1548 
Tht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
December  22,  1923 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FARMER’S  PAPER 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  lor  Country  and  Suburban  Homes 
Established  I8S0 
I'ubllibrd  weekly  by  llie  Kuril  I’ublinhing  Company,  333  West  80th  Street,  New  York 
Hkkbrrt  W.  Colijngwood,  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
Wm.  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mrs.  E.  T.  Roylk,  Associate  Editor. 
I,.  H.  Murphy,  Circulation  Manager. 
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“A  SQUARE  DEAL” 
We  believe  that  every  advertisement  in  this  paper  is  backed  by  a  respon¬ 
sible  person.  We  use  every  possible  precaution  and  admit  the  advertising  of 
reliable  houses  only.  But  to  make  doubly  sure,  we  will  make  good  any  loss 
to  paid  subscribers  sustained  by  trusting  any  deliberate  swindler,  irrespon¬ 
sible  advertisers  or  misleading  advertisements  in  our  columns,  and  any 
such  swindler  will  be  publicly  exposed.  We  are  also  often  called  upon 
to  adjust  differences  or  mistakes  between  our  subscribers  and  honest, 
responsible  houses,  whether  advertisers  or  not.  We  willingly  use  our  good 
offices  to  this  end,  but  such  cases  should  not  be  confused  with  dishonest 
transactions.  We  protect  subscribers  against  rogues,  but  we  will  not  be 
responsible  for  the  debts  of  honest  bankrupts  sanctioned  by  the  courts. 
Notice  of  the  complaint  must  be  sent  to  us  within  one  month  or  the  time  of 
the  transaction,  and  to  identify  it,  you  should  mention  The  Rural  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
Merry  Christmas 
ME  RURAL  NEW-YORKER  wishes  all  its  read¬ 
ers  a  full  share  of  health  and  happiness  as  the 
most  beautiful  and  thoughtful  holiday  of  the  year 
comes  to  us  once  more.  In  these  busy  and  troubled 
times  some  of  us  are  prone  to  forget  or  overlook 
the  real  significance,  of  Christmas  Day.  May  we 
all  be  brought  back  to  it  this  year.  May  the  hope 
and  faith  and  joy  of  childhood  find  entrance  in  the 
heart  of  mature  years.  For  most  of  ns  the  closing 
year  has  not  been  the  best  or  happiest  of  our  lives. 
Disaster  and  death,  loss  and  trouble,  have  come  to 
many  of  us,  and  the  way  has  seemed  dark  at  times. 
Yet,  at  Christmas,  these  misfortunes,  if  viewed 
fairly,  seem  small  compared  with  the  hope  and 
cheer  and  promise  which  the  day  may  bring.  The 
best  thing  on  our  own  Christmas  tree  is  the  con¬ 
fidence  and  good  will  which  our  readers  offer. 
Never  before  did  the  readers  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  come 
closer  to  representing  a  great  faithful  family,  and 
we  feel  free  to  enter  every  home  which  welcomes 
the  paper  and  say  Merry  Christmas  to  every  one. 
* 
Tell  your  readers  just  what  it  means  and  it  will  be¬ 
come  a  law.  Rut  Cod  help  Colliugwood,  Dillon  and 
The  Rural  New-Yorker  if  this  bill  is  defeated  through 
a  continuation  of  the  misinformation  which  has  ap¬ 
peared  in  their  paper.  martin  e.  thew. 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 
IIAT  is  the  sting  in  the  tail  of  a  long  and  rather 
abusive  letter  from  Mi-.  Thew.  lie  says  the 
Farm  Bureau  and  Pomona  Grange  of  Dutchess 
County  have  resolved  in  favor  of  the  new  school  bill 
and  that  we  are  not  on  the  popular  side  so  far  as 
Dutchess  County  is  concerned.  We  are  willing  to 
let  the  country  people  of  Dutchess  County  settle 
that.  We  have  great  respect  for  Mr.  Thew,  having 
known  him  many  years.  We  cannot  imagine  our¬ 
selves  writing  him  such  a  letter,  even  if  we  were  told 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  crime,  because  we  should 
have  faith  in  his  motives,  even  if  we  did  not  agree 
with  him.  We  are  opposed  to  the  school  bill.  We 
do  not  believe  its  hackers  have  ever  proved  their 
claims  for  it.  We  consider  it  an  expensive,  radical 
and  untried  experiment,  unsuited  to  conditions  as 
they  exist  in  most  parts  of  New  York.  We  think  we 
are  in  a  condition  to  prove  that  our  country  people 
do  not  want  this  hill  thrust  upon  them.  It,  should 
be  tried  in  a  few  counties  or  communities  where  the 
people  are  willing,  so  that  the  rest  of  the  State  may 
watch  its  outcome.  We  think  that  a  much  fairer 
plan  than  to  jam  it  all  upon  the  entire  State,  know¬ 
