The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1571 
A  Comparison  of  Milk  Prices 
FOR  November  the  League  pool  gross,  or  “all 
milk,”  return  from  dealers  and  its  own  plants 
was  $2.43.  Reductions  of  10  cents  for  expenses  and 
10  cents  for  capital  fund  leave  the  net  cash  price 
to  producers  $2.23  for  3  per  cent  milk  in  the  200-mile 
zone.  This  was  the  average  of  all  pooled  milk,  the 
price  of.  Class  1  being  $3.45  for  11  days,  and  $2.80  for 
19  days,  and  for  the  whole  month  Class  2A  $2.25, 
2B  $2.40,  2C  $2.35,  Class  3  $2.20,  Class  4A  $1.85,  4B 
$1.75.  In  Classes  2,  3  and  4  there  was  an  addi¬ 
tional  allowance  where  skim-milk  was  sold  or  used 
for  manufacturing  purposes. 
The  Sheffield  Farms  price  was:  For  11  days  $3.05, 
and  for  19  days  $2.58,  making  an  average  of  $2.75 
for  the  month.  This  was  the  price  paid  producers 
for  3  per  cent  milk  in  the  200-mile  zone,  the  dealers 
taking  “all  milk”  produced  by  members. 
The  Non-pool  Association  paid  $3.05  for  the  first 
11  days  of  the  month  and  $2.55  for  the  remaining  19 
days,  making  an  average  of  $2.73  for  “all  milk”  for 
the  month. 
The  average  price  of  the  Eastern  States  Producers 
has  not  yet  been  reported.  Some  of  these  plants 
paid  from  $2.77  to  $2.95  for  October. 
The  monthly  comparisons  since  1916  appear  in  the 
following  table : 
, - November - , 
Milk  1916  1917  1921  1922  1923 
Borden’s  . *$1.70 
League  .  2.00  $2.22  $2,265  $2.23 
Co-op.  Unit,  liigb... 
Ind.  Group,  high .  2.725  2.752 
B.  and  C.  value .  2.08  $2.25  2.14  2.564  2.30 
Butter,  cts.  per  lb...  .3941  .4551  .4491  .5069  .523 
Cheese,  cts.  per  lb...  .23  .2275  .22125  .27  .242 
*  Offered. 
The  best  comparison  would  be  the  number  of 
pounds  of  milk  necessary  to  buy  farm  supplies  be¬ 
fore  the  war  and  the  number  of  pounds  required  to 
buy  the  same  supplies  now.  This  can  be  fairly  rep¬ 
resented  in  a  comparison  of  the  purchasing  power  of 
the  dollar  then  and  now.  In  general,  this  value  of 
the  present  dollar  is  estimated  to  be  from  55  to  65 
per  cent  of  its  former  purchasing  value.  In  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  farm  supplies  it  would  hardly  exceed  50 
per  cent  of  its  pre-war  power.  That  is  to  say,  on  an 
average  the  farm  supplies  cash  in  dollars  about 
double  the  prices  paid  before  the  war.  The  farmer 
himself  is,  however,  the  best  authority  on  this  sub¬ 
ject.  Using,  however,  the  highest  estimate  of  the 
value  of  the  dollar  now,  the  comparison  would  be  as 
follows : 
League  pool  . 65%  of  $2.23  $1,449 
Co-op.  Unit,  high . 65%  of 
Ind.  Group,  high . 65%  of  2.75  1.787 
B.  and  C.  value . 65%  of  2.30  1.495 
Butter,  per  lb . 65%  of  .523  .339 
Cheese,  per  lb . 65%  of  .242  .157 
From  this  reasoning  the  100  lbs.  of  milk  brought 
more  in  November,  1915,  than  in  1923.  The  Novem¬ 
ber,  1915,  price  is  used  in  these  comparisons  for  Oc¬ 
tober,'  November  and  December,  because  it  was  the 
last  of  the  Borden’s  prices  for  these  months,  and  the 
price  they  offered  for  November,  1916,  though  the 
fight  of  that  year  raised  it  to  $2.05. 
