Vht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
885 
Should Sue These Milk Promoters 
Enclosed check for $2 so it will be two years before 
you have to send me a reminder. 
Don't stop the paper anyway. First thing I read is 
Publisher's Desk, and it alone has saved me many 
times the price of the paper. In spit« of your warning, 
the farmers at Troupsburg, N. Y.. seven miles north 
of here, let Carl E. Davison clean them out of $11,000 
(one month’s milk). He has vanished and left milk, 
building and other bills unpaid. E. G. K. 
Pennsylvania. 
We at first hoped that the Troupsburg case was 
not as bad as the above letter indicated, but it 
has been confirmed direct from the place with the 
exception that probably $9,000 would cover the milk 
bills due to farmers. Davison has skipped, and 
dairymen have no security for the bills. Why. in 
view of Davison's record, the State Department has 
not insisted on a bond for the payment of the milk 
bills we do not know. 
Davison represented the Tri-States Milk Company 
and of course it is the company and not Davison 
that owes the milk hills. Messrs. Mersel and Fortgang 
promoted the Tri-States Milk Company, and quoted 
their own financial rating in connection with the 
company with the evident pupose of inducing dairy¬ 
men to grant credit for milk. We believe they are 
the real debtors for the bills. The company is a 
mere makeshift. The Tri-States Milk Company is 
Mersel and Fortgang. Courts have taken this posi¬ 
tion before and we believe would do so in this case. 
If they refuse to pay the bills we hope the Troups¬ 
burg dairymen will sue them and test out their 
responsibility. Publisher’s Desk would gladly help 
hear the expense of such a suit. It is time we 
showed these milk dealers that farmers will not 
submit without a fight to a premeditated scheme 
of plunder. 
Investments in a Milk Company 
What do you know about the Rogers Milk Products 
Co., Inc., 25 West Forty-third Street. New York, which 
is a holding company for the Rogers Milk Corporation 
and the Boonville Condensed Milk and Cold Storage 
Co.? The stock of the holding company is being offered 
in this territory by Spence & Co. at $100 for the S per 
cent preferred and $60 for the common. They claim 
that funds have been set aside to pay 8 per cent on the 
preferred this year. It is represented that the company 
lias been operating successfully for several years, but 
needs new money to increase the business. O. B. P. 
Virginia. 
We have had several inquiries from other States 
about this stock, indicating that sales are being 
promoted outside of New York State. To our mind 
the assurance that money had already been laid 
aside to pay the dividend on preferred stock is 
sufficient evidence of the doubtful value of the 
security. Dividends can rightly be paid on preferred 
or common stock only after the money is earned in 
operating the business. If the money is set aside in 
advance to pay the dividends it does not come out 
of the earnings, and therefore would not be legiti¬ 
mate unless paid out of earned surplus, which this 
company does not seem to have. Stock-promoting 
concerns have frequently paid back money out of 
capital for dividends to encourage further purchase 
of stock, but this is about the last resort of stock 
promotion. 
Recently the Rogers Milk Company, Inc., has been 
behind on its milk bills to farmers. A judgment for 
$1,500 was reported against them some months hack. 
Complaints were received from dairymen that bills 
were running two to three months behind. Recently, 
however, the back payments have been paid up 
within satisfactory time limits, hut there is nothing 
in the experience of the company we can find that 
would justify advice to make investment in the 
stock. The information that we have would suggest 
the wisdom of refusing to invest in it. 
The Educational Meeting at Binghamton 
Another big meeting of farmers and educators of 
seven counties, Cortland. Broome, Tioga. Chemung, 
Chenango, Tompkins and Delaware, was held in Bing¬ 
hamton on Saturday, June 11. The meeting was pre¬ 
sided over by George W. Dunn, of Webster Grange, 
a farmer member of the committee. A showing of 
hands showed a large number of rural teachers present, 
about an equal number of district school superinten¬ 
dents and other educators, and about twice as many 
farmers. In all there was present, perhaps the biggest 
attendance at any of the regional conferences held yet. 
Prof. Kruse, of the State Agricultural College ex¬ 
plained the reasons for and work of the joint com¬ 
mittee. The school plant or the physical character¬ 
istics of the school was the subject on which Prof. 
