336 
Editorial Pag 
American 
Agriculturist 
Founded 1842 
Henry Morgenthau, Jr .Publisher 
E. R. Eastman ........ Editor 
Fred W. Ohm .Associate Editor 
Gabrielle Elliot .... Household Editor 
Birge Kinne .Advertising Manager 
E. C. Weatherby . . . Circulation Manager 
CONTRIBUTING STAFF 
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Published Weekly by 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, INC. 
Address all correspondence for editorial, advertising, or 
subscription departments to 
461 Fourth Ave., New York, N. Y. 
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. 112 November 17, 1923 20 
Wolf! Wolf! 
NCE upon a time, according to Aesop, 
a small boy was sent to guard sheep. 
Guarding sheep is dull work, and he soon be¬ 
gan to look around for some way of stirring 
up excitement, so he rushed across the lot 
to some men working nearby and cried: 
“Wolf! Wolf!” When the men came running, 
they found there was no wolf, and went 
away exceedingly angry. 
After a time, the boy again cried: “Wolf! 
Wolf!” and again the men came and 
found*no wolf, and went away exceedingly 
angry. 
Then the wolf really did come, and when 
the boy ran screaming for help, and crying: 
“Wolf! Wolf!” the men only laughed and 
said: “Ife fooled us twice but he cannot do 
it again.” 
• In reading many of the articles that are 
constantly appearing on the Rural School 
Bill, we have been reminded of the boy who 
cried: “Wolf! Wolf!” Farmers have been 
told in screaming headlines clear across the 
page, that if this bill passes, it means con¬ 
solidation of all of the rural schools—“Wolf! 
Wolf!” 
They have been told that they must come 
running to save their little red schoolhouse— 
“Wolf! Wolf!” 
They are told that if this bill becomes a 
law it will take all of the control of their 
schools away from them—“Wolf! Wolf!” 
They are told especially to watch out for 
their own officers in the farm organizations 
whom they themselves have elected, to see 
that these representatives do not put some¬ 
thing over on them. “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! 
Wolf!” 
There has not been an issue up in many 
years on which there has been more oppor¬ 
tunity, if one has no regard for facts, to 
create prejudice and misunderstanding than 
the discussion of this Rural School Bill has 
given; and there have been those who made 
the most of this opportunity. Exactly the 
same methods were used in every great 
movement of the people in the history' of 
this country. Read the history of the Revo¬ 
lution and see what the colonists had to 
e of the American 
overcome—not only with the British, but 
with those among themselves who insisted 
upon crying, “Wolf! Wolf!” 
Remember those of Civil War times here 
in the North, who cried: “Wolf! Wolf!” at 
everything that Lincoln’s government tried 
to do. And in our own times, we have no 
difficulty in recalling those who have con¬ 
stantly cried: “Wolf! Wolf!” when farmers 
have tried to do business together through 
cooperation. 
Fortunately, however, it is true, as Lin¬ 
coln said: “You can fool some of the people 
all of the time; you can fool all of the people 
some of the time; but you cannot fool all 
of the people all of the time.” So while those 
who cry “Wolf! Wolf!” may succeed for a 
time, they never do permanently. 
It may be that the proposed School Bill is 
not what the folks of New York want. Un¬ 
doubtedly, there are parts of it that time and 
use will show the need of revision. But it is 
of too far-reaching importance to let the red 
herring of sensationalism be drawn across 
the path of its true understanding and sig¬ 
nificance.. And in any case, we know that 
the great majority will base their final de¬ 
cision not on the loud noise made by those 
who cry: “Wolf! Wolf!” but rather upon 
their own good judgment, which is arrived at 
after a careful and fair study of the facts. 
What is the Matter with 
Cooperation ? 
O N the opposite page is the beginning of 
. the best series of articles that has yet been 
written on the cooperative movement. These 
articles are so full of human nature that 
they are jam full of laughs from beginning 
to end. But under the humor there is a real 
purpose which will not be clear until you 
have read the whole series* so if you read 
the first one, will you be sure to read 
them all ? 
Alternating with these articles by the 
“Silent Director” will be another series on 
organization which we will write discussing 
the successes and failures of cooperation. 
The first one appeared as a feature in our 
November 10 issue. Did you see it? 
