1536 
7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 13, 1924 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established tsso 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 West 30th Street,New York 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wjl F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
L. H. Murphy, Circulation Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A TEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 82.04. Remit in money 
order, express order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, *1.00 per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, *e will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
O NE of the most useful and interesting farm hap¬ 
penings in New York State is “Farmers’ Week” 
at Cornell. It is the great agricultural round-up of 
the year, full of suggestive instruction and enter¬ 
tainment. There is always a crowd, and each year 
new features, new methods of calling attention to 
agricultural problems are introduced. We have a 
suggestion to make for the next gathering. Why not 
stage a mock trial, such as the New Jersey farmers 
have given so successfully? They put N. J. Potato 
on trial as responsible for some of the troubles of 
Jersey farming. From judge to witnesses the parts 
were well acted by plain Jerseymen—farmers, bank¬ 
ers, commission men, county agents—all classes who 
have to do with growing and handling potatoes. 
Now, our suggestion is that at next Farmers’ Week 
Mrs. N. Y. Cow be put on trial in a similar way, 
charged with bringing disaster to many farmers. As 
in New Jersey, we would have the actors selected 
from capable farmers, and give a wide latitude to 
the testimony. Bring out the facts, from the capac¬ 
ity of the cow herself to the capacity of the men 
who sell the milk and those who consume it. If this 
can be staged with anything like the skill shown by 
these Jersey farmers, fairly and without fear, there 
will be the greatest outpouring of farmers ever 
known in the history of Cornell. Many of them will 
be newcomers—never there before. Furthermore, a 
trial of this sort, fearlessly conducted, will do more 
to get at the heart of our present dairy troubles than 
any other thing yet attempted. The novelty of the 
method will attract attention and the defense of 
the cow will, if well conducted, show us what is 
wrong. This suggestion is made in good faith after 
seeing the excellent results from the trial of N. J. 
Potato. Mrs. N. Y. Cow to the bar! 
HE Hope Farm man this week quotes from Ly- 
curgus the EacedaMnonian who, when asked to 
establish a democracy, replied, “ First set up a dt- 
mocracy in your own house!" The meaning of this 
ought to be clear. The world is full of people who 
refuse to mind their own business. They go about 
telling the rest of the world how to behave and what 
to do, yet they have often made a failure of their 
own homes. Take the majority of those who are so 
insistent for the child labor amendment or for the 
rural school bill. Take a good look at their own 
children, if they have any, and see how many model 
youngsters you can find. There are some worthy ex¬ 
ceptions, but our investigations show that the great 
majority of these reformers never had any children 
of their own, or have turned their children over to 
others for education and companionship. Lycurgus 
was right! Why should our education system be 
given entirely into the hands of people 'who have 
never set up a democracy in their own house? 
Vf- 
T the meeting of the National Grange in At¬ 
lantic City there was a strong protest against 
any more issues of tax-exempt bonds for State, 
county, city and town. More of these bonds were 
issued during the first six months of this year than 
ever before in a like period. People who want to 
hide their income are taking money from business 
and putting it into these bonds. In many cases these 
bonds are sold to make public improvements which 
are not needed, and which are put through by 
monied interests in order to create good investments. 
These bonds escape taxation, so that the expenses of 
government must be paid in taxes on a dwindling 
proportion of total property in the country. The 
only way to equalize taxation in a large way is to 
compel these bondholders to pay their share and not 
use the tax-exempts to evade their share. This sys¬ 
tem is injuring farmers more than any other class. 
They are forced to pay interest and principal on 
these bonds, and their property, being open and evi¬ 
dent, they cannot escape their taxes. While the 
Grange was in session at Atlantic City, Gov. Silzer 
of New Jersey defended tax-exempt bonds. He said 
that if they were taxed the taxes would all come 
back in charges to the community. He did not say, 
however, that if such bonds were placed on a par 
with other securities it would be more difficult to 
sell them, and thus harder to saddle some awful 
debt upon the community. If such bonds had no tax- 
exempt privilege it would be much harder to vote 
them. That would be a good thing for hundreds of 
communities that are now bled white by taxes on 
unneeded “improvements.” 
