Vht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
The  Dairy  Congress  at  Syracuse 
THE  World’s  Dairy  Congress,  at  Syracuse,  N. 
Y.,  closed  last  week.  Altogether,  beginning  in 
■Washington,  D.  C.,  then  to  Philadelphia,  and  Syra¬ 
cuse,  it  had  been  in  session  nearly  a  fortnight.  It 
was  our  first  great  international  convention.  Dele¬ 
gates  from  many  of  the  countries  of  the  world  were 
present  and  took  part  in  the  proceedings.  Even  the 
United  States  itself  was  more  fully  represented  than 
usual  in  New  York  State  gatherings. 
The  exhibition  was  located  in  the  buildings  at  the 
fair  grounds.  The  meetings  and  discussions,  and 
literary  exercises  generally  were  held  at  the  hotels, 
theaters,  and  churches  in  the  city.  They  were  con¬ 
ducted  for  the  most  part  apparently  as  a  necessary 
part  of  the  program  but  except  for  the  membership 
meetings  of  the  association,  they  lacked  any  show 
of  enthusiasm  and  were  not  largely  attended. 
The  exhibits  at  the  fair  grounds  were  the  fea¬ 
tures  of  the  occasion.  There  seemed  to  be  an  end¬ 
less  exhibit  of  dairy  machinery  of  every  class  and 
kind.  It  was  really  bewildering  in  extent  and  va¬ 
riety  except  as  one  found  himself  especially  in¬ 
terested  in  some  particular  line.  Then  the  infor¬ 
mation  was  complete  and  the  variety  of  devices  suf¬ 
ficient  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting. 
The  exhibition  of  horses  and  dairy-  cattle  was 
largely  of  the  fancy  high-bred  kind.  They  came 
from  a  wide  source  and  a  rather  large  part  seemed 
to  be  of  the  professional  show  type.  They  were, 
however,  of  a  high  type  of  perfection  and  served 
educational  purposes.  They  received  considerable 
attention  and  were  reviewed  with  no  little  en¬ 
thusiasm  by  all  who  have  a  fancy  and  a  love  for 
high  types  of  animal  life. 
While  the  attendance  was  not  as  large  as  had 
been  anticipated  it  was  good.  As  already  intimated 
it  came  from  a  very  broad  territory,  including  both 
native  and  foreign  visitors.  The  attendance  by  the 
rank  and  file  of  dairymen  of  the  State  was  not 
large.  It  was  confined  largely  to  nearby  districts. 
A  conspicuous  exception  was  a  cavalcade  of  cars 
from  Cortland  County  on  Tuesday  said  to  contain 
nearly  500  cars.  It  made  an  impressive  showing, 
in  one  continuous  line.  The  traffic  regulations  in 
Syracuse  were  adjusted  to  give  them  continuous 
right  of  way  through  the  city. 
Directly  it  was  a  dealers  and  manufacturers  and 
official  institution.  The  machinery  and  equipment 
were  largely  for  the  dealer  and  manfuacturer.  Some 
of  it,  like  the  milking  machines  and  barn  equip¬ 
ment  appealed  direct  to  the  farm,  but  for  the  most 
part  the  farmer  approached  it  in  interest  through 
the  distributing  processes  of  the  dealer  and  manu¬ 
facturer  of  by-products. 
No  dairyman,  however,  could  attend  the  exhibi¬ 
tion  without  getting  something  of  value  in  a  prac¬ 
tical  way,  or  without  feeling  a  sense  of  pride  and 
responsibility  in  the  magnitude  of  the  dairy  industy 
so  vividly  expressed  in  the  silent  language  of  the 
exhibit.  The  industry  of  the  State  was  represented 
largely  by  intelligent  and  well-to-do  dairymen  of  a 
widely  distributed  membership.  No  small  part  of 
the  benefit  arose  from  the  opportunity  afforded  for 
them  to  meet  each  other,  and  for  old  friends  to 
greet  one  another  after  long  periods  of  separation. 
To  the  writer  this  privilege  alone  was  the  best  part 
of  the  whole  show.  J.  J.  d. 
