■Bhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
New York Federation of Agriculture 
At a meeting of the Executive Council of the New 
York Federation of Agriculture, held at Albany, on Dec. 
13th, it was decided to hold the annual meeting and 
convention of the Federation at Rochester, X. Y., dur¬ 
ing the week of .Tan. 13, in conjunction with the joint 
meeting of the New York State Horticultural Society 
and the New York State Fruit Growers’ Association. 
The business meeting will be held in the evening of 
Jan 1G, at eight P. M., at the Seneca Hotel, and on the 
following day we will meet with the fruit growers at 
Convention Hall, morning and afternoon session. 
This arrangement will give the delegates an oppor¬ 
tunity to attend the great meeting of the Horticulturists, 
which will be worth going a great distance to attend, 
the fruit show in connection with that meeting being 
one of the best to be seen anywhere in this country, and 
lasting three days—Jan. 15, 16 and 17. s. J. T. bush. 
Farms For the Soldiers 
Many well-meaning folks are talking today about what 
a debt of gratitude we owe the returning soldier, and 
how well he deserves of the Republic. Well, what does 
it all mean? Is 'anything to come of it? I doubt my¬ 
self whether the returning soldier, in the best of physical 
health and with a keen mind, is afraid to tackle almost 
any odds. It is rather a question, I think, of our giving 
him a clear track in making a place for himself and 
helping him to 'be as strong a force as possible in build¬ 
ing up our life and business. In no place do we need 
him more than in the country. I cannot help but feel 
that the first step forward is to give every young fellow 
who has seen service and is competent to run a farm a 
chance to buy a farm on reasonable terms. Why not 
link up this idea of using war risk insurance as security 
for a loan, with the plan recently advocated of having 
the Farm Loan banks authorized to loan to returned 
soldiers half the purchase price of farms they wish to 
buy for a fairly long term of years without interest? In 
such cases the value of the property would be determined 
in much the same manner as farm loans are now 
issued by these Federal banks, and other simple but rea¬ 
sonable requirements would prevent the abuse of such a 
privilege. Would not this plan put many a young man 
in the way of becoming a farm owner instead of a ten¬ 
ant? Would it not clear the way for a much more 
satisfactory arrangement between father and son than 
now exists, and lead to a working partnership that 
would be much better for them both, and for the neigh¬ 
borhood in many cases? Would it not decide a good many 
young men who are returning to the farm with misgiv¬ 
ings to go ahead with energy and push plans for estab¬ 
lishing a paying farm business? Would it not enable a 
good many to equip themselves properly with stock and 
machinery at the outset and put them on the road to a 
comfortable living sooner than would otherwise be pos¬ 
sible? In camp life, the expression that struck me most 
strongly was the one we used in rounding up the strag¬ 
glers and in getting action. It was “Shake a leg! Wake 
up there and shake a leg!” Isn’t that what we need to 
do right now in order to make the most of the new 
blood and enthusiasm that is coining back to us? Won’t 
an investment like the one suggested above do the busi¬ 
ness? Can we afford not to capitalize the energy and 
enthusiasm and the ability that these young fellows 
have in putting farming on a better paying basis, both 
in actual cash and in giving a happier outlook to us 
and our children? Suppose we get busy and have some¬ 
thing practical done. Shake a leg! Why not? 
Maryland. reubex brigham. 
R. X.-Y.—As Mr. Brigham has been in the army he 
ought to know how the soldiers feel. We want their 
opinion, as well as that of older farmers. The chief ob¬ 
jection to the land scheme suggested by Secretary Lane 
is that it may create too many farms and thus give an 
over-production of food. There are already farms 
enough in the country if the land is worked reasonably. 
The best policy would be not to greatly increase the 
number of farms, but to give these soldiers a chance to 
buy some of the farms now unoccupied or half tilled. 
Confessions of a Back-to-the-Lander 
Your paper is very interesting, and has the right idea. 