K 
N action was recently started in the courts in 
Minnesota to test the constitutionality of the 
Sapiro co-operative law of that State. The particu¬ 
lar provision of the law under review is the section 
that forbids anyone to solicit trade in products from 
a farmer who is under contract with a co-operative 
association, makes it a misdemeanor to do so, and 
imposes a fine of $500. It is held that the law would 
be violated by the act of a merchant in sending out a 
card or circular giving quotations on the product to 
a farmer who is a member of the association. The 
reports indicate that the action is brought by the 
Minnesota Butter, Egg and Poultry Association, and 
that the purpose is to carry the case through to the 
United States Supreme Court for final determina¬ 
tion. 
* 
School Meeting, Syracuse, December 31 
W E keep on repeating the announcement of this 
meeting because it will be one of the most 
important events of the season. The rural school 
problem in New York is the most important public 
question which our farmers have to face this year. 
Not only does it deal with the education of their 
children, but taxation and the principle of home rule 
are involved. The Rural School Improvement So¬ 
ciety is the only State organization that stands di¬ 
rectly for the district school. This society stands 
openly and without any quibbling for the rights of 
the school district. At this meeting plans will be 
laid for a full campaign. We need you there. We 
need all friends of the district school. All are wel¬ 
come. No one will be denied a chance to express 
his views. 
* 
A S we write this a peddler in the street fronting 
this office is selling potatoes “15 lbs. for 25 
cents.” They are good potatoes—good size and good 
quality. At the price charged the peddler gets $1 a 
bushel. These potatoes have passed through the 
hands of the grower, the local buyer, the railroad 
handlers, the jobber, the dealer and the peddler. 
Each has taken his toll and, as nearly as we can 
figure it, 26 cents of the dollar goes back to the 
farmer who grew the potatoes. This farmer paid 
taxes on his farm, he paid for labor, seed, fertilizer, 
spraying chemicals and interest on the cost of plow, 
harrow, cultivators, digging and a dozen other items. 
A New York woman pays the peddler 25 cents, and 
6% cents goes back to the farmer. And most of the 
women must be coaxed into buying. They can put 
their hands into a package of macaroni or rice, take 
out enough for a meal, cook it easily, while the rest 
of the package will keep perfectly. The potato must 
be washed and peeled, and in the warm apartment 
those left in the bag will decay if kept too long. 
Yet the potato is a better food than either the rice 
or the other substitutes. It.is an American pro¬ 
duct, and should be bought by Americans in prefer¬ 
ence to imported food. The consumption of potatoes 
in most of our cities is undoubtedly falling off. We 
need a crusade of advertising to restore potatoes to 
favor as a useful part of the diet. 
* 
I am with you on this child labor amendment, and 
I shall at once write to my Congressman and urge 
him to vote against it. 
TRANGE to say, we have many letters like that, 
and it is one of the most discouraging things 
about public matters. This proposed amendment has 
now gone out of the hands of your Congressman. 
Congress has nothing more to do with it. In order 
to become a part of the constitution it must be rati¬ 
fied by 36 of the States. Therefore, let your Con¬ 
gressman alone. He has done damage enough-al¬ 
ready. Concentrate all the influence you have upon 
the Assemblyman or Senator who will represent 
your county at Albany, Trenton, or other State cap¬ 
itals. Our advice is to write and make him under¬ 
stand that you oppose the amendment, and that you 
want a popular vote or referendum on the subject. 
