1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
THE  SPECULATOR’S  SONG. 
No  land  do  I  own,  no  hired  hands  I  keep 
To  attend  to  the  crops  or  the  harvest  to  reap; 
The  farm  I  despise,  with  Its  stock,  truck  and  (train, 
But  Its  products  all  yield  me  excitement  and  Rain. 
From  daylight  till  dark  Hodge  and  master  must  toll 
In  “  Httlng  ”  and  weeding  and  “  working  "  the  soil, 
And  get  for  their  pains  but  a  pittance  at  best. 
For  my  friends  and  myself  of  the  gains  scoop  the  rest. 
Of  these  friends  sly  Old  Middleman— ambidextrous  thief  1 
Is  the  closest,  the  cheek’est,  the  shlft’est  and  chief; 
With  both  hands  he's  aye  “  lit  ”  for  fat  profits  to  fight, 
His  stout  left  skins  the  sellers  and  the  buyers  his  right. 
Then  there's  lusty  Young  Freighter— ubiquitous  elf  1 
On  water  and  land  ever  picking  up  pelf, 
Which  with  Mid.  and  with  me  he  Is  oft  forced  to  share. 
Though  he  craves  for  himself  “  all  the  traffic  will  bear.” 
Though  betting  on  “  futures  ”  Is  my  strongest  card, 
In  “  rigging  the  market  ”  no  tricks  are  debarred, 
And  false  news  of  the  crops,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
My  pockets  oft  fill  free  from  criminal  fraud. 
When  I  corner  a  product,  “  margin  ”  off  all  supplies. 
All  veils,  oaths  and  walls  of  distress  I  despise 
As  prices  jump  up,  till  a  fortune  I’ve  seized, 
And  friends’  and  foes’  pockets  impartially  squeezed. 
1  demoralize  trade  and  most  Industries,  too, 
And  my  quickly-won  wealth  steady  tollers  must  rue; 
But  light-hearted  am  I,  for  In  matters  of  pelf 
Each  man  but  a  fool  must  look  out  for  himself. 
I’m  oft’n  In  the  wheat  pit,  oft  In  the  Board  of  Trade; 
1  deal  In  pork,  lard,  butter,  and  wherever  money’s  made; 
At  corn,  beef  and  most  things  I  often  “  take  a  shy," 
And  when  I  win  I  smile  and  treat,  and  when  I  lose,  ne'er  cry. 
By  “margining”  a  product,  I  spread  my  money  out, 
And  option  buying,  Old  Option,  's  the  stoutest  friend  about; 
Without  It  In  these  fleecing  “  deals  ”  my  bus’ness  would  be  nil, 
And  so,  Of  course,  I’m  down  upon  that  Anti-Option  BUI.  w.  r..  ir. 
DISCUSSING  DIBBLE’S  DOSE. 
On  page  738,  of  THE  B.  N.-Y.,  Mr.  E.  F.  Dibble  made  some  statements 
about  the  condition  of  American  farmers.  Later,  on  page  801,  several 
of  our  correspondents  replied  to  him.  Now  we  give  others  a  chance  to 
discuss  these  latter  statements.  WebBter  defines  dibble  as  “  a  pointed 
Instrument  used  to  make  holes  In  the  ground  in  which  to  set  out 
plants  or  to  plant  seeds."  Mr.  Dibble  has  certainly  been  true  to  his 
name,  for  he  has  made  holes  in  the  ground  for  some  very  burly  plants 
of  thought. 
Let’s  Get  Down  to  Facts. 
We  should  sheathe  our  swords  and  stop  calling  pet 
names,  and  get  down  to  good  sound  arguments  to 
substantiate  our  views,  and  produce  all  the  facts  possi¬ 
ble  for  or  against  all  issues  so  that  we  may  come  to 
know  the  truth. 
Mr.  Stewart  says  Colorado  mines  are  producing 
silver  at  12  cents  per  pound,  and  that  it  costs  more  to 
produce  gold  than  it  is  worth.  How  funny  !  Those 
gold  kings  of  California  producing  gold  at  a  cost  over 
its  worth  and  yet  becoming  millionaires  on  account  of 
their  losses  !  Will  Mr.  Stewart  quote  his  authority 
for  his  assertion  ;  for,  if  this  is  a  fact,  we  can  all  get 
rich  by  following  the  same  plan. 
