1331 
The North Dakota “Recall’’Election 
North Dakota is a big State, and there are many 
back country corners where farmers live. Election 
returns are of necessity slow. The latest figures, 
though still incomplete, indicate that the “recall” 
was carried by a very small margin. Latest returns 
may change this, but we do not consider it likely. 
This means that the Governor, Attorney-General and 
Commissioner of Agriculture are to be removed from 
office and others put in their places. This “recall" is 
a political institution put in operation by the Non- 
Partisan League for their own protection, but it has 
new been turned against them. 
It is very difficult to express the exact condition 
in North Dakota in terms which our Eastern people 
can understand. There is nothing like that Western 
situation here. The last census gave a population of 
88,234 urban and 557,446 rural. The dividing line be¬ 
tween these classes comes at towns containing 2,500 
inhabitants. Most of the farmers are grain growers, 
and with limited railroad service these farmers have 
been exploited and robbed by the organized interests 
as few other classes in the country have ever been. 
Loth of the old political parties were controlled by 
these “interests.” At last, in utter desperation, the 
farmers organized the Non-Partisan League and 
adopted a definite political program. They secured 
control of the Republican party, and finally, through 
it. controlled the State government in all its 
branches. They then inaugurated a radical program, 
including State banking, State milling and State 
control of many lines of business. The issue settled 
into a conflict between town and country. Bankers 
and large business men have been able to hold up the 
farmers’ program. This has been done by action 
through the courts and various elections, all of 
which have delayed State work. It seems evident 
that the purpose was to delay and hold up until the 
natural reaction set in. and the farmers found them¬ 
selves without funds to conduct a full campaign. 
Ti e canvassed the State carefully, and became con¬ 
vinced that a majority of the people were opposed 
to the “recall.” We also stated that the weather on 
election day would decide it. That has proved true. 
A storm in the western part of the State lost the 
election for the farmers. Just what will happen now 
is an unanswerable problem. We do not believe this 
election will destroy the Non-Partisan League. Our 
reports indicate that 90 per cent of its program will 
still be carried out. The latest returns show that, 
while the “recall” was carried, the proposition to 
wind up the Bank of North Dakota and otherwise 
change the present laws was defeated. As it stands 
therefore three State officers were removed, while 
the people refused to change the League program. 
The Non-Pooling Milk Producers 
On October 28 a number of members of the Dairy¬ 
men's League, Inc., who oppose the present pooling 
plan, held a meeting at Utica, N. Y., and organized 
the Non-Pooling Dairymen’s Association, Inc. The 
association was incorporated under the co-operative 
law of the State. Temporary headquarters were 
established in the Main Building, in Utica. 
They state that the purpose of the organization is 
to protect non-pooling members of the Dairymen’s 
league from attempts to coerce them to sign the 
pooling contract; to prevent discrimination against 
n<.n-poolers in the marketing of milk and in the fix¬ 
ing of prices; to act as selling agent for its mem¬ 
bers, and to insure the continuation of the Dairy¬ 
men's League, Inc. 
The new organization does not oppose the prin¬ 
ciple of pooling milk. Its opposition is to the con¬ 
tract under which it is pooled and the form of 
organization. It proposes to provide a plan of pool¬ 
ing for its own members. It also promises to en¬ 
courage the building of co-operative creameries, to 
be owned and controlled by local dairymen; to estab¬ 
lish a system by which each member will have a 
vote, just as he does in State elections; to give every 
dairyman a certificate of membership so that he will 
bo an active member, and provide that the full con¬ 
trol of the organization shall be in the hands of the 
members. 
In the statement of their reasons for refusing to 
sign the pooling contract they make serious definite 
charges of deceit and falsification. It is not the 
policy ^>f this paper to publish matter of this nature 
without!; verification, but we hope to give the whole 
truth off the matter fully and frankly later on. 
Tlie,*y appointed the following Executive Commit¬ 
tee: j 
W/illiam S. Rhodes, president and chairman. Little 
FaU^s; L. J. Campbell. Vernon, N. J.; U. Grant 
8t/inger. Madison. N. Y.; Ralph C. Baldwin, De- 
RAiyter, N. Y., and John S. Willis of Auburn. 
•P* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
A committee on rules for carrying on all of the 
business of the corporation is as follows: Fred N. 
Jones, Clinton; Ralph C. Baldwin, DeRuyter; .T. L. 