Butterworth, also of the college, talked. lie pointed 
out common defects existing, and showed where 
changes are advisable. About twenty delegates fol¬ 
lowed him in pointing out present defects and how 
to remedy them. The need of a rural high school 
was strongly emphasized. One farmer supported Prof. 
Butterwortli’s stand on present school building needs 
and said lie didn’t believe it was so much a matter of 
dollars and cents as a failure on the part of parents 
to understand why lighting now in use is defective, 
or why heating and sanitary arrangements are bad. or 
that the equipment is so lacking in many essential 
points as compared to the equipment used by the 
better schools. He said that in the homes the win¬ 
dows are half covered with green shades, and that 
parents haven’t realized that the majority of rural 
schools have only half enough light, and that so ar¬ 
ranged as to be injurious to the eyes of pupils who 
work in it six hours a day. A farmer's wife pointed 
out that two generations had used the same building in 
her district without discovering that it was poorly 
lighted and heated and not properly ventilated. The 
Home Bureau had had talks on these subjects, showing 
what was essential in each point. Improvements are 
to be made, the school is to have its own well and a 
set of scales to keep tab on the children’s physical 
condition, as well as other benefits resulting from 
general interest in the question. 
One farmer found fault with the demands of dis¬ 
trict school superintendents along the line of improve¬ 
ments, and several took up the defense. One said there 
would not be a single improvement in many schools 
unless the superintendents did demand them. One 
farm mother pleaded for the bigger and better cen¬ 
tralized schools, and one rtf the many benefits that 
appealed to her was the better equipment, particularly 
the books available. Instead of teaching a first or 
second grade child from one dog’s-eared book about 
five such books are covered each year in the better 
schools making the little reader very proficient as well 
as interesting him more efficiently. 
The fact that voters do not get out to school meet¬ 
ings was scored. Much discussion was given to the 
matter of district school superintendents, their qualifi¬ 
cations and what should be expected of them and how 
they should be chosen. 
One delegate tried to get a resolution passed favor¬ 
ing a return to the old school commissioner system. 
After long discussion this was lost. The reasons given 
were that no educational qualifications were required 
for the school commissioner ship and that only one 
was elected. One cannot do the work required now 
in many counties and very definite special qualifications 
are essential, even much higher ones than at present 
required. The sentiment prevailing seemed to be that 
selection by direct vote of the people was perhaps 
better than the present method, but that both are 
faulty; that selection can be much more safely made by 
a larger representative deliberative body, as is done in 
the cities, where so important an official is not en¬ 
trusted to the direct vote. 
H. G. Reed, a farmer member of the committee, told 
of dissatisfaction with rural school conditions so great 
that he sent his family to Rochester so the children 
could have the benefit of the city schools, while he 
kept bachelor’s hall on the farm for several years. He 
told how at one time a personal friend of his was em¬ 
ployed as teacher in his rural district and proved to 
be an inefficient teacher. lie kept his young son out of 
school after becoming convinced of the fact, and stood 
a contest with the truant law to see whether it is 
possible to get rid of a teacher that is no good, or 
whether a farm parent must submit to such a condition. 
The teacher was removed. He gave valuable criticism 
of the present course of study in rural and high schools 
and urged the practical application of the subjects 
taught. He advised less Latin in high schools and 
more of French and Spanish and other subjects that 
will be of real help to the boy or girl who enters 
the modern business or agricultural fields of today. 
He emphasized the value of medical inspection in all 
schools, and said that in Rochester last year 7,000 
children were operated on for adenoids or diseased 
tonsils, with no lost cases and with very great benefit 
accruing. 
A delegate took up the matter of school health and 
told of the county nurse, dentist and doctor who visit 
country schools by motor truck with equipment. She 
said it was very difficult to lead children to keep their 
teeth clean if the teacher hasn’t cleaned hers for a 
fortnight; also that the benefits of fresh air are not 
understood by the children when the teacher practices 
the doctrine by opening a window only when the 
school nurse comes in sight, just as it is impossible 
to teach correct English if the teacher does not and 
cannot use it herself. 
