101 I 
Stay by the Ship 
{{/’"'OU ALMIGHTY hates a quitter/’ said Tom 
vJ Reed, the one-time dominant Congressional 
leader. Tom was right. No great human accom¬ 
plishment was ever reached by running away from 
problems and trials. 
If Washington had quit at Valley Forge, the sac¬ 
rifices at Lexington and Bunker Hill would have 
been in vain. The unity of the States came only 
after a long and bitter struggle in the framing of 
a constitution. Later that Union was saved when 
Grant faced the enemy “all Summer,” and not by 
running away from responsibilities. 
No man in a public place escapes criticism or 
abuse. The strong, with courage inspired by con¬ 
fidence in a righteous cause, stick, push on and win. 
We do not think that the representatives of the 
League did themselves justice in quitting the milk 
committee last week. The reasons assigned for the 
action do not seem sufficient. The spirit in the pre¬ 
ceding meetings was fine and encouraging, even edi¬ 
fying. It was inevitable that differences would 
arise. No one expected men to change their minds 
under the flourish of a magic peace wand; differ¬ 
ences were bound to develop, but it was expected 
that with all the facts assembled in plain view, 
compromises would be made, and an agreement 
would be reached. No fundamental principles were 
yet under discussion. The only basic problem in dis¬ 
pute and considered was the multiple price plan, and 
the other groups gave way on that to the League 
members. So much had been said about the price 
resolutions the last one might well have been omit¬ 
ted. Some of the criticism and invective of speech 
and print outside of the committee room on both 
sides helped destroy the harmony of previous meet¬ 
ings, but the short of it is the Avhole committee on 
this single occasion fell down on its responsibilities. 
Dairymen have loyally followed their leaders. 
They once had a united organization. Against ad¬ 
vice and protest the leaders insisted on subsidiaries 
and divisions. As a result we have 50 organizations 
and groups instead of one. And each one of them 
is trying to underbid the others in the sale of their 
milk. The leaders admit and everybody knows that 
under such conditions the dealers buy milk at their 
own price, and that there is no benefit to the farmer 
in these warring dairy organizations. 
The obvious thing to do is to get back under one 
association controlled by dairymen, or if that is im¬ 
possible, as it now seems to be, federate the groups 
in a board to unify the work of the associations and 
to sell milk at a living price for the producer. To 
work out some plan of unification is the function of 
the Committee of Fifteen. We hope the League 
representatives will return to the committee and all 
stick to it until they have finished the task assigned 
to them. It is a privilege for service that any man 
and every group of men may approach with pleas¬ 
ure and accomplish with honor and pride. 
Status of Milk Committee 
A S some confusion exists as to the status of the 
members of the Milk Committee of Fifteen, ! t 
may be well to make the record clear. 
The original Utica conference was suggested by 
the publisher of The Rural New-Yorker after an 
interview with the heads of all the dairy groups in 
which it was asserted that the drastic reductions 
in the price of milk were due to unwarranted com¬ 
petition between the groups; that competition on the 
New York platform and in up-State cities was yet 
causing pool members a loss of substantially $450,000 
a month on Class I milk, with prospects of increas¬ 
ing the loss; that under the conditions the League 
was not in effect different from an independent milk 
dealer; that the price of milk would go down to 
butter and cheese levels; and that no benefit could 
result from organization so long as the conditions 
continued. The suggestion was made in the follow¬ 
ing question as published in the interview: 
“Would you be willing to help arrange a confer¬ 
ence of a dozen of the best lay dairymen of the ter¬ 
ritory, both poolers and non-poolers, but without 
group bias, to sit in with two representatives of 
each group to work out a solution of this problem 
in the interest of producers?” 
Mr. Slocum was frank and cordial to the proposition. 
All agreed and all helped personally except Presi¬ 
dent Slocum, who assigned his very competent as¬ 
sistant, Charles H. Tuck, to act for him. The mem¬ 
bers of the conference were selected by the heads of 
their own groups, including Mr. Tuck acting for his 
principal, except a few who were suggested by dairy¬ 
men. Mr. Tuck suggested nine names, and all were 
invited. 