I only wish I could afford to subscribe for all my city 
relatives, who think that all there is to the poultry busi¬ 
ness is picking up eggs, and often wonder what I find 
to do all day long. I had more or less the same ideas a 
few years ago, before I joined the back-tp-the-land 
movement, and believe the right idea is a better under¬ 
standing between the problems of the farmer and pro¬ 
ducer and the needs of the consumer, but the difficulty 
lies in educating the city man into an understanding 
of the troubles and perplexities of life in the country. 
You can find it out quick enough by doing. I have been 
a civil engineer and worked in responsible positions in 
difficult jobs, been an instructor at Princeton I’niver¬ 
sify, but nothing I have ever tackled has taken as much 
hard work, mentally and physically, as trying to farm 
it. with a very limited capital, and I can say that my 
respect for any man that has made a success of farming 
is profound. I haven’t a doubt that I can make more 
money at architecture in New York than I can down 
here. But nothing will ever induce me, in the way of 
financial returns, to give up living in the country. I 
like it and am going to stick and keep on learning. 
Long Island. w. E. B. 
Concrete Ships 
The other day a ship 320 feet long and made of 
concrete came sailing into New York Harbor. 
She carried over 25.000 bags of sugar which were 
“dry as a bone.” This ship was made on the Pacific 
coast in 60 days. They just set up a frame of steel 
and poured the concrete in. When it hardened, 
there was the ship! When you come to think of a 
big block of concrete, shaped like a boat, floating on 
the ocean, defying the hardest storms and carrying a 
great cargo, you wonder wliat is to happen next. 
Will it be a life preserver made out of brick? The 
concrete ship is a success and some of the concrete 
wonders worked out on land are nearly as remark¬ 
able. “What would you have said if, when you were 
a boy, someone had told you that a concrete ship 
would be made to float?” That is the question we 
asked of a middle-aged man. His answer indicates 
the wonderful progress in concrete making: “/ 
should have asked what concrete was!" 
Improving Farm Conditions 
Iu reference to “the bright side of farming,” appear¬ 
ing on page 1385, I notice one of your readers finds 
fault with your policy of everlasting “knocking” on 
prices of farm products and the prosperity of the farmer 
in general. I truly believe, like a great many more, 
that your journal does not mis-state or misrepresent one 
iota the situation and condition of the farmer as a 
whole. Your ceaseless and tireless efforts in this respect 
should meet with the approval and appreciation of 
every farmer, whether he belongs on the bright side or 
gloomy side. Keep up your splendid fight in behalf of 
their cause, and continue to educate and to enlighten 
the farmers as to their true economic importance. Your 
efforts will not be in vain, for the farmers will even¬ 
tually see things in their true light, and. in consequence, 
free themselves from the shackles of the parasites who 
are directly responsible for the unfavorable circum¬ 
stances they are in. Before this country entered the 
war farming in general was more or less discouraging. 
Conditions have improved somewhat since then, but 
they can be improved a great deal more, and this can 
only be accomplished as you have often advocated, by 
sending enough farmers to the State Legislature to make 
their power and influence felt iu the reactionary circles 
of those bodies. F. P. 
Bergen Co., N. J. 
Autocracy in School Matters 
In September, 1017. at a special school meeting in 
District No. 17. town of Denmark, Lewis Co., N. Y., a 
vote was taken on a resolution read by the superin¬ 
tendent to annul this district and annex it to District 
No. 1. Twenty-eight voted against the measure and 
five for it. This superintendent was a stranger who 
had just moved from another part of the State to 
District No. 1. When undertaking to close this school 
permanently, he professedly did not know the district 
boundaries, the number of school children residing in 
the district, nor where their homes were located. The 
argument put forth by him and the members of the 
board was that under the township law our tax would 
be less by having fewer schools. The sentiments of the 
voters showed plainly that whether the tax would be 
more or less the school should be kept open, and it was, 
during last year. When the township law was re¬ 
pealed, the superintendent had autocratic power, and 
as soon as the snow was gone a surveyor was sent to 
map District No. 17 joined to District No. 1. The 
superintendent issued a decree saying by his authority 
the two districts were one. 
