The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1231 
The  School  Superintendents  and  the 
School  Bill 
OW  do  the  district  superintendents  feel  re¬ 
garding  the  proposed  new  school  law?  That 
question  is  frequently  asked^  and  in  order  to  settle 
it  we  wrote  each  one  of  the  200  and  more  super¬ 
intendents.  We  asked  them  if  they  favored  the 
school  bill  as  it  stands,  or  do  they  want  it  amended. 
Are  they  utterly  opposed  to  it,  or  are  they  opposed 
to  certain  features  of  it?  Some  of  the  superintend¬ 
ents  never  replied.  Some  are  non-committal,  while 
others  openly  confess  that  they  do  not  yet  under¬ 
stand  just  how  the  bill  would  work  out.  Enough  of 
them  have  expressed  a  definite  opinion  to  enable  us 
to  present  a  very  fair  statement. 
Of  the  replies  received  thus  far  40  per  cent  in¬ 
dicate  a  willingness  to  vote  for  the  bill  as  it  stands, 
while  60  per  cent  would  oppose  the  bill.  Analyzed 
still  further  we  find  the  following: 
For  the  bill  without  change  . 30  per  cent 
For  the  bill  with  amendments  . 10  per  cent 
Utterly  opposed  to  the  bill  . 31  per  cent 
Opposed  to  parts  of  it  . 29  per  cent 
That  may  be  accepted  as  a  fair  statement  of  the 
case.  We  are  somewhat  surprised  at  the  result,  for 
it  has  been  claimed  that  a  large  majority  of  the 
superintendents  favored  the  bill.  We  think  that 
claim  was  made  at  the  legislative  hearing  last 
Winter.  We  surely  have  the  evidence  here  to  dis¬ 
prove  it.  It  has  been  claimed  by  the  friends  of  the 
bill  that  many  of  those  superintendents  are  preju¬ 
diced,  since  they  fear  the  proposed  legislation  will 
displace  them.  There  is  little  if  any  of  such  spirit 
evidenced  in  the  letters  we  have  here.  The  super¬ 
intendents  gave  good  reasons  for  their  opinions.  We 
shall  make,  a  little  later,  an  analysis  of  the  argu¬ 
ments  advanced  on  both  sides.  The  following  brief 
letters  are  typical  of  many  others: 
It  is  my  opinion  that  the  proposed  new  school  law 
makes  several  important  provisions  as  follows :  Larger 
resources  for  the  support  of  schools,  uniform  tax  rate, 
boards  of  education  instead  of  sole  trustees  and  larger 
powers  for  local  school  officials.  However,  with  the 
exception  of  larger  State  aid  to  weak  communities, 
the  proposed  law  is  no  better  than  the  township  system 
which  was  rejected  several  years  ago. 
The  plan  for  dividing  the  State  into  communities 
does  not  appear  to  be  a  practical  one.  So  many  dif¬ 
ficulties  will  be  encountered  in  this  first  im¬ 
portant  step  that  the  law  would  be  repealed  before 
actually  going  into  operation.  This  would  be  a  great 
calamity,  as  it  would  serve  to  again  delay  a  much 
needed  change.  Knowing  as  I  do  the  methods  used  in 
collecting  the  data  for  the  report  of  the  Committee  of 
Twenty-one,  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that  any  law 
based  upon  this  report  will  partake  so  much  of  pet 
theories  as  to  render  it  valueless  in  meeting  a  real 
educational  emergency.  It  seems  to  me  that  a  body  of 
men  and  women  who  have  actually  engaged  in  educa¬ 
tional  work  in  the  open  country,  and  who  have  had  op¬ 
portunity  to  see  the  needs  of  rural  schools  at  close 
range,  could  formulate  a  more  workable  plan. 
However,  something  should  be  done  to  give  the  rural 
child  a  better  chance.  If  the  proposed  law  is  passed, 
I  shall  endeavor  to  make  it  meet  the  needs  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  in  my  district.  If  the  rural  people  permit  it  to 
pass  they  should  be  willing  to  give  it  several  years  in 
which  to  prove  itself,  and  not  clamor  for  its  immediate 
repeal.  m.  delos  Goodrich. 
