1314 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FAT1MF.1VS  PAPER 
A  Notional  Weekly  .lournnl  Tor  Country  »nd  Suburban  Homes 
Established  /«•'» 
Published  weekly  hr  the  Uurul  Ptthllehlnjr  Com  puny.  RRK  t>  >st  Sllth  Street,  New  York 
Herukkt  W.  CoLLtHGWoftri.  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
Wm.  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mas.  E.  T.  Hoyle,  Associate  Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION  :  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR 
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Entered  at  New  Tork  Post  Office  as  Second  Class  Matter. 
Advertising  rates.  7!i  cents  per  agate  line — 7  words.  Reference*  required  for 
advertisers  unknown  to  n*  ;  aud  cash  must  accompany  transient  orders. 
"A  SQUARE  DEAL" 
We  believe  that  every  advertisement  in  thte  paper  Is  backed  by  (i  respon¬ 
sible  person.  We  use  every  possible  precaution  and  admit  the  advertising  of 
reliable  houses  only.  Rut  to  make  doubly  sure.  w«  will  make  good  any  lose 
to  paid  subscriber*  sustained  by  winding  any  deliberate  swindler,  irrespon¬ 
sible  advertisers  or  misleading  advert Isenmuits  in  our  ooblinns.  and  any 
such  swindler  will  l>e  publicly  exposed.  We.  am  also  often  called  upon 
to  ail  Inst  diflVivnr-M  or  mistake;:  between  qtlr  nubseiiburs  ami  honest., 
responsible  houses,  whether  ndvcrtisers  or  not.  We  w  illingly  use,  our  good 
office*  to  this  end,  Ini  such  cases  should  not  be  eonfiisrd  with  dishonest 
transactions.  Wn  pnorect  «tib«cribcr*  against,  rogues,  but.  we  w  ill  not  be 
responsible  for  the  <l«  Ut>  of  bone*i.  bankrupt*  sanctioned  by  the  courts. 
Notice  of  till*  com  plaint  must  be  sn . 1  to  uk  wit, bin  one  month  of  thu  time  of 
the  trauBaction,  and  to  identify  it.  you  should  mention  Thk  Riral  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  tile  advertiser. 
THERE  is  one  thing  about  The  R.  X.-Y.  which 
all  will  admit.  We  have  never  promised  or  ad¬ 
vocated  ahy  get-rich-quick  scheme  for  improving 
farm  conditions.  The  troubles  which  have  produced 
the  35-cent  dollar  have  been  growing  for  years.  They 
are  like  had  habits  or  wrong  ways  of  doing  tilings. 
Nothing  cau  get  rid  of  them  in  a  day.  and  no  one 
can  end  them  for  us.  We  have  got  to  do  it  our¬ 
selves.  If  We  go  to  the  government  or  the  politi¬ 
cians  to  do  the  work  for  us  we  must  pay  so  much 
for  the  service  that  there  will  he  little  left.  The  R. 
N.-Y.  preaches  the  doctrine  of  self-help.  The  State 
may  well  provide  the  organization  or  the  machine, 
but  we  must  run  it  ourselves  if  we  expect  to  make 
it  go.  Science,  good  business  judgment  and  hard 
work  are  all  necessary,  but  still  there  must,  he  man¬ 
hood  and  self-denying  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  farm¬ 
ers  if  any  pernmuent,  improvement  is  to  be  worked 
out.  We  shall  not  be  much  of  anything  except 
freight  payers  until  we  learn  to  he  fighters,  and  are 
willing  to  take  knocks  when  they  come  our  way. 
* 
LAST  week  alone  we  had  more  than  20  anony¬ 
mous  letters  from  people  who  ask  more  or  less 
important  questions.  Some  had  no  signature  at  all, 
others  were  signed  “A  Sub.,”  “Reader.”  or  some 
initial.  Several  of  these  letters  contained  rather 
peremptory  orders  to  auswer  in  the  “next  issue.” 
As  a  rule  these  questions  wore  uot  of  public  im¬ 
portance,  though  no  doubt  they  meant  much  to  these 
individuals.  We  could  hardly  give  space  to  such 
private  matters — but  what  can  we  do  when  people 
refuse  to  sign  their  names?  The  usual  rule  is  to 
pay  no  attention  to  questions  unless  the  writer  will 
stand  behind  them,  hut  we  do  not  like  to  treat,  our 
people  in  that  way  if  it  can  he  avoided.  We  cannot 
understand  why  any  reader  of  The  R.  X.-Y.  should 
dodge  his  identity  in  this  way.  We  have  had  several 
cases  where  people  wrote  these  unsigned  letters. 
