209 
The  Sore  Spot  is  Distribution 
[Following  is  the  speech  Mr.  Dillon  broadcast  by  the 
radio  station  at  Schenectady  on  January  17,  as  ar¬ 
ranged  by  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society. 
It  is  a  brief  expression  of  his  well-known  views  on  our 
farm  problems.] 
GRICULTURE  as  a  business  is  at  this  time  un¬ 
profitable.  More  than  ever  before  the  indus¬ 
tries  of  the  world  are  operating  in  well-organized 
groups,  through  the  men  directly  interested  in  these 
respective  industries.  Owing  to  the  nature  of  agri¬ 
culture  and  the  widely  distributed  farm  population, 
the  centralized  form  of  organization  that  serves 
other  industries  well  is  not  suited  to  the  needs  of  the 
farm  ;  and  in  following  the  familiar  forms  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  real  co-operation  suited  to  the  farm  condi¬ 
tions  lias  not  been  generally  adopted  and  developed. 
In  consequence,  other  groups  have  protected  their 
interests  through  organized  vigilance  and  activities, 
while  the  interests  of  the  farms  have  suffered  be¬ 
cause  there  was  no  one  commissioned  by  the  farmer 
himself  to  see  that  agriculture  fared  as  well  as 
financial,  transportation  and  labor  interests  in  their 
relations  to  one  another. 
In  round  figures,  farmers  produce  90  per  cent  of 
the  annual  wealth  of  this  country  in  raw  materials. 
I  he  business  is  not  profitable,  because  the  products 
of  the  farm  do  not  sell  for  enough  to  pay  the  cost  of 
production,  to  say  nothing  of  a  profit. 
Production  is  not  complete  until  the  goods  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  consumer.  Production,  therefore, 
includes  distribution;  but  a  middleman  system  has 
been  built  up  in  this  country  which  now  controls  the 
distribution,  and  this  system  takes  from  65  to  75  per 
cent  of  the  consumer’s  dollar.  The  farmer’s  share 
is  generally  less  than  one-third  of  the  dollar.  Under 
this  arrangement  the  farmer  must  exchange  a  pro¬ 
duct  that  costs  him  from  three  to  five  hours  of 
skilled  labor  on  the  farm  for  an  article  which  he 
must  buy  that  requires  only  one  hour  to  produce  in 
the  factory  or  shop. 
This  system  of  unequal  exchange  has  been  forced 
on  the  farmer  through  law,  custom,  selfishness  and 
politics.  While  the  system  continues  no  petty  sub¬ 
sidy  in  the  way  of  social,  educational  and  credit 
favors  will  help  ‘him.  If  we  hope  to  keep  people  on 
the  farms  to  produce  food  we  must  make  it  possible 
to  sell  the  products  of  the  farm  at  a  profit.  Fann¬ 
ers  can  do  much  to  this  end  through  the  right  kind 
of  co-operation,  but  the  present  scheme  of  things  has 
developed  to  his  disadvantage  and  beyond  either  his 
individual  or  collective  control. 
The  State  has  perhaps  unwittingly  helped  fasten 
the  present  wasteful  and  extravagant  system  of  dis¬ 
tribution  upon  us.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  State  now 
to  correct  it  and  provide  an  efficient  and  economic 
marketing  system  for  the  distribution  of  farm  food 
products.  To  neglect  it  would  be  a  calamity  to  the 
State  and  an  indictment  of  our  modem  civilization. 
That  Misbranded  Vinegar  Case 
THE  R.  N.-Y.  recently  mentioned  a  court  decision 
regarding  the  misbranding  of  vinegar.  In  the 
case  referred  to  the  question  was  whether  cider 
made  from  dried  or  evaporated  apples  could  properly 
be  labeled  “apple  cider  vinegar.”  The  court  decided 
that  vinegar  made  from  evaporated  apples  is  mis¬ 
branded  when  it  carries  that  label.  The  two  sam¬ 
ples  of  vinegar  may  be  exactly  alike.  About  all 
that  evaporation  or  drying  does  to  the  apple  is  to 
remove  about  SO  per  cent  of  the  water.  Not  much 
else  of  value  is  removed.  When,  therefore,  water 
is  added  to  the  evaporated  fruit  until  it  is  well 
soaked,  and  then  pressure  is  applied,  the  resulting 
liquid  is  much  the  same  as  apple  juice,  and  there 
would  be  little  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  vine¬ 
gar  made  from  either.  This  court  decision  makes 
it  very  clear  that  this  is  not  the  point  in  misbrand¬ 
ing.  The  theory  upon  which  the  pure  food  laws  are 
framed  is  that  “The  purchaser  has  the  right  to  de¬ 
termine  for  himself  which  lie  will  buy  and  which  he 
will  receive  and  which  he  will  eat.  The  vendor 
cannot  determine  that  for  the  purchaser.  He,  of 
course,  can  make  his  arguments,  but  they  should  be 
fair  and  honest  arguments.” 