Tioga  Co.,  N.  Y. 
I  am  unable  to  see  where  the  rural  districts  are  to 
gain  anything.  The  people  of  the  rural  districts  will 
lose  all  voice  in  the  management  of  their  schools, 
placing  them  in  the  hands  of  a  few  living  in  the  vil¬ 
lages.  It  is  simply  an  attempt  to  tax  the  rural  districts 
in  order  to  help  pay  the  increased  costs  of  the  village 
schools. 
At  the  present  time  the  rural  schools  are  75  per 
cent  better  than  20  years  ago,  due  to  the  attendance 
law  and  the  graded  course  of  study.  In  fact  the  rural 
schools  of  Suffolk  County  and  Long  Island  are  better 
conducted,  less  congested  ;  and  where  pupils  enter  high 
school  from  the  rural  districts,  those  pupils  more  often 
than  usual,  secure  the 'prizes  for  scholarship,  rewards 
of  merit,  etc.,  over  their  village  friends.  The  rural 
schools  are  not  as  bad  as  painted  by  the  paid  propa¬ 
gandists  of  Ithaca.  Leonard  j.  smith. 
Suffolk  Co.,  N.  Y. 
I  favor  the  bill  as  it  now  stands.  I  believe  it  should 
be  tried  out  before  it  is  amended  further.  One  great 
reason  why  I  favor  the  bill  is  because  of  the  unequal 
rate  of  taxation  in  this  district.  The  two  districts 
with  lowest  valuation  in  my  district  have  each  of  them 
a  valuation  of  slightly  over  $6,000.  One  district  not 
far  distant  from  these  districts  is  maintaining  a  one- 
department  school  with  five  pupils  in  attendance,  and 
has  a  valuation  of  $169,475.  The  other  one-depart¬ 
ment  schools  in  this  district  have  a  valuation  ranging 
irom  $8,000  to  $158,000.  Another  reason  why  I  favor 
the  proposed  legislation  is  because  of  the  inefficiency  of 
the  present  trustees  in  rural  districts. 
Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.  mattie  j.  prime. 
I  favor  the  law  as  it  stands,  and  am  opposed  to  any 
amendments  to  it.  My  opinion  is  that  it  is  the  best 
effort  yet  proposed  for  equalizing  educational  oppor¬ 
tunity  and  educational  financial  burdens.  The  present 
individual  district  system  is  failing,  and  if  continued 
to  any  greater  length  will  only  widen  the  gap  of  in¬ 
equality  between  city  and  rural  education. 
Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.  guyon  j.  carter. 
I  do  not  favor  the  proposed  law  which  has  been  sug¬ 
gested  by  the  Committee  of  Twenty-one,  for  the  three 
following  reasons: 
1.  The  proposed  law  is  too  cumbersome  and  proposes 
too  many  changes  at  one  time. 
2.  A  large  majority  of  the  rural  people  in  my  super¬ 
visory  district  are  opposed  to  the  consolidation  of 
school  districts.  The  proposed  law  means  consolida¬ 
tion. 
3.  The  proposed  law  does  not  assure  the  people  bet¬ 
ter  rural  schools. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  the  tax  problem  should  be 
solved  first,  and  the  needed  changes  in  the  school  or¬ 
ganizations  should  be  made  after  the  people  have  sub¬ 
mitted  to  or  approved  the  new  policy  of  school  taxation. 
Erie  Co.,  N.  Y.  e.  d.  ormshy. 
I  am  not  in  favor  of  the  bill  as  now  proposed.  Its 
operation  would  be  more  costly,  radical  and  concentrat¬ 
ing  than  the  Machold  township  bill.  The  country  folk 
would  never  stand  for  it.  They  want  to  be  left  alone 
to  work  out  their  own  salvation. 
All  are  agreed  that  there  should  be  a  larger  tax 
unit — preferably  the  town.  I  believe  that  the  board  of 
school  directors  should  be  magnified,  and  hold  meet¬ 
ings  three  times  a  year  with  the  district  superintend¬ 
ent  ;  that  such  meetings  should  be  open  to  the  public, 
and  that  their  purpose  should  be  the  finding  of  methods 
for  bettering  the  schools. 
