THE WE W-YOHKEH 
1273 
The New York Constitution. 
No. I. 
The proposed new Constitution for New York State, 
printed in comparison with the old one, covers nearly 
75,000 words, and is printed as a legal notice in many 
of the daily and county papers, where most of our 
readers will have a chance to study it. Many of the 
changes are merely technical and not important, as 
they have to do with the general administration of 
government. This week and next, before the election, 
we take up a few of the more important changes which 
were proposed by the Constitutional Convention. 
A SHORT BALLOT.—First, the proposed change in 
State administration. At present there are seven 
State officers elected by popular vote. The new Con¬ 
stitution will reduce this to four,—the Governor, Lieu¬ 
tenant-Governor, Comptroller and Attorney General. 
The Secretary of State and Treasurer are to be ap¬ 
pointed by the Governor, and after .Tan. 1, 1917, the 
office of State Engineer and Surveyor is abolished. All 
the present elective State officers are continued in office 
until that date, or when their present term expires. 
At the present time there are in the State about 150 
bureaus, departments, commissions, boards and other 
State agencies. The new Constitution wipes all these 
out, and creates 17 State Departments in the State 
Government as follows: 
NEW DEPARTMENTS.—Law, Finance, Accounts, 
Treasury, Taxation, States, Public Work, Health, Agri¬ 
culture, Charities and Corrections, Banking, Insur¬ 
ance, Labor and Industry, Education, Public Utilities, 
Conservation <and Civil Service. The Department of 
Conservation is .charged with the development and pro¬ 
tection of the State’s natural resources, with a long 
list of duties, including fish, game and bird protection, 
and care of the forest lands. The Attorney-General is 
at the head of the Law Department, the State Comp¬ 
troller at the head of the Finance Department. The 
heads of other Departments are appointed by the Gov¬ 
ernor with the consent of the Legislature. In the De¬ 
partment of Education, however, the chief officer is ap¬ 
pointed by the regents of the University. The result of 
this will be a further concentration of power in the 
office of governor, making him more responsible for the 
conduct of State Affairs. 
AN ITEMIZED BUDGET.—The new Constitution 
also provides that during November, before Legislature 
meets, each of the State Departments must submit 
itemized estimates, showing the financial needs of such 
department for the ensuing year. There are to be pub¬ 
lic hearings on such estimates, and after they are re¬ 
vised the Governor submits them to the Legislature 
before the 1st of February, together with proposed ap¬ 
propriation bills, and any proposed new measure of 
taxation. The Governor and the heads of departments 
may meet with the Legislature to discuss these appro¬ 
priations and answer questions. The Legislature has 
power to reduce or strike out such appropriations, but 
it cannot increase them. The Legislature shall not 
consider special appropriation bills of its own until 
after this budget has been disposed of. The Governor 
retains his veto power as heretofore, except for those 
appropriation items which were revised and approved 
by him before submitting to the Legislature. The ob¬ 
ject of this is to provide a uniform method of con¬ 
ducting the financial business of the State, and not 
leave these appropriation bills to become a football in 
the Legislature. 
LEGISLATIVE POWER.—On the whole the new 
Constitution restricts to some extent the power of the 
Legislature, and increases that of the Governor. The 
salary of the Governor is increased from $10,000 to 
$20,000 a year after Jan. 1, 1917. The salaries of 
Senators and Assemblymen are increased to $2,500 
per year. They are also allowed their actual railroad 
fare between their homes and Albany each way once a 
week. This is in place of the present payment of 10 
cents a mile once during the session. The present sal¬ 
ary of $1,500 a year was fixed 40 years ago. The 
Legislature is given power to transfer to county offi¬ 
cers any of the powers and duties now exercised by 
towns of any county. This l-efers to highways, public 
safety and the care of the poor. The object of this is 
to give the Legislature power to concentrate these du¬ 
ties in case the citizens of a county desire it. The 
Legislature will also have the power to px-ovide that 
any county outside of New York City may choose be¬ 
tween different forms of county government by a di¬ 
rect vote of the electors. Hereafter appropriations 
made by the Legislatui'e will expne all at a definite date 
on the 30th of June each year, unless otherwise pro¬ 
vided by law. At present such appx-opriations expii’e 
at random, or at any time throxighout the year. 
APPROPRIATIONS.—Another amendment gives 
the Legislature power to appropriate money for certain 
road improvement, without a certificate from the State 
Superintendent of Public Works. Another amendment 
defines the cases in which the Legislature is prohibited 
from passing private or local bills. Under the new 
Constitution the Legislature is forbidden to pass any 
bill until the lapse of three days after the last amend¬ 
ment, and a reprint of the bill. This change insures at 
least three days of scrutiny by the Legislature and the 
public. Under the new Constitution Federal and city 
employees have a right to become members of the 
Legislature. However, any person who becomes such 
a member may not hold such office after accepting an 
office under the Federal Government or City. The 
speaker of the Assembly is added to the list of consti¬ 
tutional officers, and provision is made for a temporary 
speaker. Under the present Constitution members of 
the Legislature shall not receive any civil appointment 
within the State, from the Governor, Legislature or 
any civil government during their membership of the 
Legislature. The new Constitution wipes out this 
provision and leaves the Senators and Assemblymen 
free to accept such public offices. 