The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  re¬ 
ports  prices  paid  to  producers  in  the  Eastern  terri 
torv,  reduced  to  3  per  cent  basis,  for  November,  as 
follows : 
Washington,  D.  C..$2.71 
Indianapolis,  Ind...  1.72 
Chicago,  Ill . 2.55 
Baltimore,  Md .  2.47 
Boston,  Mass .  3.15 
St.  Louis,  Mo .  2.20 
Trenton,  N.  .T.... 
Buffalo,  N.  Y . .  . , 
.  2.65 
Cleveland,  O.  ... 
.  2.67 
Pittsburgh.  Pa... 
.  2.95 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
.  2.40 
Scranton,  Pa.  ... 
.  2.S4 
Occupation  of  New  York  Legislators 
TILE  New  York  Legislature  will  meet  on  the  first 
of  the  year — ready  for  business.  In  the  Senate 
the  Democrats  have  26  votes,  the  Republicans  25. 
In  the  Assembly  there  are  87  Republicans  and  63 
Democrats.  New  York  City  has  24  members  of  the 
Senate  and  62  members  of  the  Assembly.  A  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  Senate  is  made  up  of  lawyers — the 
other  occupations  are  given  in  the  following  list: 
Merchants,  3;  lawyers,  26;  real  estate,  2;  manufac¬ 
turers,  3 ;  broker,  1 ;  physician,  1 ;  pharmacist,  1 ; 
accountant,  1 ;  newspaperman,  1 ;  architect,  1  ;  presi¬ 
dent  lumber  company,  1;  farmers,  2;  salesman,  1; 
bankers,  2 ;  civil  engineer,  1 ;  agriculture,  1 ;  college 
professor,  1 ;  Summer  hotel,  1 ;  general  contractor,  1. 
In  the  Assembly  there  are  52  lawyers  and  16  farm¬ 
ers,  with  the  others  occupied  as  follows.  How  would 
they  ever  get  their  food  if  they  were  all  cast  upon 
a  desert  island?  Superintendent  night  market,  1; 
undertaker,  1 ;  pattern-maker,  1 ;  farmer  and  oil 
producer,  1 ;  insurance  and  real  estate,  5 ;  lawyers, 
52 :  student,  1 ;  newspaperman,  1 ;  shoemaker.  1 ; 
farmers,  16;  coal,  lumber  and  grain  dealer,  1;  sales 
manager,  1;  county  clerk,  1;  merchants,  2;  manufac¬ 
turers.  3;  physicians,  3;  clerk,  1;  business  executive, 
1 ;  engineer,  1  ;  banker,  1 ;  electrician,  1 ;  real  estate, 
5;  maritime,  1;  jeweler,  1;  salesmen,  2f  law  clerks, 
3 ;  civil  engineer,  1 ;  broker,  1 ;  liaison  officer,  1 ; 
pharmacists,  2;  theatrical  booking  agency,  1;  build¬ 
er,  1;  farmer  and  automobile  dealer,  1;  farmer  and 
trustee,  1 ;  patent  lawyer,  1 ;  investments,  1 ;  auto¬ 
mobile  dealers,  2 ;  auctioneer  and  appraiser,  1 ;  law 
student,  1;  appraiser,  1;  advertising  1;  hardware,  1; 
farmer  and  fruit  grower,  1 ;  cotton  broker,  1 ;  phys¬ 
ician  and  fruit  grower,  1 ;  apartment  hotel  pro¬ 
prietor,  1 ;  real  estate  and  farmer,  1 ;  realtors,  2 ;  re¬ 
tired  police  sergeant,  1 ;  contractors,  2 ;  hardware 
and  paint  dealer,  1 ;  building  contractor,  1 ;  mason 
and  builder,  1 ;  lumber  business,  1 ;  insurance,  2 ; 
retired  merchant,  1 ;  teacher,  1 ;  merchant  and  farm¬ 
er,  1 ;  sales  agent,  1 ;  lawyer  and  oil  business,  1 ;  re¬ 
tired,  1 ;  auctioneer  and  merchant,  1 ;  farm  produce 
dealer,  1. 
Is  The  School  Bill  A  Compulsory  Con¬ 
solidation  Measure? 