Judge  Westenliaver,  who  decided  this  case,  makes 
the  following  clear  statement  of  what  the  law  in¬ 
tends  in  this  vinegar  controversy : 
The  law  was  designed  to  prevent  the  ordinary  pur¬ 
chaser  from  being  deceived  and  misled  as  to  what  he 
is  buying,  and  that  therefore  the  test  of  misbranding 
is  the  effect  of  the  label  or  statement  upon  the  ordinary 
purchaser.  A  statement  that  an  article  is  apple  cider 
vinegar,  made  from  selected  apples,  can  convey  no  other 
idea  to  such  a  person  in  the  present  state  of  common 
knowledge  than  that  the  vinegar  is  made  from  the  ex¬ 
pressed  juice  of  fresh  apples,  and  not  by  the  manipula¬ 
tion  of  dried  or  evaporated  apples.  If  it  does,  and  the 
ordinary  purchaser  is  or  may  be  thereby  misled  or  de¬ 
ceived,  it  is  no  answer  to  say  that  he  gets  a  vinegar 
which  is  equally  good.  The  object  of  the  law  is  to  let 
The  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
the  purchaser  know  just  what  he  is  buying  and  to  let 
him  decide  whether  he  wants  it  or  not.  One  may  not 
take  advantage  of  his  prejudices  or  want  of  information 
to  sell  him  something  different  from  what  he  thinks  he 
is  buying. 
Boosting  Farm  Assessments  in  N.  Y. 
On  page  S7  I  noticed  an  article  stating  that  assessed 
valuation  of  farm  property  in  Central  New  York  had 
been  raised  from  S3  to  96  per  cent.  I  would  state  that 
farm  property  in  the  town  of  Hamburg,  Erie  County, 
was  also  raised  in  assessment  valuation  from  20  to  60 
per  cent  over  last  year’s  valuation.  My  own  farm  was 
assessed  19  per  cent  higher  than  the  year  before,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  no  building  had  been  even  painted 
or  repaired  in  nine  years,  and  if  the  farm  was  to  be 
sold  it  would  not  bring  more  than  it  did  10  years  ago. 
If,  however,  an  old  wagon-shed  or  hogpen  were  to  be 
replaced  by  a  new  one  the  assessors  would  promptly 
add  another  hundred  or  two  to  its  assessment. 
Many  farms  around  here  would  hardly  sell  for  what 
they  are  assessed.  The  reason  for  this  is,  I  think,  that 
the  State  Board  of  Assessors  overawe  our  local  assess¬ 
ors,  who  as  a  rule  are  not  able  to  explain  the  situation 
of  the  average  farmer  in  a  clear  and  concise  way,  as 
can  the  gentlemen  from  Albany,  who  talk  and  eat  taxes 
every  day.  Our  men  tell  me  that  all  assessors  of  the 
county  meet  the  State  Board  every  year  in  Buffalo,  at 
which  meeting  the  tax  situation  is  gone  over  thor¬ 
oughly.  Our  men  are  told  that  rural  property  is  not 
assessed  high  enough  in  comparison  with  city  property, 
and  thus  not  bearing  its  just  burden  of  taxes.  Hence 
the  raise. 
My  assessed  valuation  has  been  increased  224  per 
cent  in  the  last  nine  years,  and  my  tax  bills  have  in¬ 
creased  363  per  cent.  My  farm  does  not  produce  more 
crops  now  than  it  did  nine  or  10  years  ago.  This  con¬ 
dition  prevails  all  through  this  section,  and  the  land 
has  no  speculative  value,  except  what  the  assessors 
place  upon  it,  as  shown  above.  I  asked  our  assessors 
how  they  arrived  at  the  true  valuation  of  property,  and 
was  told  that  some  Supreme  Court  judge  (name  un¬ 
known)  had  decided  that  at  whatever  price  a  buyer 
and  seller  agreed  upon  was  the  true  value  of  the 
property.  He  also  said  this  judge  lived  on  a  farm. 
Of  course  we  all  know  that  a  Supreme  Court  judge 
with  his  remunerative  salary  was  not  compelled  to 
make  his  living  on  the  farm.  However,  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  only  sane  way  of  judging  value  of  property, 
farm  or  otherwise,  is  its  income  value,  what  it  will 
produce.  If  held  on  speculation,  then  assess  according 
to  what  neighboring  property  is  worth. 