ing  that  it  is  not  understood  and  not  wanted  by 
country  people.  For  example,  if  Mr.  Thew  feels  so 
sure  of  Dutchess  County,  why  does  he  not  proceed 
at  once,  under  the  present  law,  to  organize  com¬ 
munity  units  in  that  county  and  prove  conclusively 
that  all  that  he  says  about  it  is  true?  That  would 
he  a  more  effective  argument  than  uttering  abuse 
and  threats  against  those  who  for  conscientious  rea¬ 
sons  do  not  agree  with  him.  The  It.  N.-Y.  will 
help  pay  for  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  plain  farm¬ 
ers  of  Dutchess  County ;  this  is  not  to  include  the 
gentleman  farmers,  but  the  real  country  people.  If 
such  canvass  shows  that  a  majority  of  these  rural 
people  want  the  proposed  bill  we  will  join  Mr.  Thew 
in  securing  the  application  of  the  law  for  that  coun¬ 
ty,  or  any  other  county  where  country  people  want 
it.  Let  Dutchess  County  lead  the  way  as  an  object 
lesson  for  the  State.  Of  course,  if  such  a  canvass 
shows  that  the  country  people  of  Dutchess  County 
do  not  want  the  law,  Mr.  Thew  will  abandon  his 
efforts  to  force  it  upon  them.  As  for  trying  to  force 
this  bill  upon  people  who  object  to  it  by  great  ma¬ 
jorities,  we  will  oppose  such  an  effort  as  well  as  we 
can.  We  hereby  offer  Mr.  Thew  or  any  other  backer 
of  the  bill  all  needed  space  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  to  say 
anything  they  will  sign  their  name  to,  we  reserving 
the  right  to  reply.  As  for  abuse  and  threats,  Mr. 
Thew  ought  to  know  by  this  time  how  such  things 
are  regarded  here.  If  he  really  thinks  that  we  will 
quit  under  fire  and  go  back  on  thousands  of  friends 
who  trust  us  and  l(*>k  to  us  for  help,  he  has  sadly 
mistaken  his  men ! 
* 
What  a  career,  .what  a  life  full  of  absorbing  pleas¬ 
ure,  awaits  the  person  gifted  with  eyes  that  see,  but  de¬ 
prived  of  hearing,  in  exploring  the  unknown  inarticu¬ 
late  world.  If  there  be  such  a  thing  as  telepathy  I  be¬ 
lieve  it  will  be  found  most  highly  developed  where  it  is 
most  needed,  namely,  among  the  dumb  animals.  I  think 
I  have  seen  examples  myself,  but  it  may  be  some  move¬ 
ment  I  did  not  see  conveyed  an  idea  the  result  of  which 
I  did  see.  Somewhere  there  is  a  deaf  man  or  woman 
with  highly  developed  powers  of  observation — probably 
many  of  them — who  has  obseiwed  and  has  a  fund  of 
knowledge  on  the  methods  of  communication  between 
dumb  animals,  insects  and  birds.  Unearth  these  indi¬ 
viduals  and  make  them  tell  what  they  have  seen. 
Florida.  c.  F.  L. 
E  have  for  a  long  time  felt  sure  that  within 
the  next  few  years  there  will  be  a  great  de¬ 
velopment  in  what  we  may  call  telepathy  or  thought 
communication.  Most  of  us  know  that  we  are,  at 
times,  able  to  make  others  know  what  we  desire  to 
express  without  sound  or  even  without  much  if  any 
gesturing.  Some  people  have  developed  this  power 
quite  remarkably.  There  seems  to  be  no  question 
about  that.  We  have  noticed  that  hunters,  Indians 
and  men  who  live  lonely  lives — like  sheep  herders 
or  watchmen  on  the  Western  plains — often  possess 
this  power  to  a  remarkable  degree.  It  is  quite  likely 
that  man  had  originally  only  a  limited  vocal  langu¬ 
age.  Probably  he  communicated  with  others  largely 
through  signs  or  some  curious  mental  process  which 
we  now  observe  in  intelligent  animals.  As  common 
language  developed,  man  evidently  dropped  much  of 
this  power  of  mental  communication,  while  animals 
have  never  developed  away  from  it.  No  one  can 
question  the  advantage  which  this  power  would  give 
to  human  beings,  and  we  believe  that  a  systematic 
study  of  the  methods  used  by  intelligent  animals  to 
make  their  wants  known  or  to  understand  what 
others  want  may  well  be  made.  We  think  it  will  be 
developed  chiefly  by  the  deaf,  the  blind  and  the  gen¬ 
erally  afflicted,  who  are  forced  to  develop  new  meth¬ 
ods  of  personal  communication.  Through  them  a 
new-  gift  to  society  may  be  presented.  We  might 
begin  this  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  family.  No  doubt  some 
of  our  readers  have  noticed  strange  things  of  this 
sort  among  animals.  IIowr  are  they  able  to  commu¬ 
nicate?  Tell  us  what  you  know.  First  of  all  we 
must  have  a  collection  of  facts  to  work  on. 