Increase  of  Milk  Drinking 
THE  daily  papers  are  well  filled  with  stories  of 
violation  of  the  Volstead  law  and  the  great  re¬ 
action  against  prohibition.  There  is  a  very  active 
propaganda  in  this  line,  with  agents  running  all  the 
way  from  Senator  J.  W.  Wadsworth  down  to  the 
scrub  newspaper  reporter.  No  one  seems  disposed 
to  tell  anything  on  the  other  side.  There  is  much  to 
tell,  for  unquestionably  prohibition,  even  with  its 
lack  of  full  enforcement,  is  responsible  for  great  in¬ 
creases  in  the  demand  for  milk,  fruit,  sugar  and 
other  forms  of  food.  The  Christian  Science  Monitor 
recently  printed  the  following : 
The  Daily  Chronicle  of  London  ran  a  short  article 
recently  regarding  conditions  in  that  city  which  would 
make  the  clerks  and  managers  of  perhaps  seven  or  eight 
decades  ago  gasp  if  they  could  see  them.  It  told  of 
how  today  the  city  men  are  heavy  drinkers,  as  they 
have  been  in  the  past,  but  the  beverage  now  is  milk, 
and  its  author  asked  the  question,  “Have  our  city 
young  men  got  the  milk-drinking  habit?”  A  corre¬ 
spondent,  it  appears,  who  had  just  returned  to  London 
after  an  absence  abroad,  had  noticed  the  great  number 
of  young  men  indulging  in  this  habit  and  was  im¬ 
pressed  to  write  some  comments  concerning  his  senti- 
hents  thereon.  “I  have  spent  many  years  in  the  city.  ’ 
he  wrote,  “and  my  recollections  go  back  for  thirty 
years.  When  I  began  life  there  it  was  the  common 
habit  for  men,  young  and  old,  to  slip  out  of  their  offices 
during  the  morning  for  a  bottle  of  beer  or  a  drop  of 
whisky.  In  the  Winter  a  hot  coffee  and  rum  was  per¬ 
haps  the  favorite  drink.” 
The  correspondent  then  says  that  about  lo  years 
ago  a  change  came  over  conditions,  and  cups  of  coffee, 
without  the  rum,  became  the  vogue.  Then  he  con¬ 
tinues  : 
“Circumstances  have  taken  me  into  city  cafes  in  the 
middle  of  the  morning  a  good  many  times  during  the 
last  few  weeks,  and  to  my  amazement  I  have  seen  gal¬ 
lons  and  gallons  of  cold  milk  sold  in  tumblers  to  smart 
young  fellows  of  the  ironed  hair  and  wrist-watch  type.” 
In  nearly  every  large  American  city  much  the 
same  thing  will  be  observed — and  the  habit  is  grow¬ 
ing,  in  spite  of  the  bootleggers. 
That  Troublesome  Fence 
I've  had  lots  of  trouble  with  that  neighbor  of  mine, 
His  land  and  my  land  had  a  fence  on  the  line; 
He  wanted  it  green  and  I  wanted  it  white, 
He  made  me  so  mad  I  dared  him  to  fight ; 
The  fence  needed  fixing  with  a  post  here  and  there, 
And  I  asked  him  to  meet  me  and  pay  for  his  share ; 
It  sagged  in  the  middle  and  hung  on  my  side, 
And  the  gossips  were  saying  that  I  had  no  pride ; 
He  wouldn’t  say  yes  and  he  wouldn’t  say  no, 
Kept  glaring  and  staring,  not  a  foot  would  he  go* 
The  fence  wasn’t  fixed  the  last  time  we  fought, 
And  for  calling  me  names  I  had  him  in  court ; 
But  the  trouble  is  over  and  we’re  friendly  once  more, 
He  comes  to  see  me  and  I  visit  next  door  ; 
The  way  it  was  settled  you  never  would  guess, 
It  was  Johnny,  his  son,  and  my  own  daughter  Bess; 
They  w-ent  and  got  married  unknown  to  us  all, 
So  we  pulled  down  the  fence,  ’twas  ready  to  fall ; 
And  now  we’re  so  happy  with  no  fight  to  commence, 
Thus  ending  the  mending  of  that  troublesome  fence. 
New  York  City.  Herman  borsig,  jr. 
Comment  by  The  R.  N.-Y. : 
A  happy  solution — we  wish  every  one 
Who  must  fight  o’er  a  fence  had  a  daughter  and  son 
To  sit  on  the  fence  while  they  tell  the  old  tale 
Against  which  no  neighborhood  rows  can  prevail; 
Don’t  call  in  fence  view-ers  to  wrangle  and  sue, 
Why  have  any  fence  for  fence  viewers  to  view? 
