1496 
December 23, 1922 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and f>uhiirttnn Home! 
JCutntdishcd fBZO 
Published weekly by the Rural l'ublislilnir Company, 8X8 West 30tli Street, New fork 
Hkuhkkt W, f’oixrvr.woop. President and Editor. 
Jons J. Ditty iff. Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon. Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Kovlk. Associate Editor. 
L. H.' Mtmr,Jtv, Circulation Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Luton. $2.01. Demit in money 
order, express order, personal cheek or bank draft. 
Entered at. New York Post Office as Second CJass Matter. 
Advertising rates. *1.00 per agate line—T words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
"A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is harked by a respon¬ 
sible person. IVe use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to i>nid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, iinspon- 
Klble advertiser* or misleading advertisements In our columns, mid any 
such swindler will bo publicly exposed. We arc- also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertiser-, or not. W<-willingly use our good 
offices to iliis end, hut such crises should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscriber!! against rogues, but we will not be 
responsible for the debts of honest batucrunts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must, be sent to us within one month or the time of 
the transaction, and 1,. identify it, you should mention Tun Rural NEW- 
Yorkek when writing tlic advertiser. 
- ~ — - - ^ 
N OW and then the biter is bitten, and lie makes 
more noise over it than half a dozen ordinary 
eitizens. Our old acquaintance, E. G. Lewis of St. 
Louis (the saint, by the way, goes with the city 
rather than with the man), now claims lie has lost 
millions by fraud: 
San Francisco, Nov. 29,— Allegations that C. E. Gil¬ 
man and Granville Moore bad defrauded him out of 
$1,400,000 were made by E. G. Lewis, former St. Louis 
publisher and banker, in a suit oil file here today. 
lie alleges he entered an agreement whereby Gilman 
and Moore were to recommend investments to him. As 
a result of their recommendations, he charges, he in¬ 
vested $1,400,000 in worthless enterprises, lie now 
asks an accounting and the removal of Moore and Gil¬ 
man as trustees of the companies in which he invested. 
As our children would say. Brother Lewis scorns 
to l»e “getting his." Wo never heard of Gilman and 
Moore before, hut if they have been able to hold 
Lewis off and keep his hands away from $1,400,000, 
they come close to being financial supermen. 
* 
Please inform me through The B. N.-Y. whether a 
hotel man lias a right to sell intoxicating drinks. I 
have a husband who comes lnmic drunk almost every 
night. I am a poor woman and we need liis money. 
Please state, what l ean do to stop this, and the address 
of headquarters. MBS. k. k. 
I1IS is a type of many unsigned letters which 
come to us. It is a crime under the present 
laws for the hotel man to sell intoxicating liquors. 
These laws are not as well enforced as they should 
he, and in order to bring about better enforcement 
it will he necessary for citizens to make formal com¬ 
plaint and be prepared to testify. One trouble with 
law enforcement usually is that the average citizen 
will not give personal help. lie may favor the law, 
but lie expects “the government” to do all the work 
of enforcement. There must he public opinion hack 
of any law. and you and I make public opinion by 
contributing small units of personal attention and 
work. There must be many women in the position 
of Mrs. R. R. The officer in charge of this general 
district is E. C. Yellowly, prohibition enforcement 
officer, New York City. 
* 
T looks like another fight over the game laws in 
the coining New York Legislature. The “sports¬ 
men” are already preparing for tin* repeal of the 
present law, and will in any event attempt to modify 
it in their own interests. They figure that the next 
Legislature will be practically controlled by New 
York City. We anticipate a great struggle between 
city and country interests, for the city has long 
claimed that the “hayseeds” had the whip hand. 
Farmers must get together on this question of game 
laws and unite solidly for the law as it stands, or 
for amendments that will make it stronger. 
* 
HER. N.-Y. has often mentioned the “acid soil 
legumes” and their value in many places where 
lime is not easy to obtain. These plants are not 
only able to take nitrogen from the air, but they 
are able to grow and thrive on soil that is quite a 
little sour. Most of us have at times seeded Red 
clover or Alfalfa on soil that was quite wet and 
sour. If no lime was used we know how the crop 
behaved. It started off fairly well, hut failed to 
make a good growth. It never did have a good color, 
and finally most of it faded away. Yet here and 
there would be seen plants or clumps of clover 
which kept green and grew vigorously to good size. 