District No. 17 has appealed repeatedly to the De¬ 
partment of Education at Albany through an attorney 
and representatives from the district. These appeals 
have amounted to nothing except to convince those in¬ 
terested of the utter disregard of the department for 
the needs and rights of country people. Our Winters 
are severe, with mercury being frequently from 20 to 
25 degrees below zero, and occasionally much lower. 
The snow is deep and roads badly drifted, making reg¬ 
ular attendance at school from some of the farms impos¬ 
sible for young children in Winter, and a matter of 
much loss of time and hardship to both children and 
parents at other seasons, from all of them. District 
No. 1 is a village district, with a heavy bonded indebt¬ 
edness which is spread over the forcibly acquired terri¬ 
tory. Last year, under the township law, our tax was 
about 300 per cent more than in 1916; this year it is 
nearly -100 per cent over that of 1916, and we have no 
school. 
City people are loath to believe conditions like the 
above can be forced upon people iu this supposedly free 
country. The Yew York Exening Sun published re¬ 
cently in its correspondence column a letter calling 
attention to this abuse which country dwellers are com¬ 
pelled to bear under the present school system, the 
editor making comment that “with the repeal of the 
township law this evil was corrected,” which it surely 
was not, as Section 129 of the education law shows. 
Unless the farms are to be depopulated we must have 
in this north country nearby schools; and as there is 
Considerable sentiment against autocracy at present, 
and favoring the return of forcibly annexed territory, 
would it not be a suitable time for the New York State 
15 
Legislature to put down the autocracy within her bor¬ 
ders, and restore the stolen school districts? 
Lewis Co., N. Y. john m. lewis. 
Up-State Farm Notes 
SPEEDING THE COMMON OFFENSE.—A report 
of Secretary of State F. M. Hugo says the State troop¬ 
ers during the past year made 1,7S6 arrests for violation 
of the motor vehicle law, and only 83 of the persons 
were discharged. Improper license plates, lack of proper 
lights and reckless driving were the most frequent of¬ 
fenses up-State. In New York City in the last 10 
months $148,000 in fines has been collected, and 203 
persons committed to jail without the chance of paying 
a fine, while 171 others served sentences in default of 
payment of fines. Here the most common offense wav 
speeding. The coming year will probably see an increase 
or at least 60.000 motor vehicles in the State, bringing 
the total to approximately 460,000 ears, of which 365,- 
000 are passenger. 
OT R SMALL TOWNS IN WAR.—Skaneateles vil¬ 
lage, with a population of 4.619. has 35 commissioned 
officers upon its honor roll, some of them natives who 
have removed from the town, and 190 non-commissioned 
officers and men in the military and naval service. Five 
have died in the service. Pulaski has just dedicated a 
service flag with 150 stars; four gold stars and four 
silver ones. The flag is 10 by 15 feet, and was secured 
by the families of the men in the service. It is to hang 
from a cable across the entrance to the town’s main 
park. 
STATE MUST PAY FOR FLOODED LANDS.— 
The State has lost the test case to decide whether it 
tad to pay $75,000 for damages caused by flooding farm 
and trucking lands in Cayuga County, near Port Byron, 
on September 15, 1915. Action was brought by Fred J. 
Saroney. of Port Byron, for about $900, and there were 
between 40 and 50 other claimants. Saroney’s case was 
to be a test case, to determine all. The damage was 
largely in onion and celery crops, and was caused by 
the Erie Canal’s overflowing and washing out large 
areas. The owners of the land claimed the trouble was 
due to mismanagement at the gates at Montezuma, while 
attorneys for the State claimed there was a cloudburst, 
and that there was no human prevention, claiming de¬ 
fense in the “act of God” clause of the law. The Court 
of Claims first gave Saroney a verdict, and when the 
State appealed the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed 
the award. 