R. P. Snyder, representing the committee and the 
State Department of Education gave some valuable 
facts of actual conditions in rural schools last year 
Tie was raised on a farm, went to a rural school and 
lias served in all capacities in the schools and the school 
system. He believes the one big factor in a good school 
is the teacher. He believes the rural child should 
have as good an opportunity educationally as any other 
and that, the kind of teachers employed determine 
this largely. Conditions must be made so that trained 
teachers will be available to the rural child. "As the 
teacher is so is the school.” At present less than eight 
per cent of the rural teachers are trained for the; • 
work. They remain in the country as teachers for 
much shorter periods than city teachers do in. their 
schools. These and similar telling facts were shown 
by figures taken from the 1920 records of the State 
Department of Rural Schools. 
In the village schools of the State 65 per cent of the 
teachers were Normal trained teachers, as compared 
to less than S per cent, in the rural schools, and the 
far bigger proportion of the city schools. Dr. Unte- 
gnaf talked on financing the rural schools. He made a 
comparison of the finance system used in highway eon- 
str"ction in the State and the results obtained in this 
and other States, and represented a similar system for 
schools, so adanted as to secure local interest in build¬ 
ing and maintaining good rural schools and high schools 
available to all sections. 
A delegate told of desirable features introduced i 
Michigan schools. He urged a board of trustees instead 
of single trustee, and all should consent to the hiring 
of a teacher to insure a careful selection. Uniform 
text books furnished by the State were urged and were 
spoken of as adonted by nearly all the States now. 
The bigger unit of taxation, as the township v-e 
urged as a means of equalizing the tax rates of the 
remote hill districts that now get no benefit of railroad 
and other public utilities pronerty that makes educa¬ 
tion less expensive on the valley farms. 
One distinct in Tioga County eight miles long by 
five miles wide was told of. where there are now 36 
schools, with very few children each. Many of the 
schools, in such areas must go but some must Stay. 
One district was reported as having 14 children of 
high school age. They were seven miles from a high 
school. The district voted to hire a rig to transport 
the pupils to the high school and then voted the plan 
down because of the expense. Consequently nearly a’ 1 
of these boys and girls had to give up a high school 
education. Methods of handling such cases were dis¬ 
cussed but it. was deemed a serious situation by even 
Dr. Frank Gilbert, who is best posted on what the 
law is on such points. He said the $tate could and 
would assume the cost of instruction, but. the district 
must under present laws pay for transportation. 
After August 1. Dr. Gilbert said a new law goes 
into effect whereby the home district must pay the 
extra cost over the $50 allowed by the State for 
each high school pupil on all pupils from 14 to 21 
years of age. The high school of the parent’s choice 
is compelled to take such high school pupils, even 
though in past such have been denied because of scant 
room and the home district must pay any extra ex¬ 
pense charged by the high school board. 
Dr. Gilbert spoke on the attitude of the department 
on rural education, saying it will stand pat and enforce 
present laws. The department is interested in giving 
rural children the best opportunity possible, and he 
admits that many changes are needed. 
One of the important features of the meeting was the 
distribution of questionnaires covering all phases of 
school management and school financing. Each ques¬ 
tion is given abundant space, so that all farm parents 
may express their views on each question in full detail. 
These are obtained at. the office of the Dairymen’s 
League in Utica from E. R. Eastman, secretary. 
Every parent, but better perhaps, every farm organi¬ 
zation, such as the Home Bureau and the Grange, 
should at once secure a number of these little booklets, 
discuss the questions at some public meetings, and take 
action on each question, or fill out the questionnaires 
individually. This is one very good way of getting 
existing facts and the people’s wishes before the Com¬ 
mittee of Twenty-one, who will give much time to their 
study. 
The committee urges haste in this, as their report is 
promised for early Fall, and all farmers should express 
themselves conscientiously, that later on the solution 
adopted may be satisfactory to a majority of the people. 
The meeting was a satisfactory one in that on nearly 
every topic discussed the sentiment that finally pre¬ 
vailed was not the narrow reactionary variety, but the 
kind that leads to constructive work and real progress. 
As one speaker said: "Big things are about to be 
done, due to the efforts of the good people of the State.” 
And these good people are the farmers themselves, who 
are coming to demand a square deal in education. F. 
State Potato Exchange Organized 
Delegates from every potato-growing community of 
New York State met in Syracuse on June 10 and 11, 
and organized an exchange to handle for local co-opera¬ 
tive units the potato and cabbage crops of the State. 