As  they  received  no  answer  they  went  out  to  say  that 
they  were  neglected.  One  such  man  called  us  a 
“silk  stocking!”  We  just  produced  his  unsigned 
letter.  We  had  him,  and  he  was  something  of  a 
“sport,”  for  he  put  the  money  for  a  year’s  subscrip¬ 
tion  right  up.  Sign  your  letters ! 
* 
COMPLAINTS  regarding  the  smashing  of  eggs  by 
the  express  companies  keep  coming  in.  We 
have  a  list  of  people  who  are  being  ruined  by  these 
breakages.  They  cannot  deliver  eggs  in  good  condi¬ 
tion,  and  thus  lose  their  private  customers.  As  they 
are  situated  this  means  ruin,  as  they  are  not  able  to 
sell  eggs  at  the  low  wholesale  price  and  live.  The 
treatment  of  these  express  companies  means  busi¬ 
ness  ruin  and  the  victims  have  no  redress.  We  have 
shown  that  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
has  no  power  over  these  carriers  except  to  regulate 
rates.  They  may  smash  and  break  packages  as  they 
please  without  restraint.  The  shipper  may  collect 
damages  after  a  long  struggle,  but  this  is  only  part 
compensation.  We  can  see  no  relief  except  through 
a  new  law  which  will  give  the  Commerce  Commis¬ 
sion  the  power  to  compel  the  express  companies  to 
give  fair  treatment,  and  to  punish  them  if  they 
continue  to  smash  and  break.  The  only  way  to  get 
such  a  law  is  to  keep  on  talking  about  it  until  it 
becomes  a  part  of  popular  thought.  Our  people  have 
now  seen  us  take  up  many  things  of  this  sort,  and 
keep  at  them  until  they  became  a  part  of  public 
necessity.  We  want  your  help  on  this  one. 
* 
IN  former  years  there  were  a  good  many  reports 
of  “Death  in  the  silo.”  Then  would  follow  long 
stories  of  men  who  went  into  the  silo,  usually  in  the 
morning  before  work  began,  and  fell  dead !  From 
these  stories  arguments  were  made  to  show  that 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
silage  was  a  deadly  poison  to  man  and  beast!  In 
one  case  such  a  story  was  used  to  discredit  a  new 
kind  of  silo.  There  have  been  very  few  of  these 
stories  this  season,  and  the  truth  makes  them  clear. 
Among  the  chemical  changes  which  occur  in  silo  fill¬ 
ing  is  the  formation  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  When 
this  becomes  concentrated  enough  it  is  fatal  to  life. 
It  is  heavier  than  air,  thus  when  formed  in  a  tight 
silo  it  falls  to  the  bottom  until  it  forces  out  the  air 
much  as  water  poured  into  a  bottle  would  do.  The 
same  thing  often  occurs  in  a  deep,  unused  well.  Let 
a  man  go  down  into  such  a  silo  or  into  the  well  and 
he  would  he  overcome.  Stai;t  the  blower  into  the 
silo  for  a  few  moments  and  air  is  mixed  in  so  that 
the  carbonic  acid  is  not  dangerous.  Take  a  long 
pole  or  a  bucket  at  the  end  of  a  rope  and  stir  up  the 
air  in  the  well  and  it  would  he  safe  to  go  down. 
Usually  the  side  doors  in  the  silo  let  the  gas  drain 
off.  That  is  all  there  is  to  the  danger.  Refore  go¬ 
ing  into  a  deep  silo  drop  down  a  lighted  lantern  at 
the  end  of  a  rope.  If  the  light  goes  out — keep  out 
until  the  air  has  been  stirred  up.  If  the  light  keeps 
burning  it  is  safe  to  go  down.  A  silo  which  per¬ 
mitted  this  gas  to  accumulate  would  most,  likely  he 
a  good  one,  since  it  would  prove  to  he  airtight,  and 
that  is  what  you  want  in  a  silo  wall. 
* 
A  Memorable  Week  in  Dairying 
NEVER  since  the  first  cow  was  milked  on  a  New 
York  hillside  has  there  been  a  week  so  crowd¬ 
ed  with  dairy  history  as  the  first  week  in  October. 
1916.  The  dairymen  had  stated  what  they  would 
sell  milk  for.  It  was  a  fair  price  and  in  making  it 
the  dairymen  did  just  what  the  handlers  of  every 
other  public  necessity  would  do.  Fanners  have  long 
been  told  “The  price  is  so  much — you  map  tape  it 
or  leave  it."  After  long  years  of  listening  to  that 
dictum  they  decided  to  try  a  little  of  it  themselves. 