I  believe  that  the  hiring  of  teachers  by  trustees 
should  take  place  only  when  the  proposed  teacher  is 
approved  by  the  district  superintendent. 
In  the  issue  of  August  25,  page  1095.  under  the  title 
“More  About  the  New  School  Bill.’  you  expressed  my 
sentiments  exactly.  Let  it  be  optional  by  counties;  the 
question  decided  by  county  vote.  Encourage  a  county 
to  try  it  and  all  “watch  out.”  EDWIN  f.  mc  donald. 
St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  there  are  many  good  things 
about  the  new  school  law  (proposed),  but  that  it  is  too 
much  for  the  people  to  accept  at  one  time,  and  that 
the  rural  people  will  be  dissatisfied  and  quite  likely 
make  enough  disturbance  to  cause  a  repeal  if  it  be¬ 
comes  a  law.  I  would  like  to  see  the  changes  made  a 
little  more  slowly,  in  order  that  the  public  might  as¬ 
similate  the  same  without  disturbance.  I  would  sug¬ 
gest  that  the  public  money  be  distributed  in  such  a 
way  that  the  burden  of  taxation  be  nearly  equal  as 
the  first  step,  also  that  the  next  step  be  voluntary 
consolidation  into  community  units. 
Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y.  Howard  s.  b.  murphy. 
I  am  on  record  as  being  in  sympathy  with  the  ef¬ 
fort  being  made  to  improve  our  schools,  and  co-operated 
in  every  possible  way  with  the  Committee  of  Twenty- 
one  while  working  out  its  report.  Rather  than  see  this 
effort  go  for  naught,  I  am  in  favor  of  passing  the  bill 
based  on  this  report,  practically  as  presented,  and 
trust  to  the  good  sense  of  the  people  to  amend  it  from 
time  to  time  until  it  more  fully  meets  their  approval 
and  the  needs  of  the  rural  communities.  I  feel  that  too 
much  time,  effort,  and  money  has  been  expended  to  let 
the  matter  fall  down.  george  e.  waller. 
Cattaraugus  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Last  Call  for  the  Dairy  Show 
LAST  call  for  supper  in  the  dining  car!”  Those 
who  have  traveled  in  long-distance  trains  will 
recognize  that  call.  Some  white-coated  waiter,  with 
a  voice  like  a  dinner  bell,  marches  through  the  train 
calling  out  his  warning  to  hungry  people.  It  is 
usually  effective.  A  number  of  travelers  had  con¬ 
cluded  that  they  would  not  eat  anything,  but  now, 
when  the  “last  call”  sounds,  they  find  that  they 
really  are  hungry  arid  they  follow  the  waiter  as 
lost  sheep  follow  the  bell  wether..  So  here  we  are 
sounding  the  last  call  for  that  great  National  Dairy 
Show  at  Syracuse  October  5-13.  You  may  have 
thought  that  it  will  not  interest  you — “There  will 
be  plenty  of  people  there  without  me” — you  say.  If 
all  talked  and  acted  like  that  Syracuse  would  be 
deserted.  There  is  a  double  reason  why  you  should 
go — a  triple  reason,  to  be  more  exact.  It  will  in¬ 
terest  you  far  more  than  you  think.  It  will  not  be 
simply  a  collection  of  milk  cans  and  butter  and 
cheese,  with  a  few  cows  looking  over  the  fence.  Far 
more  than  that,  for  we  are  promised  a  great  dairy 
exposition  such  as  has  never  been  seen  in  the  State 
before.  The  dairy  cow  is  the  great  wet  nurse  of 
humanity,  and  she,  and  the  things  that  surround 
her,  represent  the  very  foundation  of  physical  life. 
