The Governor’s Message 
O N the opening of the Legislature at Albany, 
Governor A. E. Smith delivered his annual 
message. It is a long document covering many 
topics. The chief recommendation is for a cut of 
25 per cent in the State income tax. The Governor 
points out that by July 1 the State will have a sur¬ 
plus fund of something over $50,000,000. and esti¬ 
mating the probable expenses and incomes it is 
figured that there will be a balance of $171,000,000. 
'The Governor truly says that one of the greatest 
lobligations resting upon those who administer pub¬ 
lic office is to lift the taxation burden and he sug¬ 
gests the immediate enactment of a law which will 
permit every income taxpayer to the State to reduce 
the amount of his State income tax by 25 per cent. 
He says this can be done without interference with 
the existing rate. The tax blanks are already 
printed, but the Governor would provide by law, 
that the taxpayer may make this reduction of 25 
per cent himself, remitting the balance to the State. 
All parties seem to agree that this is a fair and 
proper thing to do and the law will probably be en¬ 
acted. The Governor touches many things, some of 
which are of no particular importance to country 
people except in a general way. He asks for the 
restoration of a direct primary in the State and he 
calls for the elimination of road-grade crossings. 
This is a wise measure and should be carried out 
to the fullest limit. 
The Governor also asks for a four-year term for 
Governor and makes a good argument for his 
proposition. It is evident that no administration 
ean ever hope to work out definite reforms in two 
years. A four-year term would give the Governor 
a chance to develop fully his policy without run¬ 
ning the risk of having it upset completely at the 
end of two years before it could fairly get under 
way. 
The Governor also calls for a constitutional 
amendment to establish a State executive budget, 
which he says is the most business-like way of 
handling the finances of a great State. He also de¬ 
sires to reorganize and consolidate the State de¬ 
partments. In this connection the Governor renews 
his attack upon the State Department of Farms and 
Markets. He says he has not the pleasure of the 
acquaintance of the present council having charge 
of this department and that he has met the Com¬ 
missioner of Agriculture only twice. He says he 
feels no responsibility for the official acts of these 
men. His recommendation is that all these positions 
lie abolished, and that we go back to the old plan 
of having the head of the Agricultural Department 
named by the Governor. 
This is a renewal of the proposition or demand 
made last year. The farmers and country people 
generally did not take kindly to the proposition. 
W bile many of them feel that the present system is 
not the best and that it might well be remedied, they 
do not see that Governor Smith suggests anything 
better in the way of management. It cannot be said 
that the old plan of having the commissioner named 
by the Governor ever was much of a success, and it 
is not likely that the Assembly will agree to the 
Governor’s proposition of killing the present sys¬ 
tem, until he makes definite suggestions for some¬ 
thing that will evidently be much of an improve¬ 
ment. The farmers generally believe that the 
change suggested by the Governor would merely 
mean the transfer of political power from one group 
of men to another group in the opposite party. Such 
experiences as that of a change of management in 
the fruit department at the State Fair will not en¬ 
courage our country people to believe that a change 
from one party to another will benefit New York 
agriculture. 
Perhaps the most interesting recommendation at 
this time made by the Governor is what he has to 
say about the proposed rural school bill. We give 
the public report of this part of the Governor’s mes¬ 
sage : 
However great may be the cost and burdensome the 
tax, the State cannot afford to withhold its full and 
liberal support from education, for the stability of the 
State depends upon the enlightenment of its people 
the Governor says. There are 10,000 rural school dis¬ 
tricts and 600 union free school districts. Each con¬ 
stitutes a separate taxing unit with a different tax rate. 
In 8,600 of the rural schools there is one teacher with 
from one to forty pupils. The Governor recommends 
enactment of the rural school bill presented last year, 
the two fundamental purposes of which are the en¬ 
largement of the unit of tax and administration and 
the apportionment of public- money raised by State tax 
in an amount exceeding that now apportioned and dis¬ 
tributed ratably among the rural schools in accordance 
with their needs and resources. 
As was expected the Governor makes the passage 
of this bill a part of his general welfare work. He 
seems to think, however, that the bill to be brought 
before the Legislature is the same one which passed 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
the Senate last year, when the friends of the bill 
are trying to tell us that their new proposition will 
be entirely different. The Governor has told us that 
the bill which passed the Senate last year is a con¬ 
solidation measure and that the backers of the bill 
desire to close the one-room schoolhouses whenever 
possible. It will be interesting to see what the Gov¬ 
ernor will do when he finds that the new bill is en¬ 
tirely different and that its backers are trying to 
show that i-t would not under any circumstances 
permit forced consolidation. There will evidently 
be a lively struggle over this legislation. The Gov¬ 
ernor and practically all the members of his party 
seem to be lined up in favor of the bill, while on 
the other side there will be from 85 to 95 per 
cent of the country people opposed to it. 
