Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
»l9f 
Who is your Candidate for Governor? 
The following names have been suggested. Does 
the list include your choice? 
THE BALLOT 
□ Liberty Ilyde Bailey, Tompkins 
□ Frank M. Bradley, Niagara 
Q Seth «T. T. Bush, Monroe 
□ Israel T. Deyo, Broome 
0 Samuel Fraser, Livingston 
0 Elon IT. Hooker, Monroe 
pi Wesley O. Howard, Rensselaer 
□ Francis M. Hugo, Jefferson 
□ Nathan L. Miller. Onondaga 
□ Ogden L. Mills, New York 
□ John Lord O’Brian, Erie 
□ Wm. Church Osborne, Putnam 
□ Eugene II. Porter, Broome 
0 Henry M. Sage, Albany 
0 Alfred E. Smith, New .York 
0 Silas L. Strivings, Wyoming 
0 Thaddeus C. Sweet, Oswego 
0 Wm. Boyce Thompson. Westchester 
0 George F. Thompson. Orleans 
0 Eugene M. Travis, Kings 
0 George F. Warren, Tompkins 
D- 
If your choice is not in the list write it on this line. 
REFERENDUM 
Would you be in favor of calling a State meeting 
of farmers to formulate farm needs and policies and 
to suggest candidates who would he acceptable to 
farmers? 
0 YES 0 NO 
This list contains all the names suggested, with 
one exception, which is omitted on account of per¬ 
sonal preference. 
There are no restrictions or limitations on this 
vote. Tf your choice does not appear on the list, 
write the name of your choice on the blank line. 
Some of the names in the above list have discussed 
“Farm Problems” in recent issues of The Rural 
New-Yorker. Others have written that they do not 
wish to be considered a candidate, and some have 
made no reply. 
Put an X in the square before the name of yo t ur 
choice and mail it to Tite Rural New-Yorker. 
WHO IS YOUR CHOICE? 
Without regard to party, who is the man to en¬ 
courage the production of a full supply of food? 
Who will provide for the sale of farm products on 
an open market under the free play of the law of 
supply and demand? This is the problem that con¬ 
cerns the people of New York State, including both 
producers on the farms, and consumers in the city. 
If the city is to have plenty of food, the farms must 
be worked at a profit. If the farmers are to have a 
steady market, prices to consumers must be within 
their ability to pay. The profits of speculation and 
extravagance and waste of distribution must be 
eliminated. Who is the man with vision and ability 
and courage to do it? Tf farmers agree on the man, 
they can probably force his nomination. Tf any 
party refuses to recognize this need, what right 
would it have to farm votes? 
Selling Milk to Unbonded Firm 
Cornwall Farm Dairy Company has had my milk since 
May 1 and I have received uo pay as yet. I would like 
to have your advice. F. B. 
New York. 
Cornwall Farm Dairy Company, of Brooklyn. N. Y., 
owe me about .$1150 for milk delivery! in April. May and 
part of June. If you can collect tins for me I will send 
a statement of the exact amount. They sent check for 
Aprd milk, but it was protested. They owe the pro¬ 
ducers here about $40,000, I have a letter from Dr. 
• orter, Commissioner of Foods and Markets, in which 
he states that he did not think it necessary for the firm 
to be bonded. Kindly let me kuow what you can in re¬ 
gard to the firm. w. n. n. 
New York. 
This concern is now in the hands of a receiver and, 
of course, it will be impossible to make a collection. 
If any assets are left after the debts are paid, and 
the legal expenses deducted, the balance will be paid 
to the creditors in proportion to the amount of their 
claims. We have not been able to get the amount of 
assets or liabilities, but estimates indicate close to a 
quarter of a million dollars are duo farmers for milk. 
We have had experience enough with these milk 
failures to justify a demand to make the law man¬ 
datory that all dealers should put up a bond to se¬ 
cure payment for milk. The law now makes it op¬ 
tional with the Commissioner whether to require a 
bond or not, and milk producers have lost substan¬ 
tially a million dollars a year for the last three years 
because the Commissioner did not think it necessary 
to exact bonds from all. 
The organization of this concern was such as fro 
suggest the necessity of a bond on casual examina¬ 
tion. The organizers personally had paid their bills. 