The  rural  school  bill,  embodying  recommendations  of 
the  “Committee  of  Twenty-one,”  is  a  compulsory  consol¬ 
idation  measure.  Section  1221  of  the  bill  provides  for 
the  establishment  of  community  districts.  A  community 
district  shall,  so  far  as  may  be,  comprise  school  dis¬ 
tricts  which  are  connected  by  lines  of  transportation  or 
are  related  by  social,  commercial  or  other  similar  con¬ 
ditions,  and  which  are  grouped  around  some  center  of 
population,  trade  or  social  life.  It  is  the  purpose  of 
this  act  to  include  all  the  territory  of  union  free  and 
common  school  districts,  outside  of  city  and  union  free 
school  districts  having  a  population  of  4,500  or  more, 
and  for  which  a  superintendent  of  schools  is  employed, 
within  the  limits  of  community  districts. 
All  the  districts  in  a  community  district  are  to  be 
controlled  and  governed  by  one  board,  known  as  the 
community  board  of  education.  This  community  board 
shall  (obligation)  prescribe  such  rules  and  regulations 
as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions 
of  this  article  and  for  the  general  management,  opera¬ 
tion,  control,  maintenance  and  discipline  of  the  schools 
within  the  community  district.  All  the  districts  within 
a  community  district  are  under  one  board  and  are  com¬ 
pelled  to  be  combined,  united  or  consolidated  in  gov¬ 
ernment  (1267).  The  numbers  in  parenthesis  refer  to 
sections  of  the  bill. 
The  districts  within  a  community  district  are  to  be 
compelled  to  be  united  or  consolidated  in  the  possession 
and  control  of  all  school  property  within  the  community 
district.  The  title  of  all  school  buildings,  sites,  furniture, 
books,  apparatus  and  other  property  belonging  to  the 
several  school  districts,  comprising  a  community  dis¬ 
trict  shall,  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  August,  1924, 
be  vested  in  the  community  board,  and  all  of  such 
property  shall  be  held  and  used  by  such  board  for  the 
benefit  of  the  schools  of  the  district  (1269). 
The  districts  within  a  community  are  to  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  be  united  or  consolidated  in  paying  outstand¬ 
ing  bonded  indebtedness.  The  bonded  indebtedness  of 
the  school  districts  in  a  community  district  existing  and 
outstanding  on  the  31st  day  of  July,  1924,  shall  be  a 
charge  against  the  taxable  property  of  the  community 
district,  and  all  bonds  issued  by  such  school  districts 
on  or  before  such  day,  as  provided  by  law,  shall  become 
the  bonds  of  the  community  district  (1302). 
The  districts  within  a  community  district  are  com¬ 
pelled  by  this  measure  to  be  united  or  consolidated  in 
providing  academic  instruction  for  all  the  high  school 
pupils  residing  within  the  community  district.  The 
community  board  shall  either  establish  and  maintain 
within  the  district  a  school  wherein  a  full  four-year 
course  of  high  school  or  academic  instruction  may  be 
given  to  the  pupils  of  the  district  who  have  completed 
the  elementary  courses  of  instruction  in  the  schools  of 
the  district,  or  shall  make  provision  for  such  instruc¬ 
tion,  or  part  thereof,  in  the  schools  of  another  com¬ 
munity  district  or  of  a  union  free  or  city  school  dis¬ 
trict  (1282).  The  present  law  providing  for  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  the  tuition  of  non-resident  academic  pupils  is 
to  be  repealed.  The  high  school  pupils  in  a  community 
district,  to  avoid  paying  their  tuition,  will  be  compelled 
to  attend  the  high  school  or  schools  in  their  community 
district,  unless  the  community  board  of  education  pro¬ 
vides  for  their  instruction  in  another  district. 
