction 
last November when they were told that the price- 
cutting campaign of other farmers and groups of 
farmers was threatening to take away the city mar¬ 
ket, and the surplus would be almost unbearable. 
The greatest mistake the League made was to keep up 
the price of Class I milk too long. During this time 
the other groups had been warned, but it was not 
until the League announced its policy to hold the 
city market that the cry was raised to get together." 
The speaker dwelt at length on what he termed 
insidious methods to discredit the League, and in 
closing, said the Dairymen’s League will welcome 
any plan by which this competitive scramble may be 
ended. “It has a plan elastic enough to be expanded 
or contracted. It is a plan by which the burden of 
the surplus is equitably distributed among its mem¬ 
bers, and let me say the Dairymen’s League cannot 
and will not be a party, directly or indirectly, to 
any agreement to raise the price of milk with any 
concern that is marketing milk in the city in compe- 
tion with the League.” 
Prof. George F. Warren of Cornell made an exi>lan- 
ation of the co-operative marketing bill at Cornell, 
authorized by the last Legislature, with an appro¬ 
priation of $45,000, in addition to co-operative in¬ 
struction ; the proposition to conduct research work 
and to help avoid past mistakes in farm products 
marketing. 
Mr. John A. McSparren, Master of the Pennsyl¬ 
vania State Grange, urged national organization of 
farmers in the same line as bankers, railroads, man¬ 
ufacturers and other big business. He pointed to the 
commission raised for the farm bloc, and said that 
nothing was thought of the organization of blocs by 
bankers who were able to use private bank notes, or 
to the organization of railroads who turned over 
their private business to inside holding corporations, 
and then sought increased rates on the plea that the 
business was not profitable. Their most profitable 
revenue, he asserted, has been diverted to the Pull¬ 
man Company, the express company and the Union 
News Company, and individual coal combines. The 
manufacturers’ group, he said, dictated the tax laws 
and tariffs for 30 or 40 years, with no regard for 
the rank and file of the people. The agriculturist 
will have to go ahead and be the burden-bearer for 
the rest of mankind, he insisted, or else he will have 
to build his organization and hold it together so he 
can take a stand behind the bankers and railroad 
groups in the United States Chamber of Commerce, 
and give them to understand that agriculture is go¬ 
ing to have a square deal. 
Resolutions were passed expressing sorrow for the 
death of Secretary Albert Manning in February last; 
Providing that none but those who pooled their 
own production of milk should be eligible for di¬ 
rector ; 
Pledging the faith of the delegates in the prin¬ 
ciples of co-operation; 
Pledging support to the Co-operative Grange 
League Federation Exchange; 
Approving and commending the League officers for 
efficiency; 
Recommendation of a tariff on milk and milk pro¬ 
ducts entering this country from Canada and other 
foreign countries; 
Approving the policy of marketing as much milk 
as possible in fluid form, and expressing the hope 
that the fluid business would increase the coming 
year. 
965 
“We believe,” continue these resolutions, “that 
under present conditions our producers receive more 
money for their milk through the policy of bringing 
the classes nearer together, and also strengthen the 
Association materially at the same time, and we are 
opposed to increasing the price of fluid milk to a 
level higher than the New York market will main¬ 
tain, thereby forcing us to lose fluid milk business 
and causing us to manufacture more milk into milk 
products.” 
Henry Burden of Cazenovia, representing District 
11, was the only new member of the board of direc¬ 
tors. The eight others who were re-elected were the 
following: 
G. W. Slocum, Milton, Pa., District 24; Chester 
Young, Napanoch, N. Y., District 5 ; Fred H. Sex- 
auer, Auburn, N. Y., District 12; H. J. Kershaw, 
Sherburne, N. Y., District 13; John Rosenbach, Buf¬ 
falo, N. Y., District 16; Herbert L. Seeley, Academy 
Corners, Pa., District 20; Paul Smith, Newark Val¬ 
ley, N. Y., District 21. 
It was provided that the annual meetings in the 
future may be held in Buffalo, Syracuse, Pough¬ 
keepsie, New York, Watertown, Binghamton, Elmira, 
Albany, Rochester or Kingston, but unless one of 
these cities is specially designated the meeting will 
be held in Utica. 
Dairy Cows and Debt 
Bankers and others have concluded that dairying is 
to be the salvation of the farmer here, so organizations 
have been formed to buy dairy cows for them. Some 
have been shipped in from other States, and I un¬ 
derstand at a price ranging from $125 to $150 
per cow, placing the farmer that much more in debt, 
while, as I take it the object was ta get the farmers out 
of debt. While it is true a great many are changing 
from exclusive wheat farming to mixed farming, yet I 
would not call it altogether dairy farming, as most peo¬ 
ple contend that this is a wheat country, and that we 
can grow wheat with a proper rotation of crops. 
You ask if this change is likely to continue. To a 
certain extent it will, as most farmers have learned that 
it is not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. 
As for me, I have been milking as many cows as I 
could, and still do some farming, also raising the young 
stock. I am raising Red Polls. I believe the dairy 
cattle being shipped in seem to be more Holsteins than 
anything else. There are some Guernsey breeders here 
who are also pushing their kind of cattle. As for these 
dairy farmers being prosperous, time only can tell that. 
Of course it is a fact that those who have been milking 
as many cows as they could, along with their farming, 
are now in the best circumstances financially, but not 
out of the woods by a long way. I contend, and most 
others, that if we received a price for what we sell in 
comparison with what we buy we would not be in the 
condition we are. o. M. RAKNESS. 
North Dakota. 
Living Expenses on the Farm 
On page 791 appeared a table giving the estimated 
cost of living of a city postal employe and a farm hand 
in the Hudson Valley. I have copied this below with 
some few alterations to cover the farm hand’s account: 
Rent, a year . 
Postal 
Employe 
Farm 
Hand 
Altera¬ 
tions 
$120 
* $... 
Food . 
(580 
350 
Clothing . 
150 
KM) 
Fuel and light. 
. 150 
50 
Carfare and lunches . . . . 
. 180 
65 
Household equipment upkeep . 102 
102 
15 
Recreation . 
102 
20 
Insurance and saving . . 
. 150 
150 
I >octor . 
30 
8 
1 >entist . 
30 
12 
Papers, magazines, etc. . 
Laundry . 
. (50 
60 
O 
. 30 
30 
Church . 
. 12 
12 
5 
Total . 
$1,516 
$578 
A number of the items are correct, but most are much 
too high for this section of the Hudson River Valley. 
I have written down on the slip what is approximately 
correct for this section, and I am estimating for a 
family of seven, which is a little larger than the aver¬ 
age family of the present day. I would say, however, 
that the item of clothing is extremely variable—de¬ 
pending upon the number of females in the family and 
their age. If there are a number of girls and they are 
earning themselves, the chances are that they will have 
four hats and gowns where my wife has one. Instead 
of insurance and saving, the men about here all “blow it 
in” on automobiles and gas. One of my men came to 
me 17 years ago with a debt of $300, and he paid it up 
during the first two years, besides buying two stoves, a 
sewing machine, a cow, table and chairs. And while 
for years back he could have saved three times as much, 
yet he has not saved a dollar ! I have estimated fuel 
for the family of the day worker. The all-the-year 
man receives fuel as one of his “privileges,” and while 
he is very apt to consider it an item of not much value, 
yet it often has a value of $100 or more. If all the 
fruit-growers would keep down to Mr. Keith’s figure of 
500 trees, the rest of his statement would be correct; 
that is, they would produce $5,000 net. But as they 
have 5,000 trees and many double that, they were 
mighty lucky men who last year got $500 net. H. L. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
