The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
857 
The  School  Bill  and  Its  Discussion 
Part  IV. 
HE  section  of  the  proposed  new  school  law  cov¬ 
ering  the  matter  of  transportation  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 
Transportation  of  Pupils.  1.  The  community  board 
may  provide  transportation  for  the  pupils  of  the  com¬ 
munity  district  when  it  deems  it  necessary  to  enable 
them  to  attend  school,  under  regulations  to  be  pre¬ 
scribed  by  it.  Such  transportation  shall  be  provided  : 
(a)  Where  pupils  have  completed  the  courses  of  in¬ 
struction  maintained  in  the  school  in  the  district  where 
they  reside  and  are  in  attendance  upon  instruction  in 
advanced  subjects  in  other  schools  of  the  community  dis¬ 
trict,  or 
(b)  Where  such  pupils  have  been  transferred  as  pro¬ 
vided  herein  to  the  schools  of  other  community  districts 
or  of  union,  free  or  city  school  districts,  or 
(c)  Where  the  school  of  a  school  district  has  been 
closed  as  herein  provided,  or 
(d)  Where  a  school  district  has  been  dissolved  either 
before  or  after  the  taking  effect  of  this  article,  and  its 
territory  annexed  to  an  adjoining  district  as  provided 
by  law. 
2.  Such  transportation  shall  not  be  provided  in 
cases  where  pupils  are  so  situated  that  they  can  walk 
conveniently  to  the  school  which  they  are  required  to 
attend.  Provision  may  be  made  in  lieu  of  such  trans¬ 
portation  so  that  pupils  entitled  to  transportation  may 
attend  upon  instruction  in  the  schools  to  which  they  are 
transferred,  whenever  the  community  board  shall  deem 
it  to  be  reasonable,  provided,  however,  that  the  expense 
incurred  thereby  shall  not  exceed  the  cost  of  transpor¬ 
tation. 
3.  The  community  boaixl  shall  include  in  its  tax 
budget  and  shall  raise  by  tax  an  amount  sufficient  to 
pay  the  cost  of  transportation  or  other  provision  in 
lieu  thereof. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  matter  of  transpor¬ 
tation  is  in  the  hands  of  the  community  board, 
which  represents  several  districts  as  now  organized. 
The  larger  unit  will  handle  the  matter  now  gener¬ 
ally  conducted  by  the  small  district  officers.  In 
fact,  we  do  not  see  that  the  home  district  has  much, 
if  anything,  to  say  about  it.  It  would  seem  evident 
that  the  framers  of  this  bill  expect  a  considerable 
increase  in  this  transportation.  They  are  looking 
forward  to  thorough  consolidation.  Section  6  of 
this  hill  considers  at  some  length  the  question  of 
finances,  taxes,  tax  electors  and  district  hoards. 
Each  community  board  must  prepare,  on  or  before 
August  1,  an  itemized  school  tax  budget.  It  must 
show  amount  needed  for  salaries  and  compensations 
of  all  officers,  all  needed  incidental  and  contingent 
expenses,  amount  needed  for  transportation,  repairs 
or  changes  in  buildings,  interest  on  principal  of 
bonds,  or  for  payment  of  any  other  claims  or  ex¬ 
penses.  The  board  may  also  issue  supplemental  bud¬ 
gets  from  time  to  time  as  needed.  These  budgets 
must  be  published  or  posted  publicly  for  the  two 
weeks  before  August  3.  This  annual  school  budget 
shall  be  adopted  by  resolution  by  the  community 
board.  We  do  not  see  that  the  voters  of  the  district 
are  given  any  direct  power  over  this  budget  except 
as  noted  hereafter.  The  commissioner  of  education 
and  the  district  superintendents  are  given  power  to 
review  or  examine  these  budgets,  but  we  do  not  see 
that  they  have  any  clear  authority  over  them.  The 
community  board  shall  cause  the  amounts  specified 
in  these  budgets  to  be  levied  and  assessed  against 
the  taxable  property  of  the  district.  The  money  is 
collected  about  as  school  taxes  are  now  handled. 
