The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1077 
Replies From Candidates for Governor 
Here are two more letters from men who have 
been suggested as candidates for Governor of New 
York. We have invited all avowed or suggested can¬ 
didates to express themselves on the questions re¬ 
cently printed. Some of them evidently do not care 
to go on record, but we offer them all opportunity, 
and a little later our people will express their pref¬ 
erence through a referendum : 
FROM JUDGE WESLEY O. HOWARD 
I am a farmer, and perhaps it is superfluous to ask 
these questions of a farmer. But as a farmer I am glad 
to discuss the “problems” which you submit. There is 
no occasion, perhaps, for me to discuss them in any 
other capacity. At least I have assumed no other 
capacity. 
In a general way I emphatically agree with nearly all 
your propositions, so far as I understand them. I par¬ 
ticularly concur with the proposal for the improvement 
of “back country roads”—but I go further. I believe 
that gravel wagon paths should be constructed on each 
side of the macadam bed of all State highways, so that 
farmers can get to market with horses and wagons. 
Perhaps you will not expect me to take up the subjects 
categorically. The second, fourth, sixth, eighth and 
tenth propositions especially commend themselves to me. 
When the proper time comes, if it ever does, I shall 
have no hesitation in expressing myself fully and freely 
on all these subjects. I am a farmer—a practical, real 
farmer. For many years I have operated a farm. I was 
brought ui> in the country. I know the needs of the 
farmer. I know the way he thinks, the way he lives. I 
know his handicaps, his problems, his difficulties. I 
know that the State government pays scanty heed to his 
wants. I recognize that the tillage of the soil is the 
crying need of the hour. I realize that “farming is a 
business” and that the energies of government at this 
time should be directed largely to the development of the 
agricultural resources of the State. This policy should 
continue, I believe, until the evils which have sprung 
from the long season of neglect are completely cured. 
W. O. HOWARD. 
FROM El.OX II. IIOOKER 
1. If the daylight saving law is found to be contrary 
to the welfare of the citizens of the .State, it should be 
repealed. 
2. I am in favor of such revision of the agricultural 
laws ns will provide for just and equitable treatment to 
those engaged in agriculture. 
3. I am iu favor of a thorough reorganization of all 
the departments in Albany to obtain a more responsible 
budget system ; centralized responsibility ; avoidance of 
duplication and waste; decreased expense and increased 
efficiency. In this reorganization I should provide for 
the Commissioner of Agriculture and the Commissioner 
of Foods and Markets in their proper places. Should 
these officers be elected it would mean that New York 
City would have as large as or a larger say in the elec¬ 
tion of the Commissioner of Agriculture than the up¬ 
state farming section, whereas when appointed directly 
by the Governor, he. tin' Governor, would be concerned 
to see that a man was appointed to that position who 
had the support and confidence of the farmers. 
4. I am in favor of revising and strengthening the 
posting law. No one. of course, should hunt or fish on 
farm or any other lands, except with the consent of the 
owner, but I do not believe in a general authorization to 
farmers to kill or sell game. I am opposed to the last 
section of this inquiry. 
•5. I believe iu the extension of rural high schools and 
am in favor of a complete rebuilding of the educational 
system of this State as a part of the general reorganiza¬ 
tion plan. Details of this plan should not be decided 
upon, except as a part of the general scheme. 
C. I am in favor of the extension of the good roads 
movement, but particularly of the building of farm ser¬ 
vice roads. 
7. I believe the State should encourage the buying 
and selling on the part of small farmers in groups, to 
the end that cheaper transportation and distribution 
may be secured; that the farmer may receive more for 
his product and the consumer pay less; and that a thor¬ 
ough-going system of crop reporting and market news 
service may be installed to avoid the appalling waste. 
X The recognition of farming as a fundamental basis 
of our national life is essential, and the farmer should 
he encouraged to express himself fully in public affairs. 
To keep people contented on a farm it is essential that 
the farmer make a suffieint profit to keep his laborers 
employed in competition with the wages offered in the 
cities, and he must receive a return on his investment 
comparable to that in other industries. 
9. Yes. 
Id. I am in favor of such action by the State Depart¬ 
ment of Foods and Markets and the strengthening of its 
authority if it is not already there, ns will remove any 
existing hindrance to the exchange of products between 
producer and consumer with the minimum of machinery, 
so that the consumer pays less and the producer receives 
nmre. v 
11. I believe that the reorganized State governmen 
should provide by means of its control of transporta 
imn ond the Food and Markets Department machinery 
io cover these needs as far as the municipalities can no 
cover them. 
I'-*- In business we insist upon a detailed plan am 
•Miniate of cost before embarking on a proposed com 
mercml test. In handling the State's business 1 shouh 
apply the same methods. If the Commissioner of Mar 
Rets can devise a sound experiment within reasonable 
cost. [ would probably favor it. 