They are reported as men of some means. Appar¬ 
ently the only assets of the business were the plants 
and the credits. No cash was put in the company, as 
we could find, and the amounts owed farmers would 
probably at any time equal or exceed the accounts 
due the company for milk. Farmers financed the 
business. The officers could take out what they liked 
in salaries and dividends and expense, yet they are 
not personally responsible for a dollar of the money 
due producers for milk. If they have a million it 
cannot he touched. It is an ideal form of organiza¬ 
tion to rob legally producers of their milk. Officials 
charged with the duty of enforcing the agricultural 
law must be familiar with these organizations and 
with their management. If there were any doubts 
the farmer should have the benefit of them. In this, 
as in other cases, the dealer has had the preference. 
We are particularly annoyed with this heavy loss to 
milk producers because we analyzed the weakness 
of this account, more than a year ago for producers, 
and advised them to demand that a bond be filed, 
and to make collections promptly. The department 
refused to demand the bond, and in doing so gave a 
false sense of security to the producers. In such 
cases the producers are worse off than if there were 
no bonding law at all. They would probably then 
rely on their own judgment and protect themselves. 
The State ought not he in the position of a virtual 
moral and business sponsor for bankrupts or crooks. 
A Rural School Conference 
On Thursday. June 24. at Oswego, in the Normal 
School Building, and under its auspices, a conference 
was held on rural schools for the counties of Oswego, 
Jefferson. Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Wayne, Cayuga and 
Onondaga. Delegates were present from those counties 
representing the Grange, the Farm and Home Bureaus 
and the teaching profession. Many district superin¬ 
tendents and some department officials of the State 
Department of Education were in attendance, and took 
part in the discussions, of which the conference mainly 
consisted. Including the interested spectators, the 
afternoon session brought, to the fine auditorium of 
Oswego’s beautiful Normal School building three or four 
hundred people. 
Assistant Commissioner Downing of the State Depart¬ 
ment of Education offered a suggestion which seemed 
to meet with hearty approval from the farmers present, 
judging from remarks that followed his speech. Dr. 
Downing, who early in his life had experience as a 
teacher in rural schools, proposed that rural village high 
school 0 so arrange their curriculums and organize their 
classes that country boys and girls who so desire can 
enter s 'iool after farm work is done in the Fall, and find 
classes just beginning where they should start the school 
work, these classes, of course, also to be in desirable 
subjects, and that these classes should continue till the 
usual time for farm work to open again in tho Spring. 
They should never, said Dr. Downing, be obliged to 
enter in a class where their time will be wasted in 
going over again what they have already mastered and 
in studying unprofitable subjects. The country high 
school curriculums should be framed iu the interests of 
the farm boys and girls first of all. 
A farmer delegate called attention to an alleged lack 
of interest on the part of many young girl teachers, who 
were not always at work at nine o’clock, and who were 
always out at four sharp. He did not think that 
patrons got their money’s worth from the teachers. One 
of the district superintendents made a telling appeal for 
sympathy and support for the young rural school 
teacher, calling on patrons of the schools to visit the 
schools, show an interest in them and to recognize all 
really good work and effort on the teacher’s part. She 
thought it might be a good tiling if the law made some 
provision for providing a suitable boarding place for 
the rural teacher. 
A farmer delegate freed his mind about algebra as a 
required subject in rural high schools. lie had never 
found any use for it in all his life, and did not think 
pupils should be obliged to take it.. Another farmer 
cnlled attention to the way botany is taught in most 
eases, giving no power or knowledge iu the way of 
determining the names and characteristics of the native 
vegetation in the locality where it is taught. Still 
another criticised the study in geography of facts about 
some river iu remote Asia, while the study of other 
geographical features near the home of the rmpil and 
having a bearing on his life und future business is 
neglected. 
The study of dead languages for culture or for the 
purpose of learning etymology of English words, and 
the study of modern languages under teachers who are 
riot able tf> pronounce or write in them correctly came 
in for criticism. # Some points were made in favor of 
more field study in biology and more practical work in 
physics. 
Itegont Adelbert Moot, who presided at the afternoon 
session, closed the conference with an earnest five- 
minute talk on the value of thorough training in the 
•so-called three “It's” and paid an eloquent and timely 
tribute to that kind of schooling that could lay the 
foundation for the character and career of Abraham 
Lincoln. When one had learned to read and write the 
English language and to reason, the doors of all knowl¬ 
edge were open to such an one, and given the inspira¬ 
tion from some faithful teacher or parent and all things 
were possible, as in the ease of Lincoln. The rural 
school should be strong in these fundamentals. 
At the morning session, which was not well attended, 
Dr. John II. Finley. Gommissionor of Education, was 
present and spoke briefly. Ho said that the law passed 
by the last Legislature granting a much higher district 
quota to each school district, and a proportionately 
greater one to every financially weak district, should 
help such districts to maintain more efficient schools. 