Provisions  are  made  for  borrowing  money  after  a 
school  tax  budget  has  been  adopted  in  anticipation 
of  the  levy  and  collection  of  the  tax. 
Farmers  are  naturally  interested  in  knowing  just 
how  far  they  are  to  be  consulted  in  raising  money  or 
incurring  school  debts.  Therefore  we  print  the  para¬ 
graph  of  the  law  covering  this  point.  It  will  he  seen 
that  the  voters  have  a  chance  to  decide  expenditures 
of  more  than  $7,000,  while  the  community  board 
may  “at  its  discretion”  submit  a  proposition  for  a 
smaller  sum  to  a  public  meeting. 
Submission  of  Questions  to  Vote  of  District.  1.  The 
community  board  shall  submit  to  a  vote  or  the  qualified 
school  electors  of  the  community  district  at  either  an 
annual  or  special  school  meeting  a  proposition  for  the 
remodeling,  improvement  or  enlargement  of  existing 
school  buildings  or  for  the  construction  of  new  build¬ 
ings,  if  the  aggregate  amount  to  be  expended  therefor 
in  any  one  year  shall  exceed  the  sum  of  $7,000,  or  an 
amount  equal  to  %  of  1  per  centum  of  the  actual  valu¬ 
ation  of  the  taxable  property  in  the  community  district. 
2.  If  a  school  building  in  a  school  district  in  the 
community  district  shall  have  been  condemned  by  the 
district  superintendent  as  wholly  unfit  for  use  and  not 
worth  repairing,  and  the  amount  required  to  be  raised 
by  tax  therefor  shall  exceed  the  sum  of  $7,000,  or  an 
amount  in  excess  of  %  of  1  per  centum  of  the  actual 
valuation  of  the  taxable  property  of  this  community 
district,  the  community  board  shall  submit  a  proposi¬ 
tion  for  the  erection  of  such  new  building  to  the  quali¬ 
fied  electors  of  the  community  district  as  above  pro¬ 
vided. 
3.  The  community  board  may  in  its  discretion  sub¬ 
mit  a  proposition  to  the  qualified  electors  of  the  com¬ 
munity  district  at  an  annual  or  special  school  meeting 
for  the  voting  of  a  tax  in  an  amount  not  less  than 
$1,000  for  the  erection  of  a  new  building  or  for  the  re¬ 
modeling,  improvement  or  enlargement  of  an  existing 
building,  or  for  the  purchase  of  a  new  site  or  of  an 
addition  to  an  existing  site. 
4.  A  proposition  submitted  to  the  electors  of  a  school 
meeting  in  a  community  district  as  provided  herein 
may  direct  the  levy  of  a  tax  for  the  entire  amount  at 
one  time,  or  may  authorize  the  community  board  to 
borrow  money  in  the  amount  therein  specified,  to  be 
issued  in  such  denominations,  payable  at  such  times 
and  at  the  rate  of  interest  specified  therein,  and  shall 
direct  the  levy  of  taxes  from  time  to  time  in  an  amount 
sufficient  to  meet  such  bonds  and  interest  as  they  fall 
due. 
5.  A  proposition  submitted  to  the  qualified  electors 
of  the  community  district  as  herein  provided  shall 
specify  : 
(a)  If  for  the  construction  or  erection  of  a  new 
building,  the  school  district  in  Avhich  such  building  is 
to  be  erected,  the  amount  to  be  expended  therefor,  and 
the  nature  of  the  building; 
('b)  If  for  the  acquisition  of  a  new  site  or  of  land 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  present  site  of  an  existing 
school  'building,  the  location  of  the  site,  and  a  general 
description  of  it  sufficient  for  its  identification  ; 
(c)  If  for  the  remodeling,  enlargement  or  improve¬ 
ment  of  existing  buildings,  the  school  district  in  which 
each  building  to  be  enlarged,  remodeled  or  improved  is 
located,  the  nature  of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  an  item¬ 
ized  statement  of  the  amount  to  be  expended  therefor. 