These two series of articles discussing not 
only the successes, but also the failures of 
the farm organizations, will, we. predict, 
cause a tremendous amount of discussion 
and renew the constructive interest of farm¬ 
ers in their efforts to do business together. 
The Backbone of Organization 
ARMERS of the East who have sacrificed, 
suffered and endured the hard times of 
recent years may not be able to see how the 
situation could have been any worse, yet 
had they lived in any other section of the 
country, we think they would have been glad 
enough to have moved back to New York or 
other sections of the East; for it is generally 
agreed that the eastern farmers suffered the 
least. 
We believe that one reason for this is, 
that they were better able because of or¬ 
ganization to meet the test. The backbone 
of farmers’ organizations in Eastern United 
States, and particularly in New York State, 
is the Farm Bureau. Beginning with the 
Dairymen’s League, and continuing down 
through nearly every one of the many com¬ 
modity organizations which the farmers now 
have, we find back of them, constantly sup¬ 
porting them, and many times actually 
founding them, the Farm Bureau. The great¬ 
est weapon in any great fight for the right 
is facts, and the Farm Bureau is a fact or¬ 
ganization. Not only has it been a tre¬ 
mendous service in helping farmers to better 
markets through, organization, but it has 
done much to help cut down the costs of 
production and increase the quality of farm 
American Agriculturist, November 17,1923 
/ 
Agriculturist 
products. Probably the chief reason why 
the Farm Bureau has been so effective in 
this section is the fact that the farmers 
themselves through their own county and 
local organizations have had a large part in 
the control and direction of its affairs. 
These county organizations are now mak-' 
ing an effort to renew their old membership 
and to add new members for the comifig 
year, and it is to be hoped that their efforts 
will be successful. • 
We Are Going After Them 
EVER in the history of America has 
there been so much cheating, chicanery 
and actual robbery in the business world as 
there is right now. 
Never has there been so much money lost 
from frauds of every kind and description 
as now. Every community in both country 
and city has several, sometimes hundreds of 
dupes whose lifetime savings have been 
swept away in foolish and fraudulent in¬ 
vestments. Every country community is 
constantly shipping eggs and other products 
to fly-by-night dealers who are not registered 
with the State Departments, have no finan¬ 
cial standing, and who have nothing to rec¬ 
ommend them. All of these rascals are long 
on promises and short on execution. Every 
day brings forth new schemes and new flocks 
of scoundrels, practically all of whom make 
money and escape prosecution. 
Every mail brings heartrending letters to 
our Protective Service Bureau asking for 
help. Often no help can be given, because it 
is a case of locking the door after the horse 
is stolen. 
Postmaster General New told the Invest¬ 
ment Bankers’ Association a few days ago 
that over a million gullible Americans lose 
over a billion dollars in money and property 
in mail frauds. 
American Agriculturist, as well as other 
farm papers, jias warned and warned, and 
warned our people To Watch Out, but still 
the slaughter goes on, still the letters come, 
begging piteously for help to regain lost 
savings. 
Now American Agriculturist has concluded 
that talk does no good. It is time for action. 
Read Henry Morgenthau, Jr.’s article on the 
first page of this issue. 
Eastman’s Chestnuts 
HE trouble which farmers constantly 
have with auto thieves will make them 
especially appreciate the following story. We 
are indebted for it to that genial, successful 
and livewire county agent, Mr. T. W. Vann, 
of Penn Yan. The farmer in the story lives 
in western New York and is very well known 
throughout the whole State. 
It seems that this farmer was working 
around the house when he spied a gasoline 
truck stopping down the road by his apple 
orchard. The driver jumped down with a 
basket, climbed over the fence and began to 
pick apples. 
The farmer ran into the woodshed, grab¬ 
bed a five-gallon oil can, sneaked down the 
roadside, and before the driver saw him, 
hung the can under the gasoline spout and 
turned on the gas. Just about that time the 
driver happened to look around and saw 
what was going on. 
“What are you doing there?” he shouted, 
starting for the farmer. 
The farmer said: “I’m doing just the same 
thing that you are.” 
Whereupon the driver dropped his apples, 
climbed upon his truck and with a very red 
face drove away. 
Mr. Vann suggests that if the thieves hap¬ 
pen to be in a automobile instead of a truck, 
perhaps a spare tire would come in just as 
handy as a little gasoline. 
