Editorial Page of the American 
American 
Agriculturist 
Founded 1842 
Henry Morgenthau, Jr .Publisher 
E. R. Eastman . Editor 
Freu W. Ohm .Associate Editor 
Gabrielle Elliot .Household Editor 
Birge Kinne .Advertising Manager 
E. C. Weatherby .Circulation Manager 
CONTRIBUTING STAFF 
Jared Van Wagenen, Jr., G. T. Hughes, H. E. Babcock 
OUR ADVERTISEMENTS GUARANTEED 
The American Agriculturist accepts only advertising 
which it believes to be thoroughly honest. 
We positively guarantee to our readers fair and honest 
treatment in dealing with our advertisers. 
We guarantee to refund the price of goods purchased by 
our subscribers from any advertiser who fails to make good 
when the article purchased is found not to be as advertised. 
To benefit by this guarantee subscribers must say: “I saw 
your ad in the American Agriculturist” when ordering 
from our advertisers. 
Published Weekly by 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, INC. 
Address all correspondence for editorial, advertising, or subscription de¬ 
partments 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. 
Subscription price, payable in advance, $1 a year. Canadian 
and foreign, $2 a year. 
VOL. 113 March 29, 1924 No. 13 
Simplify the State Government 
T HE more we study the tax problem the more 
we realize how bad it is, and what a long hard 
job there is ahead to bring about substantial reduc¬ 
tion. BUT REDUCTION CAN BE FORCED 
IF PUBLIC DEMAND CAN BE MADE AND 
KEPT STRONG ENOUGH. One of the chief 
difficulties is that there is no one “ cure-all.’’ Some 
of our tax difficulties originate in the nation, some 
in the State, and most of all in our local govern¬ 
ments nearest to us, the town, county, village 
or city. 
One of the main troubles with any government 
is that the older it grows the more complicated it 
becomes, until finally it gets so top-heavy, awk¬ 
ward and cumbersome that it almost collapses 
with its own weight. Any private business 
run in such an inefficient way would soon 
go bankrupt, but the government can keep 
going because it has an almost unlimited 
bank account in the taxpayers. Such is the 
case with our State governments at the present 
time. New York State has something like 160 
different bureaus, departments, sub-departments 
and divisions all working more or less independent 
of each other, dozens of them overlapping, and 
interfering with each other’s activities, most of 
them running to the legislature each year and 
demanding constantly increasing appropriations, 
and many of them furnishing hundreds of too-well- 
paid jobs as a lot of patronage to politicians. No 
matter what party is in power, there is little desire 
to reduce and simplify and consolidate these de¬ 
partments because of the hundreds of officeholders 
of both parties who would be thrown out of office 
after the consolidations were made. In making a 
study of the situation in Albany, we are convinced 
that Governor Smith’s plan for reducing these 160 
or more bureaus and divisions to about 20 de¬ 
partments is right, and would result in the saving 
of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the tax¬ 
payers of the State. 
We believe also that the plan for an executive 
budget, which would make it difficult for any 
politician or his friend to get unnecessary appro¬ 
priations through the legislature, is a step in the 
right direction. There should be no partisan poli¬ 
tics in the passage of these plans for simplifying 
and making more economical the government of 
the State, for they would apply equally well to any 
t party that happened to be in power, and they have 
been endorsed by leading Democratic and Repub¬ 
lican newspapers in the State and by many promi¬ 
nent leaders in both parties. 
In coming issues of American Agriculturist 
we will point out some startling facts and figures 
showing that the counties in particular are respon¬ 
sible for much of the farmers’ tax troubles. When 
we have presented these different problems to you, 
we will group those of them that meet your ap¬ 
proval all together in a tax reduction program, 
back of which we all can unite and work until we 
have obtained some relief. 
The Hearing on the School Bill 
T HE Joint Legislative Committee on Edu- ' r 
cation in the New York State Legislature had 
plenty of opportunity at the hearing on the 
Downing-Porter Bill on March 19t,h to realize 
the immense interest the farm people have in this 
proposed legislation and to hear many arguments 
both for and against it. Some of the Assembly¬ 
men have stated before the hearing that after all 
there was not very much interest in this School 
Bill. They had opportunity at the hearing to 
change their minds, for there were many peti¬ 
tions and resolutions presented showing that there 
are communities and local organizations in the 
State that are opposed to the Downing-Porter Bill 
and many others which are just as radically in 
favor of it. One petition from Madison County 
was signed by over a thousand farmers in favor 
of the bill. This interest in the schools, no matter 
what the fate of the Downing-Porter Bill is, can 
not help but lead to a renewed determination 
on everybody’s part to give every child every 
opportunity to make the most of his talents. 