Provision is made whereby a voter residing in a 
city or large village, where personal registration pre¬ 
vails, may register within a period of several months 
before the regular registration days. He can do this 
if he can prove that his vocation or occupation will 
take him out of the county on the days of registration. 
The voters chiefly affected by this provision will be 
residents of the State, in the Federal employment at 
Washington, railroad men who operate trains, and com¬ 
mercial travelei’s. This will give them opportunity to 
register ahead of election day, and thus not lose their 
vote through absence. In a general way these amend¬ 
ments affect the Government of the State. 
Next week we shall review some of the amendments 
which refer to the courts and general adininistimtion 
of government. 
Notes from the Auctions. 
In addition to the cold storage available for farm 
produce reported last week, space is now available in 
the new cold storage plant at Morton, N. Y., which is 
one of the best equipped cold storage plants in the 
State. Growers desiring space may make application 
to Mr. Seth Bush, either at Morton or Rochester, N. Y. 
The warm weather of last week had its effect on the 
fruit trade in New York. Apples were slightly off in 
demand and price over the previous week of colder 
weather. The supply was a little increased also over 
the previous week, and considering the extra supply 
and hot weather, the easing up of prices was compar¬ 
atively small. 
The peach trade is practically over. There have 
been some held in the State for cold storage in the 
hope of realizing a better price. Some of these from 
Western New York were evidently of very fine quality, 
though a little hard when put in storage, but they ar¬ 
rived for the most part in poor condition, and prices 
ruled accordingly. The peaches have not stood up well 
at any time during the season, and those held in storage 
softened and decayed very rapidly when exposed to 
the warm weather conditions of the city. 
The shipment of high quality California grapes con¬ 
tinued during the week. Prices ruled low, fancy 20- 
pound baskets selling under $1. This has practically 
destroyed the trade for State grapes in the city. It is 
thought, however, that the California shipments will 
be less from now on and a market cleared for the 
State grapes. 
What the Red Hook Auction Did. 
You can say that we believe the apple auction here 
will have a far-reaching and permanent effect. While 
but few of the orchards were sold that day, practically 
all of them have been sold since at higher prices than 
they were offered at that day—and due, we believe, to 
the advertisement which the auction gave. We believe 
that as the result of that auction in the years to come 
buyers will come to this section prepared to offer a 
decent price for a bari-el of good fruit. And we, on 
our part, feel disposed to do all we can to make the 
deal a profitable one to the buyer, not trying to get the 
very last penny for ourselves, but realizing that with¬ 
out his business being a success ours cannot be either. 
I know of one case where a block of Baldwins in cul¬ 
tivated ground failed to take on good color and were 
sold at a loss of nearly a dollar per barrel because the 
grower feared they would not come up to the proper 
standard, though the buyer had seen and approved of 
them earlier. And on the other hand we will have the 
problem to solve of compelling some dishonest, mean, 
or careless parties from bringing disrepute upon the 
whole community, by a pack that is not up to the 
standard. I myself can see but little or no money in 
the fruit business in the years to come, unless there is 
better organization and buyer, grower and all parties 
concerned work hand in hand. h. s. 
Red Hook, N. Y. 
The apple ci’op is nearly gathered. The growers have 
received good pay for their labor and expenses in their 
orchards. The quality of the fruit has been excellent 
and has warranted the good prices received. Time has 
brought a full fruition of the work of Mr. Dillon and 
his able associates in the State Department of Foods 
and Markets. It seems too bad that more of the suc¬ 
cess of the public auction plan could not have been 
evident the day of the Red Hook auction, but the way 
of pioneers is always hard, and the harder the road 
the more the good that is done. Just so here, while only 
a few sales through the auction, all but two of those 
who listed, if I am correctly informed, sold on the day 
of the auction, the following day or soon thereafter, and 
at prices considerably in advance of anything offered 
befoi-e the sale. 
As “concrete cases’’ of where the fruit auction sales 
have helped to obtain bettor prices, I would cite all 
who listed in the auction catalog as direct or indirect 
beneficiaries of Mr. Dillon and his associates’ work, and 
I know we all heartily appi-eciate what has been done 
for us this year. It has put apple-growing again on an 
interesting basis and has proved a great and lasting 
incentive toward the greater care in growing, harvesting 
and packing that best of all fruits, the apple. 
Without exception I think the selling of the crop to 
one firm has proved entirely satisfactory to all who sold. 
