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American Agriculturist, April 26,1924 
Editorial Page of the American Agriculturist 
American 
Agriculturist 
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i' 
VOL. 113 April 26, 1924 No. 17 
.State Grange Secretary Against Tax 
Exemption 
but the extent to which exemptions have been 
carried is unfair, unjust, and is upsetting to our 
whole economic problem. So long as it is pos¬ 
sible for wealth to escape taxation by hiding in 
tax exempt securities, so long will our business be 
impeded and property out in the open like that 
owned by the farmer be made to pay more than 
its share of taxes. Each week we have been sug¬ 
gesting different things that must be done To get 
proper government and lower taxes, and it cer¬ 
tainly seems to us that the exemption of so much 
wealth is one of the gravest tax evils. 
“Ideals Have Their Defense 
» 
I 
N reading Dean Mann’s radio address printed 
on page 415 of this issue, we were particularly 
struck with his statement “the world needs 
ideals today as much as it needs anything.” 
For all of the many evils and troubles from which 
farmers and the rest of folks are suffering, there 
have been proposed a great many so-called 
remedies and cures, but Dean Mann’s statement 
that the world needs ideals comes the nearest of 
all to a real solution. 
Since the great World War, there has been a 
slump from many of the finer things of life. 
Materialism and selfishness and immorality have 
been rampant. Some day before long the world 
of today is going to sicken of its ways and turn 
back to the ideals of righteousness and truth, 
which are responsible for the only real progress 
which the human race has ever made. .When we 
do realize this and turn our faces again toward 
the light, then, and not until then, will we see all 
of our industrial, economic, and social troubles 
rapidly improve. 
T HE following emphatic letter from Secretary 
F. J. Riley of the New York State Grange, on 
the tax reduction campaign which we are conduct¬ 
ing speaks for itself:— 
“I am very much interested in the stand you are 
taking on the tax question in the interest of the 
farmers of our State and Nation. If there is any¬ 
thing that will help the farmers of this State it is 
laws that will relieve them of the burden of 
taxation. 
“But no relief will come by the reduction of 
income taxes, or the passing of laws continually 
exempting more and more property. 
“One trouble with our tax laws is there is too 
much hidden wealth. In the year 1922 the hidden 
wealth of New York State was 21 billion dollars 
and the taxes were levied on 16 billion dollars 
assessment, —16 billion paying on what 10 billion 
ought to pay on. For every dollar raised in taxes 
in New York [State in 1922, 21.4 cents went 
to the State of New York. Why should the 
State take any taxes on general property? The 
government does not,—let them get their revenue 
from incomes, pleasure, luxury and extravagance. 
And in the same year for every dollar raised in 
New York State for all taxes 78.5 cents w?s 
from general property. 
“The population of New York State in 1912 
was 9 H million people and in 1922 it was 10^ 
million. Has our debt increased in like proportion? 
I should say not. In 1912 our State debt was 
$1,056,000,000.00 and in 1922 it was $1,566,000,- 
000.00, in the ten years it has increased $566,000,- 
000.00. How will our children’s children even pay 
this debt? 
“The total of all taxes paid in 1912 was over 
221 million dollars and in 1922 it was 449H million 
dollars. Are you satisfied,, brother farmers, to 
keep on in this way? Who is to blame? We, the 
common people are. Every one of us know how 
much we owe as individuals—why do we not know 
how much we owe publicly? We or our children 
or grand-children will have to pay it. How many 
who read this article can tell the bonded debt of 
their own country? Why don’t you know it. It 
is your debt. Let us as farmers wake up and 
help the AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST put this tax 
problem back to the ways of our fathers.. 
“In order to do this we must take more interest 
in our public affairs and not leave it all for George 
to do. Very truly yours, F. J. Riley.” 
We fully agree with Secretary Riley that hidden 
wealth should be brought out in the open and 
made to carry its share of the tax burden. There 
may be some property that should be exempted. 
Results From Tax Campaign 
something besides talking. We are enthusiastic 
also because this half mill reduction is the first 
break in the constant upward tendency of farm 
taxes since the war. At last they have begun to 
go the other way. Let’s keep them going. 
Lime Does It 
S OME years ago we stood beside a farmer 
friend on a hilltop in Delaware County in 
New York, and looked off across the valley to the 
fields and woods on the other side. The magic of 
spring was in the air but it was early, and the 
fields for the most part were still brown and bare. 
The exceptions were the few green patches of 
alfalfa and of clover seeding which stood out in 
great contrast to all the fields around. 
Our friend pointed them out, and said: “Lime¬ 
stone did that. The owners of those fields were 
among the first users of limestone in this county. 
Some of these old hills,” he continued, “will 
never be much good for anything except to grow 
brush, but if clover can ever be made to grow on 
them again, limestone will have to be used to 
turn the trick.” 