G.  The  notice  of  the  annual  or  special  school  meet¬ 
ing  at  which  such  propositions  are  to  be  submitted  shall 
state  generally  the  purposes  for  which  the  expenditures 
are  to  be  made,  the  amount  thereof,  and  whether  such 
amount  is  to  be  raised  by  tax  at  one  time  or  bonds  are 
to  be  issued  to  raise  money  to  meet  such  expenditures. 
Except  as  herein  otherwise  provided,  the  provisions  of 
Section  467  of  this  chapter  shall  apply  to  the  submis¬ 
sion  of  the  propositions  herein  authorized  and  the  levy 
and  collection  of  taxes  for  the  purposes  specified. 
Arbitrary  Power  Under  School  Law 
I  recently  noted  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  a  statement  to  the 
effect  that  the  Commissioner  of  Education  had  abundant 
power  to  consolidate  schools  without  the  consent  of  the 
inhabitants,  but  that  he  had  not  made  use  of  that 
power.  I  happen  to  knoAV  of  two  cases  in  the  town  of 
Cortlandt,  County  of  Westchester,  in  which  the  district 
superintendent,  acting  under  Section  129  of  the  Educa¬ 
tion  Law,  has,  against  the  opposition  of  the  school 
.trustees  and  the  inhabitants,  forced-  the  consolidation 
of  small  districts  with  larger  ones.  The  most  recent 
case  is  that  of  the  consolidation  of  the  Crugers  school 
with  Montrose.  As  trustee  of  the  Crugers  school,  I 
refused  to  sign  any  order  for  consolidation  because  the 
inhabitants  had  had  no  opportunity  to  discuss  the  mat¬ 
ter  in  open  meethig  and  because  I  knew  there  was 
practically  unanimous  opposition.  On  April  20  an 
order  for  consolidation  under  Section  129  Avas  filed  with 
the  town  clerk,  to  take  effect  immediately.  The  great 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  assembled  in 
mass  meeting,  but  legal  advisors  pointed  out  that  the 
State  Department  of  Education  has  unlimited  powers 
and  that  an  appeal  to  the  Commissioner  would  be  hope¬ 
less  because  some  assistant  to  a  deputy  commissioner 
had  already  decided  that  the  school  should  be  consoli¬ 
dated.  The  chief  argument  for  consolidation  of  this 
school  has  been  that  the  Crugers  district  has  nearly 
$1,000,000  worth  of  taxable  property  and  the  adjoining- 
village  of  Montrose  needs  the  taxes.  Only  about  20 
children  are  not  already  provided  for  in  high  school  or  in 
upper  grammar  grades  at  the  expense  of  the  district.  The 
tax  rate  has  been  about  $2,50  per  thousand.  Consolidation 
will  raise  the  tax  rate  to  about  $10  per  thousand.  The 
great  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  see 
decided  advantages  in  a  consolidated  school,  and  many 
of  us  are  willing  to  pay  the  cost  in  increased  taxes,  but 
Ave  are  naturally  irritated  by  an  arbitrary  order  which 
does  not  give  us  even  a  chance  at  a  public  hearing. 
Such  is  the  power  conferred  upon  the  State  Department 
of  Education  and  supported  by  the  Education  Law  of 
1910,  Avhich  must  be  copied  from  some  of  the  European 
absolute  monarchies  of  the  past.  m.  a.  bigeloav. 
The  Repeal  of  the  Mullan-Gage  Law 
No  public  incident  of  recent  years  has  interested  our 
country  people  of  New  York  as  the  controversy  arising 
over  the  repeal  of  what  was  known  as  the  Mullan-Gage 
liquor  law.  That  Avas  a  State  law,  designed  to  aid,  or 
give  “concurrent  support”  in  enforcing  the  Volstead 
Federal  law.  From  the  time  of  its  enactment  there  has 
been  a  determined  effort  to  repeal  this  bill.  The  senti¬ 
ment  for  repeal  has  come  very  largely  from  New  York 
City,  with  considerable  help  from  the  larger  towns  and 
cities  up-State.  It  has  really  been  an  issue  between  t*he 
city  and  the  rural  districts  as  represented  in  the  Legis¬ 
lature. 