Quarantine  Against  Christmas  Greens 
Both  New  York  and  New  Jersey  have  declared  a 
quarantine,  which  went  into  effect  October  1,  against 
evergreen  trees,  shrubs  and  plants,  and  parts  thereof, 
produced  or  grown  in  any  of  the  following  States : 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  This  quarantine  for¬ 
bids  the  shipment  of  all  such  materials,  not  nursery 
grown,  on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  the  gypsy  and 
brown-tail  moths  in  New  England.  It  is  not  possible 
to  make  a  satisfactory  inspection  of  Christmas  trees, 
and  as  large  colonies  of  gypsy  moth  have  been  found 
outside  the  known  infested  areas,  the  risk  of  dissem¬ 
inating  the  pest  is  very  great.  The  fact  that  nursery 
grown  stock  is  not  affected  should  stimulate  interest  in 
the  commercial  culture  of  Christmas  greens.  The  New 
England  quarantine  will  cause  this  city  to  look  to 
other  sections  for  its  supply  this  season,  and  we  are 
likely  to  find  the  trade  developing  in  districts  hitherto 
untouched.  Anyone  desirous  of  shipping  greens  should 
get  in  touch  with  the  dealers  early,  and  make  plans  for 
proper  packing  and  transportation.  Late  and  careless 
shipping  that  merely  consigns  evergreens  to  the  city 
dump  is  a  costly  form  of  wasteful  destruction. 
Consolidated  Schools  in  Iowa 
[The  following  statement  covers  the  history  of  a 
school  controversy  at  Tipton  Iowa.  In  order  to  obtain 
facts  and  figures  regarding  consolidation  and  its  results, 
wo  go  to  Western  States  where  the  plan  has  been  fully 
tried  out.  This  seems  to  be  a  typical  case.] 
Our  city  has  approximately  2,500  population.  Our 
schools  were  two  brick  buildings,  amply  sufficient  to 
take  eaie  of  the  city  needs,  as  well  as  the  immediate 
surrounding  community.  These  buildings  are  in  good 
state  of  preservation  and  would  require  very  little  re¬ 
pair  expense  for  years  to  come.  In  June,  1920,  an 
election  was  called  in  both  city  and  country,  in  sub¬ 
stance,  “Shall  we  consolidate  seventy-one  and  five- 
eighths  sections  of  rural  district  with  the  city?”  It 
carried  in  both  precincts  by  a  mere  half  dozen  votes. 
Immediately  six  of  the  better  rural  buildings  consid¬ 
ered  conveniently  located  were  moved  to  the  city  sire, 
for  grade  work,  and  the  remainder  of  the  country 
schools  disposed  of  for  cash.  Before  this  election  was 
held  we  were  told  by  men  who  purported  to  know,  and 
men  in  whom  we  had  confidence  at  that  time,  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 
“Taxes  will  not  be  affected  to  any  perceptible  de¬ 
gree.”  Election  was  over  and  children  came  streaming 
to  the  city  schools.  Our  buildings  were  really  taxed  up 
to  capacity.  Some  of  the  teachers  hired  to  teach  school 
forgot  propriety  and  began  advising  the  small  children 
constantly  of  these  conditions.  Little  children  would 
go  home  and  tell  the  parents  what  they  had  learned  at 
school.  Then  the  parent  would  advise  the  child  of  the 
local  financial  condition,  all  of  which  was  taking  the 
child  at  a  great  disadvantage.  A  spirit  of  discord  be¬ 
gan  to  develop. 
On  December  11,  1922,  an  election  was  called  to 
vote  on  “Proposition  to  erect  a  new  consolidated  school 
building  at  an  expense  of  .$273,000.”  Again,  the  re¬ 
mark  by  men  who  purported  to  know,  “It  will  not  affect 
taxes  to  any  perceptible  degree.”  “Possibly  just  an¬ 
other  pig  or  another  bushel  of  wheat.”  This  time  the 
remarks  did  not  have  the  previous  weight,  as  demon¬ 
stration  had  already  been  made.  That  school  election, 
December  11,  1922,  will  long  be  remembered  in  Iowa. 
The  opposing  faction  demanded  representation  on  the 
board  of  elections  and  finally  was  received  with  open 
arms.  The  election  was  held  in  a  “downtown”  office 
room,  where  the  crowd  of  voters  that  had  assembled 
hours  before  could  pass  through  and  deposit  their  bal¬ 
lots.  One  thousand  names  were  recorded  by  the  clerks 
in  the  first  two  hours,  and  in  five  hours,  when  the  final 
gong  had  sounded,  1.679  voters  had  deposited  their  bal¬ 
lots  in  one  precinct.  Result,  proposition  defeated  by 
99  votes. 
