<Sht RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
939 
The School Tax and New York City 
B ECAUSE Official organs exist to support official 
propaganda and official policies, they are sel¬ 
dom, if ever, consistent, logical or candid, in discus¬ 
sions affecting the public welfare. The Journal of 
the Neiv York State Teachers' Association is true to 
its class. It is pleased to assume that the defunct 
rural school bill proposed a progressive system of 
rural education, and from these false premises it 
jumps to the false logic that Mr. Dillon and The B. 
N.-Y. oppose progress in education. The facts are 
that the people and the Legislature of the State, as 
well as The R. N.-Y., opposed the school bill and de¬ 
feated it because it did not provide a progressive 
system of rural education. 
The Journal garbles Mr. Dillon's speech at the Al¬ 
bany hearing and attempts to falsify the record, but 
actually confirms the truth of what he .said, after 
attempting to discredit it. What Mr. Dillon said at 
the hearing is substantially this: He could not find 
in the Tax or Educational Department the assessed 
valuation of property for the rural school districts 
of the State, nor the amount of State school taxes 
paid by these districts, nor the portions of school 
money received by them from the State. The infor¬ 
mation is available for cities and incorporated vil¬ 
lages. The City of New York collects by a tax levy 
on real and personal property between $4,000,000 
and $5,000,000 annually for State school purposes. 
This money goes to the State treasury. Farms and* 
other property in the State pay the same percentage 
for the same purpose. The City of New York re- 
ceives back from the State treasury nearly $18,000,- 
000 annually as a school fund. Rural school dis¬ 
tricts seem to receive less in proportion to the State 
school tax paid by them. This is what Mr. Dillon 
said at the hearing. It threw the friends of the bill 
into a panic. They have since called it an “unrea¬ 
sonable” and “insecure” statement, but now with 
their first venture into definite figures they confirm 
the statement in part and deliberately attempt to 
obscure the rest of the truth by a mass of figures 
that have no bearing on the case. It admits that 
New York City gets $17,802,045.97 from the State 
treasury for its school expenses, but neglects to say 
that it collects on its tax levy and pays into the 
State treasury less than $5,000,000. Instead, it re¬ 
sorts to the subterfuge of crediting New York City 
for 'State revenues collected from corporations and 
individuals who pay corporation tax, income tax, 
inheritance tax, mortgage tax and automobile license 
fees direct to the State. A larger portion of the cor¬ 
porations and persons who pay these taxes may live 
in the city than on the farms, but surely no school 
boy would be stupid enough to say that such taxes 
were paid by the city. They were paid by citizens 
of the State, irrespective of their location. They 
are not city taxes, and the city does not even collect 
them. 
The facts then are that the City of New York re¬ 
ceives from the State treasury substantially $13,- 
000,000 more for school purposes than it pays to the 
State in its school tax. It does not pay 70 per 
cent of the rural school taxes. On the contrary, 
rural schools receive from the State a smaller quota 
in proportion to the State school tax levy than the 
City of New York. This was what Mr. Dillon said 
that the official reports indicate. The Journal dare 
not deny it; but pretends to do so by significantly 
neglecting to admit the amount of the city State 
school tax and then claiming that the city paid 
excise and personal taxes that the State collects in¬ 
discriminately from its citizens no matter where 
located. 
Candor would better become an educational jour¬ 
nal. 
The Milk Situation 
The outline of your plan, page 893, looks to me to be 
practical and splendid. I fear it cannot be put in op¬ 
eration, however, by July 1. You agreed with me years 
ago that any organization would prove a rope of sand 
that is not based on a contract with members, giving 
the organization the right to act as their agent in the 
sale of milk. The Eastern States group and the League 
group now have such a contract, but the other groups 
have not. Let us do the job up right while we are about 
it. The patient is not going to bleed to death before lie 
has time to sign such a contract. It would expedite 
matters and be better in every way if the League con¬ 
tract could be modified so that all will be satisfied to 
sign it. 
New York. 
T is our fondest wish to “do the job right while 
we are about it.” Nothing would please us more 
than such a change in the machinery of the League 
as would have the effect of bringing all dairy groups 
into it as one co-operative dairy organization. If 
such changes are possible, by all means let us drop 
all other suggestions and work this one out. If an 
agreement can be reached within a reasonable time, 
this is the logical thing to do. It is now and always 
nas been our ultimate hope for our dairy industry. 