American Agriculturist believes that the ^ 
Downing-Porter Bill, while it may have some de¬ 
fects, is right in its main principles, and would 
give our people an opportunity to gradually im¬ 
prove their schools themselves without increased 
expense. Our hundreds of recent letters show 
that sentiment is rapidly changing in favor of the 
bill as people have opportunity to study it and 
learn the real facts. We have continually stated 
that because of the intense interest in the schools, 
no legislation could be proposed that would not 
have opponents just as bitter as those against the 
Downing-Porter Bill. It is evidently a subject 
on which we can not expect to have 100% agree¬ 
ment. But we can have majority rule, and the 
success of democratic government rests on the 
rule of the majority. 
Our legislators have received hundreds of let¬ 
ters and petitions on the School Bill, many meet¬ 
ings have been held, ending in the big legislative 
hearing on March 19th. We believe that this 
interest justifies the demand that the legislature 
bring the bill out in the open on the floor for a 
fair vote. Let us have no dodging the issue be¬ 
hind closed doors. All of us want to- know just 
where every man stands. 
Long-Time Contract for Cooperative 
Fruit Growers 
F OR several weeks the directors and the mem¬ 
bers of the Western New York Fruit Grow¬ 
ers Cooperative Packing Association have been 
working on a plan reorganizing and expanding to 
some extent their program for marketing the 
members’ fruit. One of the chief changes is a 
new form of contract with its members. The con¬ 
tract provides for “all the apples, pears and 
peaches grown or produced by or for the grower 
in New York during the years 1924, 1925, 1926, 
1927 and 1928, except such as the grower may in 
good faith give away or may reserve for family 
use, and except such varieties and kinds as the 
Central on the advice and recommendation of the 
Local may either annually or for the entire term 
of this contract release by written consent.” 
If the grower is a lessee and his lease expires 
within the five-year period, the contract termi¬ 
nates. If a grower sells his farm in good faith 
during the period of the contract, the contract is 
also cancelled. Ten thousand cars of fruit based 
on 1922 production are sought by April 15, 1924. 
If they are not secured by that date provision is 
Agriculturist 
made for growers, who desire to do so, to cancel 
their contracts. 
This contract seems to be meeting the approval 
of the members of the association. Meetings have 
been held with most of the locals and new con¬ 
tracts have been signed by the great majority of 
the members. There are prospects of signing up 
at least 1,500,000 barrels of fruit. We believe 
that the association is right in asking its members 
to sign a long-time contract, for it is only in this 
way that a cooperative association can put itself 
in a strong position with the market. Two fun¬ 
damental principles of cooperative marketing, in 
our opinion, are a long-time contract, and one- 
year term for directors. 
The Village Blacksmith 
UR cover picture this time will bring to 
mind the passing of another good old coun¬ 
try trade. The boys of to-day who are mechani¬ 
cally inclined have found it pleasanter and more 
profitable to work in the automobile garages or in 
the great machine shops of the cities so that as 
the old blacksmiths have gone there has been no 
one to take their places. 
We are sorry, for the lack of good smiths is 
making it a real problem for farmers to get their 
horses properly shod and the necessary farm re¬ 
pairs made. We are sorry also to see these fine 
tradesmen disappearing because most of them 
were personally real men, doing a real day’s work, 
men who were ever ready with a joke for you 
when you were happy or with a word of sympathy 
for your troubles. 
Longfellow well immortalized the old-time 
village blacksmith that farmers knew and loved 
so well when he sang: 
Under the spreading chestnut tree 
The village smithy stands; 
The smith, a mighty man is he. 
With large and sinewy hands; 
And the muscles of his brawny arms 
Are strong as iron bands. 
* * * 
Week in, week out, from morn till night. 
You can hear his bellows blow; 
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge 
With measured beat and slow. 
Like a sexton ringing the village bell. 
When the evening sun is low. — 
* * * 
Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing. 
Onward through life he»goes; 
Each morning sees some task begun,^ 
Each evening sees its close; 
Something attempted, something done. 
Has earned a night’s repose. 
Thanks, thanks, to thee, my worthy friend. 
For the lesson thou has taught— 
Thus at the flaming forge of life 
Our fortunes must be wrought; 
Thus at its sounding anvil shaped 
Each burning deed and thought! | 
Eastman’s Chestnuts 
I N one of the central New York counties, I have 
an old doctor friend who for nearly fifty years 
has ridden through the summer sun and winter 
storm to carry help and hope, and perhaps a new 
lease of life, to his country patients. Worth more 
to his sick folk than even his pills, is this old doc¬ 
tor’s fine personality, his great laugh and his 
inevitable joke. Even though the patient might 
be beyond the doctor’s medicine, every home of 
sickness was the better for his coming. 
One of his jokes that he used to tell with many 
a chuckle was about the time he was riding along 
a country road and overtook a tramp. Out of the 
kindness of his heart, he asked the tramp to ride, 
but when the man started to climb into the buggy, 
the doctor saw that he was a pretty hard-looking 
specimen. His clothes were filthy fags, and there 
was no doubt that he belonged to the army of the 
great unwashed. In fact, the tramp was a little 
more than the doctor could stand, so he changed 
his mind, and said: 
“ Hold on, hold on! I’m a little particular whom 
I ride with.” 
“I ain’t,” said the tramp, and climbed right 
on up, 