'File Regents, he said, had come to this meeting at 
Oswego as part of an effort to learn what rural dwellers 
wanted done with their schools, and with the under¬ 
standing that every change that shall be brought about 
must come from the farmers themselves. 
. Many other speakers at morning and afternoon ses¬ 
sions touched upon vital points in the rural school situ¬ 
ation. Tattle or nothing was said about consolidation, 
discussion of which seemed to be dropped by tacit con¬ 
sent, as a result of the year’s experience with the town¬ 
ship system. District Superintendent Scars called at¬ 
tention to the character of the Regents’ examination 
papers and thought that patrons should look at them 
occasionally, if they were to make intelligent criticism 
of them. He thought farmers would get the kind of 
schools they wanted as soon as they made their wants 
plainly known and agreed on what they wanted. 
• J• Mather, of Belleville, where there is a remark¬ 
able rural high school in a strictly farming community, 
spoke interestingly on the curriculum and needs of such 
a school. The United States Bureau of Education has 
just made a survey of Belleville school and community, 
and is about to issue a bulletin on the same. 
Miss Ida S. Penfiold. chairman of the conference 
committee, and District Superintendent Kingsbury of 
Oswego did much to make the conference an oujoyable 
and profitable affair. There was a fine attendance at 
the afternoon session, and farmers were fairly well rep¬ 
resented. District superintendents and teachers were 
out in force, and the Normal School faculty, including 
Dr. Biggs, who gave a brief address of welcome, were 
interested spectators. Visitors inspected the fine equip¬ 
ment of the Oswego Normal for manual training. Fifty 
young men in the Normal study printing, wood-working 
and machine metal working under the instruction of 
the faculty, who are specialists in that line. Agriculture 
is not taught, but some of the farmers of that section 
arc calling for it. A good department in agriculture is, 
however, maintained at the Mexico high school. 
One of the district superintendents called attention 
to the fact that while the regulations call for the teach¬ 
ing of agriculture in the district schools, not one 
teacher in six teaches anything that can be called by 
that name, and up to date little has been done to train 
teachers in normal schools or anywhere else to teach 
agrvulture. They are supposed to teach it. but do not 
know how. 
A superintendent called attention to another incon¬ 
gruity. It is said that not more than 20 per cent of 
the districts of the State have installed sanitary toilets; 
the other SO per cent are allowed to go on without doing 
it. Some of the 20 per cent are wondering why they 
had to and the other fellows didn’t have to; or whether 
they really did have to after all. h. g. reed. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
A Letter to Governor Alfred Smith 
The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, N. Y., 
printed an article entitled “Governor Calls on Citizens 
to Assist Farmers.” which I cut out and sent to the 
Governor with the following letter: 
“The euclosed article. ‘Governor Calls on Citizens to 
Assist Farmers.’ provokes me to write you. The irony 
of the whole thing is almost nauseating. After vetoing 
the Fowler hill we farmers take this with ill grace. We 
have always known that we make more clear money 
when crops were short, hut have never had it brought 
so forcibly to our attention as of late. We are learn¬ 
ing that we are better off without extra help. Let us 
illustrate: One hundred bushels of wheat at $3 is much 
better for us than 300 bushels at $1. One hundred 
bushels of oats at $1 is far better than 200 bushels at 
50 cents. Twenty bushels of potatoes at $5 is far ahead 
of 200 bushels at 50 cents, and so on through the whole 
list. We can manage the small amounts alone, and get 
just as much money without as much expense. Let me 
suggest a much more practical method to reduce H. C. L. 
Instead of coming to help (?) the farmers just come 
out and rent or buy these thousands of acres now lying 
idle. In this way these would-be helpers would have to 
stand their share of the risks of bad weather, crop 
shortage, etc., and the farmer would uot. be compelled 
to pay them about twice what they are worth and stand 
all the risk himself. Why should they not? Why 
should the farmers get up at 5 a. in. and work till 7 :30 
to S p. m. to feed officials who go to work (?) at 0 
a. m. and quit at ” p. m., and the laboring man who 
goes to work at 7 a. m. and quits at 5 p. m., and goes 
fishing and tearing over the country in his auto? Do 
you kuow of any reason? Our laws seem to be made 
for sports and hums. Maybe this is pretty plain, hut 
I am writing direct to you what we are all saying where 
you do not hear it. We wish to thank you for your 
great (?) interest iu our affairs, but some others will go 
hungry before we do.” 
Of course, I did not get a reply. No doubt he never 
saw it. It’s probably beneath his notice. It’s not so 
very profound, anyway, but it’s just what we are 
thinking. FRANK NORTON. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. 