57 
direct sale from wagon and truck and wayside mar¬ 
kets. In all these cases greatly improved prices are 
obtained, and there is quite enough of such business 
to account for millions of dollars of gain. The 
countless co-operative societies have also contributed 
in bringing more money direct to the producers, and 
thus increasing the total received for farm crops. 
Not all farmers have benefited by these things, but 
thousands of them in this part of the country have 
benefited, and many more are learning how. The 
development of this improved selling method will 
largely account for the increased value of the crops. 
It will continue-and will eventually make the At¬ 
lantic slope the most prosperous agricultural section 
in the country. 
Dairymen Getting Together 
I would like to suggest that The R. N.-Y. ask the 
leaders of the various groups to discuss, through the 
columns of The R. N.-Y.. plans to get the groups to¬ 
gether, regarding price making and surplus, feeling sure 
liiE R. N.-Y. would be glad to act as a mediator, and 
stop the needless waste of farmers’ money. 
New York. an average pooler. 
T HE above suggestion was printed in these col¬ 
umns last week. It came in after we had draft¬ 
ed the request on page 19 to the same effect. 
The responses are already coming in, showing that 
the time is right for action. Next week we will 
print a symposium of them. The trend of these 
early expressions gives encouragement to the hope 
that the purpose sought will be accomplished. The 
need is expressed in each of them and. so far, ap¬ 
proval of the object is urged by all. 
N. Y. Senators Need Your Attention 
H ERE is a list of the up-State New York State 
'Senators who, last Winter, voted for the school 
bill. Most of them represent rural counties, and 
they need some attention from you. There will be a 
new election next year. It is your full privilege to 
tell these gentlemen how you stand and what you 
would like to, have them do. Do it respectfully but 
plainly, and make them understand what you want. 
In view of the importance of next year’s election we 
think they will do what the majority of their people 
ask. 
Lick a stamp for the district school! 
The list gives name and address and the counties 
which each Senator represents: 
D. II. Ames, Franklinville; Chautauqua and Cat¬ 
taraugus. 
M. S. Augsbury, Antwerp; Jefferson and Oswego. 
Wm, T. Byrne, Albany; Albany. 
Win. T. Campbell, Lockport; Niagara and Orleans. 
Ernest E. Cole, Bath; Steuben, Yates, Ontario. 
Frederick M. Davenport, Clinton; Oneida. 
M. Y. Ferris, Ticonderoga; Warren, Essex, Clin¬ 
ton. 
L. W. Gibbs, Buffalo; Erie. 
Chas. J. Hewitt, Locke; Wayne, Seneca and 
Cayuga. 
F. W. Kavanaugh, Waterford; Saratoga and 
Schenectady. 
John Knight, Arcade; Genesee, Wyoming, Living¬ 
ston and Allegany. 
R. C. Lacey, Buffalo; Erie. 
Seymour Lowman, Elmira; Tioga, Chemung, 
Tompkins and Schuyler. 
S. E. Mastick, Pleasantville; Westchester. 
Theodore I>. Robinson, Mohawk; Herkimer, Ham¬ 
ilton and Fulton. 
J. T. Ryan, Troy; Rensselaer. 
Parton Swift, Buffalo; Erie. 
J. Griswold Webb, Clinton Corners; Columbia, 
Putnam and Dutchess. 
W. W. Westall, White Plains; Westchester. 
One Feature of the Proposed New 
School Law 
School District No. 5 of the town of Union Vale, 
Dutchess Co., N. Y., has an assessed valuation of $21.- 
000. Last year it cost $1,387 to run the school. Of this 
amount the State furnished $662. The school district 
raised $762 by tax. The tax rate was .03^5 (thirty- 
four and five-tenth mills, or three and forty-five hun¬ 
dredths per cent of the assessed valuation). A tax¬ 
payer whose assessed valuation was but $3,000 paid a 
school tax of $103.58. 
On the other hand, School District No. 4, town of 
Wappingers, Dutchess Co., N. Y., has an assessed val¬ 
uation of $713,130. This district has two schools and 
Ihiee teachers. Last year the school expenses were 
$4,224.74. The State paid $1,225 of this amount. The 
district raised by tax $2,999.74. The tax rate was only 
.0042 (four and two-tenth mills, or forty-two hun¬ 
dredths of one per cent). A taxpayer having an as¬ 
sessed valuation of $3,000 paid a school tax of $12.60. 