Determined  notttodbe  defeated,  July  31,  1923,  another 
election  was  called  to  vote  on  a  proposition  to  build  a 
new  consolidated  school  building  for  $250,000.  feeling 
sure  the  farmer  at  such  a  busy  season  would  not  leave 
the  thrashing  machine  in  the  wheat  field.  But  the  ma¬ 
chines  in  the  wheat  fields  stopped  humming;  men, 
women  and  children  climbed  on  the  hayrack  and  into 
the  auto ;  some  came  in  on  horseback,  now  a  rare  sight 
in  Iowa.  This  time  1,350  souls  went  “between  the 
polls,”  with  the  result  that  the  proposition  was  de¬ 
feated  by  131  votes.  Next  <Iay  the  board  purchased  a 
1317 
residence  adjacent  to  the  school  grounds  and  convert¬ 
ed  same  into  more  grade  rooms. 
School  fights  are  always  a  nasty  thing  for  a  com¬ 
munity,  but  when  it  is  necessary,  do  as  we  do  in  Iowa — 
don  t  do  if  Imlf-hearted.  Both  sides  fight  to  win. 
Both  fighting  factions  are  pi-oud  of  our  schools,  but 
they  cost  more  than  we  can  bear.  We  have,  including 
kindergarten,  a  13-year  course.  We  have  800  pupils 
-i  j  ec”  teachers  _  on  payroll,  18  drivers  delivering 
children  (rural  districts)  ;  janitors  and  caretakers  of 
premises;  we  employ  five  motor  truck  transports,  five 
automobiles,  eight  horse-drawn  busses.  These  trans- 
ports  haul  from  five  to  30  children.  One  bus  is  driven 
lit  miles  morning  and  night,  or  38  miles  per  day.  Not 
one  foot  or  gravel  or  paved  road  in  the  district,  except 
44  blocks  inside  the  city.  Superintendent  draws  $3,300- 
two  male  teachers,  $3,966.60;  26  female  teachers,  $31,- 
48 1  ;  bus  drivers,  $14,000. 
Does  rural  consolidation  affect  taxes?  These  exam¬ 
ples  are  samples ;  both  these  tracts  were  owned  by  the 
same  individual.  Quote  school  tax  only. 
Rural  District  Example. — ‘Records  show  mortgage 
against  this,  $12,000:  S 
191 8-. 
1919. 
1920. 
1921. 
1922. 
Farm  Value  School  Tax 
$3,519  71  mills 
3.800  10S  mills 
3.800  381  mills 
3.803  506  mills 
3.803  464  mills 
$24.98 
41.04 
144.78  (first  year) 
192.43 
176.00 
By  this  chart  you  will  see  a  leap  in  school  tax  alone 
the  first  year  of  $103.74. 
City  Property  by  Same  Party — 
■School  Tax 
Value  Alone 
1918  _  $1,500  308  mills  $46.20 
1919  _  1,500  434  mills  65.10 
1920  -  1.500  381  mills  57.15  (drop  $7.95) 
1921.  .  .  .  1.500  506  mills  75.90  (back  again ) 
1922 _  1,500  464  mills  69.60 
Or,  in  other  w-ords,  this  party  paid : 
1918  School  taxes  alone .  $71.1S 
1919  School  taxes  alone..... .  105.14 
1920  First  year  .  201.93 
1921  Second  year  .  268.33 
1922  Third  year  .  246.05 
In  conclusion  permit  me  to  suggest  at  all  elections 
held  to  determine  any  proposition,  each  faction  insist 
on  an  equal  represenation  on  the  election  board,  such 
members  to  be  selected  by  their  own  respective  factions ; 
constitution  provides  such,  and  it  will  also  aid  in  main¬ 
taining  a  given  degree  of  confidence. 
I  am  a  strong  advocate  for  good  schools,  but  I  believe 
in  helping  to  make  it.  possible  to  pay  for  such  priviliges 
and  still  maintain  a  home.  This  leak  of  funds  is  not 
centered  alone  in  public  schools.  There  is  entirely  too 
great  a  tendency  all  along  the  line  to  feed  from  the  pub¬ 
lic  crib.  We  should  wake  to  a  realization  that  this  crib 
is  our  own  hand.  “A  public  office  is  a  public  trust,”’ 
and  now.  as  never  before,  should  such  officers  sit  down 
and  guard  those  funds.  We  should  at  this  time  exercise 
the  greatest  degree  of  caution.  We  should  absolutely 
stop  the  expenditure  of  public  funds,  so  far  as  new  ven¬ 
tures  are  concerned,  and  many  of  the  old  ventures.  Un¬ 
til  we  do  this  we  cannot  even  hope  to  return  to  pros¬ 
perity.  OLIVER  S.  JOHNSON. 