Let  us  take  the  case  of  Mr.  T.  B.  Terry,  whom  I  ad¬ 
mire  as  much  as  any  one.  1.  Does  he  receive  as  much 
compensation  from  his  labors  in  farming  as  do  others 
who  have  become  equally  proficient  in  their  callings, 
such  as  lawyers,  doctors,  merchants,  manufacturers, 
bankers  and  railroad  men,  etc.  I  think  not.  2.  Should 
he  not  ?  If  not,  why  ?  3.  Is  farming  a  more  degraded 
business  than  others,  and  are  those  engaged  in  it 
deserving  of  less  lemuneration  ?  Who  will  say,  yes  ? 
Now,  I  do  not  wish  to  fight.  I  want  knowledge.  I 
want  others  to  have  it  too.  I  want  all  to  know  the 
truth.  Let  us  lay  aside  all  harsh  language,  and  come 
together  as  brothers  for  common  interest  ;  for  if  the 
farmer  is  prosperous,  all  others  will  be.  One  word  more 
to  Mr.  Stewart :  Let’s  know  all  the  facts  about  silver. 
New  York  State.  c.  R.  white. 
Dibble  is  Nearer  Right. 
On  page  801  numerous  subscribers  attack  Mr.  Dib¬ 
ble's  position  on  certain  questions,  and  yet  is  he  not 
nearer  right  than  they  ?  Take  this  sentence  from  W. 
C.  Johnston’s  letter:  “History  has  never  recorded  a 
large  universal  crop  of  any  product  the  same  year.” 
Does  the  wheat  crop  this  year  bear  out  the  assertion  ? 
What  does  the  1 ’resident  in  his  message  say  in  regard 
to  the  matter  ? 
A  certain  class  of  agricultural  writers  who  through 
circumstances  have  achieved  moderate  success,  are  all 
the  while  lauding  agriculture.  Instead  of  noting  the 
distress  and  dreariness  of  the  agricultural  outlook,  they 
point  to  some  one  man  who  has  paid  a  mortgage  and 
not  to  the  many  who  have  failed  ;  and  what  is  success 
as  looked  at  by  these  writers  ?  A  home,  perhaps  100 
acres  of  land,  good  buildings,  the  comforts  of  life. 
And  these  have  been  secured  only  by  one  above  the 
average  in  luck  and  intelligence  after  a  lifetime  of  the 
most  intense  toil  on  the  part  of  himself  and  family. 
Would  the  professions  consider  this  success  ?  What 
can  you  get  a  lawyer  to  work  for  ? — $10  a  day  ?  What 
does  a  good  physician  consider  a  fair  com'pensation  for 
a  day’s  work  ?  He  would  want  more  than  the  lawyer. 
The  successful  business  man  could,  without  any 
trouble,  buy  out  10  or  15  successful  farmers,  and  his 
family’s  expenses  would  largely  exceed  those  of  the 
farmer. 
Instead  of  being  perfectly  satisfied  with  our  business, 
let  us  try  to  make  it  a  better  one.  The  millionaires, 
railroads  and  corporations  will  look  out  for  them¬ 
selves.  It  is  wonderful  how  much  afraid  many  are  that 
the  interests  of  the  immensely  rich  will  suffer.  Why 
not  make  an  income  tax  to  average  things  up  a  little  ? 
The  Government  runs  the  postal  department ;  why  not 
the  railroads?  Are  you  afraid  it  would  hurt  your 
family  or  friends  to  get  a  ride  on  the  cars  occasionally  ? 
Michigan.  c.  L.  mulett. 
There’s  Hope  In  the  “  Middle  Course.” 