The farmer assessed for $3,000 in the above small" 
district pays a school tax of $103.58. With the same 
assessment in the above larger district he pays $12.60 
Ihe average daily attendance in the poorer district 
mentioned above was seven pupils ; in the richer district 
™ PuPUf- r » th e former district it cost the district and 
Mate $200 per pupil, average daily attendance, to run 
the school; ir. the latter, $48 per pupil. 
There are hundreds of such cases all over the State. 
One of the chief objects of the new proposed school law 
is to correct this injustice. It therefore creates a larger 
* ax unit. It combines two or more, perhaps several 
common school districts about a common center into 
one district and calls it a community district. Thus the 
poorer, weaker districts will be united with the wealthy 
districts to form the larger unit of taxation and thereby 
equalize the taxes of the community. 
Then, further to equalize the school taxes over the 
whole .State, State aid is furnished community districts 
in proportion to their wealth or lack of wealth as per 
following illustrations: If a community district has a 
true valuation of $30,000 per teacher,' the State will 
pay 90 per cent of its running expenses; if the actual 
valuation per teacher is $50,000, the community district 
would receive 83 per cent of its running expenses from 
the State ; if its actual valuation per teacher is $100,- 
000, it would receive 66 2/3 per cent of its running ex- 
penses from the State; if its actual valuation per teach¬ 
er is $150,000, it would receive 50 per cent of its run- 
J?3,^l? enses from the . State ; if its actual valuation is 
$300,000 per teacher, it would receive no State assis¬ 
tance. 
Almost 90 per cent of the State taxes are paid by sec¬ 
tions of the State not affected by this bill. And yet the 
opposers of the bill are nearly all in the small districts. 
If you will find out what it will do for you, you will be¬ 
come boosters. martin e. tiiew. 
The Year’s Crops 
S ECRETARY WALLACE figures that the Ameri¬ 
can farm crops in 1923 were worth about one 
billion dollars more than the total for 1922. Some 
are inclined to question the accuracy of these figures, 
but we think they are fair. That does not mean 
that all farmers are prosperous. It would be non¬ 
sense to claim that, for we know that thousands of 
farmers today are in worse financial condition than 
ever before in 25 years. Yet that may be true, even 
though the total value of crops has increased. This 
added value of crops is to be found chiefly on the 
upper Atlantic slope, and is due to improved methods 
of marketing. Few people seem to realize how the 
business of selling direct to consumers has devel¬ 
oped. This has come about through parcel post, 
Suggestions for a School Bill 
A meeting of the residents of the Pultneyville school 
district was held at Gates Hall, Pultneyville, N Y , 
Dec. 26, 1923, to discuss the Downing school bill,’ anil 
they passed the following resolutions unanimously : 
Whereas, The Downing bill is based upon the com¬ 
munity district as a unit for the taxation and the gov¬ 
ernment of our schools, and we believe that this system 
is undemocratic and will not prove acceptable or effi¬ 
cient ; and 
Whereas, We believe that this bill creates too much 
machinery and too many and too sudden changes; there¬ 
fore, be it 
Resolved, r l hat we request our State Senator and our 
member of the Assembly to vote against the Downing 
bill^as it now stands; and be it also 
Resolved, That as we are a community which be¬ 
lieves that our rural schools must be improved, and as 
we wish to be progressive and are willing to com¬ 
promise with the supporters of this bill, we request our 
representatives at Albany to make the following sug¬ 
gestions to the educational committees of the Legisla¬ 
ture : 
1. That, wherever practical, certain one-room school 
districts be made larger, to have two rooms and two 
teachers, the size of such districts to be determined by 
the number of children. 
2. We believe that city and country schools must 
have the same standards for the teacher, and so we ask 
that, beginning immediately, no new teachers be admit¬ 
ted to the service who have not had two years’ prepara¬ 
tion beyond high school, and that any district emplo^ ing 
a teacher without this preparation be deprived of all 
State aid. 
3. That the school day in the country be shortened so 
that all children may reach their homes by 3 :30 p. m. 
If we may have trained teachers and the small children 
separated from the older ones in two-room schools or 
larger, we are convinced that the required school work 
can be covered in a shorter day, to the great advantage 
of those children who have long distances to travel. 
And be it also 
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to 
our State Senator and to our member of the Assembly. 
The meeting also elected one delegate to a county 
meeting which may be called. 
c. e. atjchampattgh. Chairman; 
Florence cobnwall, Secretary. 