The  transportation  of  pupils  shall  be  provided  by  the 
community  (a)  where  pupils  have  completed  the  courses 
of  instruction  maintained  in  the  school  in  the  district 
where  they  reside  and  are  in  attendance  upon  instruc¬ 
tion  in  advanced  subjects  in  other  schools  of  the  com¬ 
munity  district,  or  (b)  where  such  pupils  have  been 
transferred  as  provided  herein  to  the  schools  of  other 
community  districts  or  of  union  free  or  city  school 
districts,  or  (c)  where  the  school  of  a  district  has  been 
closed  as  herein  provided,  or  ( cl )  where  a  school  dis¬ 
trict  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  (1292).  The  dis¬ 
tricts  in  a  community  district  are  compelled  to  be 
united  or  consolidated  in  providing  transportation  of 
pupils. 
The  community  board  shall  submit  to  a  vote  of  the 
qualified  school  electors  of  the  community  district  a 
proposition  for  the  remodeling,  improvement,  or  enlarge¬ 
ment  of  existing  school  buildings  or  for  the  construction 
of  new  buildings,  if  the  aggregate  amount  to  be  ex¬ 
pended  therefor  in  any  one  year  shall  exceed  the  sum  of 
$7,000,  or  an  amount  equal  to  one-half  of  1  per  centum 
of  the  actual  valuation  of  the  taxable  property  in  the 
community  district.  The  electors  of  a  community  dis¬ 
trict  are  compelled  to  he  united  or  consolidated  in  mak¬ 
ing  appropriations  (1300). 
The  districts  within  a  community  district  are  to  be 
united  or  consolidated  in  paying  taxes,  for  the  com¬ 
munity  board  shall  cause  the  amounts  specified  in  the 
annual  school  tax  budget  and  the  supplemental  tax  bud¬ 
gets,  if  any,  to  be  levied  and  assessed  against  the  tax¬ 
able  property  within  the  community  district,  and  shall 
prepare  a  school  tax  assessment  roll  (129S).  In  a 
community  district  there  will  be  one  board,  one  collec¬ 
tor-treasurer,  and  a  uniform  tax  rate. 
The  consolidation  of  school  districts  in  government, 
title  to  school  property,  outstanding  bonded  indebted¬ 
ness,  providing  academic  instruction  and  transporta¬ 
tion  of  pupils,  making  appropriations,  and  paying 
school  taxes,  will  be  compulsory  if  the  rural  school  bill 
is  enacted  into  law. 
The  rural  school  bill  paves  the  way  for  the  closing 
of  the  small  schools..  Any  school  in  a  community  dis¬ 
trict  may  be  closed  in  one  of  the  four  following  ways 
(1288)  : 
1.  By  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  by  a  majority  vote 
of  the  electors  present  and  voting  at  a  district  meeting 
held  within  the  school  district,-  and  with  the  subsequent 
approval  of  the  resolution  by  the  community  board. 
2.  When  the  average  daily  attendance  of  pupils  at  a 
school  in  a  school  district  is  eight  or  less,  except  in  a 
case  where  the  failure  of  attendance  is  caused  by  ex¬ 
treme  weather  conditions,  epidemic  or  other  unavoidable 
cause,  the  community  board  may  on  petition  of  a  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  qualified  electors  of  such  district  by  resolu¬ 
tion  adopted  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  its  members, 
close  such  school  for  a  period  not  exceeding  one  year. 
3.  Whenever  the  district  superintendent  shall  certify 
to  a  community  board  that  the  school  building  in  a 
district  within  the  community  district  is  unfit  for  use, 
or  that  its  continued  use  will  endanger  the  life,  health 
and  physical  welfare  of  the  pupils  in  attendance  at  such 
school,  or  whenever  a  school  building  shall  have  been 
destroyed  by  fire  or  by  other  means,  such  board  may  in 
like  manner  direct  that  such  school  be  closed  for  a 
period  to  be  specified  in  its  resolution,  or  until  such 
building  is  rebuilt  or  rendered  fit  for  use. 
4.  In  case  it  shall  appear  that  a  school  district  shall 
have  contracted  for  the  instruction  of  its  pupils  in  an¬ 
other  district  or  city,  as  provided  in  Article  21  of  this 
chapter,  the  board  of  education  may  in  like  manner 
direct  that  the  school  in  such  district  be  closed  for  a 
period  not  exceeding  one  year. 