When these plants bloomed we noticed that the blos¬ 
som was quite different from the ordinary Red 
clover bloom. The truth is that these scattering 
plants were Alslke clover, one of the acid soil 
legumes. The Red clover could not stand wet feet 
and the lack of lime, so it just faded away. The 
Alsike seems to wear rubber boots, and can stand 
considerable vinegar on its food, so when the Red 
Che RURAL NEW-YORKER 
died away the Alsike kept on growing to maturity. 
We have found Alsike very useful on our own farm, 
where the soil is naturally sour. It will grow to 
good size, and while the yield is smaller than that 
ol Red. the stalks are finer and the hay is superior. 
We always add some Alsike seed when seeding to 
Red clover, on the theory that the soil iu most fields 
is never fully uniform. There are always sour 
spots in every field, and the Alsike will cover them. 
This is only one of the acid legumes. There are 
several others, like Soy beans, cow peas, kudzu, etc., 
and for use on sour land they are superior to Red 
clover or Alfalfa. 
* 
ERY likely the health officer in some of our 
rural towns could tell a story if he cared to. 
If he does his duty in trying to prevent the spread 
of contagious disease he will surely stir up a hornet’s 
nest Some women, and men, too. rise to the upper 
levels of excitement when their darling Georgie or 
Bess is kept from school long after mother thinks 
they have recovered from diphtheria, scarlet fever or 
some of the other diseases of childhood. The chil¬ 
dren may seem perfectly well, hut the germs of these 
diseases may still linger in the system, and thus 
make them a menace to others. If the health officer 
does liis duty he will keep such children out of 
school until there is no shadow of danger. Yet that 
will often subject him to the worst sort of abuse 
from the child’s parents. Their logic seems to he 
based on a syllogism about like this: 
An angel cannot carry the germs of disease. 
Georgie and Bess are angel children. 
Therefore the health officer who keeps my children 
out of school is i\ brute! 
There are several duties which go with the train¬ 
ing of children. Berlin ps the most important is that 
of setting the child a personal example of self-con¬ 
trol and respect for law and order. Some folks 
seem to think they must bring up their children to 
rebel against and fight every public regulation which 
interferes with their own coinfort. That is about 
the meanest training a child can have. 
* 
ES, we are! It is true! We are giving much 
space to the discussion of this rural school 
question. We promised such a discussion, and we 
intend to keep right at it until there can he little 
excuse for any reader to say that he does not under¬ 
stand what this Committee of Twenty-one really 
proposes. We must not repeat the performance 
enacted over that old township school law, for it is 
an expensive farce to pass a law and then turn 
right around and repeal it. Before any more legisla¬ 
tion is attempted we must understand just what we 
are doing. Our plan is to give the committee full 
opportunity to explain its position. Then there 
must be equal opportunity for those who oppose to 
give reasonable criticism or suggestion. This week 
we have an explanation by Prof. Works and a dis¬ 
cussion by Mr. Peavy, hotli clean-cut and frank. 
Enough has been said already to convince us that a 
majority of our farmers are firmly opposed to any 
compulsory consolidation of country districts. We 
endorse Mr. l’eavy's suggestion that a committee of 
farmers might well investigate some of the town 
and city schools. In our opinion some of these city 
schools are turning cut “graduates” who are far 
more of a menace to society titan are those who pass 
tlirough “the little red schoolhou.se.” 
* 
1GHT years ago Tiie R. N.-Y. started a call for 
•MO farmers in the New York Legislature.” 
That was the first suggestion of what is now called 
“tiie farm bloc.” The original suggestion failed, be¬ 
cause the agricultural leaders of the State at that 
time would not support it heartily. They felt that 
it was poor politics to attempt an industrial move¬ 
ment inside a political party. The years have 
changed that view, and the “farm bloc" at Washing¬ 
ton is now generally acknowledged as the most pro¬ 
ductive force in promoting farm legislation yet or¬ 
ganized. It. is useless now to try to figure what 
would have happened in New York State if all the 
leaders had combined loyally to put the balance of 
power at Albany Into the hands of farmers and their 
sworn friends. At any rate we now see that farm 
legislation has been worked out. for us by self- 
appointed leaders who never had any thought of 
loading to anything except selfish party advantage. 