At  Syracuse  she  will  be  the  center  of  the  most  re¬ 
markable  group  of  farm  utilities  ever  brought  to¬ 
gether.  Of  course  you  will  want  to  see  that.  Then 
again  it  is  really  your  duty  to  go  and  help  swell  the 
crowd.  Dairying  is  the  greatest  department  of  New 
York  farming  and  will  continue  to  be.  We  have 
got  to  advertise  it  and  show  that  we  take  pride  in 
it.  How  can  we  do  that  more  effectively  than  by 
crowding  into  Syracuse  and  thus  showing  by  per¬ 
sonal  service  that  we  believe  in  our  State  and  in  our 
business?  Here  is  a  case  where  New  York  farmers 
will  be  judged  by  the  size  of  the  crowd  they  pack 
into  Syracuse.  At  some  of  these  shows  about  the 
only  representatives  of  agriculture  are  the  office¬ 
holders  and  teachers.  Perhaps  the  term  dirt  farmer 
may  not  go  well  with  clean  milk,  but  anyway  there 
must  be  a  great  crowd  of  real  farmers  on  hand. 
So  this  is  the  last  call  for  Syracuse  October  5-13. 
Meet  us  at  the  fountain — the  fountain  of  health — 
the  milk  can. 
The  Hog  and  the  Middleman 
THE  average  man  might  shy  at  the  thought  of 
learning  economics  and  political  duties  from  a 
hog,  but  the  wise  citizen  will  accept  any  teachei 
who  presents  the  truth  in  clear  colors.  A  farmer 
tells  us  how  he  came  to  understand  our  present 
system  of  distribution.  He  kept  hogs,  and  part  of 
the  year  they  ran  in  an  orchard.  The  trees  were 
headed  low,  so  that  the  lower  limbs,  when  well- 
fruited,  were  rather  close  to  the  ground.  He  kept 
a  well-bred  herd  of  hogs,  short-legged  and  fat,  built 
for  pork-making  rather  than  prancing.  Ac  an  auc¬ 
tion  held  in  the  neighborhood  a  long-legged,  razor- 
back  hog — red  and  rough  and  rangy — was  offered, 
and  this  man  bought  it.  It  was  turned  in  with  the 
aristocratic  pork-makers  and  they,  with  their  super¬ 
ior  “organiza tion"  and  brain-power  proceeded  to 
make  “razorback"  useful.  These  fat  hogs  could  not 
reach  the  apples,  but  in  some  way  they  induced  the 
new  comer  to  stand  on  his  long  hind  legs,  take  the 
low  limb  in  his  teeth  and  shake  it.  In  this  way  he 
shook  off  half  a  dozen  apples,  but  before  the  red 
hog  could  get  down  on  four  feet  every  apple  was 
gone.  The  aristocratic  fat  hogs  pounced  upon  them 
even  before  they  reached  the  ground,  and  there  was 
nothing  left  for  the  worker !  The  farmer  stood  and 
watched  this  proceeding  again  and  again.  The  red 
hog  did  all  the  work  and  the  fat  hogs  got  all  the 
apples.  Finally  the  red  hog  seemed  to  get  wise.  He 
went  off  in  one  corner  and  stood  with  his  head 
down  reasoning  things  out  apparently  in  about  this 
way:  “What  is  the  matter  with  me?  I  do  all  the 
work  of  shaking  down  those  apples,  but  I  never  get 
a  taste  of  one.  These  other  fellows  grab  them  all. 
They  are  living  on  my  labor,  and  I  ought  to  know 
that  a  hog  produces  bacon  but  never  benevolence. 
I  shall  get  no  apple  sauce  until  I  do  it  myself!” 
The  farmer  saw  him  go  under  a  low  hanging  tree, 
get  his  eye  on  a  fine  mellow  apple  and  raise  him¬ 
self  on  his  long  hind  legs.  And  the  fat  hogs  came 
running  with  grunts  of  approval,  for  here  was  this 
stupid  beast  ready  to  get  more  apples  for  them.  But 
the  red  hog  had  grown  wise.  He  did  not  shake 
the  limb  as  usual.  He  just  reached  up,  took  the  big 
apple  in  his  mouth  and  got  down  on  his  four  feet. 
He  did  it  himself!  And  the  farmer,  leaning  over 
the  orchard  fence,  got  the  idea;  a  lesson  in  political 
economy.  For  years  he  and  other  farmers  have  been 
shaking  the  tree  in  order  that  others  may  get  the 
apples.  If  he  is  to  have  any  of  the  apple  sauce  he 
must  do  it  himself. 