There  were  lively  times  all  through  the  dairy  dis¬ 
tricts,  hue  the  fight,  came  to  a  white  heat  in  this 
city,  where  the  Dairymen’s  League  and  Commission¬ 
er  Dillon  met  the  big  milk  distributors.  The  fight, 
came  at  an  unfortunate  time  in  oue  way.  There  had 
been  a  long  succession  of  strikes  and  labor  troubles, 
and  city  people  had  become  tired  of  such  things. 
The  distributors  tried  to  take  advantage  of  this  by 
arousing  public  sentiment,  against  the  farmers.  The 
Borden’s  Company  must  have  spent  the  price  of 
1,500,000  quarts  of  milk  in  big  advertisements  in 
favor  of  their  side.  Back  in  the  country  men  were 
out  on  “picket  duty”  and  the  women  were  doing  the 
chores.  In  addition  to  this  they  wrote  letters  to 
the  daily  papers — so  many  and  so  strong  that  in 
spite  of  the  advertising  these  papers  had  to  print 
the  farmer's  side. 
Help  came  from  other  sources  too.  It  has  ever 
been  the  pet  sneer  of  the  daily  papers  and  the  milk 
distributors  that  the  farmer  has  no  business  meth¬ 
ods.  If  he  would  only  act  like  a  “business"  man  he 
could  make  money  at  present  prices.  Among  the 
private  letters  coming  to  Commissioner  Dillon  was 
the  following  from  the  vice-president  of  the  New 
York  Title  and  Mortgage  Co.  Here  we  have  the 
business  man  in  dairying: 
As  a  gentleman  farmer,  with  move  or  less  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  problems  which  confront  the  practical 
farmer,  especially  the  cost  entering  into  the  production 
of  milk.  I  want  to  express  to  you  my  appreciation  of 
the  work  you  are  doing  toward  giving  the  farmer  a 
chance  to  live. 
I  am  surprised  that  the  New  York  papers,  so  far  as 
I  have  read  them,  seem  to  be  upholding  the  position  of 
the  milk  distributors,  and  have  no  consideration  for 
the  milk  producer.  I  believe  that  you  are  doing  a  most 
valuable  service  to  the  farmer,  and  acting  well  within 
your  legal  powers  as  State  Commissioner.  I  wish  yon 
every  success  in  the  work  which  you  have  started  out 
to  accomplish. 
Very  truly  yours. 
CYRIL  II.  RURDETT. 
The  big  distributors  never  dreamed  that  the  farm¬ 
ers  would  stick  together.  It  has  always  been  the 
sneer  of  these  business  interests  that  any  farm  or¬ 
ganization  will  crumble  at  a  real  test.  They  had  the 
big  surprise  of  their  lives  and  they  will  never  get 
over  it.  They  found  the  dairymen  standing  tip  like 
a  stone  wall  and  growing  stronger  each  day.  Down 
here  they  found  in  Commissioner  Dillon  and  the 
League  leaders  a  group  of  iron  men  who  could  not 
he  bluffed  or  frightened  or  bought.  All  their  hate 
and  venom  was  poured  upon  Commissioner  Dillon 
in  particular. 
The  distributors  were  on  the  wrong  side  and  the 
public  soon  found  it  out.  There  they  were  pleading 
poverty  while  paying  out  millions  of  dividends  on 
watered  stock.  There  they  were  demanding  one 
cent  more  from  the  consumers  while  offering  only 
half  a  cent  increase  to  the  producers.  The  more 
they  talked  and  explained  the  more  they  proved  the 
case  against  them.  It  was  a  new  sensation  for  a 
group  of  men  who  have  for  years  dominated  the 
situation  by  sheer  brute  force  to  find  themselves 
October  14,  1010. 
face  to  face  with  a  power  stronger  than  their  own. 
They  know  in  their  hearts  that  they  were  Whipped 
squarely  and  that  they  deserved  to  he.  Furthermore, 
it  came  to  them  at  last  that  the  days  of  their  graft¬ 
ing  and  domination  are  numbered.  They  have  met 
temporary  reverses  before  and  rallied  from  them, 
hnt  there  was  something  about  that  human  stone 
wall  up  the  State  and  that  group  of  iron  men  in  the 
city  which  made  them  realize  that  a  new  day  has 
come.  The  farmers  were  right  and  they  fought  for 
a  moral  principle  as  well  as  for  the  extra  cent  per 
quart  of  milk.  The  dealers  were  wrong  and  there 
was  no  moral  principle  hack  of  them.  They  were 
simply. out  for  the  dollar.  The  farmers  fought  for 
"it oil p  aud  the  children*'  and  they  deserved  to  win. 