It  seems  that  the  letter  of  Edward  F.  Dibble  has 
caused  a  commotion  among  the  apologists  of  legalized 
extortion.  It  is  quite  likely  that  many  of  the  demands 
made  by  the  various  socialistic  organizations  are  in¬ 
expedient,  at  least  for  the  present,  but  that  does  not 
alter  the  necessity  of  some  steps  being  taken  to  curb 
the  power  of  corporate  monopoly,  and  organized 
wealth.  No  sane  man  of  ordinary  business  capacity 
can  conscientiously  say  that  the  services  rendered  the 
public  by  such  corporations  as  the  telegraph  and  ex¬ 
press  companies  are  worth  more  than  the  merest 
fraction  of  their  charges.  As  for  manufacturing 
trusts  and  the  combinations  now  controlling  the  mar¬ 
kets  for  various  food  products  and  necessities  of  life, 
their  grip  on  our  pocket-books  is  patent  to  all.  Just 
why  people  who  are  not  benefited  by  monopolies, 
should  waste  their  time  in  defending  them  seems 
strange,  but  the  explanation  probably  lies  in  the  in¬ 
herent  selfishness  of  man,  who  is  willing  to  see  these 
Shylocks  exact  the  last  morsel  of  the  pound  of  flesh, 
providing  he  does  not  himself  feel  the  pain,  and  be¬ 
cause  he  has  a  secret  hope  that  the  future  may  give 
him  a  similar  advantage  over  his  fellow-men. 
History  has  shown  us  that  from  the  remotest  times 
no  privileged  class  has  ever  voluntarily  relinquished  its 
advantages.  The  grain  monopolists  who  “  cornered  ” 
Egyptian  wheat  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Roman  Repub¬ 
lic  and  the  revenue  farmers  who  oppressed  the  peas¬ 
ants  in  the  generation  preceding  the  French  Revolu¬ 
tion  persisted  until  driven  from  power  by  the  dread¬ 
ful  uprising  of  the  suffering  people.  The  way  to  true 
liberty  and  enlightenment  is  long;  but  let  us  hope  that 
the  future  holds  in  store  no  such  horrible  prospect  as 
a  forcible  revolt  of  the  masses  against  the  relentless 
combinations  of  financial  power  now  forming  in  in¬ 
creasing  numbers.  A  peaceful  solution  will  doubtless 
be  found  in  time;  neither  through  the  rantings  of 
radical  fanatics,  nor  the  slow  and  timid  counsels  of 
selfish  “conservatives”  who  dread  to  see  existing 
conditions  changed,  for  fear  that  somehow  then  may 
be  of  less  consequence  than  heretofore ;  but  through 
the  earnest  efforts  of  thinking  and  progressive  men 
who  have  the  courage  and  intelligence  to  look  the  sit¬ 
uation  squarely  in  the  face  and  to  endeavor  to  avert 
such  growing  evils  as  seem  amenable  to  their  power. 
As  an  argument  against  rational  oppositonto  greedy 
and  injurious  monopolies,  the  incident  related  by  Mr. 
Grundy  in  The  R.  N.-  Y.  for  December  3,  is  simply 
puerile.  Men  with  ill-balanced  minds  and  domineer¬ 
ing  dispositions  will  make  unjust  and  ridiculous  “de¬ 
mands  ”  to  the  end  of  time.  w.  van  fleet,  m.  d. 
Virginia. 
Mortgages  Here  Are  Good  Things. 
Mr.  Dibble's  confession  on  page  738  is  a  frank  one, 
and  I  suppose  he  will  not  be  offended  if  he  is  hereafter 
classed  among  the  “  calamity  howlers.”  His  article 
has  a  very  familiar  ring.  It  reminds  me  of  the  negroes’ 
“  40  acres  and  a  mule.”  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  how  the 
“  election  of  President  and  Senators  by  direct  vote  of 
the  people  ”  will  add  to  the  value  of  our  wheat.  It 
would  be  a  good  thing  to  have  a  “  free  ballot  and  a 
fair  count,”  but  how  would  that  help  a  farmer  to  pay 
off  his  mortgage  ?  And  of  what  benefit  would  a  postal 
savings  bank  be  to  a  people  who  “  work  for  their  board 
and  clothes,  and  poor  clothes  at  that  ?  ”  Facts  are  one 
thing,  deductions  therefrom  quite  another.  I  know 
nothing  about  matters  in  New  York,  but  I  do  know 
that  here  mortgages  do  not  mean  lack  of  prosperity. 