In  the  last  election  it  was  clearly  understood  that 
Governor  Smith  favored  a  liberal  modification  of  the 
Volstead  Iuav,  and  his  party  made  such  a  declaration. 
Governor  Smith  is  personally  opposed  to  prohibition, 
but  he  announced  that  he  would  enforce  the  law.  Be¬ 
fore  the  election  we  pointed  out  the  incongruity  of  this 
situation.  The  Democratic  leaders  Avere  openly  in  favor 
of  more  liberal  liquor  laws.  The  rank  and  file  of  the 
Republican  party  in  the  country  are  generally  opposed 
to  such  modification,  but  the  Republican  leaders  dodged 
the  issue  entirely,  and  thus  did  not  represent  the  real 
sentiment  of  their  party.  Under  these  circumstances 
it  was  not  surprising  that  Governor  Smith  received  an 
immense  majority.  There  are  thousands  of  more  or  less 
independent  voters  who  will  always  vote  for  an  honest 
expression  of  opinion,  even  if  they  do  not  fully  agree 
Avith  it,  rather  than  Avliat  they  call  a  cowardly  evasion 
of  the  issue.  Up  the  State  there  was  a  majority  of 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  against  Govex-nor  Smith, 
Avlxile  in  this  great  city  he  received  a  majority  of  nearly 
eight  hundred  thousand,  and  the  Governor  felt  that  he 
had  a  right  to  regard  this  as  a  mandate  from  the  people 
of  NeAV  York. 
Personally,  Ave  do  not  think  the  Governor  wanted  the 
Legislature  to  repeal  this  bill.  It  placed  him  in  a  most 
embarrassing  situation.  He  secured  a  considerable 
number  of  votes  by  giving  conditional  promises  that  he 
would  not  interfere  with  the  Iuav,  and  he  did  not  advise 
the  .repeal.  The  Governor  evidently  has  political  am¬ 
bitions  (for  Avhat  public  man  has  not?),  and  any  posi¬ 
tion  which  he  might  take  on  this  subject  just  now  Avould 
naturally  affect  them.  It  is  also  apparent  that  the  re¬ 
peal  bill  Avas  finally  passed  by  the  exercise  of  some  very 
nasty  politics. 
We  felt  from  the  first,  however, .  that  the  Governor 
would  sign  the  bill.  It  evidently  expressed  his  own  con- 
A-iction,  as  well  as  those  of  his  party  friends,  and  he 
had  a  right  to  believe  that  his  great  majority  in  New 
York  City  was  an  expression  of  the  city’s  desire  for  a 
more  liberal  law.  We  did  not  think  the  protest  of  the 
px-ohibitionists  would  greatly  influence  the  Governor. 
He  did  just  what  his  party  and  political  friends  expect¬ 
ed  him  to  do.  We  think  that  he  would  have  been 
stronger  today  if  he  had  signed  the  bill  immediately 
after  its  passage,  but  he  evidently  felt  disposed  to  give 
both  sides  a  reasonable  hearing. 
In  signing  the  bill,  the  Governor  stated  the  truth 
frankly  Avhen  he  tells  the  people  that  this  repeal  will 
have  no  direct  effect  upon  the  legality  of  liquor  selling. 
It  will  not  bring  back  the  saloon,  nor  permit  the  sale 
of  beer  and  Avine.  It  requix-es  courage  to  say  that,  be¬ 
cause  before  the  last  election  thousands  of  working 
men  were  going  about  saying:  “A1  Smith  will  give  us 
our  beer  again  !”  The  Governor  will  lose  some  standing 
Avith  such  men,  Avhen  he  admits  that  no  one  can  deliver 
their  beer  as  before,  without  a  long  legislative  struggle. 
Such  people  are  impatient  for  results.  They  do  not 
want  to  go  through  the  long  years  required  to  change 
the  V  olstead  law,  and  such  a  change  is  what  the  Gov¬ 
erns  openly  favors.  He  wants  the  word  “intoxicat¬ 
ing’  in  that  laAV  changed  to  increase  the  pex-centage  of 
alcohol,  so  as  to  permit  the  sale  of  light  Avine  and  beer. 