Industry and the great city populations cannot be sus 
ained unless they are backed by corresponding farrr 
development. Eighty per cent of the raw material foi 
manutnetunng conies from agriculture. 
1 he ba sis of national security is the balanced (level 
opment of agriculture and industry, so that they art 
mitually self-supporting. The comprehension of this 
Juanship 1 lgeDt actiou upon it: is the essence of states- 
rhere should be some adequate system of farm credits, 
preferably based on the extension of existing banking 
, r , "‘ F «'dcral Land Bank should be main- 
" 7 , i n t}"’ system is unnecessarily difficult and com- 
Plicated for long term credits. There must be provision 
<*r short term credits also. klo^ ji. hooker. 
Strikers and the Public’s Rights 
There was a notable debate on the labor question 
last week between Samuel Gompers of the American 
Federation of Labor and Gov. Henry .1. Allen of 
Kansas. No particular subject was given out, but 
Mr. Gompers defended the strike as a legitimate 
weapon of union labor, while Governor Allen ex¬ 
plained the new Industrial Court of Kansas. The 
most interesting point of the debate was the follow¬ 
ing question, put by Governor Allen to Mr. Gom¬ 
pers : 
When a dispute between capital and labor brings on a 
strike affecting the production or distribution of the 
necessaries of life, thus threatening the public peace and 
impairing the public health, has the public any rights in 
such a controversy, or is it a private war between cap¬ 
ital and labor? 
This question was not. answered definitely, but it 
is the most important part of the entire discussion. 
People who have been held up in the pursuit of their 
regular business during the recent fights between 
labor and capital want to know where they stand 
and what their common rights are. During the 
recent debate Mr. Gompers defended the right to 
strike, and said that the power to do so had been 
largely responsible for the progress made in the con¬ 
dition of workingmen. Governor Allen admitted the 
right to strike, but stood for the principle that since 
the non-striking public is interested, the government, 
in some form, must give the public full protection. 
We think this question is likely to he a strong point 
in the coming presidential campaign. 
Errors in the Milk Test 
The big dealer here is skinning ns on both weight and 
test. Roughly estimating, they are taking from us. by 
short weight and test, about .$18,000 from this one plant. 
I am looking hopefully to the time when farmers will, 
as you have so persistently and wisely advised, weigh 
and test their own milk. producer. 
New York. 
This is no incidental complaint. It is general. In 
some cases the amount on the "hill is loss than it cor- 
tectly figures, even with weight and test given. This 
is always attributed to a mistake, and that view 
seems reasonable. Anyway, it cannot be disputed, 
because it is usually acknowledged and corrected, 
though we have one such complaint three months 
under process of correction. The only peculiar thing 
about it is that we have never had a milk hill sent 
us for verification, and we have had thousands of 
them, that showed an error in the producer's favor. 
We do not persist in weight and test by the local 
farmers themselves because that is our plan. We 
would gladly endorse any other plan that would ac¬ 
complish-the same result with reasonable expense; 
but we know no other way to do it effectively. This is 
a big plant, and the total losses on present system 
are high, but from the information we get the con¬ 
ditions are general. If it costs $18,000 to let the 
other fellow weigh and test milk at one plant, it 
would certainly pay producers well to do it them¬ 
selves. To avoid local discrimination in other ways 
it would probably be necessary to make the system 
general. 
North Dakota Laws Constitutional 
There has been hot debate over the action of the 
Non-Partisan League in passing certain new and rad¬ 
ical laws in North Dakota. In that State the League 
went into the Republican primary •and practically 
captured the party machinery. By making use of it 
they succeeded in passing several laws which were 
declared constitutional by the State Supreme Court. 
The projects made possible by these State laws have 
been held up pending an appeal to the United States 
Supreme Court That court has rendered a decision, 
the following statement being made in the daily 
papers. This is of great importance, since it shows 
that an organization like the League can proceed in a 
legal and constitutional manner to put through rad¬ 
ical reforms, provided a majority of the people of the 
State desire them: 
Washington. June 1.—The Supreme Court today re¬ 
fused to interfere with decisions of the North Dakota 
Supreme Court declaring constitutional a series of State 
constitutional amendments and statutes to carry into 
effect an industrial program in North Dakota and per¬ 
mitting State bond issues aggregating $17,000,000 to 
finance the enterprises. 
The acts involved were those establishing a State In¬ 
dustrial Commission, a State bank capitalized at $2,000.- 
OtjO and operated under the commission’s supervision; a 
milling and elevator association and a home building as¬ 
sociation. Another statute provided for a $10,000,000 
revolving fund from which loans could be made by the 
State bank on real estate. 
The statutes were attacked iu two separate proceed- 
; ngs instituted by taxpayers to enjoin State officials 
from enforcing them. The North Dakota Supreme 
Court in both cases declared the acts constitutional. 