•PATRONS OF INDUSTRY’S ANNUAL CONVEN¬ 
TION.—At a two-day’s session in Syracuse, A. J. Sears 
of Cortland was re-elected president of the State Asso¬ 
ciation of Patrons of Industry. Others officers newly 
elected are : ,T. W. Cowan. Albany County, vice-president; 
Frank Stanton, Greenville, secretary; A. F. Barney, 
Belleville, treasurer; W. A. Genung, Ithaca, chaplain; 
J. A. Hall, Cortland, trustee. The 1919 convention will 
again be in Syracuse. F. E. Alexander, State Grange 
lecturer, spoke on matters of interest to both this order 
and the Grange. The association went on record as 
against the plan to consolidate with the Grange, after a 
lengthy discussion of the subject. Entertainment num¬ 
bers were contributed by Mrs. M. C. Howard and Rev 
Bradford of Cortland : by Mrs. and Miss Upton of Os¬ 
wego County. Mrs. Earl Wood and Mrs. Chas. Potts. 
Dean Howe of Syracuse University spoke on after-the- 
war topics. 
HOLIDAY MARKET NOTES.—Dressed turkevs 
were offered on the Saturday market at Syracuse for 65c 
per lb., though some of the 200 rigs registered took 45c 
before the session closed. Few live turkeys were offered. 
Hundreds of pounds of live chicken and fowl, ducks, 
rabbits and guinea hens were offered. Chickens brought 
o2 to 38c. fowls 2S to 30c, ducks 40c, geese 45c, rab¬ 
bits 25c. and guineas $1 to $1.50 a pair. Eggs dropped 
to 75 and SOc a dozen. Butter sold at 65 to 75c per lb 
Potatoes brought $1.15 and $1.25 per bu.. cabbage 60c 
per^doz. heads, extracted honey 30c per lb., apples 75c 
to $1 per bu.: new dry beans dropped to $6 per bu.; 
large red onions sold for $1 per bu., and small yellow 
ones at 50 to 65c per bu. Hickory nuts brought' $3.50 
per bu. Veal sold at 22c lb„ lamb 30c, wholesale. Nine 
live little pigs brought $5 each. Twenty-five loads of 
hay sold at $2(5 a ton. Christmas trees dropped to 25 
and 35c each; ground pine and cedar wreaths, 15 to 25c 
each. 
T HIGHV AY SNOW REMOVAL.—The Council of 
National Defense is enlisting the co-operation of the 
State in arranging a definite program of snow removal 
for the Winter. In the post-war period just beginning, 
motor trucks are to play an important part iu the move¬ 
ment of food stuffs. Already motor express routes have 
opened with two trips daily across the State, with sev¬ 
eral side or contributory routes. The value and prac¬ 
ticability of the service was severely tried out in last 
Winter’s extreme snows. The delivery of fleets of 
trucks by their own power from factories in the West, 
and the vast quantities of material delivered by army 
trucks across the State show the value of this new 
form of service. All improved highways' will be called 
on more or less to play their part in the movement of 
food stuffs and other needed stores, and are now asked 
for information concerning specific powers of snow re¬ 
moval ; v. hat co-operation can be expected, what ma¬ 
chinery and equipment is available, what preventive 
measures can be taken to avoid drifting of snow, and a 
report of just what was done last year iu the cause of 
continuous transportation. Farmers are concerned to 
know whether snow removal will be so conducted as to 
make hauling of farm produce by horses possible or not. 
In some places last year this was sadly interfered with. 
FARM BUREAU TO PLACE SOLDIERS.—New 
York State believes it offers better chances for soldiers 
who want jobs than other sections. The Onondaga 
County Farm Bureau is co-operating with the Federal 
Employment Bureau in placing returned soldiers on 
farms in the vicinity. Both agencies believe there are 
fine opportunities for men in agriculture next Spring 
and Summer. m. g. f. 