Let  us  remember,  however,  that  this  is  only  the 
beginning  of  n  great  fight  all  along  the  line.  We 
have  tacked  a  few  more  cents  onto  the  35-cent  dol¬ 
lar.  Now  we  must  rivet  them  securely  and  go  out 
for  more, which  belongs  to  us.  Many  a  battle  has 
been  lost  because  after  the  first,  successful  skirmish 
the  army  broke  ranks  and  scattered.  Then  came  the 
organized  enemy  and  broke  through  before  the  ranks 
could  reform.  We  must  have  nothing  of  that  sort 
now.  Keep  up  the  organization  and  fight  on.  The 
R.  N.-Y.  enlisted  for  life  hi  this  fight  years  ago  and 
next,  week  we  shall  open  up  a  new  campaign.  Full 
ip  ! 
* 
IN  his  letter  printed  on  page  1315  Senator  Geo. 
F.  Thompson  (who  represents  the  counties  of 
Niagara  and  Orleans)  exposes  the  entire  situation ! 
It  is  doubtful  if  Senator  Thompson  intended  to  do 
so,  hut  he  could  hardly  give  a  better  analysis  of  the 
needs  of  the  Foods  and  Markets  Department!  Mr. 
Marks,  president  of  New  York  Borough,  favors  the 
Department-  been  use  it  will.  In  time,  cheapen  food. 
Senator  Thompson's  farmers  favor  it  because  it  will 
help  them  obtain  better  prices  for  their  fruit  and 
other  farm  produce.  The  buyers,  or  middlemen,  op¬ 
pose  it  because,  if  efficiently  conducted,  it  will  mean 
more  direct  business  between  producer  and  con¬ 
sumer!  You  cannot  find  anywhere  a  clearer  classi¬ 
fication  of  the  friends  and  enemies  of  this  Depart¬ 
ment  than  Senator  Thompson  has  in  his  apparent 
innocence  outlined.  But  where  does  he  stand  on  the 
subject?  Is  he  with  the  fanners  and  the  consumers, 
or  with  the  middlemen,  or  does  he  expect,  to  remain 
on  this  three-sided  fence  until  after  the  election? 
We  are  going  to  leave  it  to  the  farmers  in  Senator 
Thompson’s  district  to  tell  him  what  they  want  and 
how  they  want  it.  Mr.  Thompson’s  opponent  hi  the 
Forty-seventh  District  is  Mare  W.  Cole.  This  is 
wliat  Mr.  Cole  says: 
All  efforts  to  make  farming  more  profitable  through 
the  adoption  of  better  business  methods  are  constantly 
fought  by  certain  organized  interests.  These  saute  in¬ 
terests  are ,  however,  always  willing  to  hack  any  agency 
which  only  seeks  to  make  crops  bigger.  1  know  tlieir 
game  from  bitter  personal  experience.  And  this  ex- 
porienee  together  with  my  record  in  the  Assembly  and 
in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  should  warrant  the 
belief  that  I  will  give  unstinted  service  to  the  promo¬ 
tion  of  the  development  of  the  Department  of  Foods 
and  Markets. 
Thompson  will  think  about  it  and  “investigate.” 
Cole  will  do  something. 
* 
NOT  long  ago  someone  made  a  statement  about 
farm  practice  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  Another  man, 
evidently  with  larger  experience,  came  in  with  a 
correction  or  explanation  which  we  printed.  Now 
conies  a  third  man  who  says  such  corrections  or 
notes  should  not  he  printed,  because  the  correspond¬ 
ents  may  not  like  it.  The  R.  X.-Y.  is  not  printed 
to  please  any  particular  correspondent  or  to  curry 
favor  with  anyone.  We  are  after  the  truth,  and  in 
a  business  like  farming  that  can  only  be  found 
through  a  full  discussion.  Of  course  we  cannot  give 
space  to  long  discussions  and  articles  on  subjects 
which  are  of  loral  importance,  for  The  R.  N.-Y.  has 
a  worldwide  circulation.  Differences  of  opinion  are 
not  of  general  interest.  When,  however,  someone 
makes  a  statement  which  is  not  correct  we  want 
the  truth  in  brief,  direct  fashion.  The  critic  must 
stand  for  what  he  says,  and  the  writer  must  take  it 
or  disprove  it.  We  do  not  know  any  better  way  of 
getting  at  the  truth. 
Brevities 
Baked  apple  time  has  come  onc«  more. 
Rye  is  about  all  there  is  left  now  for  a  cover  crop. 
When  you  say  “my  good  man”  is  it  a  true  state¬ 
ment  or  only  a  form? 
“Misery  loves  company!”  But  what  kind  of  com¬ 
pany  ? 
Despise  not  the  skim-milk  calf.  Give  him  a  fair 
chance. 
Winter  oats  are  being  used  in  New  York  as  a  Fall 
cover  crop  or  pasture. 