The disaster which has befallen the party to which 
most New York farmers belong ought to be a great 
object: lesson. There will be a good-sized bunch of 
farmers and their direct friends in the next legis¬ 
lature. They should get together and reorganize 
their party. In New Jersey, too, there promises to 
he the beginning of a new “farm bloc." There are 
21 members of the Senate. Three are farmers and 
several more represent rural counties. There are 
also several farmers in the Assembly. If these men 
can get together in fair “open diplomacy” and stand 
for a few progressive laws they can accomplish great 
things. 
* 
N his message to Congress, President Harding 
made haste to suggest some of the things which 
organized farmers have been demanding. The Presi¬ 
dent and liis party would have been in better posi¬ 
tion today if such suggestions had been made in the 
inaugural address nearly two years ago. Many a 
man went home from Washington that day, feeling 
that the President had missed an opportunity in not 
facing the farm situation openly and frankly. The 
President now advocates an extended system of 
farm credits much after the plan proposed by the 
“farm bloc.” We believe that a law will be passed 
that may help, but we have never been as enthu¬ 
siastic for this credits legislation as most of the 
political farm leaders. Whatever legislation in this 
line we get will doubtless he so handled that the 
larger aud more speculative farmers will get most 
out of it. The smaller or average farmer will not, 
unless his interests are fully protected, derive any 
great benefit from credits legislation. Such farmers 
need cash more than they need credit, aud this cash 
should be provided by giving them a fairer chance 
in the market by curbing the middlemen and 
handlers. Unless we are very careful, legislation 
for freer credits will do as much harm as good by 
taking attention from the greater issue of criminally 
fraudulent distribution. Give the farmer a chance 
to sell his products without practically supporting 
two families besides his own, and he will get. on 
quite well, for in that event liis credit will he good 
anywhere, any time. No government in this country 
will ever really tackle the vital question of distribu¬ 
tion until it is driven into the battle. Good credit 
legislation is needed, but do not let it be made into 
a substitute for what is most needed, and do not let 
it divert the farmers’ demand for a full reform of 
our marketing and distributing systems. 
* 
Can you tell me if it is allowable to sell deer horns? 
My hoys have found some nice ones in the woods and 
fields ai different times, and have been offered good 
prices for them. We have, been informed by an officer 
of the law that no one has any right to sell the horns. 
Tompkins Corners, N. Y, a. h. 
UST refer that "officer of the law" to Section 179 
of the conservation law. This provides that: 
“The head, hide and feet of quadrupeds legally 
taken and possessed may be bought and sold at any 
time.” 
We can find no law prohibiting the sale of such 
horns or heads. Some of the laws are complicated 
enough as they stand, without being administered 
by officers who do not understand them. 
* 
HE Land Bank of the State of New York has 
sold another issue of bonds to the State Con¬ 
troller. The issue is $500,000, and the rate is 4 y 2 
per cent. This makes a total of $1,600,000 of bonds 
of this hank .so far taken by the Slate. The money 
is distributed through the savings and loan asso¬ 
ciations of the State. Farmers have not organized 
associations nor have they generally aligned them¬ 
selves with the existing associations, and conse¬ 
quently are not in a position to receive much help 
from the Laud Bank. Some loans, however, have 
been made to farmers. There are 280 associations 
in the State, and 279,749 members. Tiie resources 
are $131,290,091. 
Tiie Lund Bank lias a capital of $147,000, and has 
sold bonds to the amount of $2,500,000. It deposits 
the mortgages as security for the bonds, and the 
money is loanable to members of the association on 
first mortgages on homes and farms in the State. 
Brevities 
The knocker and the rocker both get the public goat 
— one kills the very joy of life, and one upsets the boat. 
Cleaning the chimney and scraping soot front the 
boiler flues will help reduce the coal bill. 
You can sell anything if you can only find the cus¬ 
tomer. Mexico is selling dried turtles to the Chinese. 
The price of radium has dropped from $120,(MX) to 
$70,000 per gram. Deposits of radium have been found 
in Africa. 
Up-to-date bi-sulphide of carbon has been considered 
tiie best chemical for fumigating grain or beans to kill 
the weevil. Now chlorine gas is suggested. 
Last week we told of a case where a New York hotel 
charged 00 cents a quart for milk! Now comes news 
that another hotel charges SO cents! Next! 
Absolutely “pure air." if we could find such, would 
he a very poor holder of heat. It is the moisture in the 
air, or the dust atoms, which hold heat and “keep the 
house warm.” Thus, a pan of water kept in a heated 
room is not only better for the health, but it saves coal 
by holding heat better than dry air. 
