390 
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. Weatuerby ...... Circulation Manager 
CONTRIBUTING STAFF 
Jared Van Wagenen, Jr. M. C. Burritt 
H. E. Cook G. T. Hughes 
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The American Agriculturist accepts only advertising 
which it believes to be thoroughly honest. 
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when the article purchased is found not to be as advertised. 
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Published Weekly by 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, INC. 
Elmira, N. Y, 
Address all correspondence for editorial, advertising, or subscription de¬ 
partments to 
461 Fourth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter, December 15, 1922, at the Post Office 
at Elmira, N. Y., under the Act of March S, 1879. 
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Subscription price, payable in advance, $1 a year. Canadian 
and foreign, $2 a year. 
VOL 114 December 6, 1924 .. No. 23 
Do You Want Tax Reduction? 
| Then Help! 
“I am heartily in accord with the sentiments expressed 
in your article on page 365, issue of November 22nd. I 
have felt for some time that the matter of taxation is a 
very grave proposition. A move to awaken people to 
the crying need is very much needed. The six items 
appearing in your program fully meet my views as they 
must also meet the views of many or most of the rural 
population.”—H. B. O., Otsego Co., N. Y. 
T HE above is a sample of the letters that are 
beginning to come in regarding our suggested 
—ogram for tax reduction published in our 
ovember 22nd issue. 
We have had one, which we will later publish, 
agreeing to all of our suggestions except the tax 
on gasoline. Thirty-four other states have this 
gasoline tax and it is one way to make the people 
who use the roads pay for them. However, if 
there is enough sentiment from our people 
against this proposal, we will remove it from the 
program. 
In order to refresh your mind, here are the 
terns we are standing for: 
I. The abolition of a direct State tax on property. 
II. ' No further reduction of income taxes until 
government expenses are reduced. 
HI. Discontinuance of the issuing of tax exempt 
securities. 
IV. A carefully prepared detailed budget for every 
government unit from the nation to the 
county. 
V. Full publicity and information to taxpayers 
showing the exact purposes, with amounts, for 
which taxes are spent. 
VI. We are also in favor of: 
1. Larger taxation of personal property. 
2. Gasoline sales tax, and 
3. Taxing billboards along sides of State 
highways. 
Are these in accord with your views? If so, 
let us know. With your support, there is much 
that we can do. Write now, while you think 
about t. 
Beware of the St. Lawrence 
Project 
HE resolutions passed by the National 
Grange at Atlantic City which we published 
in last week’s issue were for the most part filled 
with common sense and based on what farmers 
need and want done. 
But there was one notable exception. We 
refer to the approval which the Grange put on 
the project to widen and deepen the St. Law¬ 
rence River to make a waterway for large ships 
through the St. Lawrence to the sea. This is 
one of the most foolhardy and nonsensical pro¬ 
posals of many years. In the first place, we 
understand that there are several great engineers 
who have said that the undertaking was physic¬ 
ally impossible. Whether it is or not, it would 
cost many millions at a time when the national 
government should be thinking of conserving its 
money and not spending it. 
During at least five months of the year these 
northern waters would be frozen solid and this 
period would come at the time when the water¬ 
way would be most needed for exporting farm 
products. Moreover, the business would be 
taken from the railroads during a part of the year, 
but the railroads would have to be depended upon 
during the other part. This would either necessi¬ 
tate a great raise n railroad rates, or else the 
railroads would be forced to dispose of their 
rolling stock so that during part of the year 
when farmers needed shipping facilities there 
would be neither waterway nor railroad facilities. 
We already have one big ditch in the barge 
canal across New York. Why not demonstrate 
that this is practical before sinking more millions 
into another one? Farmers should be a unit in 
opposing this foolish expenditure of money for 
the St. Lawrence project, and we are surprised 
at the action of the National Grange in approv¬ 
ing it. 
Are You Using This Free Service? 
“The check for $114.02 from Mr. - was 
received in due time. My delay in acknowledging 
receipt was caused by waiting to hear from Pittsfield 
Bank. I thank you very much for your efforts in my 
behalf. It is wonderful the way you get tilings, and 
more wonderful that it is without charge, and evidence 
of good will and diligent endeavor for the benefit of 
your subscribers.”—A. L., Columbia Co., N. Y. 
HIS letter is an example of the many we 
receive every week acknowledging the work 
done by our Service Bureau. Not all of them, 
of course, are for such large amounts. We work 
just as hard to get five dollars as we do to get 
five hundred. 
Our Service Bureau work is constantly grow¬ 
ing, but we want it to grow faster, for we feel 
that this is one of the best ways in which we can 
render service to our people, and “Service” is 
the watchword of American Agriculturist. 