It must come sooner or later, and delay means daily 
loss ct revenue to dairymen. It could do nothing 
but harm, however, to delude ourselves. There is 
nothing in the present situation to justify the as¬ 
sumption that superficial changes in the contract 
would be sufficient to bring all dairymen into the 
pool as now organized. Fundamental changes would 
be necessary, but this should not be an unsurmount- 
able obstacle. If the leaders cannot agree, the dis¬ 
pute could be settled by a referendum to dairymen. 
Temporary plans and expedients to unite the 
groups have been suggested to get over the present 
crisis, and to get dairymen at once a better price for 
milk. It has been the general impression that the 
ideal plan could not be worked out just now. It is 
the thought that with the groups working together 
under a temporary arrangement means of further co¬ 
operation among them would develop, and lead ulti¬ 
mately to a more efficient and economic organization 
with the League as a nucleus. The experience of 
the Committee of Fifteen has encouraged that hope. 
It is gaining ground. Some of us by nature are im¬ 
patient, and the present plight of dairymen magnifies 
the tendency and spurs us on to direct action and 
prompt results. These may fail without defeating 
the main purpose. The committee meets again on 
June 28 for a full day’s session. Wlhether it ap¬ 
proaches the ultimate finished plan at once or leads 
up to it through temporary expediencies, we believe 
it already begins to clarify the situation and will in 
due time plan a permanent structure. 
Milk Pool Price for May 
A DVANCE information indicates that the price 
of May pool milk net to the producer will be 
$1.30 per 100 lbs. The deductions are 8 cents for 
expenses and 10 cents for certificates, making a total 
of 18 cents, or $1.48 gross return. 
Sheffield’s price was $1.70. 
The non-pool average is not available. 
No change is reported in June prices. 
Dairying in the Northwest 
M ANY of our Eastern people hear of the changes 
in Western farming. The wheat growers have 
suffered, and many of them are trying to “diversify” 
—that is, change their plans so as to take up new 
crops which will bring them cash. President Cool- 
idge has stated that financial legislation will not 
help these farmers personally so long as they over¬ 
produce one or two staple crops only. Our Western 
readers are telling us what is being done to “diver¬ 
sify” crops. This letter is a sample: 
In the southeastern part of the State, where I live, 
there has been an increase of about 12 per cent in dairy¬ 
ing since 1922. Renters as a rule are milking more 
cows than ever before for the purpose of meeting general 
living expenses. There are no grain farmers here. We 
raise hogs and cattle, and the crops are corn, oats and 
Alfalfa. The average farmer keeps eight or 10 cows 
for milking and sells the cream to produce Btations and 
creamery. Right now there is more profit in milk 
cows than feeding cattle and hogs or selling surplus 
grain. Consequently we can look for a general increase 
in the dairying business. 
Farming in South Dakota is becoming more diversi¬ 
fied, and a good number are going in strongly for dairy¬ 
ing. In numbers, Ilolsteins are in the lead. Many 
dairy cows have been purchased and shipped from Min¬ 
nesota and Wisconsin within the last two years. Our 
State has no system for grading cream, but very likely 
a bill to that effect will be put through the next session 
of the Legislature. JOHN stotland. 
Union Co., S. D. 
That is the general report from the Northwest 
section. At present cream shipping is the chief dairy 
industry. Butter and cheese factories will follow, 
and perhaps a liquid milk trade "for long shipment 
will be developed. All this will mean better times 
for the Western farmer by providing side crops 
which will give more money. It must be under¬ 
stood, however, that this development of the dairy 
business means more and more competition for East¬ 
ern dairymen. This will not, for some years at least, 
be noticed directly in the liquid milk trade of New 
York, yet it will be indirectly felt in the sale of but¬ 
ter, cheese, cream and other by-products, and must 
be considered in making plans for our future. 
Business Slowing Up; Effect on Farmers 
Most of the papers that come here contain the com¬ 
plaint of poor business, and casual conversation with 
men from nearby industrial cities shows the same to be 
true. Men are being laid off, retail trade is slack, and 
wholesalers trading with rural sections report a serious 
decline in total sales, and why shouldn’t they? With 
thousands of farms idle and vacant, millions of farm 
people leaving, and most of the help deserted, it is no 
wonder that farm buying is short. 