Sullivan, Vernon; U. Grant Stringer. Madison; II. 
L. Blanchard, Fair Haven. 
They assert that they are all members of the 
Dairymen’s League, Inc., and that they expect to 
attend the next annual meeting and use flieir influ¬ 
ence to have it conducted for the purpose originally 
intended, and for the benefit of all its members, with¬ 
out discrimination for or against any group. 
This paper has always opposed any subsidiary 
organization in the League. ’We now have two of 
them, one with official approval and one without. 
The essential things in this organization are individ¬ 
ual initiative in its affairs and unity in its man¬ 
agement. It is to be hoped that at the annual meet¬ 
ing .these opposing members will get together, find a 
common ground, and then work together to serve 
the dairy interests of the State. 
The “Milk Strike” in New York City 
There was little milk consumed in New York City 
last week. What was consumed was acquired under 
difficulties. The drivers of the delivery wagons were 
on strike. They have been receiving, according to 
the dealers’ statements, from .$45 to $65 a week. 
They work eight hours a day, and deliver less than 
300 quarts a day on an avei’age. The rules of the 
union, the dealers say, restrict the delivery per 
wagon and needlessly multiply routes. The contract 
between the dealers’ union and the drivers’ union 
expired October 1. The drivers asked $5 more per 
week and two weeks’ vacation on full pay. The 
dealers first suggested a reduced wage, and finally 
agreed to renew the old conti’act. This was refused 
by the drivers, and the strike followed. On Wednes¬ 
day Mayor Ilylan called a conference, and suggested 
that the drivers go back to work and leave the sub¬ 
ject of wages to arbitration. This was agi’eed to by 
the spokesmen on both sides. The di’ivers ratified 
the conference agreement. The dealers rejected it, 
insisting that a finish fight with the drivers’ union 
for an open shop had to come some time, and that 
it might as well be fought out now as later, so the 
strike continued. The drivers were massed around 
the big city plants, and any attempt to deliver milk 
met with violence. Much milk was spilt into the 
streets, and some persons were injured and some 
killed. Private conveyances were endangered and 
damaged. Lines of men, women and children with 
•their own containers lead to the big centi’alized city 
plants to get milk. It is a democratic line. The 
city urchin and the woman with a child on her arm 
stand side by side with the lad in knickerbockers 
and the woman in silks and furs. The hospitals and 
sick rooms are treated without discrimination or 
favor. 
It has been publicly charged that the dealei’s were 
px-ovoking the strike for the purpose of selling off 
their stock of condensed, evaporated and powdered 
milk on hand. Be this as it may, the dealers ai’e 
in a comfoi’table position. They may not be making 
their usual profits, but they lose nothing besides. 
The milk they do not sell for consumption may be 
made up into butter and cheese and other products, 
and they pay for the milk what it is worth for the 
purpose, and take their profit on the by-products. 
The market for them is increased by the difficulty 
to get liquid milk. The consumer is suffering for 
milk. The producer is suffering from the loss of it. 
The driver is fighting for a larger share of the rich 
distribution cost. The dealer is not worrying. 
Befoi’e the war the margin of profit between the 
pi-oducer’s wagon and the consumer’s door was about 
5% cents a quart. Of late it has been running from 
10 to 15 cents. The drivers collect this money, and 
know what the pi’oducers get and what the con¬ 
sumers pay. They are a part and parcel of the 
system, and they want their share of the big plun¬ 
der. They are fighting for it. 
Behind it all, and supporting it all, is the political 
power of the city and of the State. An approaching 
city election manifested itself in the negotiations 
for settlement of the strike to the satisfaction of 
the drivers’ union. There is no approaching State 
election, and the milk trust is complacently serene in 
its State political power to ward off responsibility 
for any selfish purpose it may undertake. The city 
papers are full, as usual, of the talk about killing 
babies and starving nursing mothers; but not one 
word about the power of the city or of the sovereign 
State to see that an economic and efficient system 
of milk distribution be regularly provided. Both 
the State and the city have the legal machinery to 
do this, but the invisible power in both of them ties 
the hands of the men charged with the operation 
of the machinery, and it stands idle. If they under¬ 
took to assist they would be abused and maligned. 
They would lose their jobs, but just the same they 
would be making progress towards a final solution. 
The invisible political power is holding this 
machinery idle. It is only the visible militant in¬ 
formed and united power of the farmer, exei’cised 
openly, frankly and aboveboard- that will ever set 
it in motion. 