Why  all  this  talk  about  keeping  the  boys  on  the 
farm  when  taxes  are  climbing  by  leaps  and  bounds, 
and  farm  products  do  not  pay  for  their  labor  compared 
with  other  work?  j. 
In  our  town  every  farmer’s  assessment  was  practi¬ 
cally  doubled  this  year.  Our  assessment  in  1922  was 
.$6,500.  For  1923  it  was  $10,500,  with  $500  additional 
personal.  This  was  done  without  any  notification 
whatever.  We  did  not  see  the  assessors  on  the  premises 
this  year,  but  now  know  they  remained  in  road'  in  a 
car  and  '  sized  ”  us  up.  One  was  a  woman,  who  knows 
nothing  whatever  about  real  estate.  I  hope  you  will 
take  up  this  matter  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  if  it  is  as  general 
as  I  think.  The  farmer  should  not  pay  for  the  war 
and  all  else  in  his  present  pathetic  financial  condition. 
What  can  we  do  about  it?  n  g  k 
Chenango  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Blacksmith  and  Veterinarian 
I  read  on  page  87  the  letter  you  publish  from  a 
blacksmith  in  a  country  town  in  New  York  .State.  I 
note  the  perfunctory  reply  you  received  relative  to  the 
requirements  to  practice  veterinary  medicine  in  New 
York  State.  All  of  this,  of  course,  is  true,  but  your 
viewpoint  of  it  is  the  sane  human  side  which,  un¬ 
fortunately,  is  foreign  to  many  directors  of  great 
colleges.  Some  of  the  very  best  men  in  the  veterinary 
profession,  and  I  presume  in  all  professions,  came  from 
the  ranks  that  know  toil  and  labor.  Higher  education 
seems  necessary  to  elevate  the  profession.  I  have  had 
an  opportunity  to  observe  the  studies  and  the  work  of 
other  professional  men,  and  I  question  if  there  is  any 
profession  that  subjects  a  man  to  greater  mental  strain 
and  more  physical  hardship  than  that  of  being  a  com¬ 
petent  and  successful  veterinary  practitioner.  But 
with  all  the  scientific  training,  if  he  has  any  intent  of 
becoming  a  practitioner,  there  is  no  single  attribute 
that  will  serve  him  so  often  as  having  a  knowledge  of 
the  life  of  farm  animals — their  natural  ways  and 
peculiarities,  the  different  injustices  or  neglect  they 
are  subject  to  by  ignorance  or  indifference  of  their 
owners.  A  man  having  this  knowledge  grasps  so 
readily  the  ways  necessary  to  meet  the  public  and  give 
real  service. 
It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  young  blacksmith  who 
would  like  to  become  a  veterinarian,  as  you  state,  could 
teach  some  of  the  profession  many  things  about  the 
horse  and  his  foot.  And  there  must  be  a  way  of  mak¬ 
ing  it  possible  for  him  to  accomplish  what  he  wishes, 
if  he  really  wishes  hard  enough.  j.  f.  devine. 
Orange  Co.,  N.  Y. 
R.  N.-Y. — Of  course  we  expect  to  be  crit  icized  for 
making  the  statement,  but  we  think  such  knowledge  of 
the  horse  as  a  good  blacksmith  would  naturally  gain 
at  his  trade  would  be  far  more  useful  than  a  high- 
school  diploma  to  any  one  who  practiced  veterinary 
science.  Some  way  should  be  provided  for  enabling 
such  men  as  that  blacksmith  to  enter  the  profession. 
Do  not  stretch  an  impossible  fence  of  “sheepskin” 
around  the  job. 
An  Illinois  lad  living  in  the  outskirts  of  Chicago 
first  wanted  to  be  a  blacksmith,  and  he  hired  out  with 
a  man  of  the  forge.  Later  he  got  to  be  a  horse  lover 
and  a  sport.  He  owned  a  racing  horse,  and  among 
some  other  requirements  he  got  some  bad  habits.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  developed  unusual  knowledge  of 
a  horse’s  foot.  Of  his  own  accord  he  got  rid  of  some 
customs  that  were  not  contributing  to  his  success  and 
fell  to  the  study  of  matters  that  came  to  him  in  fitting 
a  shoe  on  an  equine.  He  went  to  night  school  and 
took  up  the  study  that  would  help  him  as  a  horse- 
shoer.  Working  at  the  forge  by  day  and  with  his  books 
at  night  he  graduated,  and  the  law  of  Illinois  today 
gives  him  the  legal  right  to  attach  “D.  V.”  after  his 
signature.  He  has  a  well-equipped  smithy  on  the  first 
floor  of  a  substantial  building;  above  he  has  his  veter¬ 
inary  office,  where  he  daily  receives  the  calls  that  take 
him  over  a  considerable  area  in  Cook  County. 