I  know  of  no  farm  here  placed  under  mortgage  for  the 
purpose  of  living  off  the  proceeds.  Here  are  some  in¬ 
stances  :  F.  has  80  acres,  and  has  given  a  mortgage 
for  $2,000  to  his  father  for  purchase  money  ;  R.  owns 
130  acres  and  carries  a  mortgage  for  .$4,000,  purchase 
money.  He  is  young,  healthy,  pushing,  and  has  a  good 
mate  in  his  wife.  They  will  pay  for  their  farm  easily. 
W.  has  L40  acres,  and  is  under  a  mortgage  for  $2,000, 
purchase  money.  M.  Bros,  own  420  acres,  carry  amort- 
gage  for  $8,000,  and  are  pushers.  S.  has  240  acres  and 
a  mortgage  for  $8,000,  purchase  money.  He  is  young 
and  pushing  and  will  pay  for  his  farm.  K., a  mechanic 
who  wanted  to  farm,  has  120  acres  and  a  $4,000  mort¬ 
gage  for  purchase  money,  and  will  pay  for  it.  These, 
with  one  exception,  are  all  young  men.  I  might 
instance  other  cases,  but  it  would  be  only  a  repetition. 
Not  one  of  these  is  a  case  for  the  calamity  howler. 
On  the  contrary,  their  indebtedness  shows  that  the 
young  men  have  push,  life,  energy  and  determination 
to  “  get  there.”  Those  who  sell  are  of  two  classes: 
88 1 
the  old  men  who  have  accumulated  enough  to  support 
them  the  rest  of  their  days,  and  those  who  wish  to  go 
where  land  is  more  abundant  and  cheaper.  Here  it 
is  worth  from  $50  to  $75  per  acre. 
For  some  little  time  I  have  been  taking  the  chief 
howler  of  Kansas — the  Advocate,  of  Topeka.  That 
paper  has  taught  me  to  take  statements  made  by 
calamity  howlers  with  several  grains  of  salt.  Here  is 
a  bare  outline  of  an  article  directed  against  the  Repub¬ 
lican  party,  taken  from  the  Advocate  of  July  20,  last : 
HOW  THE  TREASURY  IS  ROBBED. 
The  otficors  of  the  present  Administration  are  vory  quick  to  discover 
the  shortcomings  of  their  predecessors  *  *  *  Some  of  these  methods 
have  cost  the  Government  millions  of  dollars  *  *  *  No  precaution 
has  been  taken  to  provent  duplication  of  bonds  or  treasury  notes 
*  *  *  Republicans  use  these  duplicated  notes  for  election  purposes. 
*  *  *  New  York  people  have  them  In  2’s, . Vs  and  10’s.  It  has  puzzled 
them  (detectives)  to  know  how  they  offor  them  so  cheap,  etc.,  etc. 
The  funny  part  of  it  is  that  the  article  is  an  exact 
reproduction  of  a  circular  sent  out  by  the  green-goods 
men  of  New  York  city  as  a  clipping  from  a  New  York 
paper,  accompanied  by  a  paper  telling  how  to  com¬ 
municate  with  the  parties  who  had  the  fraudulent 
money  for  sale.  s.  nelson. 
MARKET  GOSSIP. 
“How  is  the  trade  in  hothouse  products?”  I  in¬ 
quired  of  Archdeacon  &  Co.,  the  Barclay  street  com¬ 
mission  dealers  in  fancy  fruits  and  vegetables,  the 
other  day. 
“  Trade  in  nearly  everything  is  dull,”  was  the  reply. 
“  Hothouse  grapes  are  almost  unsalable,  and  what 
are  sold  bring  low  prices.” 
“  What  is  the  reason  native  hothouse  grapes  sell  so 
slowly  when  imported  ones  sell  for  such  high  prices  ?” 
“  Catawbas  have  been  plentiful,  as  well  as  Cali¬ 
fornia  grapes.  Many  of  the  latter  are  now  being 
taken  from  cold  storage.  Few  people  buy  these  high- 
priced  fruits.  Our  native  and  California  grapes  suit 
the  most  of  them  pretty  well.” 
