Jht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
693 
Farmers  As  Milk  Consumers 
HEBE  has  been  much  in  the  papers  of  late  about 
the  quantity  of  milk  consumed  in  country 
homes.  We  do  not  care  for  the  figures  commonly 
used  as  propaganda,  for  one  cause  or  another,  so  we 
started  an  investigation  of  our  own.  Our  ques¬ 
tions  were  sent  out  at  random,  so  as  to  get  absolutely 
fair  and  typical  reports.  Here  are  a  few  sample 
notes.  We  find  as  a  result  of  this  investigation  that 
country  children  are  consuming  far  more  milk  than 
formerly.  There  are  some  homes  where  milk  is  not 
used  as  it  should  be,  but  as  a  rule  dairymen  are 
good  customers  for  their  own  cows. 
In  my  own  family  there  are  three  members.  \\  e  use 
about  on  an  average  two  quarts  per  day.  Neighbors 
across  the  road,  six  in  family,  use.  four  quarts  per  day. 
Another  neighbor,  four  in  family,  three  quarts  per  day. 
Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.  i.  L  f. 
We  use  two  quarts  of  milk  per  day.  two  in  family. 
Inquiring  among  our  neighbors  as  to  amount  of  milk 
used  by  them,  have  found  that  they  use  more  milk  in 
Summer  than  in  Winter,  on  account  of  having  more 
milk  during  the  Spring  and  Summer.  An  average  of  a 
pint  a  day,  for  the  entire  year,  per  person,  would  be  a 
fair  estimate  of  the  amount  of  milk  used  by  farmer 
families  in  this  section.  ’This  is  not  a  dairy  section  ; 
most  of  the  farmers  keeping  enough  cows  to  supply  milk 
and  butter  for  their  own  use.  t>.  E. 
Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y. 
My  family  of  five,  three  adults  and  two  boys  aged 
eight  and  five,  consumes  five  to  eight  quarts  of  milk, 
probably  average  six  quarts,  each  day,  in  addition  to 
using  tiie  cream  from  10  quarts  daily  for  cereal,  for 
whipping  and  for  making  our  butter.  None  of  the 
cream  or  butter  is  sold.  Skim-milk  is  fed  to  calves,  but¬ 
termilk  drunk  by  family.  Some  of  our  neighbors  use  in 
equal  amount,  some  less.  H.  N.  L. 
Chenango  Co.,  N.  Y. 
There  are  four  members  in  my  family,  two  children 
aged  four  and  12  years.  We  all  like  milk  in  every  way 
and  use  from  six  to  eight  quarts  a  day.  Some  men  pre¬ 
fer  the  cider  barrel,  but  give  me  the  milk  can.  F.  E.  M. 
Chenango  Co.,  N.  Y. 
There  are  four  in  my  family,  and  we  use  three  quarts 
of  milk  per  day.  One  of  my  neighbors  has  nine  in  fam¬ 
ily  and  uses  five  quarts  a  day.  Another  has  three  in 
family  and  uses  two  quarts  a  day.  Another  has  two  in 
family  and  uses  one  quart  per  day.  o.  n.  s. 
Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y. 
My  family  consists  of  four  adults,  and  we  use  four 
quarts  of  milk  and  a  pint  of  cream  every  day,  and  quite 
frequently  we  use  more  for  ice  cream  or  something  of 
that  kind.  I  do  not  know  about  the  neighbors,  but  I 
think  most  of  them  use  quite  a  lot  of  milk.  One  family 
of  four  uses  three  quarts  per  day.  K.  8.  c. 
Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y. 
We  use  from  four  to  eight  quarts  per  day.  We  have 
a  family  of  seven,  five  children  and  two  adults.  I  am 
sure  that  much  more  milk  is  consumed  by  the  average 
family  in  the  country  than  in  the  city.  E.  r. 
Cortland  Co.,  N.  Y. 
The  Menace  of  Money  and  Power 
JN  1S54  Theodore  Parker  wrote  the  following: 
The  mercantile  men,  who  want  money,  and  the  polit¬ 
ical  men,  who  want  power.  There  is  a  strange  unan¬ 
imity  between  these  two  classes.  The  mercantile  men 
want  money  as  a  means  of  power;  the  political  men 
want  power  as  a  means  of  money.  While  the  union 
affords  money  to  the  one  and  power  to  the  other,  both 
will  be  agreed ;  both  will  work  to  “save  our  union.” 
