The School Bill Hearing 
Tlie hearing? on the Township S(*hool hill at Al¬ 
bany on Febiniary -7 was a now exporienco for 
official Albany. Never before did the plain farm 
homes from the hack districts of the State crowd 
the largest legislative chaml)er of the Capitol. The 
fathers and mothers of tlie back districts went to 
Albany to demand the repeal of the Township School 
law. and to appeal for their little schoolhouse. Dr. 
Finley, the genial and able Commissioner of Educa¬ 
tion, spoke in favor of the law. lie was snpple- 
mentetl by the officials of the Department, and sev¬ 
eral women from cities, not affected by the law, also 
spoke in favor of the bill. Senator Elon 11. Brown, 
the astnte leader of the Senate, also spoke for it. 
lie admitted a need of changes, hut opposed repeal. 
The burden of the arguments for the old bill was 
that country children should have more and better 
education and better schools; that farmers opposed 
the law to sjive money; that city children had a 
preferejice for positions because of their better edu¬ 
cation, and that intelligence and jirogress favored 
the bill, and ignorance and dullness only pleaded 
for its appeal. 
I have taken part in many debates during the 
past .‘>5 years, hut never before felt more pride in 
my .subjects and my associates than on this occasion. 
The human element was there; and this is the ele¬ 
ment that had been overlooked when this law was 
written, and passed and defended. This human 
element is the influence tlnit will win the repeal of 
the law. The farmers contended that they joined 
the opposition in the desire for good schools and 
better education for the children; that they were 
willing to pay for them; that they objected to a 
(*ity autocracy that .sought to impose a .school system 
on them that they did not want; that country 
mothers rebelled against a provision that compelled 
them to send their young and tender children miles 
fi-om home to attend a city school; that the country 
schoolhouse is a community asset, and lastly that the 
boys and girls from those country schools have 
worked their way to the top round of the ladder 
in every industry and business and profession in 
this country. The country school has turned out 
men and women in the past and may he trusted to 
do so in the future. 
It is safe to say that the bill will be repealed. 
'I’lie demand was for clean repeal of the Township 
bill and the idiysical culture i)rovision of the mili¬ 
tary law. Governor Whitman signed the bill last 
year, but since the demand for its repeal became 
.so pronounced he characteristically abandoned it 
and is now courting credit by opposition to it. 
Farmers are learning how to get what they want. 
J. .J. )). 
Oic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
gies, and defense of his discredited appointments 
and policie.s. lie gave them no assurance that the 
new names to be .sent in would be any better than 
the old one.s. He gave no assurance that the politi¬ 
cal organizations that have been built iip in every 
county of the State and paid for out of the State 
money would be dissolved, or the waste of money 
arrested. These organizations, if serving any pur- 
iwse, would only duplicate the work of the county 
farm bureaus, but in reality they only hamper and 
obstruct the bureau work. 
Governor Whitman’s friends are trying to make 
it appear that there is a split in the farmers’ ranks. 
That is what they attempted to accomplish at Al¬ 
bany. But thej' failed. Every man there who is 
a real farmer and every one who represented real 
farmers stood by the Syracuse resolutions demand¬ 
ing a repeal of the Food Commission law and the 
Farm and Markets Council law. The men with 
positions in the Administration and others who have 
l)een promised positions, that they may or may not 
get, are anxious to play his game and accept a new 
board, but the strong independent men would not 
accept a place on the council. Some of them have 
already refused. They fivmkly assert that to accept 
an appointment now would subject them to the sus¬ 
picion of having sold out; and besides they would 
expect to be sacrificed in the Whitman political cru¬ 
cible if they showed any independence just as other 
men have been sacrificed. 
The papers were given stories that there was a 
split in the Federation of Farm Associations. There 
i.s no split. That was attempted, but it failed. That 
new and vigorous organization demands a house¬ 
cleaning. and they will not be content until the pre.s- 
ent stench is removed from the agricultural depart¬ 
ments of the .State. 
383 
missioner. The bill apparently leaves the price to 
be paid the producer as a matter of barter between 
the commissioner and the producer.s. In this it 
opens up an opportunity for dispute if no other form 
of trouble. 
Proposed City Milk Bill 
Gov. Whitman and the Farmer 
Governor Whitman has brought the agricultural 
affairs of New York to a state of complete chans. 
