■Ibt RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
1329 
An Important Legal Milk Decision 
HE Court of Appeals has affirmed the judg¬ 
ment of the Appellate Division in the suit be¬ 
tween Holmes Brothers and the Dairymen’s League 
Co-operative Association. The decision was unani¬ 
mous, and is a final determination of the case. It be¬ 
gan in a suit by the League to collect liquidated 
damages for alleged breach of contract. The League 
won a judgment in the Supreme Court at Utica; 
but the judgment was later reversed by the Appel¬ 
late Division at Rochester and a judgment given 
Holmes Brothers for their counter claim with in¬ 
terest and costs. This decision has now been af¬ 
firmed by the Court of Appeals. 
Holmes Brothers had been members of the old 
League; and one of them authorized an employe 
of the League to sign the pooling contract. Lie also 
became a member of the local association at Afton. 
This was in 1921, and Holmes Brothers continued 
to deliver milk to Clover Farms. Beginning May 1, 
1921, they received pay for it through the League 
up to March 31, 1922. The courts held that this 
delivery and receipt of payment under the terms 
of the contract, if valid on its terms, bound both 
parties as it would if the contract had been formal¬ 
ly signed by them. On May 1, 1922, however, the 
League notified them to deliver milk to its own 
plant and not to Clover Farms. Their refusal to do 
so resulted in the suit. 
As originally organized the pool association had 
only 34 members and all other patrons who signed 
the pool contract were non-members. This was the 
case during the time Holmes Brothers violated the 
contract. They therefore set up the claim that they 
were not members of the Dairymen’s League Co-op¬ 
erative Association and the court confirmed that con¬ 
tention. The decision therefore hinges on Holmes 
Brothers’ position as non-members. It affects all 
patrons who shipped milk on the pool contract up 
to April 20, 1922, except the 34 members. On that 
date the League seems to have voted all contract 
patrons members of the pool association. The 
status of members is not changed by the decision. 
The decision is that the following four provisions 
were illegal: Reductions under clause 10 of contract 
for special funds to retire loans, etc. Reductions for 
general business purposes for which certificates of 
indebtedness were to be issued, and deductions for 
subscription to League Neivs. It also holds that the 
clause providing for liquidated damages must be 
construed as a penalty and is unenforceable. 
The judgment is for $754.46 with interest and 
costs in favor of Holmes Brothers. The amount of 
milk involved at the League’s gross return was $3,- 
329.45, and at Clover Farms price, $4,207.77. 
Taxpayers and Public Improvements 
To that idea of allowing only taxpayers lo vote on 
public expenditures I want to say “amen!” That’s the 
way they do it in Rhode Island and it works. Keep the 
idea aired occasionally. w. T. C. 
Pennsylvania. 
E find great interest in this idea of confining 
the voting privilege to taxpayers when any 
appropriation for public expenditures comes before 
the people. The discussion thus far has developed a 
clean-cut difference of opinion. Property owners 
claim, with good reason, that since they must pay 
for such improvements they should decide them. In 
private business no outsider would have the right 
to saddle heavy expenses upon them for something 
that they did not want, and which they regard as 
an extravagance. Why then should the public have 
rights which are denied in private business? On 
the other side, it is argued-that property is now 
largely in the hands of a comparatively few, most 
of whom have little interest in public improvements 
except as they are personally benefited! There 
would be few if any public improvements if their 
starting were left to actual taxpayers. Further¬ 
more it is claimed that while wealth is created by 
labor, great wealth would be impossible but for the 
congregation of the people in groups such as com¬ 
munities, towns and cities. The money paid by those 
non-taxpayers for rent, food, transportation, cloth¬ 
ing, luxuries, etc., is what makes business by means 
of which wealth is created and accumulated by 
labor. Therefore when this wealth settles into the 
hands of a comparative few they remain under an 
obligation to provide for public expenses which bene¬ 
fit all the people whether they be taxi>ayers or not. 
(Granting all this if you like, the fact remains that 
whenever the non-taxpaying majority feel that they 
can have all these public benefits by making the 
minority pay for them there is a constantly in¬ 
creasing extravagance and a growing- demand for 
greater benefits. The point seems to be this: How 
much does the taxpaying property owner owe to 
the public? Does his property really belong to him 
or does he simply hold it for the benefit of society? 
A Proposed School Bill 
T HE general feeling at the school meeting held 
at Syracuse during the State Fair was that 
country people should oppose any blanket bill cover¬ 
ing the entire subject and making radical changes. 