With  that  done,  he  says  that  those  States  Avhich  wanted 
to  be  bone-dry  can  make  themselves  so,  while  other 
States,  like  the  little  group  which  corner  near  the  mouth 
i  e  Hudson,  may  permit  the  sale  of  beer  and  wine, 
if  they  care  to.^  We  think  that  the  Governor  has  in  this 
statement  outlined  the  coming  political  issue  on  the 
question. 
As  for  the  future  political  effects  of  this  action,  there 
are  tAvo  Avhich  may  be  considered.  One  is  the  effect 
upon  Governor  Smith’s  pei-sonal  ambitious,  and  the 
other  the  general  effect  upon  political  parties.  We  - 
liaAe  been  making  a  careful  canvass  of  our  readers  in 
the  old  Southern  States.  These  States  form  the  original 
home  of  prohibition,  and  no  Democrat  can  be  nominated 
or  elected  xvithcut  what  is  known  as  the  Solid  South. 
W  e  find  political  sentiment  there  absolutely  opposed  to 
the  nomination  of  any  wet  candidate.  In  the  South 
represents  an  industrial  or  labor  issue! 
which  our  Northern  people  cannot  understand  We 
have  been  astonished  at  the  number  of  men  in  the  so- 
called  border  States  Avho  say  that  they  will  refuse  to 
vote  for  any  Avet  candidate.  If  Governor  Smith  had 
Aretoed  the  repeal  bill  it  seems  evident  that  he  would 
have  gained  strength  in  the  South.  For,  as  is  Avell 
known,  in  that  section  they  depend  on  their  State  laws 
to  protect  what  they  call  their  State  rights.  As  it  is, 
our  canvass  shows  that  Governor  Smith  can  now  have 
oiiiy  the  most  perfunctory  support  from  the  South  and 
the  West.  At  this  moment  it  would  seem  as  if  he  had 
destroyed  his  chances  for  his  party’s  nomination.  The 
action  on  the  repeal  bill  seems  likely  to  increase  the 
chances  of  Mr.  McAdoo. 
As  to  the  effect  of  this  action  on  general  politics,  we 
judge  that  this  repeal  will  prove  the  best  thing  that  has 
yet  happened  to  the  prohibition  cause.  That  may  be 
contrary  to  the  general  belief,  but  we  think  it  will 
react  much  like  the  Battle  of  Bull  Run  in  our  Civil 
War.  The  Northern  armies  seemed  to  think  they  were 
out  for  some  sort  of  dress  parade,  as  they  marched 
upon  the  (South.  Their  defeat  at  Bull  Run  showed 
them  the  full  size  of  their  job,  and  they  rose  to  it. 
Thousands  or  millions  of  people  felt  that  since  the  pro¬ 
hibition  law  had  been  enacted  their  work  was  done,  and 
that  the  law  would  enforce  itself.  Thus,  they  have 
made  no  effort  to  help.  We  have  had  numerous  letters 
from  people  Avho  tell  of  violations  of  this  law,  and  ask 
us  to  stir  up  the  authorities,  hut  they  say,  “don’t,  un¬ 
der  any  circumstances,  mention  my  name.”  This  repeal 
will  come  like  a  shock  to  many  of  these  complacent 
souls,  and  it  will  make  them  come  and  fight  for  their 
principles  as  never  before.  It  seems  to  us  that  the  Avets 
in  repealing  this  Iuav  have  stirred  up  a  bunch  of  sleep¬ 
ing  dogs.  Avhich  will  hoav  keep  awake  and  use  their 
teeth.  We  also  think  that  this  question  of  State  con- 
curi-ence  now  squarely  put  by  Governor  Smith,  will 
have  something  of  the  effect  of  the  slavery  question,  in 
changing  or  mixing  up  political  parties.  A  good  many 
men  and  women  now  find  their  party  ties  l-esting  x-ery 
lightly  upon  them.  We  think  they  will  follow  the  his¬ 
tory  of  parties  in  the  few  years  before  1860.  There 
AA-ill  be  Democrats  Avho  favor  State  enfoi-cement,  and 