Illinois,  J.  L.  GRAFF. 
“No  Use  for  a  Wide  Sleigh” 
On  page  121  there  was  an  appeal  made  by  Mr.  Hall 
for  wide  sleighs  and  cutters.  Personally,  I  cannot 
agree  with  the  writer  or  the  proposition,  and  I  think 
it  would  meet  with  a  very  cold  approval  from  this  part 
of  New  York  State  (Seneca  County).  There  might 
be  some  sections  of  the  State  where  it  would  prove 
advantageous,  but  I  question  that.  What  a  cumber¬ 
some  thing  a  wide  sleigh  would  be;  for  instance,  get¬ 
ting  around  in  a  woodlot  and  in  and  out  of  a  barnyard, 
where  you  have  short  turns  and  narrow  passageways. 
Supposing  they  were  adopted,  what  kind  of  a  track 
would  you  have?  A  track  that  an  auto  makes  in  the 
snow,  a  driver,  to  follow  with  a  sleigh,  would  not  want 
to  be  a  very  close  adherent  to  the  prohibition  amend¬ 
ment;  but  granting  that  you  could  follow  it.  what 
would  happen  where  you  travel  over  from  2y%  to  4 
feet  of  snow  on  a  hard  track,  as  we  often  do  here?  A 
sleigh  will  travel  on  such  a  track  for  two  or  three 
months  and  still  be  good,  aside  from  a  few  “pitch 
holes.”  If  an  auto  made  two  or  three  trips  over  such 
a  track  it  would  first  be  off  on  one  side,  then  on  the 
other,  until  there  would  not  be  any  track,  and  we 
would  all  have  to  take  to  the  fields.  We  do  now  some, 
for  where  an  auto  tries  to  go  through  one  of  our  deep 
roads  it  is  hardly  safe  for  man  or  beast  afterwards. 
Better  leave  well  enough  alone  as  to  sleighs.  Legis¬ 
lation  no  doubt  will  soon  be  adopted  to  keep  the  roads 
open.  Then  “Lizzie,”  perhaps,  will  have  to  pay,  and 
I  question  the  wisdom  of  that.  Better,  I  think,  to 
have  a  gas  tax  ;  then  those  of  us  who  jack  up  the  car 
five  months  of  the  year  will  escape  at  least  that  much 
snow  removing  cost.  E.  s.  wllson. 
Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y. 
The  article  by  Frank  F.  Hall  wanting  you  to  assist 
him  in  passing  a  law  to  have  sleighs  and  bobsleds  the 
width  of  autos  and  wagons  is  beyond  reason  in  this 
north  country,  up  near  the  border.  This  thing  was 
brought  up  and  discussed — and  cussed — a  few  years 
ago.  I  have  seen  this  thing  tried  out  here  with  large 
wide  rollers,  and  with  the  snow  drifting  in  a  30-mile 
gale  you  could  not  see  where  it  had  been  after  15 
minutes.  They  are  now  junked.  Imagine,  if  you 
please,  a  light  cutter  with  a  4-ft.  8-in.  run.  All  the 
running  gear  would  have  to  be  of  heavier  and  stronger 
material.  It  would  look  more  like  a  pung.  IIow  would 
a  young  man  and  his  best  girl  look  with  all  that  width 
of  seat?  And  bobsleds!  They  would  have  to  be  from 
a  quarter  to  a  half  heavier  to  stand  the  strain.  Eveners 
and  neekyokes  would  have  to  be  longer  and  heavier  if 
the  horses  are  to  walk  in  the  beaten  track.  Very  few 
farmers  these  times  could  afford  the  expense.  On  the 
whole,  I  do  not  think  the  farmers  are  in  favor  of  it, 
even  if  they  do  own  automobiles.  I  myself  have  a 
flivver,  cutter  and  bobs.  It  would  only  pave  the  way 
for  more  bootlegging  and  crime.  fred  belt.. 
Franklin  Co.,  N.  Y. 