Get  Back  of  This  Bill 
I  have  several  acres  of  land,  and  have  put  up  notices 
in  several  places  against  hunting  and  trespassing.  Have 
I  any  right  to  prosecute  anyone  I  catch  doing  the  same’ 
New  York.  j  L 
If  you  have  posted  notices  warning  all  persons 
against  hunting  or  fishing  or  trespassing  thereon  along 
the  boundary  of  your  lands,  not  more  than  40  rods 
apart,  with  at  least  one  notice  on  each  side  and  one  at 
each  corner  of  your  lands,  you  have  the  right  to  arrest, 
without  warrant,  any  person  trespassing  thei-eon  with 
or  having  in  his  possession  a  rod,  gun  or  any  imple¬ 
ment  or  means  by  which  fish,  birds  or  quadrupeds  may 
be  disturbed,  taken  or  killed.  The  better  way,  how¬ 
ever,  is  to  notify  the  State  police  and  they  will  make 
the  arrest.  Actions  for  trespassing  are  prosecuted  by 
the  State,  and  the  trespass  is  a  misdemeanor,  with  an 
added  penalty  of  $50,  one-half  of  which  added  penalty  is 
payable  directly  to  the  land  owner.  Under  a  recent 
amendment  the  penalty  of  $50  may  be  compromised 
with  the  consent  of  the  Conservation  Commission  and 
the  justice  before  whom  the  action  is  brought,  for  not 
less  than  $10. 
Hunters  are  required  by  law  to  exhibit  their  licenses 
to  any  person  requesting  to  see  them,  and  may  there¬ 
fore  be  easily  identified.  After  January  1,  1924,  they 
are  required  to  wear  in  a  conspicuous  place  on’  their 
clothing  a  button  furnished  by  the  commission,  giving 
the  number  of  their  license. 
Posting  of  notices  will  be  sufficient,  provided  illegible 
or  destroyed  signs  be  replaced  once  a  year  during  the 
months  of  March,  July,  August  or  September.  Ex¬ 
perience  has  shown  that  but  one  or  two  prosecutions  is 
necessary  in  any  neighborhood  to  effectually  put  a  stop 
to  trespass  by  sportsmen  on  posted  farm  lands.  As  the 
statute  prohibits  trespassing  upon  posted  land  with  a 
rod  or  gun.  convictions  are  easy  and  certain,  as  it  is 
only  necessary  to  prove  that  the  party  who  posted  the 
land  either  owned  or  leased  the  land  posted,  that  it  was 
properly  posted,  and  that  the  trespasser  was  on  the 
premises  with  a  rod  or  gun  in  his  possession.  The  ad¬ 
vantages  of  posting  from  the  standpoint  of  enjoying 
peaceable  possession  of  farm  lands  and  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  game  thereon  are  so  manifest  that  it  is  surpris¬ 
ing  that  all  farm  lands  are  not  posted.  All  damage 
upon  farm  property  is  not,  however,  caused  by  sports¬ 
men,  and  the  New  Hampshire  statute  to  which  The  R 
N.-Y.  recently  called  attention,  should  be  enacted  in 
this  State.  This  act  provides  that  any  person  who 
enters  upon  the  improved  land  of  another  and  destroys 
or  injures  any  tree,  shrub  or  vine,  or  steals,  takes  or 
carries  away  any  live  stock,  poultry,  fruit,  vegetables 
or  other  product,  is  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  less 
than  $20,  or  imprisonment  of  not  less  than  30  days,  and 
if  the  offense  is  committed  by  a  person  with  the  aid  of 
an  automobile  to  carry  them  to  or  from  the  premises, 
his  license  shall  be  revoked  for  a  period  of  one  year. 
I  shall  endeavor  to  have  a  bill  to  this  effect  intro¬ 
duced  at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  and  if  the 
farmers  will  get  behind  this  bill  and  atttend  the  hearing 
on  the  bill  at  Albany  in  sufficient  numbers,  it  can  prob¬ 
ably  be  passed.  Such  an  act  would  effectually  put  a 
stop  to  the  lawless  depredations  from  which  the  farm¬ 
ers  of  this  State  have  so  long  suffered. 
If  farmers  who  are  willing  to  attend  the  hearing  on 
this  bill  at  Albany  will  send  their  names  and  addresses 
to  The  R.  N.-Y.  I  will  give  them  ample  notice  of  the 
hearing.  RfiNey  U.  brigham. 