Then there is the crowding of the farmer by modern 
business methods. Take the wool deal, for instance, 
which we have with us right now. Many or most farm¬ 
ers need the money, yet buyers and speculators back up 
and refuse to buy at a reasonable price, and then th-i 
others kick because the farmer won’t spend some money 
he hasn’t got. Go into any drygoods store and price 
some shoddy they call all-wool, and then tell me why the 
farmer is not entitled to the half-dollar for his raw 
wool. The clip of this country is about 266,000,000 lbs., 
and they import twice as much more, over 6,000,000 
lb«. coming in in one recent week, and people who can 
figure exchange to a cent claim the same grade of wool 
is higher in Europe than it is here. It looks like a mere 
hold-up, and it is the same in most lines of farm pro¬ 
duce. Hogs, milk, beef, wheat and all grain are well 
below cost of production, while everything we buy has 
two or three prices on the label. Farmers as a rule are 
careful buyers and balk at extortion, while in the cities 
rent takes such a large share of the workmen's pay that 
there is little left for necessities. No wonder trade is 
slack. 
The working-man has had good times and high wages 
a long season, and should have enough ahead so he need 
not worry for some time. When that time comes I 
would like to point to one source of employment that 
would absorb the best efforts of a million men at a rea¬ 
sonable wage right now. While business has had its 
harvest and the workmen drew big pay our farms have 
been going down. Farmers, by hard work and use of 
tractors and other machinery, have kept up the supply 
of cheap food, but improvements have suffered. A cas¬ 
ual inspection of any countryside will show lack of 
paint, fences in poor repair and growing up to brush, 
all ditching and stone picking stopped, and in many 
cases serious lack of repair on buildings. It is a safe 
bet that the average-eized farm can use the time of a 
handy man every day for one year on vitally needed im¬ 
provements, and that a million owners would do it, too, 
with wages and supplies at a reasonable level. 
Of course there is no use talking the union wage scale 
to the average farmer, although many are paying high 
wages for hands, but to offset less dollars most big 
farms have tenant houses usually empty, or if not there 
are plenty of vacant houses in the country. Then there 
is a garden, chance to keep a cow, fuel, fruit and pota¬ 
toes, which are the principal items of expense in the city 
for the laboring man. I fail to see why this life is not 
as satisfying as working in factories or mines, especially 
in Summer. 
I have in mind a man from a nearby village who has 
done my repair work and roofing on a lot of farm build¬ 
ings for many years. This man works reasonably, and 
does a good day's work every day, and never lacks for 
employment among the nearby farmers or villagers every 
day it is fit to be out; also does considerable indoor 
work in Winter. He has a fine home, and is reported 
to be worth considerable money. There is room for 
many more, and when times get poor and work scarce 
and labor kicks as they did four years ago, or many 
times in the past, just point the way back to the coun¬ 
tryside and the needful jobs that could be done and not 
increase our already unwieldy volume of staple crops. 
Cement, tile, paint, fencing and other supplies need 
about one-third off for cash, and then there will be no 
complaint of slack business in these lines if labor is 
available. Otherwise I see no remedy except a raise iu 
the price level that includes farm crops and gives the 
farmer equal buying power with other classes. 
Schuyler Co., N. Y. b. l. Hathaway. 
The Crop Outlook 
R IGHT now it looks as if Nature would take 
care of the overproduction scare this year. The 
continued cold and wet weather has held back pro¬ 
duction far better than any legislation or co-operation 
could have done. Pastures and meadows have been 
good thus far, and this has helped the dairymen, but 
planting of all crops has been delayed if not de¬ 
stroyed. We have already planted several crops 
twice, and have no sure stand yet. All this will 
mean short crops, with a far better chance for rea¬ 
sonable prices for what we do succeed in producing. 
Earlier in the season most fruit growers were pre¬ 
dicting an enormous crop of fruit, and particularly 
of apples. During the past month conditions have 
Changed. In spite of the heavy bloom there has not 
been a full setting of fruit. The cold, wet weather 
spoiled the prospect, and in many orchards there will 
be only a fair crop, where something enormous was 
predicted. As if this were not trouble enough, apple 
scab is reported iu many sections, and the continued 
wet weather promotes its spread. It has already 
done much damage, so that, take it all through, it is 
quite safe to say now that already one-third of the 
vast crop promised at blooming time has already 
been wiped out or spoiled. This is only one of the 
chances which all must take who gamble with Na¬ 
ture, and who can say that the life of the farmer is 
not one long game of chance? He gets a better hand 
of cards when his land is in good shape—well 
drained, limed and well filled with organic matter, 
but in any event, season after season, the farmer 
takes a longer chance than any other business man. 
This is going to be a year when the man who has 
his farm in shape to provide a high-class article will 
get his money back, for Nature is taking a hand to 
bring about a fair relation between supply and de¬ 
mand. We think that will be particularly true of 
gardeners and fruit growers. The crops will be 
shorter than was expected, and the demand will be 
good. Now give the trees and vines the best possible 
care. 
JUJ li±K) L, ^ii. , ,ikl 
