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Editorial Page of the American 
American 
Agriculturist 
, Founded 1842 
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. . . . . . . . Publisher 
E. R. Eastman . Editor 
Fred W. Ohm . Associate Editor 
Mrs. G. E. Forbush .Household Editor 
Birge Kinne .. . . Advertising Manager 
E. C. Weatherby .Circulation Manager 
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Entered as Second-Class Matter, December 15, 1922, at the Post Office 
at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
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VOL. 114 October 4, 1924 No. 14 
The Politicians and Farm Taxes 
E have not been saying much of late about 
the farm-tax problem, but we have by no 
means forgotten it, nor have we forgotten that 
we have more than fifteen thousand farmers 
registered in American Agriculturist editorial 
office, in an appeal to State and local officers for 
economy in government and for less taxes. 
Now is the time when all the politicians are 
making promises to the voters to get support in 
the coming elections. We give credit for sincerity 
to most of those who are seeking public office. If 
they promise help in bringing about more economy 
and to lower the farm taxes, the most of them will 
make at least some effort to carry out their 
promise. It is, therefore, our responsibility as 
voters to find out how these candidates stand on 
the question of lowering farm taxes. 
Last year, American Agriculturist, using the 
petitions received from fifteen thousand farmers, 
told Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York and the 
State Legislature that the farmers of this State 
must have some tax relief, and we suggested that 
the direct State tax of two mills should be abol¬ 
ished. 
Shortly after our talk with the Governor, he 
sent a special message to the Legislature, calling 
for a reduction of one-half mill in direct property 
tax. The Legislature accepted his suggestion and 
passed the bill. This measure will bring a few 
dollars relief to every farmer taxpayer. 
But it is only a start. All of the property tax 
should be abolished. Direct taxes by the State 
are wrong in principle and unfair to the farmer 
whose tax burden is, even without this extra 
mill tax, almost unbearable. We want to ask you 
to think about this problem and to work with us 
again during the fall and winter to bring this most 
important problem to the attention of those who 
can remedy it. It is time now to start such action 
by asking those who are seeking your vote how 
they stand on the question of reduced taxes on 
farm real estate. Will you help ? 
Suggestions for Roadside Markets 
O one, either from the farm or from the 
city, has ridden along a country highway 
without being impressed with the growing number 
of roadside markets. Without question, these 
markets have done a lot of good and have enabled 
farmers to dispose of a lot of miscellaneous prod¬ 
ucts at a profit. On the other hand, there are 
so. many of them, so close together, in many 
neighborhoods, that none are paying, and many 
other farmers have found that for some reason or 
other their attempt at maintaining a roadside 
market was a failure. 
_ Circular Number 27, entitled, “Farmers’ Road¬ 
side Markets,” issued recently by the New 
Jersey Department of Agriculture at Trenton, 
gives some very interesting and worth-while 
pointers to whose who are conducting roadside 
markets or are thinking of doing so. Perhaps the 
best suggestion in this circular is that instead of 
having too many markets in the same community, 
a few of the farmers could cooperate to run only 
one. good market. This would give a better 
variety of products and eliminate competition. 
Another excellent suggestion made in the circu¬ 
lar is to the effect that such a market should stick 
pretty well to farm products. The addition of 
too much outside material will tend to lower the 
tone of the market and some of the best trade will 
pass on to a market which gives a better appear¬ 
ance. 
In summing up the subject, the circular says: 
“For a successful roadside market the needs are as 
follows: 
“A good location, an attractive method of display, 
carefully graded and well-packed products, a fair price, 
a sufficient number of buyers, an even supply and a 
sufficient quantity of products so that the volume of 
business will be large enough to make it pay. A market 
which has not enough products to sell or a sufficient 
number of buyers often costs more to run than it is 
worth. Too many markets along a road tend to cheapen 
and handicap all. It is better to combine at a few good 
points and have a larger volume of business at a lower 
overhead cost, with each farmer paying his share. Con¬ 
sumers often compare the prices of inferior, poorly 
packed produce in the city with the prices of higher 
quality, well-packed produce in the country and feel 
that the country prices are unjust. To be fair to the 
roadside market, care should be taken to consider the 
quality, grade, pack and freshness of the products 
offered for sale.” 
A Lot of Cows Elected for Slaughter 
“In accordance with the suggestion of E. R. Eastman 
in the columns of American Agriculturist, September 
20th issue, I am enclosing signed slip. 
“ This seems like a timely suggestion to me, one that 
should be seriously considered by all dairymen. My 
herd of twenty-five cows is an accredited herd of pure- 
breds, but if after one thousand signers had been ob¬ 
tained another thousand could be prevailed upon to do 
likewise, I would agree to slaughter a second cow. 