Remember that we keep a lawyer on our staff, 
a financial adviser, crop and market experts, a 
household editor and a staff of office workers, and 
all of this service costs you nothing except a tw r o 
cent stamp. We answer all questions of a gen¬ 
eral nature, including legal questions about 
deeds, line fences, wills, dower rights, recovering 
of damages, and insurance; we investigate the 
financial standing of a firm with whom you want 
t© do business; we advise you in regard to invest¬ 
ments; we collect claims against commission 
men, business firms, and others if the claims are 
not personal in their nature; we answer all kinds 
of questions relating to farm problems including 
general veterinary advice; and we try to help to 
solve your personal market problems. 
If you are in trouble or if you think we can 
help you in any w T ay, write us giving us all of the 
details. If we cannot help you, we will let you 
know frankly; if we can, you can rest assured that 
we will. 
The East Is a Good Place to Farm 
NYONE who gets the idea that New York 
or adjacent states are not good farm states 
has another guess coming. Horace Greeley’s 
famous advice: “Young man, go west,” no 
longer holds true. 
In January, 1920, according to the New 
York State Department of Farms and Markets, 
the farms of New York State were valued at $69 
per acre; at the same time, the farms of Iowa 
were valued at $227 per acre, or more than three 
times as much. In 1923, the crops of New 
York State had an average valuation of $35 per 
American Agriculturist, December 6, 1924 
Agriculturist 
acre, while those of Iowa averaged only $22 per 
acre, or less than two-thirds as much. 
In spite of the fact that several of the Western 
States are much larger than New York, it ranked 
sixth in 1923 in the valuation of its agricultural 
products. Texas, Iowa, Illinois, California and 
North Carolina were the first five in the above 
order. 
Amend the Automobile Law 
“I am in sympathy with those who are protestiiig 
against the new automobile law. It has certainly 
taken a good deal of the joy of living out of our family 
as only our son under eighteen years of age is thoroughly 
capable of operating the car. 
“We live on a farm and are now obliged to use a 
horse and buggy whenever we go, wdiieh is far from a 
safe w r ay of travel in this section as so many are struck 
by motor-driven vehicles. 
“But in all accidents that I have heard of I do not 
remember one where the driver was under eighteen 
years. 
“We are law-abiding people who would very much 
like to use our car and hope something will be done this 
coming winter to amend this law.”—J. O. B., Jefferson 
Co., N. Y. 
HIS letter expresses briefly why American 
Agriculturist believes that the New r York 
State new automobile law should be amended. 
The general principles of the law are all right. 
Reckless driving should be controlled, but that 
feature of the law which places the age limit at 
eighteen is working grave hardship and injustice 
especially on country people. 
American Agriculturist will ask the legislature 
this year for an amendment. We will need all 
the support that we can get. Therefore, won’t 
you write us on this important subject? 
Kill a Kow! 
URN to page 393 and read how our farmers 
are adding their culls to our growing herd of 
scrubs, then sign the slip at the bottom of the 
page and drive your poorest cow in with the rest. 
We do not want to be misunderstood. We 
are no pessimists in regard to the future of the 
dairy business. We believe there is a good future 
for good dairymen, but in nearly every herd there 
is at least one cow that is doing her part to curse 
the whole dairy business. As long as she is 
there she is eating the profits made by the good 
cows and she is ruining the market with surplus 
milk. 
Why keep her? 
Forty Days of Sunshine 
T HERE was this fall the nicest spell of w’eather 
within our memory. Day after day for 
nearly forty days during October and early 
November the warm sun rose in the East and 
traveled its majestic way across the cloudless 
skies. These were days, too, mellowed and 
made pleasant by the cool wind and the blue 
haze of autumn. 
It has been dry, and there have been some 
forest fires, but the rains have come in time, as 
they always do, before winter closes in, and for 
the most part there was enough time to get the 
fall work done and plenty of opportunity to 
appreciate the blessing of a long spell of sun¬ 
shine. 
Eastman’s Chestnuts 
I ONCE heard a fat man say that the worst 
thing about being so heavy is the lack of 
sympathy a fat person gets when he is in trouble 
or sick. There is usually something so good 
natured and prosperous looking about a big man 
or woman that it is difficult to think of them as 
in need of sympathy. Yet they suffer their full 
share of misfortune; in fact, maybe a little more 
than their share, for there is something in the 
saying, “A lean horse for a long race.” 
The story is told of a fat woman who weighed 
—poor thing—more than 350 pounds. She got 
appendicitis, and was taken to the hospital for 
an operation. The surgeon took one look at 
her, and said: 
“YE GODS! SHALL WE CUT OR BLAST?” 