That was not so many years ago. Since that 
spring, we have lived to see lime demonstrate its 
value on acid soils until its use has been generally 
accepted by all good farmers as a necessary farm 
practice. Alfalfa acreage in New York State has 
increased from about 5,000 in 1900 to over 
119,000 in 1929. But better than this, successful 
clover seedings have increased more rapidly still. 
Where legumes will grow, there is hope for a 
permanent and successful agriculture and the 
increasing use of limestone is rapidly bringing the 
legumes back to our eastern hills and valleys. 
Fertilizers Low in Price 
^PHE reduction of one-half mill on property 
1 taxes by the New York State legislature 
reported in the feature article of this issue is a 
real victory for American Agriculturist and 
for the farm people of New A ork State. It will 
mean dollars saved to every farmer. 
Although we have worked almost night and 
day during the last few weeks in urging repre¬ 
sentatives at Albany to do something to relieve 
the crushing burden of taxation on farmers, we 
had no hope that anything could be accomplished 
this year. This victory coming at the last 
minute of the legislative session shows the great 
value of aroused public opinion when that opinion 
is united and determined. 
Just a few days before the legislative session 
ended. Governor Smith sent a special emergency 
message to the legislature asking for a half-mill 
reduction of • the property and personal taxes. 
The concluding paragraph of this message reads: 
“I, therefore, suggest that inasmuch as we have given 
substantial relief to that class of our taxpayers who pay on 
personal incomes, that we now extend relief to the class of 
taxpayers who pay on real and personal property. We 
lightened the burden of income taxpayers by $8,250,000; 
by the half mill reduction we will lighten the burden of the 
real and personal property taxpayers by $8,600,000, and in 
the end the State will still have a free, unencumbered cash 
surplus of over $10,000,000.’ 
Public opinion of the income taxpayers de¬ 
manded a reduction in incomes taxes. They got 
it. Then American Agriculturist said it was 
unfair to relieve the income taxpayers without 
giving any relief to farmers, and with the help of 
the New York State Grange and the New York 
State Federation of Farm Bureaus, we aroused 
public opinion of the farmer taxpayers in a 
demand for a reduction of property taxes. This 
public opinion expressed itself in many thousand 
petitions and letters from farm people and 
American Agriculturist presented this great 
united demand to Governor Smith and the 
legislative leaders at Albany. 
As a result, we got a reduction amounting to 
about $8,600,000 in total, in which every farmer 
taxpayer will share. We congratulate the Gov¬ 
ernor, the Senate and the Assembly for this right 
legislation. We are enthusiastic about it be¬ 
cause we have direct proof registered in actual 
dollars and cents saving to farm people that we 
have been able with their help to accomplish 
O NE of the bright spots on the farmer's 
horizon at the present time is the com¬ 
paratively low price of commercial fertilizer, 
especially acid phosphate. Sixteen per cent goods 
can be bought in most sections for from $15 to 
$16 per ton, and we have a report of a retail price 
from one community of $13 per ton. Last year 
the prevailing price was from $18 to $20.. 
Just why farmers are fortunate in having these 
material reductions this year is uncertain, unless 
it be that some of the big manufacturers and 
distributors are engaged in a price war. Anyway 
it is good to know that the price of the fertilizer to 
the farmer is the cheapest that it has been in years. 
Eastman’s Chestnuts 
I HAD a letter a while ago solemnly warning 
me not to print any more jokes about mothers- 
in-law, and the writer of the letter in her excite¬ 
ment ended by saying, “maybe you’ll be one 
yourself some day and know how it seems!” 
Far be it from me to cast any reflections on 
mothers-in-law. On the contrary, I am very 
much in sympathy with the gentleman who was 
riding through the beautiful Thousand Islands 
which dot the eastern end of our Lake Ontario. 
This man was so impressed by the wonderful 
scenery that he felt called upon to make a speech 
to his fellow travelers on the boat. So he rose, and, 
with an eloquent gesture wdiich swept the whole 
horizon, called attention to the fine scenery and 
all of the more than thirty thousand little isles 
that dotted the channel. 
Then he diverted for a moment to talk about 
his mother-in-law. He told what a fine woman 
she was, how much she had done for him, and 
how much he loved her. 
“You never catch me,” he cried, “telling any 
of these stories about mothers-in-law, or saying , 
anything against them. Why, ladies and gentle- \ 
men, I think so much of my good old mother-in- 
law that just as soon as I get back home, do you 
know what I am going to do? I’m going to 
propose that she take a good long vacation, a 
vacation up here in this most beautiful scenery 
in all the world—A VACATION OF AT LEAST 
A WEEK ON EVERY ONE OF THESE 
THIRTY THOUSAND ISLANDS!” 