And  as  neither  of  the  two  has  any  great  political  ideas 
.  .  .  both  will  unite  in  what  serves  the  apparent  in¬ 
terest  of  these  two. 
Parker  was  speaking  of  human  slavery,  and  his 
arguments  had  much  to  do  with  the  uprising  which 
finally  led  to  the  Civil  War  and  emancipation.  That 
was  close  to  70  years  ago.  There  are  men  still  liv¬ 
ing  who  remember  the  stirring  incidents  of  that  time. 
They  have  lived  to  see  human  slavery  abolished,,  and 
vast  progress  made  in  material  development  and 
power.  It  may  perhaps  safely  be  said  that  the  aver- , 
age  American  is  more  comfortable,  with  more  con¬ 
veniences  and  greater  means  of  living  a  pleasant  life 
than  ever  before.  Yet  is  must  also  be  admitted  that 
this  same  average  American  is  still  discontented  and 
still  with  a  feeling  that  he  is  being  exploited  or 
robbed  by  the  same  combination  of  interests  which 
Theodore  Parker  pointed  out  70  years  ago.  This  is 
particularly  true  of  farmers.  With  the  abnormal 
growth  of  our  great  cities,  farming  and  country  life 
has  suffered.  In  old  times  the  farm  was  regarded  as 
a  breeding  place  to  provide  men  to  serve  as  soldiers 
for  the  king.  Now  it  serves  as  places  where  fresh, 
clean  blood  for  the  city  is  to  be  provided.  As  great 
multitudes  gather  and  increase  in  the  big  cities, 
jobs  must  be  provided  for  all,  and  in  the  last  analysis 
the  farmer  must  pay  for  these  jobs  out  of  the  price 
which  consumers  pay  for  his  goods.  It  is,  of  course, 
a  favorite  argument  to  say  that  the  larger  the  city 
grows  the  better  market  there  must  be  for  farm  pro¬ 
duce.  That  is  not  of  necessity  true.  While  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  handling  and  selling  goods  remains  in  the 
hands  of  exploiters  who  are  in  league  with  poli¬ 
ticians,  there  will  be  no  such  thing  as  an  unre¬ 
stricted  law  of  supply  and  demand.  The  more  people 
who  rush  to  the  city  the  more  jobs  must  be  created, 
and  the  more  must  be  taken  from  the  price  of  farm 
products  in  order  to  pay  them.  Thus  farmers  and 
unorganized  workers  in  the  city  find  themselves 
facing  a  situation  or  condition  much  like  that  de¬ 
scribed  by  Theodore  Parker  70  years  ago.  It  is 
built  upon  money,  and  that  money  represents  an 
unfair  portion  or  share  of  the  nation’s  business 
which  has  gone  into  the  hands  of  a  comparatively 
small  class.  The  remedy  is  to  destroy  or  to  harness 
the  power  of  members  of  this  combination  by  making 
them  contribute  a  fairer  share  of  their  money  to  the 
public  service.  Briefly  stated,  there  are  two  plans 
for  doing  this.  The  socialist  would  take  the  great 
means  of  money-making  out  of  private  enterprise. 
This  would  destroy  most  of  what  we  call  initiative. 
The  “progressives”  would  let  the  big  business  enter¬ 
prises  continue,  under  strict  supervision,  and  then 
handle  the  wealth  after  it  has  been  accumulated, 
somewhat  after  the  plan  of  our  income  tax.  It 
must  be  clearly  evident  that  after  all  these  years  of 
business  habit  and  political  power  Ave  cannot  expect 
to  change  the  entire  system  at  once.  We  might 
even  smash  it  or  tax  it  so  heavily  that  for  a  time 
we  would  be  worse  off  than  we  now  are.  The  big 
menace  to  agriculture  today  is  the  great,  unwieldy 
power  of  the  growing  cities.  They  give  no  original 
production,  but  simply  handle  and  manufacture 
what  countrymen  produce.  The  larger  they  grow, 
the  larger  share  of  the  consumer’s  dollar  they  must 
demand.  Break  up  the  big  cities  into  smaller  towns, 
closer  to  production,  and  all  of  us  would  be  better 
served.  .Tust  now  the  most  popular  theory  for 
handling  “big  business”  is  to  put  it  under  strict 
supervision  and  tax  its  income  to  the  limit  of  fair 
profit.  This  is  being  done  right  now  to  an  extent 
which  many  people  fail  to  realize. 