those  who  oppose.  There  will  also  be  Republicans  on 
both  sides  of  the  question.  That  is  Avhat  happened 
Avhen  the  old  Whig  party  disappeared,  and  something 
of  the  same  thing  is  now  in  line  for  the  changing  of  our 
present  political  parties.  The  great  trouble  is  that  very 
few  of  the  present  political  leaders  on  either  side  are 
honest  in  their  views.  The  people  instinctively  feel 
that  their  leaders  cannot  be  trusted,  and  we  think  that 
this  question  arising  over  the  word  “intoxicating”  in 
the  Volstead  law  will  act  as  a  sobering  influence  to 
distribute  the  voters  into  a  new  political  alignment.  _ 
So  far  as  we  can  learn  from  the  men  Avho  are  pushing 
the  wet  side  of  this  matter,  they  do  not  really  expect  to 
repeal  the  Eighteenth  Amendment.  It  would  hardly  be 
possible  within  the  next  generation  at  least  to  induce 
36  States  of  the  Union  to  vote  for  the  repeal.  The 
political  battle  is  going  to  be  over  the  matter  of  enforce¬ 
ment,  and  the  fight  will  center  around  the  word  “intox¬ 
icating”  as  noAV  presented  ixx  the  Volstead  law. 
New  York  State  Notes 
Seneca  County  has  long  been  oue.of  the  large  hay- 
producing  counties  of  the  State.  While  the  tendency  in 
the  county  is  for  more  diversification,  yet  hay  still  ranks 
high  in  the  list  of  crops  from  which  farmers  receive  a 
pax’t  of  their  income.  The  new  Federal  grades  of  hay 
will  fii-st  be  put  into  operation  this  Summer,  and  in 
oi’der  to  acquaint  the  farmers  of  Seneca  County  with 
the  grades  of  hay,  a  series  of  meetings  will  be  held 
Avith  farmer  groups  throughout  the  county  by  the  Seneca 
County  Farm  Bureau,  assisted  by  a  member  of  tin* 
agronomy  department  of  the  State  College. 
The  sixth  annual  Cornell  poultry  judging  and  breed¬ 
ing  school  will  be  held  at  the  State  College  of  Agric-uL 
tore  at  Ithaca  July  2  to  7,  inclusive.  The  entii*e  week 
will  be  devoted  to  the  judging  of  poultry  for  production. 
The  school  teaches  how  to  cull  out  the  unprofitable 
fowls,  how  to  segregate  the  hens  into  flocks  of  laying 
condition  and  capacity  in  order  to  feed  and  illuminate 
them  most  efficiently ;  hoAV  to  select  the  most  pi-omising 
pullets  for  futui'e  production,  and  how  to  pick  out  the 
most  desirable  males  and  females  for  breeding  purposes. 
The  school  has  been  in  operation  since  1918,  and  the 
best  evidence  of  its  success  can  best  be  determined  by 
its  steady  growth  in  registration  from  45  in  1918  to 
104  in  1922.  Those  that  attend  the  coui-se  for  other 
than  their  own  individual  use  of  the  material  in  their 
own  flocks  are  employed  as  judges  and  paid  cullers. 
The  poultry-men  of  New  York  State  have  beeix  discuss¬ 
ing  the  poulti-y  marketing  question  for  a  number  of 
years,  but  nothing  has  been  advanced  to  lead  them  to 
leave  the  old  practices  of  marketing.  In  order  that 
the  situation  in  the  State  may  be  accurately  known,  a 
survey  is  being  made  for  the  purpose  of  not  only  find¬ 
ing  out  Avhat  becomes  of  the  eggs  which  the  poultryinen 
produce,  but  Iioav  many  birds  they  are  keeping,  together 
with  a  mass  of  other  facts  about  the  production  and 
economic  questions.  There  have  been  many  co-opera¬ 
tives  in  the  State,  and  these  have  been  in  some  cases 
successful,  and  in  many  cases  failures.  E.  A.  F. 