As farmers and orchardists it is our business to pro¬ 
duce, and the sooner we can sell the grown crop the 
more time and attention we can give to the harvesting 
and packing. I am sure that I can truthfully say that 
the consensus of opinion among Red Hook apple grow¬ 
ers is that now that a fair price has been established 
the selling of the entire ci-op to one firm is the proper 
and most satisfactory plan to all concerned. It. seems 
to me that the public auction is the fairest way of de¬ 
termining the selling value of each year’s crop. 
GEORGE C. IIUBBARD. 
A Very Satisfactory Auction Apple Sale. 
The sale at auction of my first car of 195 barrels of 
apples, of McIntosh and Greenings, all A grade, is 
very satisfactory; $4.15 for the three-inch and $3.30 
and $3.65 for the minimum 2% and minimum 2%- 
inch McIntosh. With but one handling from the or¬ 
chard to the auction room at a minimum cost, and ac¬ 
count and check received in less than 48 hours after 
the sale, it is certainly satisfactory from the producer’s 
end of the apple business. 
The auction handling in common with the commission 
salesman and all handlers of produce in New York 
City, and in fact in all of our large cities, is more or 
less handicapped by the inadequate facilities that exist 
for the prompt handling of produce on arrival. New 
York City is half a century behind the times in pro¬ 
viding market facilities to care for and distribute 
properly the enormous food supplies that are daily 
dumped upon the docks and railroad platforms, where 
for hours pandemonium reigns in efforts to move them. 
The general discussion that is going on over this in¬ 
novation in the auction’s methods of selling farm pro¬ 
ducts, without doubt, will sooner result in the estab¬ 
lishment of terminal markets, where every modern im¬ 
provement will be installed for handling expeditiously 
and more economically the vast food supplies daily 
required for the millions of the city consumers, as also 
for the more rapid distribution for other millions out¬ 
side of the city. 
The experimental auction selling is going to be of 
great value to the producers, who will soon learn that 
poorly-grown, poorly-graded and poorly-packed apples, 
or any other produce, will give them no more satis¬ 
factory returns through the auction sales than through 
the commission channel of selling, for neither can sat¬ 
isfy such producers. For the short time the auction 
system has been inaugurated, with the many difficulties 
that always attend the introduction of a different meth¬ 
od of marketing, the Department of Foods and Mar¬ 
kets is making very satisfactory progi\:.,.;. 
GEO. T. 
New York State News. 
DAIRYMEN OPPOSE WHEY PASTEURIZA¬ 
TION.—The Watertown Produce Exchange has adopt¬ 
ed strong resolutions against any proposed legislation 
looking to the sterilization of whey. It is expected 
that a bill favoring such a proposition will be presented 
to the next Legislature, similar to one that was before 
the last Legislature. It is proposed by the Produce Ex¬ 
change to fight it and to that end it has appointed a 
legislative committee to look after the interests of the 
factory owners. They assert that it would cost $75,000 
to equip their factories for pasteurization, and further 
that pasteurization makes whey detrimental to the lives 
of the calves and swine to which it may be fed. 
f GRAPES UNDER LABEL.—The South Shore 
Growers’ and Shippers’ Association of Chautauqua 
County are shipping their grapes under their own 
label this season. This is their first attempt to ship 
a standard pack of grapes, we understand, and as they 
have been working up to a standard for two years they 
do not now propose to have any stock of poor quality 
substituted in a package and expect the label or brand 
to sell it. The association proposes to have the label 
tell the truth. Rigid inspection is maintained to see 
that the standard is maintained. 
POTATO FIELD MEETINGS.—The Chautauqua 
County Farm Bureau has been holding a series of po¬ 
tato field meetings under the direction of Prof. J. M. 
Barron of the Farm Crops Department of the State 
Agricultural College. The purpose was the demonstra¬ 
tion of methods of selecting seed potatoes from the hill. 
Prof. Barron said that the plant or hill is the unit 
among potatoes as the ear is in corn. In working for 
the improvement of tubers by selection it is necessary, 
he said, to recognize the fact imt.,*— c 
hills have the power of produci 
from poor hills reproduce p< 
good hills the power of tr 
qualities varies, hence the obj^^ ou„um ue io select 
good hills for seed and by repeating the process year 
after year to secure hills, which have the largest power 
of handing down high-yielding qualities. In this way 
a strain of potatoes may be built up that will be better 
adapted to local conditions than anything brought from 
outside. The method pursued by Prof. Barron was 
to dig 400 or 500 hills of tubers and then select about a 
bushel of the best, as judged by the market test as to 
size and shape. The potato most in demand, said he, 
is the white tuber of a size that about fits the hand, 
rather square-shouldered, broader than thick and with 
shallow eyes. .Several of the growers will select seed 
for next year after this manner and compare the re¬ 
sults with those from the common seed. 
COST OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.— 
It will be remembered that the Legislative appropri¬ 
ated $500,000 for the constitutional convention. It was 
not quite all used. The total expense was $454,591. It 
was divided as follows: Members’ salaries $252,000; 
milage $5,499; officers’ and employes’ salaries $95,807: 
printing $53,277.50; stenographers $14,234. 
