That Old Milk Can Trouble 
I send my milk to Hordern's, and used my own onus. 
Al the creamery they lost or mislaid two of my cans. 
Tlmy sent me two of their cans to use until such time 
as they could set my cans back, but they neper returned 
in\ cutis, and I used Iheir cans as directed until June, 
when they were taken by an agent id - the Milk Bot¬ 
tlers Federation. I now enclose you a letter from their 
attorneys. What do you advise me to do? w. b. y. 
New York. 
The Inclosure is a letter from Shea & C rim mins, 
n firm of attorneys at Binghamton. X. Y„ advising 
the milk producer that lie had violated the general 
business law of the Stale by having in his possession 
two milk cans belonging to Borden's Farm Products 
Company on June s; that ho Is liable to a penalty 
of $50. and that if lie will send $25 quick the re¬ 
mainder of the penalty will be forgiven. 
We advise to hold on to that $25. and if the pro¬ 
ducer had taken the precaution to have the facts 
in writing or before witnesses, we would advise a 
demand for the return of the lost cans, and a suit, 
ii necessary, to recover the value of them. The only 
violation of law in this ease was by the agent in 
taking cans that the farmer had every right to use 
and to keep until they were redeemed by a return 
of his own cans. The law expressly says that the 
cans must be in the possession of another without 
the consent of the owner. This farmer had the 
consent of the owner. 
This law should be repealed or amended. It was 
originally enacted to protect farmers when they 
were shipping milk as individuals in their own cans 
to individual dealers. It is now used to annoy and 
harass, and virtually to blackmail, the men it was 
originally intended to protect. We have never found 
a ease where a farmer appropriated to his own use 
cans belonging to others except by the consent of the 
owner or some one who was alleged to represent the 
owner. We would not excuse or defend any man 
for knowingly violating a law by taking for his own 
use the property of another; but no such case has 
ever come to our attention. The agents of this 
Federation are now active in some sections, par¬ 
ticularly in Delaware County. We have received 
several complaints recently, and wo fear some farmers 
have paid the $25 rather than he bothered with a 
lawsuit. We do not believe they want to go into 
court and face a jury on any such case, and if they 
do. The Rural New-Yorker will defend the first 
ease brought at its own expense. Any dairyman, 
whether a subscriber or no. may send us the case, 
and lie will be protected. 
Retail Prices a Little Lower 
According to Government reports there was a 
general reduction of one per cent in the retail cost 
of food for November, as compared with October 
i rices. For the preceding year there was a general 
decrease over the previous year of 22 per cent. 
As compm oil wiih the average cost in the year 1913, 
the cost of food in November. 1921. in the various 
cities, showed the following percentage increases; 
Richmond, 05 per cent; Providence, 64 per cent; Scran¬ 
ton, 65 per cent; Boston and Fall River. 60 per cent; 
New York and Washington, D. 50 per cent: Buf¬ 
falo. 5S per cent; Manchester, 57 per cent : Baltimore. 
51 per cent; Birmingham. New Haven and Pittsburgh, 
55 per cent ; Charleston, Chicago. Detroit and Phila¬ 
delphia, 52 per cent; Kansas City. 51 per cent; Newark 
and San Francisco, 50 per rent ; Cincinnati. Milwaukee 
and Omaha, 19 per cent ; Dallas and St. Louis, 4s per 
cent ; Cleveland, Jacksonville and New Orleans, 47 per 
cent; Atlanta, 46 per cent; Los Angeles and Min¬ 
neapolis, 45 per cent; Indianapolis and Memphis. 44 
per cent; Little Rock, 42 per cent; Louisville. 40 per 
cent; Seattle. 59 per cent ; Portland, Ore., 58 per cent; 
and Salt Lake City. 36 per cent. 
The Johnson City-Endicott Public 
Markets 
One of the best public markets in New York State 
is the double market at Johnson City and Endieott. 
in Broome County, X. Y. These markets have now 
been running for a number of years, and they appear 
to grow stronger the longer they are kept up. Endi¬ 
eott and Johnson City are shoe towns, with large 
numbers of people who are employed in the shoe 
factories. These men and women are well paid, and 
they like to live well. The public markets give them 
an opportunity to deal direct with the farmers. A 
feature of this market is the fact that the prices are 
determined each week, and they are marked up on 
blackboards where all may see them. The object of 
this is to establish uniform prices at which farm 
products may he sold. On most public markets the 
producer is left free to sell his goods for what he 
can get. hut in these two markets the prices are 
established by the market master, and all are ex¬ 
pected to arrange their trade by them. We have 
wondered how this arrangement would work out. 