7h« RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Mr. Garlock of the Eastern States was particu¬ 
larly anxious that the heads of all groups be au¬ 
thorized to invite all their directorates, and this 
was agreed to by all. Two different appeals were 
made through Mr. Tuck, his representative, to per¬ 
suade Mi\ Slocum and other members of the board 
to attend the conference. 
At Utica the conference was thought to be too 
large for constructive work, and each delegation was 
requested by a resolution offered by Dean Cook to 
designate three of its members to form a Committee 
of Fifteen to work out the purposes of the con¬ 
ference,' which is to stop the ruinous price warfare, 
and to get for farmers a living price for milk. 
The members of the committee were so selected 
by the five different groups. 
Mr. Tuck and Mr. Garlock, both of whom are per- 
sonally familiar with the work and the purposes 
of it, will, we think, cori’ect any statement from any 
source inconsistent with this simple recital. 
If there is a better way that promises results, by 
all means let us have it, and in the interest of dairy¬ 
men The R. N.-Y. will support it. Otherwise, we 
suggest that a progi’am or formula be prepared in 
advance to which all agree, so that the chairman 
can hold the sessions down to a definite purpose, and 
with the return of the League members under this 
formula, all stick to the job until a way is found to 
sell milk at a living price to the producer. 
Purchasing Power of Milk 
A NEW YORK State dairyman makes comparison 
of the present purchasing price of milk with 
its value in 1909. To pay his hired man for May, 
3909, it required 2,273 lbs., selling to Locust Farms 
Company. 
In May, 1924, it required 5,714 lbs. to pay the hired 
man, selling to Sheffield Farms. If he had sold at 
the League price in May, 1924, at $1.30 net, it would 
have required 7,692 lbs., or 31/3 times the 1909 
volume. 
While the 1924 man is not the man employed in 
1909, yet the 1924 man is working the same farm, 
living in the same house, working shorter hours, do¬ 
ing less work and requiring more additional help 
than the 1909 man. 
What is true of the purchasing power of milk in 
terms of labor is relatively time in tei’ms of feed, 
harnesses, machinery, shoes, and other farm sup¬ 
plies. 
The Sapiro Plan 
There is no need of eloquence or personal invective 
over the discussion of the Sapiro or centralized form 
of farm organization. Let farmers understand the 
principles and the policies and then adopt their choice. 
The proponents of the Sapiro plan insist that farmers 
are not competent to own their own property and man¬ 
age their own affairs. They say it in so many words. 
Therefore complicated organizations must be devised so 
that the ownership, management and control may be 
perpetuated in the hands of lawyers, promoters and 
professional leaders, who vote their own salaries, check 
their own expense bills, and account for nothing to 
anybody. 
Those who oppose the Sapiro rule believe that farm¬ 
ers have the intelligence and ability to own and man¬ 
age their own affairs; that they initiate business enter¬ 
prises with less mistakes and less expense than law¬ 
yers and promoters, and that one of the best features 
of co-operation is that farmers develop skill in the man¬ 
agement of their own affairs by doing it themselves. Con¬ 
sequently they create simple forms of organization and 
put ownership in the hands of the members and control 
in a direct majority vote. 
Co-operation is intended to reduce the cost of dis¬ 
tribution. The centralized official groups make alliances 
with the middlemen and increase the cost of selling. 
The cost of the organization is added to the middle¬ 
man’s expense and profit. The farmer pays it all. 
If the Sapiro theory were true there could be no 
co-operation. Farmers would simply add a new bunch 
of middlemen to the long chain of middlemen that al¬ 
ready tax them beyond endurance. Stripped of elo¬ 
quence, and drama, and pretense, the essence of the 
Sapiro dispute is in the policy to adopt. Shall we shut 
our eyes and turn everything over to the lawyers and 
promoters and take what comes back, or shall we do it 
ourselves? 
Future of Hay ancJ Straw Markets 
T HE following statements are from a hay dealer 
who has been in the business over 50 years. We 
think what he says about the future of rye straw is 
correct: 
Automobiles and trucks certainly have affected the 
market, although it is astonishing how the surplus each 
year is more closely disposed of than in former years 
before the advent of the gas engine; for in father’s day 
it was no rare occurrence to drive into a farmyard, the 
barns of which contained three years crop of hay; while 
today it is more rare to find a barn with a two-year 
crop, and in the aforementioned days rarely did we ship 
any hay from a point west of Buffalo. This seems dif¬ 
ficult to explain unless it is that the local towns and 
cities are continually growing and demanding more. 