The  rural  school  bill  does  not  assure  the  elementary 
rural  pupils  greater  educational  privileges.  If  a 
school  is  maintained  in  a  school  district  within  a  com¬ 
munity  district,  the  children  living  within  such  district 
who  desire  to  attend  the  public  schools  may  he  required 
to  attend  such  school  until  they  have  completed  the 
course  of  study  therein.  The  community  board  may 
in  its  discretion  and  for  sufficient  cause,  upon  recom¬ 
mendation  of  the  district  superintendent,  provide  for 
the  transfer  of  pupils  from  one  school  in  the  community 
district  to  another  school  therein  (1281). 
Under  the  present  school  laws  (Sections  129  and 
130)  the  consolidation  of  school  districts  is  optional 
with  the  district  superintendent  or  the  voters  of  the 
districts;  /and  the  consolidation  of  the  schools  is 
optional  with  the  board  or  the  board  and  the  voters. 
Under  Sections  130,  206  and  275  of  the  present  edu¬ 
cation  law,  the  voters  in  a  group  of  districts  may  estab¬ 
lish  a  central  school  with  branch  schools  in  the  com¬ 
munity  comprising  such  districts;  that  is,  a  community 
district  may  be  established  by  the  voters  under  the  lavv 
now  in  force.  As  the  qualified  electors  of  the  school 
districts  may  under  the  present  law  establish  com¬ 
munity  districts,  why  are  some  people  clamoring  for  a 
law  that  shall  make  State-wide  the  establishment  of 
community  districts  compulsory? 
EDGAR  D.  ORMSBY, 
•  District  Superintendent. 
Fourth  Supervisory  District,  Erie  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Husband’s  Rights  in  Wife’s  Property 
I  saw  an  item  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  that  a  wife  could  will 
all  her  property  away  from  her  husband.  There  is  a 
case  in  this  vicinity  where  the  wife  made  a  will  leaving 
the  use  of  $1,060  to  her  husband  during  his  lifetime; 
her  funeral  and  all  other  expenses  were  to  be  paid 
from  her  property,  and  the  rest  to  be  divided  between 
her  nieces  and  nephews.  Now  it  is  claimed  that  the 
husband  can  hold  $500  personal  beside  $150.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  law  providing  this  for  him  was  passed 
last  Winter.  Is  this  correct?  A.  w. 
New  York. 
IF  a  person  having  a  family  die.  leaving  a  widow 
or  husband,  or  minor  child  or  children  the  follow¬ 
ing  articles  shall  not  be  deemed  assets,  but  must  be 
included  and  stated  in  the  inventory  of  the  estate  as 
property  set  off  to  such  widow,  husband  or  minor 
child  or  children : 
1.  All  household  utensils,  musical  instruments, 
sewing  machine  and  household  furniture  used  in  and 
about  the  house  and  premises,  fuel  and  provisions, 
and  the  clothing  of  the  deceased,  in  all  not  exceed¬ 
ing  in  value  $500. 
2.  The  family  Bible,  family  pictures  and  school 
books,  used  by  or  in  such  family,  and  books  not  ex¬ 
ceeding  in  value  $50,  which  were  kept  and  used  as 
a  part  of  the  family  library. 
3.  Domestic  animals  with  their  necessary  food  for 
60  days,  not  exceeding  in  value  $150. 
4.  Money  or  other  personal  property  not  exceeding 
in  value  $150. 
Such  property  so  set  apart  shall  be  the  property 
of  the  surviving  husband  or  wife,  or  of  the  minor 
child  or  children  if  there  be  no  surviving  husband 
or  wife.  No  allowance  shall  be  made  in  money  or 
other  property  under  subdivisions  one,  two  and  three 
if  the  articles  mentioned  therein  do  not  exist. 
If  there  were  specific  bequests  of  articles  of  per¬ 
sonal  property  which  are  not  included  in  the  fore¬ 
going  exemptions,  the  executor  may  turn  the  prop¬ 
erty  over  to  the  legatees,  but  if  not  it  will  be  better 
to  have  all  the  nieces  and  nephews  together  when  a 
division  is  made,  or  if  they  cannot  agree  on  a  divi¬ 
sion.  the  property  might  be  sold  and  the  money 
divided.  n  t 