This handing of supreme power in family matters 
over to Congress is one of the most important ques¬ 
tions we have ever had up for discussion. One of 
the most telling questions in the late election was 
the claim that the Progressives were in favor of tak¬ 
ing powers away from the Supreme Court and giv¬ 
ing them to Congress! That proposition was voted 
down overwhelmingly, yet here is a proposition in 
this child labor amendment to give even greater 
powers and greater control. The situation has come 
to a head. Lance it with your pen by writing at 
once to the men who will represent you at the State 
capital. They are there to represent you—not to 
represent themselves. 
* 
UR correspondence shows that the leading fruit 
growers in New York State are in favor of 
spending State money to build a fruit laboratory at 
the Geneva Station. These men realize the need of 
strict economy in State finances, but they feel that 
the new building will be a good investment, and they 
will work for it. It is a good thing for men of this 
character to work individually for such an appro¬ 
priation instead of giving perfunctory support 
through their organization, and then standing aside. 
We have all done too much of that during the past, 
and in doing it practical men have lost control of 
many organizations—from political parties down. 
The way to regain political control is to take per¬ 
sonal interest in the public things you need. The 
R. N.-Y. is convinced that our leading fruit growers 
want this new building. They must now get out 
and work for it. 
* 
As to milk prices, page 1461, is it possible to publish 
maps and figures of the cows and shipments, county by 
county, freight prices from station to station? How 
about a set of arithmetic examples covering these points 
to be used in purely dairy sections? Why should we 
not have a cow geography of New York that could be 
used in rural schools? Why study the resources of 
Ganada instead of the resources of Chenango County? 
Why not study the school system of the State as a com¬ 
pulsory part of the civics course in every high school? 
J. t>. 
IIESE questions come from a district school 
teacher in New York State. Why not, indeed! 
Can anyone think of a more useful thing to teach 
in the dairy sections of New York than the ele¬ 
mentary things about milk—its production and han¬ 
dling? The arithmetic of milk, figuring its composi¬ 
tion and all the figures which enter into its trans¬ 
portation and sale, properly worked out, would make 
one of the most useful text books imaginable. Sim¬ 
ilar text books covering the products of fruit or 
general farming counties would train the children 
from the beginning right along the line of their life 
work. Such training would leave them far more 
likely to remain on the farm than the present at¬ 
tempt to give them a thin-blooded mental trip all 
over the world. Here is work for the Dairymen's 
League which has never been started. No use ex¬ 
pecting the school authorities at Albany to start 
such things in the district school. They have just 
one idea about the district school and, like a clam 
or an oyster, they have secreted a hard shell around 
it. That idea is that the only thing to do with the 
district school is to kill it—jam it together with 
others and thus destroy its individual character, 
with an education based not on the facts of the 
country, but the fads of the town. 
Brevities 
Bread made with milk is far ahead of water bread. 
Under a garnishee only 10 per cent of a man’s w r ages 
can be taken each week. 
A first-class barber shop is a “tonsorial palace,” 
and the barber himself is a chirotenser. 
To the many who write about selling stove wood in 
this city, there is but a poor market for such fuel here. 
The towns and smaller cities are better for this trade. 
This statement answers several questions recently 
asked by New York readers : An infant under the age 
of 21 years may own real property, but he cannot con¬ 
vey the same without order of the court. 
The Ohio Experiment Station suggests a mineral 
mixture for chickens of 60 lbs. raw bonemeal, 20 lbs. 
ground limestone and 20 lbs. table salt. This is to be 
used in the mash, 2 to 4 per cent of the minerals. 
Just now a craze for “cross-w 7 ord puzzles” is sweep¬ 
ing over the country. Some of our people say these 
puzzles have great educational value. They keep" people 
out of mischief at least. At Pennsylvania State College 
various professors were asked for an opinion about 
them. Here are samples of their replies: “I find that 
children who are just at the point where they normally 
expand their vocabularies receive great benefit through 
solving the cross-word puzzles.” “The college psychol¬ 
ogy specialists are of the opinion that the cross-word 
puzzle solution craze that has swept the country gives 
only diversion to the average adult.” 