The dairy interests also dispose of heavy tonnage an¬ 
nually. 
\\ e feel that the horse is not going to be dispensed 
with, as recent information indicates he has his place 
along with our other motive power. Any farmer in 
position to raise stock should certainly go after the 
production of heavy draft horses. There is today a 
greater demand than can be taken care of. 
few years has been able to absorb it and at good prices, 
as fast as it arrived. The past few years we have been 
obliged to refuse orders for bundled rye straw, due to 
our inability to secure it. The old long-cylinder thrashing 
machine has gone to the junk pile, and the small and 
comparatively few crops of rye straw raised, will not 
warrant the purchase of a new machine suitable for 
thi-ashing out rye straw. We believe this is the chief 
reason for the lack of rye straw, which supply is prin¬ 
cipally furnished from New Jersey. This is a section 
where they grow considerable of it and where the buyer 
does his own thrashing and pressing, as the straw is 
grown in sufficient quantities to pay for the investment. 
We by all means advocate the production of more 
bundled rye straw, and there is no question but wliat 
it can be disposed of to good advantage, provided the 
tonnage is not too great. Our nearby farms in New 
ork ►State can better raise good rye straw than a fair 
grade of hay, and improve the land. 
South African Imports of Flour 
TTERE is something not usually considered in 
A A discussing our exports in wheat. It is stated 
hat sections of Eastern Africa have for some time 
been buying soft wheat flour from Australia. As is 
usually the case, many people prefer the flour from 
hard wheat, and before the Great War this kind of 
flour was imported from the United States. Since 
the war, however, Canada has supplied this flour, 
lhe chief reason is that the Union of South Africa 
has a tariff on flour and grain, and they give a 3 per 
cent preferential duty to the English colonies or 
members of the British Empire. Thus the Canadians 
can take advantage of this tariff and ship their flour 
at a better figure than the Americans can obtain. 
There is some sentimental reason mixed up with this 
matter as the importers of the British Empire will 
from choice trade with each other. It is said, how¬ 
ever, that the American producers have failed to 
make any particular effort to recover the trade which 
they had before the war. 
No More Free Farms 
I have read in the Country Gentleman of recent date 
Ell Sa a lng T th !u are offering farms to immigrants at 
Ellis Island. Is that correct? I am not an authority 
on the subject, but think there are still plenty of 
American farmers and farm help who would like* the 
chance to own a farm or small place. I have spent quite 
R.W tr Ut; 10 1 ? cntc 11 *U<*, preferably 
ll!, ,! ,, '!”’" ^ a , ,*?■ wllc , l ' e there is Pimfy of work by 
the day. I would like to know where these free farms 
are; would like to hear from owners who are giving 
farms away, not to immigrants, but to Americans. 
.New Jersey. Arthur a. smith. 
\A/HI }N any man offers to give you a farm, you 
V V would better keep an eye on the man and be 
suspicious of the farm. The Immigration Commis¬ 
sioner at Ellis Island says he does not know of any 
farms being offered to immigrants when entering this 
country, or at any other time. There must be some 
mistake about this report. There are very few de¬ 
sirable public lands left in this country, and the most 
desirable thing in all public economics is some sys¬ 
tem which will enable worthy tenants and hired men 
to obtain a farm on reasonable terms. 
Most of our folks look upon Oregon ns a country of 
“magnificent distances.” Farming there, we think, 
must be a great sweep of wheat and orchards, or vast 
herds of cattle. Yet here is Mr. Berrang, after his long 
and slow journey across the country, growing tomatoes, 
potatoes and the stuff which, at the East, is supposed 
to belong to small fanning. It is something of a shock 
to us! 
There is some little question about the Lobo apple, a 
newly introduced variety. It is a McIntosh type apple 
originated by Prof. W. T. Macoun of the Central Ex¬ 
perimental Farms, Ottawa, Canada. It is earlier than 
McIntosh, ripening in about the same relation before 
McIntosh as Cortland does after McInto«h. It comes 
just between the Early McIntosh recently introduced by 
the Geneva Station and the McIntosh. The apple is 
well liked by those who have fruited it. 
