The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
277 
Death of ex-President Wilson 
I N the death of ex-President Woodrow Wilson a 
great American, a great man, passed out of life. 
.Men and women all over the world have paid tribute 
to Wilson's greatness. In character he was unlike 
Roosevelt, Harding or Lincoln, and the effect, of his 
life upon history is to he determined by the future 
rather than in the present. Perhaps the finest tribute 
to the dead President is found in a brief paragraph 
taken from the statement by Lloyd George: 
“Woodrow Wilson was a very great man. and, like 
all great men. had his defects, but these will be quickly 
forgotten in the magnitude of his life work. True he 
was a failure, but a glorious failure. He failed as Jesus 
Christ failed, and, like Christ, sacrificed his life in pur¬ 
suance of his noble ideal. 
“He was just as much a victim of the Great War as 
any soldier who died in the trenches. 
"It will perhaps be a generation before the greatness 
of Woodrow Wilson will be appreciated at its real value 
by his countrymen and the tragedy which closed his life 
will bring before the world the unselfishness of his am¬ 
bitions as nothing else could. Like the tragedy which 
made for your great martyred Lincoln a permanent 
place in the hearts of the American people—even of those 
who disagreed with him.” 
We think that Wilson’s chief failure arose from 
the fact that he did not understand the thought of 
the common people as Roosevelt and Lincoln did. 
He was a solitary, exclusive man, with high ideals, 
and we believe a sincere desire to benefit mankind, 
but he did not seem to realize that it is quite im¬ 
possible to make world progress very far in advance 
of the spirit and desire of the great majority of 
plain people. They long for ideals, but heritage and 
training have fitted them to move slowly in break¬ 
ing away from habits of thought. The future may 
see Wilson s ideals worked out. The present was 
not ripe for them. 
A Question of Misrepresenting the 
School Bill 
A NUMBER of the school bill proponents are go- 
xVing about with a chip on their shoulder daring 
anyone to show that the Downing bill provides com¬ 
pulsory consolidation. Some of them make a great 
bluff of offering a certified check for such informa¬ 
tion. Me call their attention to the following letter 
by Prof. Louis E. Boutwell, printed in the Caledonia 
Advertiser-Era: 
A correspondent of the Rochester Herald, writing 
n fe° a , l T ler date of Ja »- 16, quotes a 
t hailes R. W hite of Ionia as saying there at a Home 
Bureau Association meeting that the Downing bill does 
not provide compulsory consolidation of the rural 
schools, and that any person who says it does is deliber¬ 
ately lying. I say it does; and that it creates an issue 
between Mr. W hite and me. 
Of course Mr. White asked his audience to shut their 
eyes and hold their noses and swallow that little opium 
pill provided for such occasions by Section 1220 of the 
Downing measure. That is the passage about the dis- 
tric-ts continuing “as they exist at the time of the taking 
effect of this act.’ I would not be at all surprised if 
Mr. White had read far enough into the bill to learn 
that the district could elect a representative to the com¬ 
munity board of education. 
According to Webster’s New International Diction¬ 
ary, to "consolidate” is “to unite into one mass or body ; 
to bring tiigether into close union.” “Consolidation” is 
“combination.” We offer the dictionary as exhibit one. 
The Downing bill provides for the very thing that the 
dictionary says is ‘‘consolidation.” It unites the rural 
districts into a close and single mass known as the com¬ 
munity district. W r hat has prevented Mr. White from 
knowing that ( He should not get >>o wrought up as to 
use intemperate epithets until he does know. There is 
nothing in the dictionary or in the text of the Downing 
bill, or in the course of ordinary mental processes that 
should prevent me from using the word “consolidate.” 
Or is it the word “compulsory” that so offends? Can 
Mr. W hite point to any place in the law where a dis¬ 
trict is permitted to stay out of this combination if it 
wishes? Can he point to any clause in the law which 
gives any district in the State the power to say even 
with what other districts it may be combined? lie ought 
to know who groups the districts and who makes the 
rules under which they are grouped. He ought to 
know; but if he does, it gives a new significance to his 
epithet. 
Let us stop talking about words and talk a while 
about facts. 
Under the present law the rural district owns its 
sehoolhouse and every stick of furniture and every book 
that it contains, and its trustee is just what the name 
implies, a trustee, who administers the investment. 
Under the Downing bill the title and every vestige of 
control over that property passes to the" community 
board, absolutely out of the possession of the district. 