Cows,  Hogs  and  Cash 
WE  have  a  fellow  feeling  for  poets  and  their  at¬ 
tempts  at  rhyming,  and  Ave  realize  the  wide 
range  given  to  “poetic  license.”  but  what  about  the 
folloAving  jingle,  sent  out  by  Kansas  College? 
When  the  cash  is  running  low, 
And  the  credit  man  says  “No!” 
Buy  some  cows ; 
If  the  profits  of  the  place 
Seem  a  positive  disgrace, 
Buy  some  sows. 
It  seems  too  bad  to  paint  the  black  of  hard  fact 
over  the  rosy  hue  of  poetry,  but  we  want  to  know 
how  a  farmer  is  to  “buy  some  cows”  when  he  has 
no  cash  and  “the  credit  man  says  No!”  He  might 
perhaps  steal  the  coavs  or  have  them  given  to  him, 
but  how  else  is  he  going  to  get  them,  and  Avhen  he 
does  get  them  Iioav  can  he  feed  them  without  cash 
or  credit?  As  for  “buying  sows,”  it  is  quite  fairly 
understood  that  the  hog  business  has  pretty  well 
reached  its  limit  for  the  time.  A  few  years  back 
hogs  paid  fairly  \A-ell ;  now  we  think  that  unless  a 
farmer  is  well  fixed  for  keeping  hogs,  with  good  pas¬ 
ture  and  plenty  of  corn,  he  will  take  a  chance  in 
buying  sows.  There  must  be  more  of  a  foreign  de¬ 
mand  for  pork  before  the  business  can  “boom.”  Poe¬ 
try  is  fine  as  a  stimulant,  but  some  of  us  are  over- 
stimulated  already. 
Trouble  Over  Drainage  Questions 
E  seem  to  have  more  than  the  usual  number  of 
drainage  cases  this  Spring.  They  usually 
center  around  an  open  ditch  which  crosses  several 
farms.  For  some  reason  carelessness,  spite  or  lack 
of  time,  one  farmer  will  neglect  to  clean  his  share  of 
the  ditch.  This  throws  the  water  back  on  some 
neighbor’s  property,  and  causes  quite  a  little  loss. 
This  leads  to  bad  feeling — about  as  bad  as  the  usual 
upset  over  a  line  fence.  So  Ave  are  asked  for  the 
“law.” 
There  have  been  a  number  of  eases  decided  in 
New  York  State,  and  among  the  recent  ones  is  Se- 
betto  vs.  The  New  York  Central,  in  Avhich  it  has 
been  held  that  the  lower  proprietor  is  under  no  ob¬ 
ligation  to  take  care  of  the  surface  Avater  of  his 
adjoining  upper  proprietor,  and  he  may  improve  his 
lower  land,  though  by  so  doing  he  prevents  the  flow 
of  the  surface  Avater  on  his  land  from  his  upper 
neighboring  proprietor,  to  the  latter's  damage.  This 
Avas  a  case  where  the  railroad  company  allowed  then- 
ditches  to  become  filled. 
The  neAV  drainage  law  often  referred  to  is  prob¬ 
ably  the  amendment  which  took  effect  May  3,  1921, 
and  provides  that  the  owner  of  low  or  Avet  agricul¬ 
tural  land,  who  may  desire  to  drain  the  same  in 
order  to  increase  productivity,  may  petition  the 
town  board  of  the  town  for  permission  to  construct  a 
drain,  etc.  After  a  hearing  the  toAvn  board  may  as¬ 
sess  the  damage  and  compensation  in  the  manner 
provided  by  Article  I3-a  of  the  town  Iuav.  Provision 
is  also  made  in  Article  8-a  of  the  conservation  Iuav 
for  a  petition  to  the  Conservation  Commission  for 
the  drainage  of  wet  laud. 
School  Voters  and  School  Troubles 
Tell  us  who  is  entitled  to  vote  at  a  school  meeting. 