* 
Another  reform  which  is  urgent  in  our  fiscal  system 
is  the  abolition  of  the  right  to  issue  tax-exempt  securi¬ 
ties.  The  existing  system  not  only  permits  a  large 
amount  of  the  wealth  of  the  nation  to  escape  its  just 
burden,  but  acts  as  a  continual  stimulant  to  municipal 
extravagance.  This  should  be  prohibited  by  constitu¬ 
tional  amendment.  All  the  wealth  of  the  nation  ought 
to  contribute  its  fair  share  to  the  expenses  of  the  nation. 
HAT  is  taken  from  the  first  message  to  Congress 
by  President  Coolidge.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  long 
advocated  such  prohibition  of  tax-exempt  securities. 
Such  exemption  gives  a  form  of  special  privilege 
which  works  against  legitimate  industry.  We  see  no 
good  reason  why  the  government — all  the  w-ay  from 
Podunk  Corners  up  to  Washington — should  be  en¬ 
couraged  to  contract  extravagant  expenses  by  mak¬ 
ing  it  easier  to  borrow  money  and  leave  the  payment 
to  those  who  follow.  We  believe  these  tax-exempt 
bonds  are  attracting  capital  wTiich  ought  to  go  into 
regular  business,  and  thus  pay  its  fair  share  of 
taxes.  And  right  along  with  this  change  in  the  laws 
should  come  a  prompt  slow-down  on  all  unnecessary 
construction  work.  Some  at  least  of  the  public  work 
now  being  done  is  not  necessary.  All  such  should 
be  stopped.  Farmers  in  particular  suffer  from  the 
immense  expense  for  unneeded  construction  work.  It 
increases  their  taxes  and  injures  their  power  to  pro¬ 
duce  by  drawing  labor  away  from  the  farms.  We 
find  most  people  ready  to  agree  with  the  general 
proposition,  hut  they  do  not  want  any  of  the  public 
work  which  directly  affects  them  cut  out.  The  other 
man  may  sacrifice  a  little,  but  the  work  in  our  town 
must  go  on  if  we  can  get  the  “pull”  to  keep  it  going. 
Of  course  that  spirit  will  prevent  all  real  economy, 
or  make  the  whole  thing  a  political  grab.  We  have 
come  to  the  point  where  this  nation  is  much  like 
many  a  private  family.  They  have  all  fallen  into 
expensive  habits,  and  forgotten  how  to  economize. 
Father  finally  wakes  up  and  finds  his  expenses 
mounting  while  his  income  is  falling  off.  Unless  he 
can  cut  down  expenses  it  is  only  a  question  of  years 
before  he  will  be  bankrupt  Where  can  he  begin? 
Each  member  of  the  family,  from  mother  down  to 
the  baby,  has  acquired  expensive  habits  and  desires, 
and  they  will  resent  bitterly  any  effort  to  make  a 
“horizontal  reduction”  by  cutting  down  the  entire 
scale  of  living.  Yet  unless  that  is  done  the  bread¬ 
winner  knows  full  well  that  the  home  will  finally 
fall  apart.  The  war  and  the  inflated  business  which 
came  with  it  led  many  of  us  into  extravagant  habits, 
and  these  are  reflected  in  public  expenses.  They 
must  be  cut  down,  and  we  must  all  be  prepared  to 
make  some  sacrifice  in  order  that  taxes  may  be  cut. 
* 
OV.  Alfred  E.  Smith  addressed  the  recent  con¬ 
vention  of  teachers  at  Albany,  and  there  has 
been  some  controversy  as  to  what  he  said  about  the 
school  bill.  In  order  to  clear  the  matter  up  we 
asked  the  Governor  to  tell  us  what  he  did  say.  In 
response  he  sends  us  the  following  courteous  letter : 
Dear  Mr.  Collingwood  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter 
of  December  10. 
I  said  nothing  in  my  speech  at  the  Teachers’  Con¬ 
vention  in  Albany  about  schoolhouses.  I  did  say  that 
the  Superintendent  of  Education  made  the  statement 
to  me  that  the  children  in  the  rural  communities  of 
the  State  were  not  getting  the  same  benefits  in  the 
way  education  that  were  accorded  to  children  in  the 
big  cities  and  that  due  to  the  fact  that  the  schools  are 
small  and  antiquated  and  in  the  opinion  of  our  edu¬ 
cational  authorities  should  be  consolidated.  A  bill  to 
bring  it  about  passed  the  Senate  at  the  last  session  of 
the  Legislature.  Sincerely  yours,  Alfred  e.  smith. 