Under the present law the district, through its chosen 
trustee, employs the teacher on such terms as it pleases. 
Under the Downing bill any teacher that the community 
board pleases may be sent them if one is sent at all. 
Under the present law, the district draws up its own 
budget and collects its own taxes, expending them on its 
own account. Under the Downing bill the budget is 
passed upon in Albany, the community board levies the 
taxes and the money taken from the people of your dis¬ 
trict is expended at large over the community district. 
Under the present law you may adopt such course of 
study and such text books as seem to you best suited 
for your needs. Under the Downing bill this is done 
not even by the community district, but by a still more 
remote body called the intermediate board, which means 
the district superintendent. 
Under the present law you can exercise some dis¬ 
cretion as to medical inspection, school nurses and 
physical training. Under the Downing bill, the interme¬ 
diate board imposes all -that upon you and adds it to 
your tax budget. 
A Study of the School Meeting 
The rural school meeting held at Syracuse Jan. 31 
was attended by delegates from each county who truly 
represented the real rural people of the State. This 
was evident from the start until the close of the meet¬ 
ing. As successive speakers gave their viewpoint it 
was very plain to see what the rural people really want 
is a just share of State aid equalized by giving the 
lower valuation districts a larger amount of the money 
appropriated, and a chance to govern their own schools 
without interference from outside, only in the form of 
suggestions. The principle of home rule for each dis¬ 
trict is practically unanimous among the rural people, 
and any method that departed from this principle was 
not satisfactory to this meeting. 
In the matter of State aid the meeting was disposed 
to accept any method of financing, provided the lower 
valuation districts received their just share of the 
money appropriated. No one is more anxious for the 
improvement of rural schools than the rural residents 
themselves, but they maintain very forcibly that they 
should be the judge of what constitutes real value. 
In regard to rural teachers there is a demand for 
teachers who have had normal school training, and the 
present demand is that our normal school supply in 
their curriculum a course that will develop'teachers bet¬ 
ter fitted for rural school work. A resolution was 
passed demanding that the district superintendents be 
elected by direct vote of the voters of the supervisory 
districts. The consensus of opinion was that the duties 
of the superintendent should be more clearly defined, 
and some thought that the trustees of local districts 
should have a governing voice in determining those 
duties. Rural trustees will take much more interest in 
their schools when the responsibility of their success or 
failure is placed squarely on their shoulders. W T e have 
had too much interference from outside sources by those 
who do not know rural conditions. Define clearly the 
duties of district superintendents and school trustees 
and then hold them responsible for results. 
The resolution against the Downing-Porter bill of 
1924 and the bill of 1923 favored by the Committee of 
Twenty-one was carried unanimously, the prevailing 
opinion being that these bills did not meet rural con¬ 
ditions. A resolution was passed urging the repeal of 
two sections of the present law giving district superin¬ 
tendents power to order consolidation of schools in dis¬ 
tricts, either personally or with vote of trustees. An¬ 
other resolution passed stated the proposed bill de¬ 
stroyed autonomy of the district as a school unit, and 
declared for retention of the unit. Another passed 
urged repeal of the minimum wage law as applied to 
rural schools, and that the same State aid be given in 
rural districts as in cities. Districts were asked to be 
allowed to fix teachers’ salaries. A resolution was 
passed in favor of allowing districts which have already 
consolidated to be returned to the old status if voted 
by taxpayers in the district. 
The final result of the meeting was preliminary or¬ 
ganization of the Rural School Improvement Society, to 
combat legislation on the bill at Albany, and for con¬ 
structive development of the rural school system. A 
committee of five was named to represent the society at 
hearings upon the bill at Albany, and they in turn 
urged as many members as possible to attend these 
hearings. 
The delegates representing the different counties were 
requested to organize their counties so that the real 
rural people who live on their farms may give force to 
their requirements. The whole tenor of the meeting 
was for constructive work for rural schools and to 
build by evolution rather than by revolution, and also 
a challenge that the real rural farmers know how to 
run their schools as well as their farms ; or. in other 
words, know how to boss the job. 
GRANT G. HITCIIINGS. 