“The suggestion above might be profitably supple¬ 
mented with another—that of testing all dairy cows 
for milk and butterfat production, in order to be certain 
of disposing of the poorest cows. What do you think 
about it? ”—W. P. M., Schoharie County, N. Y. 
T HIS letter is an encouraging indication of the 
way dairymen are accepting our proposition 
to kill or sell for meat purposes before March 1, 
1925, at least one dairy cow from the herd. This 
campaign has already attracted much attention, 
and it is just started. Mr. C. E. E. Foster, of 
Jacksonville, Pennsylvania, has the honor of 
being the first man to head the list, and Mr. A. 
W. Sprague, of Hart wick. New York, was the 
second. Every mail is bringing more. It will be 
remembered that we said that the great majority 
of dairymen, even though they are keeping no 
record, know of at least one cow in their herd that 
does not pay her keep. We suggested that this 
cow might well be fatted and killed for beef; 
that a few farmers in each neighborhood might 
cooperate to divide up one beef at a time so that 
all would have fresh meat during the winter with¬ 
out paying expensive retail prices for it; that any 
surplus might well be canned; or, if necessary, that 
the farmer could sell at least one beef to the 
butcher. 
If we can get even a thousand farmers to do this, 
the standard of living on their own table will be 
improved at low cost, they will be ahead financially 
by not having to feed the worthless cow more than 
she will return in milk prices, and the surplus milk 
marketingproblem will be relieved by just so much 
for the whole industry. If we can extend this 
thousand men to ten thousand, or even to twenty 
American Agriculturist, October 4, 1924 
Agriculturist 
thousand, what a great boon it would be for every 
dairyman! We believe it is practical, that it can 
be done not only without loss, but at actual profit. 
Therefore, why not do it? 
In the . lower right-hand corner of page 
232 there is a little informal agreement. Sign 
and return this to us, or just write a card or letter 
that you will support the plan if enough others 
will. 
Either “A Feast or a Famine” 
T HE more one thinks of it, the more it is plain 
that the farmer’s great economic trouble is 
that of distribution. There never is an over¬ 
production of food as far as the whole world is 
concerned, for always there are people who do not 
have enough. In other words, there never would 
be any surplus nor any glutted market if there 
were proper and ideal distribution. People and 
cities are constantly increasing, so that there is 
going to be more and more demand from the 
standpoint of the whole nation and of the whole 
world for everything that the decreasing number 
of farmers can produce. 
But until the problem of distribution is solved, 
farmers will never get the benefit of the full nation 
and world demand for their products, unless they 
can figure out some way of curtailing their produc¬ 
tion. Eugene H. Grubb, one of the best authorities 
on farm conditions in the world, says that we are 
cultivating too much land in America. He thinks 
that we should permit 25 per cent, of our tilled 
fields to go back to pasture or woods. 
For a generation farmers of America not only 
have been practicing giving away the labor of 
their wives and children in the too low prices 
which they receive for their products, but they 
have also been exhausting the fertility of the land 
at a very rapid rate. 
It has been suggested that the remedy lies in 
national organization, an organization, for in¬ 
stance, like the Federated Fruit Growers, who 
ship potatoes or apples to New York when there 
is a glut in Philadelphia or some other city, and 
who ship those products to Philadelphia when 
there is a glut in New York. No individual farmer 
is equipped to do this. Neither can a small or¬ 
ganization do it, unless it is federated with others 
of the same kind, because without agreement these 
competing organizations will put the same prod¬ 
ucts into the same city at the same time, and 
cause a glut. 
There has been a good deal of nonsense preached 
of late years about the wonders that cooperatives 
would be able to do. But thinking farmers have 
come to realize that the better cooperatives, those 
with good business management, have been able 
to accomplish at least some results on the great 
problem of distribution by the better mer¬ 
chandising of the products and in getting them on 
the right market at the right time. 
Eastman’s Chestnuts 
I T has been said often that one reason why boys 
leave the farm is that many fathers never 
recognize that “All work and no play make Jack 
a dull boy.” It is this same kind of a father who 
gives his boy a calf to raise but as soon as it is 
grown it becomes dad’s cow. Personally, I think 
such fathers are in the minority. Furthermore, I 
believe also that all play and no work makes Jack 
a bad boy. 
Anyway, you have heard probably about the 
youngster whose father had forgotten that he had 
ever been a boy. The boy had worked all summer 
in the hot fields and hadn’t been anywhere or had 
any fun. Along in the Fall a circus came to town 
and he asked his father for fifty cents to go to the 
show with. Dad wouldn’t let him have it. 
Shortly afterwards the boy was down in the front 
yard sulking because he couldn’t go when a 
stranger came along. “Hello,” says the stranger, 
“where is your father?” 
“He’s down in the hog pen feeding the hogs,” 
said the boy and then after a brief pause he 
added, “YOU’LL KNOW HIM ’CAUSE HE’S 
GOT HIS HAT ON!” 