It was thought wiser to use the present law as a 
foundation and change it here and there to make 
it more adaptable and fairer to all. First of all, it 
was felt, any danger of having the school or dis¬ 
trict changed, against the desires of the local par¬ 
ents and taxpayers, should be removed. That men¬ 
ace once removed, the people who met at Syracuse 
expressed themselves as prepared to go ahead and 
agree upon some fair method of taxation and ad¬ 
ministration. The following bill was prepared by 
a committee, and accepted by the conference. It is 
the first step in the school campaign for 1925, and 
will be pushed vigorously. 
An Act 
To amend the education law relative to rural educa¬ 
tion. 
The people of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 
Section 1. Chapter twenty-one of the laws of nine¬ 
teen hundred and nine, entitled “An act relating to 
education, constituting chapter sixteen of the consoli¬ 
dated laws,” as amended by chapter one hundred and 
forty of the laws of nineteen hundred and ten, is here¬ 
by amended by inserting therein a new article, to be 
Article —, lo read as follows: 
Article—Rural Education 
§ Sections one hundred and twenty-eight and one 
hundred twenty-nine of the education law as it now 
stands, also all other section or sections or portions 
thereof, which conflict with the enforcement of this 
amendment are hereby repealed, insofar as they con¬ 
flict with the application of this amendment to com¬ 
mon school districts and union school districts having 
less than five thousand population. 
§ All the official acts or failures to act, and decis¬ 
ions of every kind of all educational authorities and 
employes, including the Commissioner of Education, 
and their assistants and representatives throughout 
the State, on the complaint of any affected district or 
districts, persons or person, shall be subject to appeal 
to, and through review as to all facts and law by the 
County and Supreme Courts of the State, by writ of 
certiorari or other appropriate writ, with the usual 
rights of appeal therefrom. 
Preliminary and subject to such further appeal as 
hereinbefore provided for, such affected district or dis¬ 
tricts, person or persons may first appeal to the Com¬ 
missioner of Education of the State, for such thorough 
and prompt review of the facts and law in the particu¬ 
lar case, nothing contained in the education or other 
laws lo the contrary notwithstanding. 
§ After this act takes effect, no bond or other in¬ 
debtedness direct or indirect for capital outlay, operat¬ 
ing expeniNu of all kinds, shall be incurred by any 
school district of less than five thousand population, 
exceeding two per cent of the total property assessed 
valuation of all classes of property therein. 
Unless two-thirds of the properly qualified electors 
in said district shall vote to make the limitation not 
to exceed five per cent of said valuation in a special 
case. 
§ Every school district shall have full power and 
shall within ils debt limitations furnish its own neces¬ 
sary and proper educational facilities including build¬ 
ings, and shall make its own decisions as to proper 
costs thereof, also make its own selection of proper 
plans, materials and employes of all kinds of contrac¬ 
tors therefor, but nothing herein contained shall affect 
the obligation of every school district, within its debt 
limitations to provide necessary and proper educational 
facilities including building for all its children of school 
age or to contract with other district or districts, to 
furnish same at reasonable prices: 
§ In case written objection is made by any affected 
person or persons in such district, or by the Education¬ 
al Department and duly filed with the district trustee, 
that necessary and proper educational facilities includ¬ 
ing buildings, for such district, under its debt limita¬ 
tions, are not being furnished, and agreement is not 
raised within six months after the filing of such writ¬ 
ten objection with the trustee of said district. Such 
district by a two-thirds vote of its propeidy qualified 
electors, shall elect one member of a commission to pass 
on said objections, the Board of Supervisors of the 
county wherein such school district is located another 
member, and the two members so elected shall then 
elect a third member for said commission. This com¬ 
mission shall then carefully and accurately inspect 
the educational facilities including buildings, furnished 
by said district, also their availability to all classes of 
children of school age therein, and decide if such dis¬ 
trict is furnishing said necessary and proper educational 
facilities including buildiifgs for its type of district 
within its debt limitations. The report and order of 
such commission when duly filed with the trustee of 
such district, shall be mandatory upon said district to 
furnish such necessary and proper facilities, including 
buildings as the commission deems lacking. But such 
school district or any affected person or persons may 
appeal from such decision to the County or Supreme 
Courts, therefrom, for a thorough review by writ of 
certiorari or other appropriate writ of all the facts and 
law in the particular case, within one year from the 
filing of such decision and order of said commission, 
with the usual rights of appeal therefrom. 