A Question of Milk Prices 
My attention has been called to an article in a re¬ 
cent edition of your publication, which quotes me as 
having said that milk should all be sold at one price, 
and that price should be whatever the milk is worth for 
butter and cheese. The article is signed “John Arf- 
man.” I never heard of the gentleman and haven’t any 
idea who he is, but I desire to assure you that such a 
statement is untrue, and I cannot understand why he 
should quote me as having made it. I know I never 
made such a statement, and never made any statement 
which could be so construed. In fact, I have not ex¬ 
pressed my opinion as to what the price of milk should 
be, and I am frank to say that I do not know what it 
should be. 
I would thank you to publish a correction of this 
statement inasmuch as it is entirely untrue. 
■T. F. MONTGOMERY, 
Managing Director, Nestle’s Food Company. 
W E asked Mr. Arfman if he wanted to make 
any explanation of the reference to Mr. 
Montgomery in his published article. He sends the 
following: 
In January, 1923, the Middletown Mills and Feed 
Company wanted to buy the Nestis’s Food Company 
plant at Slate Hill, N. Y. Mr. J. W. Thorn and myself 
were appointed a committee to look after this. We 
made several trips to New York City to the Nestle’s 
Food office in William Street. We met there with Mr. 
Hooks and several other men in that office, and just as 
we believed the deal was about closed, Mr. Montgomery 
was brought into the deal. About the first thing asked 
me was if we bought pooled milk, and led to a more 
general talk about the pool. I tried to explain why we 
should have different classifications, and Mr. Montgom¬ 
ery was very strong for one price. He made it very 
plain that all milk should be sold at one price. Mr. 
Thorn and myself were there at that time. Of course 
I do not know Mr. Montgomery, only as we were intro¬ 
duced to him. and I also know that he was no office boy, 
but a man who knew what he was talking about, and it 
seemed to me that his word was final, at least, on this 
plant deal. We did not get that plant. 
JOHN ARFMAN. 
Blankets From a Small Flock 
The Connecticut Wool Growers’ Association still 
continues to manufacture wool directly into blankets 
and suitings. Most other sheep associations seem to 
have abandoned the plan. This system has proved 
very useful for farmers who keep small' flocks of 
sheep, and find it difficult to dispose of little bunches 
of wool satisfactorily. The following note from Mr- 
R. W. Jones, Jr., of Orange Co., N. Y., gives an ex¬ 
perience with this method: 
Replying to your letter concerning the manufacture 
of wool into blankets, we were well satisfied with the 
blankets, but have no readily available record of the 
Profit or loss on the sheep. Six sheep sheared about 
49 lbs. of wool, which was made into four blankets and 
left several pounds over, which was credited against the 
cost of manufacturing the blankets. The blankets were 
attractive in design, were well liked by Mrs. Jones, 
and I can say that I believe it hard to find blankets 
of equal weight that will keep one warmer. Mrs. Jones 
estimates blankets of the same quality, if obtainable 
in New York city department stores would cost not 
less than $10 each, and possibly up f o $15 or $10, 
depending upon the location of the store and the season 
purchased. 
Shearing at $1 per head (which we considered high), 
transportation charges upon the wool and cost of manu¬ 
facture probably made the blankets actually cost us $5 
each, plus the raw wool before shearing. The blankets 
are fine, and we expect to have more made up, then pos¬ 
sibly some horse blankets and some cloth, but it occurs 
to me that one dependent upon a cash return for his 
wool might not be able to have it made into blankets, 
and that he would have to wait a long time for his 
money if he waited for the blankets to be manufactured 
and to sell them after that. 
A few sheep were secured, but as most of the ewes 
were only born in the Spring of 1922, three of them 
had no lambs, and only two were x-aised from five ewes. 
We found, however, that with the exception of worry 
about sheep-killing dogs getting into our small flock 
(five ewes and ram. total six), they were very little 
trouble, did not require much more feed than a cow, and 
assisted in keeping down brush and certain weeds. 
In 1924 we hope for more land, and will be satisfied 
with the wool as profit if the lambs pay for maintenance 
costs. r. w. JONES, ,JR. 
A Cubic Foot of Coal 
What is the weight of a bushel of coal? How much 
coal will a bin of certain dimensions hold? How many 
cubic feet are inquired for a ton of coal? j. p. 
In answering these questions. I can only give you 
approximate figures, as you will find that coal differs 
in weight, as well as quality, but will not differ as 
much as wood, but along the same line. Pine (white) 
is much lighter in weight than oak, so that a bushel 
of bituminous coal will depend on its weight as to the 
seam it is taken from. We say a bushel of coal weighs 
80 lbs. ; therefore there are 25 bushels of coal in a 
ton of 2,000 lbs. A cubic foot of coal weighs 47 lbs. 