December  11,  1923. 
The  point  about  this  is  that  the  friends  of  the 
school  bill  are  going  about  the  State  claiming  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  bill  to  bring  about  consolida¬ 
tion.  They  know,  and  so  does  everybody  else  who 
is  capable  of  thinking,  that  the  bill  aims  at  consoli¬ 
dation — and  Gov.  Smith  makes  it  clear! 
* 
WE  are  told  that  a  number  of  friends  of  the 
proposed  school  bill  are  going  about  the  State 
retailing  the  charge  that  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  misrepre¬ 
sented  and  lied  about  the  bill.  That  seems  to  be  the 
way  they  excuse  their  failure  to  obtain  any  hacking 
among  country  people.  The  best  way  to  answer  that 
is  to  make  the  following  open  proposition :  Let  the 
proponents  of  the  bill  select  their  ablest  champion. 
We  offer  him  space  in  which  to  present  his  side  of 
the  case.  We  will  print  anything  lie  loill  sign  his 
name  to — of  course,  reserving  the  right  to  reply  to 
it  in  our  own  way. 
* 
OUR  readers  ask  what  position  the  New  York 
Grange  is  taking  in  this  school  bill  battle.  For 
our  own  part,  we  have  reports  from  about  75  Sub¬ 
ordinate  Granges  which  have  gone  on  record  as  op¬ 
posed  to  the  bill,  and  six  which  have  “resolved”  in 
its  favor.  We  understand  that  the  Pomona  Granges 
of  Orange  and  Dutchess  counties  endorsed  the  bill, 
while  the  Pomonas  of  St.  Lawrence,  Jefferson,  Lewis, 
Washington,  Otsego,  Madison,  Broome  and  Steuben 
have  opposed  it  forcibly.  We  are  told  that  several 
other  counties  have  opposed  it,  but  have  no  exact  in¬ 
formation  at  this  moment.  We  do  know  that  nearly 
1,200  school  districts  have  voted  and  reported  to  us. 
Ninety-nine  per  cent  of  them  oppose  the  bill,  and  90 
per  cent  were  unanimous. 
Brevities 
Calling  names  and  making  faces  puts  one  in  the 
objection  case. 
We  see  no  use  in  mulching  strawberries  until  the 
ground  freezes. 
No  question  about  it !  The  “auntie-dote”  has  ruined 
more  than  one  nephew. 
Our  plows  are  still  running;  usually  the  ground  is 
frozen  tight  by  December  1. 
A  two-weeks’  course  in  ice  cream  making  at  the  Con¬ 
necticut  Agricultural  College  begins  February  25,  1924. 
No  use  talking,  all  this  school  discussion  is  having  its 
effect  upon  the  home  school.  We  know  of  many  cases 
where  patrons  are  taking  far  more  interest  than  ever 
hefore. 
We  have  had  sevei-al  cases  lately  where  people  claim 
that  their  poultry  and  hogs  have  contracted  disease 
from  neighbors’  stock  which  came  over  upon  the  home 
premises,  bringing  germs  of  roup  or  cholera.  These 
people  want  to  know  if  they  can  collect  damages  for 
this  trouble.  It  would  be  very  doubtful.  The  attempt 
would  probably  cost  more  than  you  could  hope  to  col¬ 
lect  ! 
A  ride  through  upper  New  England  recently  showed 
how  farmers  are  preparing  their  houses  for  Winter. 
They  reason  that  cold  air  works  in  around  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  the  house.  So  they  bank  up  all  around.  Some 
use  manure — a  bad  practice.  Othei-s  run  a  little  box 
around  the  house,  like  a  narrow  cold  frame,  and  fill  it 
with  cornstalks  or  leaves,  while  others  tack  building 
paper  all  around.  It  keeps  out  the  wind. 
About  1qS0  The  R.  N.-Y".  sent  its  readers  each  a  few 
plants  of  the  Marlboro  raspberry.  Now  we  have  the 
following  letter,  showing  what  a  great  business  has  de¬ 
veloped  :  “Some  40  years  ago  a  Mr.  P.  D.  Goss  of 
Loveland,  Col.,  was  taking  your  paper  through  this 
post  office,  and  with  one  subscription  he  received  a  few 
plants  of  the  Marlboro  raspberry.  From  those  few 
plants  there  has  grown  an  industry  that  gathers  ber¬ 
ries  from  more  than  700  acres  of  Marlboro  plants.” 