“  How  are  mushrooms  selling  ?” 
“  They  are  dull  just  now,  and  are  not  bringing  very 
high  prices.  We  are  receiving  about  400  pounds  a  day, 
and  they  sell  for  from  30  to  65  cents  per  pound,  some 
fancy  ones  bringing  85  cents.” 
“  How  do  tomatoes  sell  ?” 
“  Very  slowly.  We  are  getting  from  30  to  45  cents 
per  pound.” 
“  I  see  they  are  retailing  for  $1  per  pound.  Isn’t 
that  quite  a  margin  between  the  wholesale  and  retail 
prices  ?” 
“  No,  I  think  not.  The  retailer  buys  a  basket,  and 
he  may  make  only  one  or  two  sales  from  it,  and  the 
rest  be  a  total  loss.  Few  people  buy  them,  and  then 
only  in  small  quantities.  There  is  great  risk  in  hand¬ 
ling  such  stuff,  but  the  dealer  must  keep  it  to  have  an 
assortment.” 
“  What  about  lettuces  ?” 
“  There  is  a  good  demand  for  choice  lettuces.  The 
trouble  is  that  too  small  sizes  are  sent  in  by  some 
growers.  There  are  several  barrels  now  that  we 
can’t  get  an  offer  for.  They  are  filled  about  a  third  full 
of  straw,  so  that  the  required  number  of  dozens  for  a 
barrel  shall  fill  them.  The  shipper  has  played  this 
trick  before,  and  the  buyers  have  caught  on.  We  have 
even  removed  the  tags  from  these  barrels,  but  the 
buyers  know  them,  and  we  haven’t  been  able  to  get 
any  one  to  look  at  them,  though  they  have  stood  there 
all  day.  Too  much  of  this  deception  is  practiced  in  all 
sorts  of  produce.  We  received  a  box  of  turkeys  to-day, 
in  the  center  of  which  was  one  which  was  all  battered 
up,  and  looked  as  though  it  had  been  clubbed  to  death. 
The  weight,  which  was  marked  upon  the  box,  was  also 
short,  and  it  looked  as  though  the  shipper  had  con¬ 
cluded  that  we  would  sell  the  box  without  unpacking. 
We  always  weigh  all  poultry  and  know  just  the  con¬ 
dition  and  net  weight  of  every  shipment  received,  and 
of  course  if  it  isn’t  all  right,  the  fault  is  discovered. 
There  is  the  same  trouble  with  apples  ;  many  of  them 
are  far  from  what  they  purport  to  be.” 
“  How  about  oranges  ?  ” 
“  Trade  in  them  is  dull.  Too  many  of  them  are 
poor.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  deception  practiced  in 
packing.  Sizes  much  smaller  than  those  marked  on 
the  box  are  put  in.  Nice,  bright  fruit  is  placed  on  the 
outside,  and  scaly  fruit  inside.  The  oranges  on  the 
top  and  bottom  are  papered,  and  those  inside  are  not, 
and  soon  this  sort  of  business  hurts  the  market,  and 
doesn’t  pay  the  shipper.”  f.  u.  y. 
BUSINESS  BITS. 
Lots  of  people  write  us  about  caponlzing,  how  to  do  It,  what  It  Is  and 
all  about  It.  We  don’t  know  of  any  cheaper  way  to  find  out  than  to 
send  to  Geo.  P.  Pilling  &  Son,  116- 111)  South  11th  Street,  Philadelphia, 
for  a  copy  of  Pllllng’s  Complete  Guide.  This  will  guide  you  to  a  com¬ 
plete  understanding  of  the  matter  and  won’t  cost  anything. 
The  picture  Illustrating  “  Uncle  Option’s”  disaster,  on  page  874,  has 
had  a  history.  It  originally  served  to  call  attention  to  the  merits  of 
an  English  beef  extract.  Then  It  appeared  In  that  excellent  little 
journal  King’s  Jester,  published  by  II.  Booth  King,  of  this  city,  to  con¬ 
trast  English  with  American  styles  of  advertising.  Now  we  use  It  to 
show  the  fate  which  we  trust  lies  In  store  for  the  produce  gamblers. 