Below I give a fable, copied from the “Miners’ Pocket 
Book” : 
CUlilC FT. OCCUPIED RY 2,000 LBS. OF VARIOUS COALS 
Varieties 
Broken 
Egg 
Stove 
Chest¬ 
nut 
Pea 
Lackawanna Anthracite . 
37.10 
36. (55 
34.90 
34.35 
37.25 
Garfield Red Ash Anthracite.. 
37.30 
36.95 
36.35 
36.35 
37.50 
T.vkens Valley Anthracite.... 
37.65 
37.25 
37.55 
37.25 
38.50 
Shamokiu Anthracite . 
38.05 
37.50 
37.25 
37.25 
38.50 
Plymouth Red Asli Anthracite 
34.00 
34.85 
34.74 
34.70 
36.90 
Wilkes-Barre Anthracite .... 
34.95 
34.35 
33.75 
33.00 
36.90 
Lehigh Anthracite . 
33.30 
33.80 
33.55 
32.55 
33.05 
Torberry Anthracite . 
34.65 
34.20 
33.80 
33.55 
35.20 
Scranton Anthracite . 
35.35 
35.20 
34.60 
33.30 
34.95 
Pittston Anthracite . 
35.45 
34.95 
34.35 
33.70 
35.50 
Cumberland Bituminous . 
36.65 
Clearfield Bituminous . 
33.55 
New River Bituminous . 
40.15 
.... 
Pocahontas Bituminous . 
34.00 
American Cannel Bituminous.. 
41.50 
English Cannel Bituminous... 
42.30 
..... 
..... 
• . • • • 
..... 
You will learn by this table that there is some dif¬ 
ference in the weight of the different coal. This fable 
shows that the “Clearfield” coal is heavier than other 
coals. This is not on account of the amount, of impuri¬ 
ties there may be in it, as some may suppose, but as we 
find that oak wood is heavier than the soft woods, so are 
some coals heavier than others. In Clearfield County, 
Pennsylvania, there are seven distinct and separate 
seams. Each one differs from the others in characteris¬ 
tics, neither does the same seam carry the same quality 
all through the region. This may seem strange to you, 
but we find in some places the coal in a certain seam is 
7 ft. thick, and in other localities 18 in. 
S. D. IIAINLEY. 
Local Fairs in New York 
There is little doubt that many of the town and prob¬ 
ably some of the county fairs of New York have about 
all they can do to make ends meet. The fair associa¬ 
tions have just held their midwinter conference in Al¬ 
bany, to take some account of stock in trade and to 
plan for the coming year. Commissioner I’yrke of the 
Department of Farms and Markets told the fair offi¬ 
cials that he believed there are too many fairs, since tlie 
automobile has reduced distances, so to speak. The 
trouble seems to be how to let go. 
There has been some doubt about the fairness of 
awards of prizes at fairs in the minds of the public 
sometimes. There seemed to be considerable determina¬ 
tion among fair managers to put a stop to any ques¬ 
tionable awards, and there was unanimous approval, ap¬ 
parently, of some plan to prevent any cattle being 
brought to the fairs that have not passed the tubei’culin 
test. I was rather pleased with the sentiments of the 
fair managers as they expressed themselves. Commis¬ 
sioner Pyrke gave a brief review of fairs, especially as 
they were in European countries hundreds of years ago. 
At one time they were held in connection with religious 
institutions, but at other times questionable practices 
crept into their management. They had to clean up 
themselves or go out of existence. In these days it 
would seem from what I learned that fairs will have to 
improve themselves. 
Not only in the awarding of premiums but in respect 
to attractions should the fairs be on their guard. There 
is now an association that certifies the quality of shows 
and other attractions, and the certification is month by 
month. The head of this association came to Albany 
and delivered a stirring address. He made it apparent 
that clean shows may be had if managei\s of fairs are 
cautious. He told of the strenuous work done to build 
up the showmen’s association and then to convince the 
various Legislatures that laws preventing shows were 
unnecessary, since the association, through its licensing 
bureau, can and will make clean shows possible. 
Another speaker described the little country theater 
as proposed by Cornell and carried out by local people. 
It made at his town a very popular attraction at the 
fail*. According to the line of thought that seemed to 
prevail at this meeting we may look for some improve¬ 
ment in our local fairs as a whole. n. 