Taxing Gasoline 
We l-ecently mentioned the new gasoline tax for 
Connecticut. On all gasoline brought into the State 
a tax of one cent a pound is levied. Naturally this is 
paid by the consumei*, and the money is used for road 
improving. Now comes this letter from Oregon: 
I believe they will find that this scheme works out 
very well, as Oregon has done it for the past three years. 
We first had a tax of lc per gallon, which was paid by 
the motorist or gasoline user w-hen he bought his sup¬ 
ply from tank wagons or filling stations. This was 
raised to 2c, so that the State now derives a revenue of 
2c per gallon on evei’y gallon used This is a very easy 
tax to collect. The motorist has no objection to it. as 
he knows the money goes into the construction of new 
roads and the maintenance of old ones, and provides a 
very considerable amount of money. 
S. F. WOODBURY. 
Some Suggestions for School Law Change 
The Committee of Twentyone in New York State 
has spent much time and taken great pains to make a 
study of rural school conditions, and to become acquaint¬ 
ed with the wishes of rural folks. They have gone far 
enough to make some preliminary reports, but it would 
not be surprising if many changes may yet be made. 
The repoi’t thus far has it that none of the old school 
district boundaries are to be removed, and that the 
local trustees are to be elected as before when the new 
plan shall be enacted. It is proposed, however, to form 
larger units than the old country school districts. 
These are to be neither the township nor the present 
supervising districts, but will be in accordance with the 
convenience of the residents. It will depend upon hills, 
sometimes, on highways and other features. I judge 
that these districts may generally be a little smaller 
than the townships. The trustees that are elected an¬ 
nually, I think, will constitute a board for their own 
particular group, as above mentioned, and together they 
will have charge of the group of schools. 
The group above mentioned is to be known as the 
primai’y group. There is to be an intermediate group¬ 
ing, to consist for the present of the same number as 
the present supervisory districts, but when the term of 
the present supervisors expires this intermediate group¬ 
ing is liable to be changed. The officers of the interme¬ 
diate group are to be appointed by the boards in the 
primary group, each primary group to select two mem¬ 
bers. When the terms of the present supervisors or 
school superintendents expire, there shall be a redistrict¬ 
ing of the State, and this, if I correctly understand the 
report, is to be done by the State Commissioner of Edu¬ 
cation, assisted by two others, these to be selected by 
two farm organizations of the State. No farm organi¬ 
zation was mentioned, but it was suggested outside that 
it might be the State Grange and the State Federation 
of Farm Bureaus. The various representatives chosen 
by the original primary group of elected trustees, these 
being, as stated, two from each, form the board of the 
intermediate group, and these in turn are to select suc¬ 
ceeding school superintendents. 
As stated, the primary units are not to conform nec¬ 
essarily to district lines, township lines, nor county 
lines. The local trustee will still be custodian of his 
own district property and will make minor repairs. 
Expenses for schools, however, will be regulated by the 
board of trustees. It is expected to regulate qualifica¬ 
tions of teachers by enactment and to advance qualifica 
tions for rural schools somewhat. Such teachers are to 
be more nearly on a par with other teachers. Weak 
districts will pay no more per thousand of equalized as¬ 
sessment than strong ones, the State making up the 
difference. The sugestion was made by inference that a 
district with $20,000 valuation might draw $1,080 a 
year from the State if it paid $120, while a district 
with $150,000 might draw $300 if it paid $900. Edu¬ 
cation is for the benefit of the State, and the State 
should pay equally for it in proportion to ability to pay. 
The subjects to be taught in the local schools are no 
longer to be under the authority of the local trustee, as 
at present, but determined by State authority. It may 
be required to carry the pupil through the ninth gxade. 
Qualifications for school superintendents are to be 
fixed, and are to be higher than at present. Very prob¬ 
ably the districts are to be larger and the superintend¬ 
ent is to help in bringing about better teaching, and 
may not be required to do so much clerical work. 
Health teaching seemed to be approved, but possibly 
not so much gymnastics for the country school. If this 
be true I think it may go a long way to satisfy coun¬ 
try people. The seventh, eighth and ninth grades, as I 
understood the statements, may be considered high 
school grades in the country schools. This primary 
board may hire children transported from very small 
districts to others if it is thought advisable, but it was 
not made clear that there would be any financial advan¬ 
tage to any locality by that course. it. 