The Milk Problem of Ohio 
I have noticed your talk on surplus milk. Last Win¬ 
ter Cleveland distributors put up a big kick about sur¬ 
plus milk at a meeting of the Northern Ohio Association, 
claiming that they must reduce prices because of it. 
They were given a full hearing and allowed to go their 
limit in telling of “surplus” losses and misfortunes. 
\\ hen they were through the association produced a 
man from a near-by city, which was experiencing an 
actual shortage, and offered to buy all the surplus. It 
is needless to say the distributors refused to sell this 
money-losing and unpleasant commodity known as “sur¬ 
plus. ’ much to the amusement of the producers, c. L. 
Ohio. 
The milk distributor of Ohio is not much different 
from the dealer in New Y'ork. Recently a Penn¬ 
sylvania branch of the Dairymen's League reported 
p practically similar case. There the dealers were 
canvassing for new dairies at the time all the fuss 
was made about surplus. We have had all this ex¬ 
perience continuously for a lifetime, and we are 
likely to have it so long as dealers control the 
markets. 
Teachers’ Salary Under New School Law 
Having been elected trustee of the school district. I 
would like to know something about the new law in re¬ 
gard to teachers. I understand they must be paid so 
much wages, or the district will lose its public money. 
Does this mean so much per week or per year? We only 
have 36 weeks' school. If the fixed price is per year, 
wh.v could I not bind the teacher to teach 40 weeks in¬ 
stead of 36, or would not this be lawful in a county dis¬ 
trict? Wages are not so high here as in city; men, $15 
Per week. It does not seem right for the State to tell us 
ro pay school teachers $20 or $25 per week. Will you 
advise me in this matter, so I will know what to depend 
UP M ? V 1 A. B. A. 
New York. 
I he lawyers of the State Education Department 
have prepared a digest of the Lockwood-Donohue 
law as it applies to common school districts. The 
following statement gives the amount of quota which 
his district will receive. It also shows the minimum 
salary required to he paid the teacher; 
QUOTAS 
iln addition to regular district and teachers’ quotas). 
1. District employing more than one teacher, for 
each full-time teacher. $250. 
2. District employing hut one teacher and having an 
assessed valuation of over $100,000. $200. 
3. District employing hut one teacher and having an 
assessed valuation of $100,000 or less, $200. and in addi¬ 
tion $2 for each entire $1,000 that the assessed valuation 
is less than $100,000. 
SALARIES 
The salary of each teacher employed shall be not less 
than at the rate of $800 for a term of 40 weeks. This 
means at least $20 a week, and is effective for the school 
year beginning August 1. 1020. 
CONDITIONS 
1. The quotas provided in this bill will take the place 
next year of the extra teacher’s quotas of the present 
yea r. 
2. The quotas will be paid next year at the usual 
time of th<> payment of public moneys and will be based 
on the number of teachers employed during the present 
school year. 
3. Where teachers are employed for a school year of 
less than 40 weeks the quotas will be reduced propor¬ 
tionately. 
4. The quotas are apportioned for the purpose of aid¬ 
ing districts in paying the increased salaries of teachers 
provided for iu the bill and shall be applied for such pur¬ 
pose. 
The County Unit for School Superin¬ 
tendence 
My attention has today Deen called to the proceedings 
of a so-called Educational Congress held in the Educa¬ 
tion Building at Albany. May 19-2S. 1910. One sec¬ 
tion of this congress was devoted to rural education, 
and I find among the recommendations, on pages S3-S4, 
die favoring a county unit of administration for schools' 
The committee appointed to draft recommendations was 
composed of a professor (a woman) from Columbia 
University, a professor from Cornell University (a man 
from a Western State), a superintendent of a large 
village system of schools (now moved to a city superin- 
tendeney), and a‘rural, superintendent. The* rural su¬ 
perintendent filed a minority report dissenting from 
the action of the others in this matter on the grounds 
that conditions in this State, being different from those 
in the Middle West, and the remote districts demanding 
supervision which would not be given by a county 
superintendent, exeept through subordinates and at 
exorbitant expense. 
We have recently observed the reaction of the people 
of the State to a township system. It has seemed to 
me that the reaction would be far worse should an 
attempt be made to impose upon the people the much 
more centralized system of control which a county sys¬ 
tem would surely bring. Not only would the people 
lose the last word in the matter of school affairs, but 
the system would be most expensive. A high-salaried 
(probably $5,000 to $7,000) superintendent, a force of 
clerks and stenographers, as well as several high-sal¬ 
aried inspectors or supervisors, together with elaborate 
offices and equipment would be required in each county. 
In fact, each county would develop within itself an edu¬ 
cational department not unlike the State educational 
department, and either responsive to the authorities out¬ 
side the county or else to the political manipulators 
within the county. b. m. 