An  Old  Trick  With  Apples 
HERE  we  have  the  latest  “scientific  achieve¬ 
ment”  as  given  in  the  papers : 
Cape  May,  N.  J.,  Sept  12. — Professor  Edward  R. 
Brunyate,  Superintendent  of  the  Cape  May  Countv 
Public  Schools,  said  tonight  that  Cape  May  County, 
in  the  village  of  Cold  Springs,  has  a  rival  of  Luther 
Burbank.  To  prove  his  assertions  Professor  Brun¬ 
yate  displayed  two  big  apples,  under  the  peel  of  which 
were  the  initials  J.  C.  E.  and  the  words  Cape  May. 
Another  apple  showed  a  likeness  of  a  pig.  The  initials 
are  those  of  Joseph  C.  Elliott,  the  farmer  who  grows 
the  fruit.  Professor  Brunyate  said  Elliott  could  grow 
apples  reproducing  any  scene  on  his  farm  he  chose. 
The  method  is  being  kept  a  secret. 
This  Cape  May  Burbank  lias  at  least  one  char¬ 
acteristic  of  the  California  original.  He  knows  how 
to  get  advertising.  The  “secret  process”  is  as  old 
as  nature.  Long  before  man  had  any  recorded  lan¬ 
guage  sun-printing  was  common.  A  leaf  of  a  tree 
would  fall  across  a  growing  apple.  Some  insect 
might  glue  it  on.  Exposed  to  the  sun  the  fruit 
would  take  in  its  natural  color  except  where  the 
leaf  protected  it— there  in  the  shade  the  color  would 
be  missing— the  picture  of  the  leaf  printed.  This 
new  “wizard”  of  Cape  May  has  used  the  same  pro¬ 
cess  which  Nature  has  worked  for  ages.  It  is  one 
of  the  oldest  tricks  of  the  trade  to  put  pieces  of 
paper,  cut  in  any  desired  shape,  on  the  side  of  an 
apple,  and  let  the  natural  color  grow  in  around 
them.  In  that  way  letters,  emblems  or  the  outline 
of  a  human  face  can  be  printed.  This  new  Burbank 
and  his  “secret  process"  can  get  ‘into  the  papers  for 
any  amount  of  “'bunk”  fame,  while  some  conscien¬ 
tious  plant  breeder  may  go  to  his  grave  unnoticed 
after  a  life  of  real  usefulness. 
Figures  of  the  Wheat  Situation 
THE  following  statement  was  made  by  Director 
Williams  of  the  Ohio  Agricultural  Station  at 
the  Ohio  State  Fair: 
“According  to  the  August  .estimates  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  the  total  wheat  crop 
of  the  United  States  for  1923  will  be  793  million 
bushels.  The  5-year  average  production  for  1910-1914 
was  728  million  bushels,  or  65  million  bushels  less 
than  1923.  However,  our  population  has  increased 
16%  millions  since  the  middle  of  this  pre-war  period, 
which  will  call  for  an  additional  90  million  bushels  of 
wheat  for  home  consumption,  so  that  relatively  we  have 
25  million  bushels  less  wheat  now  than  then. 
“The  wheat  cron  of  1923  will  be  utilized  as  follows  : 
Domestic  human  consumption,  610  million  bushels  :  feed 
for  livestock,  20  million  bushels  ;  used  for  seed,  85  mil¬ 
lion  bushels,  making  a  total  of  715  million  bushels  and 
leaving  78  million  bushels  for  export. 
“Exports  for  year  ending  June  30.  1923,  were  222 
million  bushels;  .Tune  30.  1922.  were  279  million  bush¬ 
els;  June  30.  1921,  were  366  million  bushels.  The 
average  for  1910-14  was  105  million  bushels. 
“We  would  be  utterly  unable  to  take  care  of  the 
usual  export  demand.  Furthermore,  with  our  present 
production  and  the  normal  increase  in  population,  in 
12  years  the  United  States  will  cease  to  have  any 
wheat  to  export.” 