It seems to be reasonably satisfactory, and at any 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
rate, the markets are well kept up. The figures 
show that during the past year these markets were 
open 155 days each. During the year at Johnson 
City there were sold 9,985 loads of produce, which 
brought a total of $267,091.47. At Endieott during 
the same lime there were 8.976 loads, which brought 
$162,952.06. This meant a total for both markets 
of $429,985.55, There were 18,959 loads, and an 
average sale for each producer of $2,606. The best 
selling months were August. September and October. 
During the last w eek of December there were offered 
for sale 29 different kinds of vegetables and 20 dif¬ 
ferent cuts of meat. Rabbits, for example, brought 
25c a Hi. live weight, or 35c dressed. 1 luring the 
Summer woodchuck meat was offered at 30c. Nat¬ 
urally there is no woodchuck meat to he sold during 
the Winter, as these animals are now safely asleep 
down in Iheir holes. On this market sweet milk 
sold at 10c a quart, with skim-milk and buttermilk 
at 5c. Among other prices we note sauerkraut at 
15c a quart: extracted honey. ISc: popcorn, sc a lb.; 
maple syrup. $2 a gallon: farm sausage. 25c per lb., 
and dried apples. 12%e. Potatoes brought $1.50 a 
bushel, and pie apples 75c a peck. These markets 
seem to continue strong, and they are certainly pro¬ 
viding an excellent lot of food for shoemakers in 
these two towns. At the same time it is probable 
that each producer who comes to this market secures 
during the year about $600 more than he would ever 
get if he sold to a commission man. 
A Woman Candidate for Governor 
The Syracuse Journal prints a note from Alice L. 
Daly, who seeks to be nominated for Governor of 
South Dakota. She is supported by the Non-Par¬ 
tisan League. Under the South Dakota law a can¬ 
didate must name three “paramount issues" and dis¬ 
cuss them. Among others. Miss Daly presents the 
following: 
The fact that I witnessed the farmers of a county 
excluded from a hall they had engaged because the local 
authorities had learned that the farmers intended to 
hold a Non-Partisan League meeting. 
The cry of undernourished children. 
The knowledge that mothers, already too heavily bur¬ 
dened, must go d"wu into the shadow of the Valley of 
Death, alone, miles from any medical assistance, in 
order that our State, heedless of their needs, might be 
enriched by the coming of new life. 
The dearth of good homes among our workers, the 
lack of educational opportunities for our rural children. 
Few of us know very much about the conditions 
in rural South Dakota. We should have to apply 
such remarks to conditions on the North Atlantic 
slope. These statements are too general, in this 
section most people have the right of free speech. 
Almost anyone can “hire a hall*’ in a country town. 
Whether he could get a crowd out is a question. We 
have known eases where the lights were turned out 
on a Prohibition or Greenback meeting. “The cry of 
undernourished children” is not very definite. Chil¬ 
dren of the rich arc often undernourished, since 
their parents do not know how to feed them a bal¬ 
anced ration, '[’here may be some in our rural dis¬ 
tricts who do not receive proper medical attendance, 
but the great majority are reasonably provided for. 
The suggestions in this list are good, but the great 
need is for definite and well-defined legislation to 
remedy the evils. A good share of the things Miss 
Daly speaks of belong to the class which tec must do 
for ourselves. 
Higher Interest for Postal Deposits 
I note from several sources that Postmaster-General 
Hays is disposed to favor a good postal savings bank 
act. I suppose you understand that the present net is 
a farce. Do you realize also the good a postal savings 
act. would be that would allow 1 per cent and an 
unlimited amount of savings? The only capital pos¬ 
sessed by 75 per cent (or overt of our people is their 
40 years’ possibility of hard work—manual labor. Do 
you also realize that over 90 per cent of the heads of 
families in the United States make no provision for old 
age? The banks are not and cannot be made safe 
depositories for the savings of the people. They may 
be safe for 25 years or more, and thru chang 
agement may wreck the institution. Billions, it is possibly, 
of savings would be available to the Government for 
farm loans, Buying of Government bonds, etc., could be 
encouraged, and the people educated to provide for old 
age. Talking once with one of our representatives, he 
told me: “I never heard of this matter before: there 
is no demand for it. You’ll never get a proper postal 
savings bank act until you create a demaud for it." 
There is a demand for it, a crying demand, but the 
people are not educated to the value of it. 
W. A. MACPHERSOX. 
Naturally the savings banks and similar institu¬ 
tions oppose such a plan. Raising the interest on 
postal bank deposits to 4 per cent would undoubtedly 
take money from the present institutions, and they 
oppose “Government competition." It would not be 
as serious as the present competition in the pub¬ 
lishing business, which the Government encourages 
by issuing millions of free bulletins and papers. An 
increase of tin* interest rate to 4 per cent on postal 
15 
deposits would, without doubt, bring millions of 
small sums out of hiding and put them at earning. 
This money would come chiefly from foreigners or 
people of foreign descent, who in their own country 
loan money direct to the Government. They hoard 
their money now because they are afraid of the 
banks. 