The name chosen was the “Empire State Potato Grow¬ 
ers’ Co-operative Association. Inc.,” and the headquar¬ 
ters at Syracuse. The. establishment of the exchange 
is the result of many months of work expended by of¬ 
ficials of the State Farm Bureau Federation and indi¬ 
vidual potato growers, who believed such an organiza¬ 
tion necessary. From an economic standpoint, farm 
leaders believe the exchange will form one of the vital 
elements in the development of organized agriculture 
in the State. 
The purpose of the organization, as stated in the 
constitution, is to promote the culture of a few standard 
varieties of the products handled, to establish grades and 
sell by grades, to establish and own brands, to furnish 
crop and market information to members, to obtain top 
market prices and to eliminate competition and under¬ 
bidding among growers, to increase consumption of the 
products handled, and to co-operate with similar organi¬ 
zations in other States. 
While the brand under which the exchange products 
will be sold is not yet chosen, there is a definite trend 
towards “Empire State” as the one to be used. Prod¬ 
ucts handled under this brand will be of a grade superior 
to the highest Government standard! for the product, 
and cannot be used by locals unless this standard is 
attained. Otherwise Government standards must be 
used. 
The meeting was more or less of an organization meet¬ 
ing. and most of the time was spent in perfecting details 
and adopting the constitution and by-laws. The annual 
meeting of the organization will be held in Syracuse on 
the second Wednesday in June. No officers were elected, 
but K. C. Livermore, Honeoye Falls, formerly in the 
department of agricultural economics and farm manage¬ 
ment of the State College of Agriculture at Ithaca, was 
elected chairman of the board of directors to serve until 
the election is held. 
The members of the board of directors chosen are: 
K. C. Livermore, C. E. Dimon, Southampton; Fred 
Hopkins, Wallace; E. P. Smith, Sherburne; Datus 
Clark, Peru; E. K. Lucas, Gainesville: Gilbert Prole, 
Stafford; Fred Humphrey, Albion, and A. S. Hardy. 
Malone. 
Dairymen and Their Milk 
The milk in this vicinity is delivered to the Borden 
eondensery at Norwich, and. so far as I can observe, 
there is no particular change in the inspection, unless 
they may be a little more particular in regard to having 
it properly cooled to 60 degrees, which is not unreason- 
able_ to my mind ; 4-know that many have been rather 
lax in this respect in the past, as the Bordens also have 
been in enforcing the rule. 
On Easter Sunday, March 27, there was a large 
amount of milk returned as too warm ; some, of course, 
protested that their milk was all right and was returned 
out of “pure cussedness.” I received two cans back, 
and am willing to admit that it was above 60 degrees. 
Since that time there has been no wholesale rejection of 
milk ; this year, as always, some is returned for cause. 
I believe that there was an increased supply of milk 
in April and early May, but cows began to shrink very 
early, and I doubt if there is as much being produced as 
last June; there surely is not at my place; the ex¬ 
tremely early Spring, followed by dry weather, would 
seem to portend a lesser Summer supply than last year 
in this section. There is no surplus; that is to say," the 
buyers take what is delivered at League prices. 
As to how the farmers feel about the milk situation, 
of course there are various opinions, influenced in many 
cases by the attitude toward the pooling plan. I believe 
that many farmers who support this plan are hopeful. 
I note on page 816 of The R. N.-Y. an article about 
cooling the morning milk when it was delivered before 
9 o’clock. As mine was so delivered for a time this 
Spring, I asked the barn inspector about it. lie said 
that the matter was optional with the different stations; 
that where it was so received, the weigh can was divided 
in two sections, and the warm milk was kept separate 
and cooled at once; that as the milk was all mixed in 
the weigh can at their plant, they required the morning 
milk to be cooled to 60 degrees without regard to the 
time of delivery, as he claimed that the mixing of warm 
and cold milk was detrimental. There was general dis¬ 
satisfaction with the test for the month of April. My 
own milk tested the lowest it ever has, being four points 
below March and two below April of last year. Per¬ 
sonally I am inclined to refer it to the peculiarities of 
the season, although there are many who hold a dif¬ 
ferent opinion. F. W. P. 
Chenango Co., N. Y. 
