100 years ago in The Record

Monday, Nov. 12, 1917

With the nation at war, Troy has flags flying everywhere to show the city’s patriotic spirit, but Mayor Cornelius F. Burns warns that Trojans may be making a different impression on visitors.

“My attention has been called many times of late to the wretched condition of many of the flags displayed on business houses, factories and residences throughout the city,” the mayor says in a statement published today.

“Some of these are not only soiled and discolored from long exposure to the elements but are actually tattered and torn. In such a condition the display of these flags does not serve the purpose intended.

“I know of no more inspiring sight than the national colors properly displayed, and certainly in these trying times we should avail ourselves of every means of keeping our patriotism and national pride keyed up to the highest pitch. But it would be far better to display no flag at all than to continue on exhibition some of those at present displayed.

Preferring not to accuse or blame anyone, the mayor closes, “I cannot believe that the owners of these flags realize the condition they are in, and I am sure that this reminder will cause them to remedy this state of affairs at once.”

No shows

Representatives of the New England Milk Producers’ Association suspect that their counterparts in the local Milk Distributors’ Association no-showed a meeting scheduled for this afternoon in the county board of supervisors’ chamber in order to avoid another price hike for milk.

The producers claim that a meeting was required once Borden Farm Products raised its price for milk. The NEMPA currently charges the distributors 7.5 cents per quart, while the distributors charge consumers 12 cents. A NEMPA representative tells The Record that, under a prior agreement, once Borden raised its price the producers and distributors would revise their contract to eight cents per quart through next April, while the distributors could raise the consumer price to 13 cents. That would be equivalent to $2.38 a quart in 2017 money.

One of the producers tells our reporter that “We don’t know just where we stand on the price. We understood that with the Borden advance we were to get eight cents a quart until April 1, but as the distributors have not made know their position we are not sure where we are at.”

Earlier this year, the NEMPA threatened a milk embargo if local distributors didn’t come to terms, but their representatives assure our paper that “We have not declared a strike against the distributors.”