An Auto Thief Gets His 
We have been greatly interested in the accounts that 
The R. N.-Y. has brought out in regard to the auto 
thieves during the past season. On August 15 we had 
one of the most wilful violations of this kind. The 
party was caught red-handed by three very reputable 
witnesses in the act of breaking and clubbing off apples 
and greatly injuring the tree, as well as taking the 
fruit. Their number was obtained, and they were sub¬ 
sequently arrested for petit larceuy. Our case was 
finally taken up by .John E. Mack, one of the most suc¬ 
cessful lawyers in this part of the State, who realized its 
importance and volunteered his services. The defend¬ 
ants waged ihe most stubborn tight possible, employing 
an able and very tricky lawyer, win* used every wav 
possible to delay and, if possible, defeat us. But after 
one trial, when the jury disagreed, and numerous delays 
and postponements, the case was finally successfully 
fried, as the enclosed clipping well explains. We thank 
you for your hearty good will and earnest co-operation 
in so aldy helping the farmers in all their efforts for 
justice and a square deal. david b. sleight. 
Dutchess Co.. N. Y. 
The clipping is from a Poughkeepsie paper, which 
states that tin* trial was held in the town of La 
Grange. The court room was packed to the doors 
with farmers and representatives of the Farm 
Bureau. They turned out well, as they were inter¬ 
ested in the case. Up in the Hudson Valley there 
has been great trouble from these auto thieves, and 
farmers are determined to put a stop to it, if any 
such thing is possible. James Roberts was the man 
who stole the apples. lie put up the best fight he 
could in court, but the prevailing evidence was 
against him. as several people actually saw him up 
in the tree knocking the apples down. On the first 
trial the jury disagreed, but when brought up before 
the court the second time lie was found guilty and 
fined $35. Ilis attorney tried to have the case come 
up again before the grand jury on the ground that 
he could not obtain a fair trial. This was denied 
by the County Judge. It is a good thing to see 
farmers united in a case of this sort. Up in Dutchess 
County they are determined to put a stop to this 
stealing by auto thieves, and it will go hard with 
the next one who is caught “with the goods on.” 
A Woman’s Plea for Better Schools 
Your editorials ami other comment on the school 
question have interested me. but I am sorry to say that 
the sentimental -side of “keep the little red schoolhouse” 
has not always given fair play even to the activities of 
the Committee of Twenty-one. As you know, this com¬ 
mittee is composed of a majority of farmers, and their 
survey has been a fair and dispassionate one. finding 
that in our 1.000 one-room schools the ordinary con¬ 
ditions of right lighting, proper ventilation, hearing, etc., 
were only half ns good as they ought to be. so that is one 
handicap our rural pupils must first overcome. The 
tax units are so unfair that that, at least, should be 
one thing all fair-minded people should see the justice 
of; namely, a community tax unit and State help if 
that community cannot raise the needed amount easily. 
In our town one district can support a two-teacher 
school with a $3 a thousand tax rate, while another 
must pay $19 for the same type, and the high school 
and graded village school costs but $14. A combined 
rate would be $12 for all three, and no great burden to 
the district that only pays so little, because the railroad 
pays the bulk of the property tax there. 
The lack of high school facilities (and on this point. 
I am glad to say. the committee is also workiug. namely, 
for a change in the high schools to make them of more 
practical use), is a serious rural problem. In cities 90 
per cent of_ the children attend high school fur the first 
year, and 70 per cent finish. In our district but three 
out of 50 enrolled pupils are attending, or six per cent. 
I would tie glad to hear of better averages than this 
from one-room rural schools. There is a great lack of 
incentive for more education, mostly because up to this 
time the majority of the parents could not afford the 
tuition of the high school or the transportation. 
I am the mother of four children, two of whom are 
attending a district school, and the older boy was ser¬ 
iously handicapped hy three years’ poor tuition in a 
one-room, overcrowded district school. We fought for 
better schools, but did not succeed for consolidation with 
the high school area, but it has resulted in a two- 
teacher district school here. This, however, is not all. 
because public schooling includes high school now. and 
if the rural buy and girl do not get that they must lose 
in the life work ahead. 
At rhe Pomona Grange meeting of Dutchess County 
a resolution was unanimously passed endorsing the 
policy of rlie Committee of Twentv-one. and this was a 
large and well attended meeting. Does this not show 
a fiue spirit? Something better for the country boys 
and girls can come by a change in the rural school 
legislation and an awakened interest if we all get behind 
and push for better schools, instead of sitting back 
blinding ourselves with the poetry of the little red 
schoolhouse and destroying the work of a committee 
which is doing its best to solve a tremendous problem. 
The R. N.-Y. stands for farmers’ rights, and their 
children’s education through high school is a goal which 
deserves your constructive co-operation. 
Dutch oss County. X. Y. mrs. harry s. frat.eigh. 
i 