What  is  the  compulsory  age  of  a  pupil?  Who  has  con¬ 
trol  of  the  school  ?  c.  av.  b. 
A  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  school  meetings 
avIio  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  21  years  of  age,  a 
resident  Avithin  the  school  district  for  a  period  of  30 
days  next  preceding  the  meeting  at.  which  he  offers  to 
vote,  and  Avho  in  addition  thereto  possesses  one  of  the 
following  four  qualifications : 
“A.  Oavus  or  hires,  or  is  in  the  possession  under  a 
contract  of  purchase  of  real  property  in  such  district 
liable  to  taxation  for  school  purposes,  or 
“B.  Is  the  parent  of  a  child  of  school  age,  provided 
such  a  <  h i Id  shall  ha\-e  attended  the  district  school  in 
the  district  in  which  the  meeting  is  held  for  a  period  of 
at  least  eight  weeks  during  the  year  preceding  such 
school  meeting,  or 
“C.  Not  being  the  parent,  has  permanently  residing 
with  him  a  child  of  school  age  who  shall  have  attended 
I  he  district  school  for  a  period  of  at  least  eight  Aveeks 
during  the  year  preceding  such  meeting,  or 
"I).  Owns  any  personal  property,  assessed  on  the  last 
preceding  assessment  roll  of  the  town,  exceeding  $50  in 
value,  exclusive  of  such  as  is  exempt  from  execution. 
“No  person  shall  be  deemed  to  be  ineligible  to  vote  at 
any  such  meeting,  by  reason  of  sex,  who  has  the  other 
qualifications  required  by  this  section.” 
You  will  therefore  see  that  a  person  who  hires  real 
property  in  the  district  liable  to  taxes  is  eligible,  pro¬ 
vided  he  possessi  the  other  qualifications.  This  applies 
to  both  male  and  female  voters. 
In  1921  the  Education  Department  ruled  that  a  min¬ 
ister  of  the  gospel  and  his  wife  who  reside  in  the  school 
district  and  who  have  a  child  attending  school  are  both 
qualified  voters  of  the  district. 
Every  child  in  a  city  or  district  having  a  population 
of  5,000  or  more  shall  attend  regularly  betAveen  seven 
and  14  years  of  age,  and  elseAvhere  between  the  ages  of 
eight  and  14. 
A  number  of  teachers  have  assumed  that  if  a  child 
Avas  not  within  the  compulsory  age,  they  were  not  obliged 
to  teach  them,  but  Section  507  of  the  education  law  pro¬ 
vides  that  a  person  over  five  years  of  age  and  under  21 
years  of  age  is  entitled  to  attend  the  public  schools 
maintained  in  the  district  or  city  in  Avhich  the  person 
resides,  without  the  payment  of  tuiUon. 
Non-residents  of  the  district  may  i  e  admitted  into  the 
school  of  a  district  or  city  upon  the  consent  of  the 
trustees  or  board  of  education. 
When  trustees  are  required  or  authorized  by  law  or 
by  a  vote  of  the  district  to  incur  any  expenses  for  such 
district,  and  when  any  expense  incurred  by  them  is 
made  by  the  express  provisions  of  hnv  a  charge  upon 
such  district,  they  may  raise  the  amount  thereof  bv 
tax  in  the  same  manner  as  if  the  definite  sum  to  be 
raised  had  been  A'oted  by  a  district  meeting. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  trustee  to  determine  the  term  of 
the  employment  of  each  teacher  and  the  number  of  terms 
of  school  to  be  held  during  the  year,  and  to  establish 
rules  for  the  government  and  discipline  of  the  school 
The  district  superintendent  of  schools  also  has  super¬ 
vision  of  the  schools  within  his  district. 
It.  is  an  easy  matter  to  start  trouble  for  the  trust  or 
or  the  teacher,  or  both,  but  this  usually  results  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  pupils  Avho  attend  the  schools. 
N.  T. 
The  Sheep  Shortage,  and  Others 
On  page  544  Albert  U.  Woods  gets  me  wrong  about  a 
shortage  of  200,000  sheep  in  this  land.  That  Avas  only 
on  this  speck  named  Licking  County.  There  were  273- 
000  when  I  came,  and  about  73,000  during  the  past  20 
years.  They  ran  down  from  the  big  number  for  27 
years  before  that,  when  they  Avere  falling  off  everywhere 
New  York  lost  4.000, 0<K)  and  Ohio  nearly  that  number' 
and  each  have  been  farming  800,000  licres  annual] v! 
where  feed  should  have  grown  for  lost  sheep.  The  own¬ 
ers,  like  good  fellows,  have  been  buying  machinery  fer¬ 
tilizers,  using  seed  and  costly  labor  to  glut  the  market. 