New  York  State  Notes 
The  New  York  State  College  of  Forestry  at  Syracuse 
University  has  started  a  unique  course  to  be  given  from 
March  27  to  April  6.  The  course  is  for  the  purpose 
of  studying  methods  in  dry-kiln  engineering.  The  col¬ 
lege  has  recently  installed  a  small  experimental  dry- 
kiln  to  supplement  the  larger  one  that  has  been  in 
service  for  six  years.  These  kilns  are  of  the  most 
modern  design  having  the  steam  jet  system  of  humidify¬ 
ing  and  circulating,  equipped  with  various  makes  of 
automatic  temperature  and  humidity  regulators,  and 
will  afford  an  opportunity  for  those  interested  to  ob¬ 
serve  their  operation  at  close  range.  In  addition  to  this 
study,  grades  and  identification  of  commercial  lumber 
will  be  covered.  A  number  of  prominent  men  in  the 
wood  industry  will  give  talks  and  demonstrations  dur¬ 
ing  the  course.  This  course  should  be  of  practical 
value.  There  is  one  thought  however  for  the  readers  of 
this  column  and  that  is,  if  we  don’t  get  busy  pretty 
soon  and  set.  out  some  trees  on  the  areas  that,  we  are 
now  allowing  to  go  to  waste  or  worse  still  trying  to  do 
the  impossible  task  of  farming  we  will  soon  be  without 
any  wood  to  dry. 
Movement  is  under  way  for  feeding  the  pheasants  in 
Western  New  York,  as  these  birds  find  food  pretty 
scarce  since  the  heavy  snow  has  fallen.  In  the  vicinity 
of  Silver  Lake  there  is  reported  a  dying  off  of  many 
birds  each  day.  A  local  editor  has  provided  feed  enough 
for  the  vicinity  of  Perry  and  is  making  a  strong  plea 
for  the  people  interested  in  wild  life  to  help  finance 
the  continued  feeding.  Here  is  an  opportunity  for  the 
same  people  who  are  interested  in  hunting  next  season 
to  contribute  toward  the  feed  bill  of  the  birds  they  love 
to  hunt. 
The  largest  attended  farmers’  meetings  in  the  State 
are  those  now  being  conducted  by  the  Dairymen’s 
League  at  which  time  the  operations  of  their  plants  are 
being  shown  in  moving  pictures.  It  is  not  unusual  for 
three  to  four  hundred  farmers  to  turn  out  to  these 
meetings.  This  is  something  that  the  dairy  farmers  of 
the  State  are  interested  in. 
The  New  York  State  Sheep  Breeders’  Co-operative 
Association  voted,  at  their  annual  meeting,  to  close 
their  1923  pool  on  April  1.  The  wool  market  at  the 
present  time  is  one  of  the  bright  spots  in  the  market¬ 
ing  reports  of  farmers’  produce ;  532.000  pounds  of 
wool  was  pooled  last  year  at  a  cost  of  3%c  a  pound. 
The  landing  of  the  National  Dairy  Show  for  the  Fall 
of  1923  at  Syracuse  leads  to  a  belief  that,  the  present 
legislature  will  surely  pass  the  bill  which  has  for  its 
object  the  building  of  a  coliseum  at,  the  State  Fail- 
grounds.  So  many  agencies  are  working  for  this  show, 
its  success  is  assured.  It  will  tax  the  city  of  Syracuse 
to  accommodate  all  the  visitors. 
The  thrashermen  of  the  State  met  in  Rochester  for 
their  annual  convention  recently.  Their  program  had 
to  do  with  legislative  work  which  they  have  been  carry¬ 
ing  on  as  well  as  matters  on  insurance.  No  report,  at 
least  publicly,  was  given  out  as  to  what  agreement 
was  made  as  to  the  thrashing  rates  for  next  yar. 
The  National  Concord  Grape  Growers’  Association 
was  organized  in  Buffalo  Junuary  24.  This  meeting  was 
attended  by  growers  from  New  York,  Ohio,  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  and  Michigan.  E.  C.  Gillett  of  I*enn  Yan  and 
Charles  Aldrich  of  Fredonia  were  the  two  representa¬ 
tives  from  New  York  that  will  represent  the  State  on 
the  temporary  board  of  directors  who  will  act  until  the 
association  is  set  up  and  operating.  The  new  associa¬ 
tion  proposes  to  promote  the  interests  of  grape  growers, 
acting  as  a  clearing  house  for  information  on  legisla¬ 
tion  and  marketing  by  helping  in  standardization  of 
their  product  and  pack.  The  association  will  have  a 
membership  of  local  grape  growers’  organizations  and 
not  of  individual  members.  A  central  office  will  soon 
be  established.  The  following  officers  were  elected: 
President.  K  B.  Crawford.  Crawford,  Pa. ;  Vice  Presi¬ 
dent.  E.  ('.  Gillett,  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y. ;  Secretary,  W.  II. 
Asbury,  Unionville,  Ohio;  Treasurer,  L.  E.  Prates,  Dc- 
pauw,  Mich.  fi,  A.  f. 