A large number of farmers were In Albany last 
we(‘k. They were bewildered and appalled at the 
situation. The Governor has withdrawn the ai)point- 
ments to the Farm and Markets Council; but the 
Food Commi.ssion still stand.s, and Charles H. Betts 
.still hangs on to his job with a straw rope. The 
Foods and Markets Department has gone to sleep; 
and the Agricnltural Department has been com- 
l>l(‘tely di.sorganized by political supervision under 
George Glynn and Secretary Orr. The Commis¬ 
sioner of Agriculture has been reduced to the posi¬ 
tion of errand boy to these astute political superin¬ 
tendents. The h'gislative committees want to make 
nj) their financial budgets, but no one has authority 
now to speak for agriculture. All is confusion and 
humiliation. Farmers have lost all confidence in 
Governor Whitman. He has. not treated them with 
frankness. He has deceived them and broken his 
compact with tluan. When they went tt» him witli 
just appeals, he denied'their requests, and in some 
cases offemh'd and abused them. In a meeting in 
Albany hust week the chairman .said that Governor 
Whitman did not have a friend among the 20 or 2.5 
farmers pro,sent, iind no one disputed his assertion. 
One of the mildest of the complaints is that the 
Goveimoi- lacks candor with farmers. Last week he 
retpiested that a meeting of the New York State Agri¬ 
cultural Society be postponed one day so that he 
might be in Albany on the day of its meeting. He 
did n()t frankly say what he want<Hl. He sent indi- 
lect intimations of his wishes. Word went to one 
farmer that the Governor Avould be at the Capitol 
at a certain time. Word went back that the farmer 
would be at the hotel, if wanted, at the same time. 
When intimations failed, the Governor did ask, 
the farmers at the meeting to call at the Executive 
Chamber, but he offered them only excuses, apolo- 
Assemblj’uian Bates has introduced n bill to create 
a department in the New York City government to 
1)0 charged with the duty of buying, selling and di.s- 
tributing milk to the public at cost. The commis¬ 
sioner is authorized to sell milk and milk products 
in such a manner as to provide the most equitable 
distribution practical. Ho is authorized to e.stablish 
milk-collecting stations :it suitable points and to 
establish and operate pasteurizing plants at produc¬ 
ing centers and such other points as he deems ad- 
vi.sable with facilities for the manufacture of milk 
products from excess milk. He may acquire land, 
buildings and equipment by purchase of exi.sting 
plants, and the acquisition of them is declared to 
be for public use. If the commissioner shall deem it 
advisable immediately to acquire the u.se of any 
such plants he is authorized to take possession and 
to file a map of the property with the county clerk, 
and give notice to the owner or occupant that he 
thereby appropriated the property for city use. In 
such cases the price to be paid the owner would be 
determined by the Supreme Court of the State of 
New York, and judgment against the city filed in 
favor of the owner for the amount awarded. 
The commissioner is authorized to buy milk indi¬ 
vidually or collectively for periods not to exceed six 
months. Money collected for the .sale of the milk 
is to be paid into the treasury, where it would be 
held in a separate revolving fund for the payment 
to the producers and for such other expen.ses as the 
commi.ssioner may incur. No milk or milk product 
shall be sold or distributed, and no plant for the 
manufacture of milk products shall be operated in 
such city except the department as herein provided, 
i his would giv'e the city the complete monopoly of 
the sale and distribution and mannfaotnre of milk 
products in the city of New York. 
. It A\ ill be noted that this bill i)rovide.s for the 
handling of all of the milk in the city of New York 
on much the same lines as provided for the distri- 
bulion of a part of it under the Towner bill, intro¬ 
duced last year at the request of the then Depart¬ 
ment of Foods and Markets, fi'tie present bill is 
more radical, in that it proposes to take over a com¬ 
plete monopoly of the business for the city of New 
York, and eliminate dealers entirely. The Towner 
bill was intended as a demonstration by the State 
to standaialize the cost of distribution under an 
economic plan, with a view of allowing the dealers 
to modify their system of delivery and cost to meet 
the State standard, or if they failed to do so, to 
increase and enlarge the city plant until it took 
over the entire city supply. This bill gives the city 
a monopoly of its own distribution and leaves the 
matter of purchase aTid fixing of prices entirely in 
the hands of the commissioner to be apiwinted by 
the Mayoi-. No person engaged in the production 
or sale of milk or its products shall be eligible to 
appointment as commissioner or as a deputy com- 
Work of the Federal Milk Commission 
Unless the members of the Now York milk trust 
are the most ungrateful wretches on earth, they 
must have an affectionate place in their hearts for 
the individual and collective membership of the 
federal Milk Commission. It has again fixed the 
price for anotlier month—March. The price is .p.lO 
per hundred against for February, and .$.3.52 
for .Tanuary. This is a reduction of 24c per hun¬ 
dred to producers. The pi-ice to the consumers 
remains the same, which, of course, means an in¬ 
crease of 24c to the distributors. To make up for 
the losses to the producei-s in November and 
December an extra 12c a hundred will be allowed 
over the .$.‘!.10 price, making the i)rice for March 
.$3.22. The extra 12c per hundred is also allowed 
the distributors to make uj) for their alleged los.? 