This  one  county  has  lost  the  same  as  the  revenue  from 
4,000,000  sheep  for  one  year,  and  farmed  800,000  acres 
for  a  year  to  pile  on  the  surplus  everywhere.  All  the 
Middle  Western  States  have  lost  either  their  sheep,  or 
never  got  a  chance  to  start,  until  noAV  Ave  are  wool  pau¬ 
pers,  growing  only  one-fifth  enough  to  clothe  the  people 
in  fleece  avooI.  We  are  sugar  paupers  also,  while  some 
of  the  land  growing  potatoes,  vegetables  and  other 
things,  should  have  been  growing  sugar  beets.  We 
have  the  worst  possible  case  of  unbalanced  production 
If  any  city  folks  fake  the  farmers  for  dullards  they 
must  be  blind.  If  farm  owners  ivere  not  the  most  in¬ 
telligent  and  industrious,  every  folloiv  would  be  bank¬ 
rupt. 
There  AA-as  one  vacancy  in  their  intelligence  Avhich  let 
them  be  misled  and  handicapped  by  the  octopus  which 
uses,  substitutes  for  wool  and  controls  sugar  by  a  mean 
price  for  sugar  beets.  It  has  had  a  free  hand  Avith  the 
government,  and  also  more  or  less  encouragement  from  it. 
Then  when  election  day  comes-  it  gets  all  its  votes  out,* 
and  the  farmers  either  stay  at  home  or  mark  crosses  for 
hand-picked  candidates.  These  fellows  are  elected  and 
take  possession  of  the  Capitol  and  State  houses  as  if 
they  owned  them  and  the  furnishings,  Avith  no  thought 
except  for  their  masters,  and  a  return  to  the  sinecure. 
Look  at  the  unprofitable  servants  warding  off  justice 
to  aa'ooI  and  judgment  to  shoddy  after  it  killed  the 
sheep  and  clothed  the  people  with  rags.  See  them  giv¬ 
ing  a  duty  on  wool  and  sugar,  ostensibly  to  encourage 
production,  but  in  reality  to  let  business  take  it  and 
tack  on  from  100  to  1,000  per  cent ;  then  when  it  be¬ 
comes  unbearable,  appointing  investigation  with  no  re¬ 
sults  except  fat  salaries  for  idle  heelers.  Big  business 
and  politics  are  in  close  communion,  and  would  take 
the  farms,  only  it  is  more  profitable  to  let  the  occupants 
stay  and  work  for  them. 
I  took  pleasure  in  laying  tile  today,  but  it  did  not 
deter  me  from  thinking  that  these  two  agencies  had 
demoralized  everything.  One  of  the  fellows  we  hired 
took  “sick”  and  the  other  got  drunk.  Any  man  who 
wants,  tile  laid  can  dig  the  ditch  himself.  Two  new 
sale  bills  were  stuck  up  here  today.  One  began.  “Hav¬ 
ing  decided  to  quit  dairying.”  and  the  other,  “Having 
decided  to  quit  farming.”  Now,  let  me  tell  you  some¬ 
thing.  Shoals  of  producers  are  quitting  and  more  must. 
The  land  is  full  of  folks  who  must  eat  and  wear  clothes, 
and  they  can  only  come  from  the  farms.  The  best  time 
farmers  ever  saAv  will  come  if  they  will  “quit”  killing 
themselves  growing  a  surplus  and  turn  to  deficits,  and. 
listen,  “fire”  the  unprofitable  servants  and  “choose  men 
fearing  God  and  hating  covetousness,”  after  which  they 
can  organize  and  tackle  big  business.  In  any  event,  we 
are  paying  10  cents  a  head  to  get  a  couple  of  tons  of 
w#ol  clipped  to  send  to  the  warehouse  at  Columbus,  and 
expect  to  finish  the  ditch  fomorroAV.  w.  w.  REYNOLDS. 