§ No school district or portions thereof, shall be dis¬ 
solved or consolidated with other district or districts 
or portions thereof, without the full and proper vote 
authorizing same of two-thirds of the properly qualified 
electors of each whole district affected, but nothing 
herein contained shall affect the obligation of every 
school district to furnish within its debt limitations, 
necessary and proper educational facilities including 
buildings for its type of district, for all its children of 
school age, or to contract with other district or dis¬ 
tricts to furnish same at reasonable, prices. 
§ Upon the proper vote of a majority of the properly 
qualified electors in any consolidated school district 
therefore, such district shall be dissolved into its origi¬ 
nal units. In case any bond or other indebtedness has 
been incurred by such district, it shall be fully provided 
for and properly and fairly adjusted between the credi¬ 
tors of said district and the districts formed by such 
dissolution. 
§ This act shall take effect immediately. 
The Farm Bureau and the Child Labor 
Amendment 
PIE executive committee of the American Farm 
Bureau Federation recently passed the follow¬ 
ing resolution on the child labor amendment: 
“Whereas, Congress has passed an amendment to the 
Constitution which would give that body power to pro¬ 
hibit the labor of persons under the age of IS years, 
and to prescribe the conditions of such labor and the 
ratification of this action is now before the State 
legislatures, and 
“Whereas, The opportunity to discourage or prohibit 
this sort of federal interference, making a farm mother 
of Congress, has passed for the moment beyond the ac¬ 
tivities of the American Farm Bureau Federation and 
has become almost entirely a State question, and 
“Whereas, The proposed amendment will give Con¬ 
gress blanket authority to pass stringent and farflung 
laws on this subject which is already covered adequate¬ 
ly and according to local conditions in a majority of 
States, 
“We urge the State Farm Bureau Federations to im¬ 
press upon their legislatures the desirability of defeat¬ 
ing the ratification of the child labor amendment.” 
Llere in New York State both political parties 
have “resolved” in favor of the amendment. They 
will have it ratified unless country people wake up 
and control their members of the Legislature. So 
far as we know The R. N.-Y. has received no help 
whatever from other farm papers in the State. 
A Taxpayers’ League 
The best thing that ever happened in our township 
was the formation of a taxpayers’ league. It hap¬ 
pened because of some school problems. This is a 
permanent organization with regular monthly meetings. 
In this are discussed topics which are for the better¬ 
ment of the community, and American citizenship in 
general. Our community was, I suppose, like the aver¬ 
age community; that is such as the voters not voting 
any more but. as a small minority or a little “ring” 
which ran things to suit themselves until conditions 
reached a climax. People outside of town were too 
busy to go to the polls, some saying, “Oh, what’s the 
use,” others indifferent, not taking any interest in pub¬ 
lic affairs; others taking it for granted that the “edu¬ 
cators” (?) understand their business, and yielding to 
anything that they dictate until our taxes are sky- 
high. They never write their Congressman any letter 
stating their wishes, but the element which lives off 
the common people agitate their side so much that the 
Congressmen came to the conclusion that the common 
people are satisfied because they say nothing, and 
hence yield to those that ask for something. 
I believe we have come to the point where the com¬ 
mon people have to be up and doing, or this country is 
going to fare the same as some European countries, 
and we have no longer the “Land of the Free.” Why 
not wake up and be serious about it? Look at Russia ; 
see the predicament they are in, and unless we do wake 
up and go to the polls and vote intelligently we are 
doomed. 
We have lately discussed and studied the child labor 
amendment to the Constitution. We realize it has two 
sides, but we are against it, because most States have 
school laws which control the child labor, especially 
the Northern States, and on the other hand should 
such a thing happen that no child under 18 years would 
be allowed to work that would be a dark spot on our 
civilization. 
We also watch what is going on in our county. For 
instance some city people got an idea that the county 
jail should be moved out in the country eight or nine 
miles, which would involve a million or more dollars. 
The taxes are sky-high already, as indicated above, 
and such things, which are only for the pleasure of a 
very few, should not be tolerated. Most of all we dis¬ 
cuss local affairs in our league. It is here where we 
have most control. We discuss the road problem and 
such things, and then our supervisors know exactly 
what our people want and they can go ahead with the 
full assurance of the approval of the people. If we 
want to keep our beloved country as our forefathers 
made it and gave it to us, the “land of the free,” and 
the government “by” the people and “for” the people, 
we must be up and doing. c. r. basttore. 
Berks Co., Pa.. 