in distiibution for the same inouths. The committee 
i-eports that they have made strenuous efforts to 
reduce the price to the consumer, but failed. The 
con.sumer will, of course, take her part in gratitude, 
but any lack of appreciation on hei\part will be 
made good by the ardent approval of the distri¬ 
butors. 
The committee, however, has a sense of humor. 
It has contributed as far as psychology can to the 
comfort of the city milk consumer. It reduces the 
price of B grade milk in pint bottles from 8c to 
Ti/^e. The cash buyers of pint bottles will, of 
course go right on paying their 8c as before. 
The commissioners, however, .saved us some cause 
of irritiition that chai’acterized their former de¬ 
cisions. They Iiave this time considerately refrained 
from giving ns any assurance that the price of feed 
would be reduced as an apology for the reduced 
price of milk for the producer. AVith each previovis 
!issuranee of a reduced price for feed the farmer 
has actually been obliged to pay very substantial 
increases. 
In the meantime the New York farm census for 
1918, just completed by the school teachers and 
student.s under Frof. Babcock, show.s a declining 
dairy industry in the State. It shows 4,000 cows 
less than last year, and 84,000 less heifer calves than 
a j^ear ago. Year by year the number of dairy 
cows, and the volume of dairy products, are de- 
crea.sing in this once great dairy State. Dairy lec- 
tuies, daily scliools, dairy teaching, dairy statistics, 
have failed to stem the receding tide of dairy in¬ 
dustry in this State. Bureaucrats now propose to 
correct this decline of an industry by legislation. 
They ask us to make it illegal to kill heifer calves. 
No better means could be suggested to drive more 
and more farmers out of the dairy business. Heifer 
calves will be raised to cows just as soon as farmers 
can raise them without loss. Farmers do not sell 
01 destroy heifer calves from choice. They like to 
see the young things grow and mature on the farm, 
but they can no more grow calves at a loss than 
the manufacturer can make soap without grease, 
ffhe records of the time clearly indicate that the 
city consumer will have to pay the cost of producing 
milk or go hungry. The one chance for lower cost 
to the consumer is a reduction in the cost of dis¬ 
tribution. The saving here is i)os.sible, but not 
until the partnership noAv existing between the 
milk trust and the Government is dissolved. If 
there ever were a number of men more completely 
under the domination of the milk trust than the 
members of the Federal Milk Commission, history 
has made no record of it. 
Another 35-Cent Dollar 
intere.st the resolution of 
Datus C. -8mitli, page l;j8, regarding the price of bran 
ne? 100 ^ m for bran and .$3 
pel 100 lbs. for imddhngs. I want to give you a little 
more evidence in support of your contention that the 
producer receives only 35 cents of the consumer’s dollar 
AA e grow some .Soy beans down here. The local buyers 
'Itr I'*"'' bushel. I refused to 
sell at Uie price. Jsot long after I received a letter 
stating he had another government order, and perhan.s 
could interest me in the price. I rejilied that I should 
hold my be^ams until Spring unless they went to $5 
►Soon aftew I received a circular letter from a seed com¬ 
pany of Chicago from whom I had purchased seed the 
previous year. Enclosed was a price list, and Black 
Soy beans were quoted at .$8.35 per bushel. I wwote 
them, asking what they would pay for a carload f. o. b. 
Georgetown, calling attention to their price of $8.35! 
In i‘eply they said they did not know the freight rate 
from Georgetown and that they had to add that 35 cents 
to cover c()st of bag and haiidiing, but to give them the 
price. I thought 35 cents per bag and handling and to 
be liberal with the freight, say $2.50 per bushel, so I 
Quoted them ^at $5, which would leave them a clear 
profit of )^2. iD, but that was not enough. They replied 
that was about their prices. dr. joiin w. will 
Delaware. 
