716 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A.National Journal for Country and Suburban Homes, 
Conducted by 
KUBJCUT 8. CAKMAN. 
Address 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
No. 34 Park Row, New York. 
SATURDAY,' NOVEMBER 13,1886. 
The man who is capaule of allowing 
himself to be influenced by a hint, with¬ 
out waiting for a kick, is to be congratu¬ 
lated. Such men are not so plentiful as 
they should be. We see a good many 
barns with unfilled cracks, with loose 
boards, or leaky roofs. There are plenty 
of houses that need banking up, plenty 
of windows that, let in the cold, and 
plenty of ill-fitting doors. The sharp 
frosts that come in at this season consti¬ 
tute a hint that ought to be heeded. 
Those who do not heed it will wait for 
the kick, which will come iu the shape of 
a rousing storm later in the season. Then 
there will be a rush to do the work that 
should be done now. It will take twice 
as long, and a good deal of property will 
be destroyed before it is done. Learn to 
appreciate the value of a hint. 
Nothing of importance has yet been 
done towards stamping out contagious 
pleuro-pneumonia in Chicago, and there 
is a good deal of danger that this careless 
dilatorincss on the part of the authorities 
will beget a careless disregard of danger 
on the side of the public. Already there 
are numerous indications of the growth of 
such a sentiment. The presence of the 
disease in the city is likely to prove in jur¬ 
ious to the fat stock show, as the own¬ 
ers of fine stock elsewhere will very natur¬ 
ally be reluctant to risk danger of conta¬ 
gion by sending them to the exhibition. 
The Ohio Live Stock Commission has or¬ 
dered that all cattle sent from that State 
to Chicago,to be exhibited at the show or 
for any other purpose, shall be subject to 
qmmintinejforminety days at the owners’ 
expense before they are permitted to re¬ 
turn. Other States are also pretty sure to 
take similar precautions. 
Over 15,000 men are on strike at the 
Chicago packeries for ten hours’ pay for 
eight hours’ work. To show what the 
men are losing by remaining out. the pay¬ 
rolls of two firms show that one, Morris, 
pays from $19,800 to $21,000, and the 
other, Swift, from $21,500 to $22,000 per 
week iu wages Every day the old hands 
remain out takes them further away from 
their places, as new hands are being con¬ 
stantly engaged. We have a good deal of 
sympathy with any real grievance of wage- 
earners and with those suffering oppres¬ 
sion of any sort, but wc have no sympa¬ 
thy whatever with these Chicago strikers. 
Their demands are extortionate; their 
methods are tyrannical; their conduct is 
atrociously selfish. To gain an advantage 
enjoyed by those engaged in no other in¬ 
dustry, they are doing their best to injure 
the vast cattle trade that centres at Chi¬ 
cago, and thus inflict losses amounting in 
the aggregate to tens of thousands of dol- 
lars'on the cattle raisers on one hand, and 
the meat consumers on the other. 
TnE long rows of bob-tailed horses 
at our Horse Show’called forth a vigorous 
protest from Mr. Henry Bergli. The 
practice of docking’the tails of horses is 
as senseless as it is cruel. Mr. Bergli well 
says: “This cruel mutilation of the no¬ 
blest animal given to mankind by a boun¬ 
teous and all-wise Providence, whose wis¬ 
dom is thus wantonly insulted, is not the 
result of necessity, but is a pure and 
simple freak of thoughtless fashion.” 
Does not that state the case in a nutshell? 
One has only to watch the long lines of 
docked and mutilated creatures to be 
convinced of the utter senselessness and 
barbarity of the practice. These butch¬ 
ered tails are the result of the same pau¬ 
city of intellect that has given us the eye¬ 
glass, the cane, the tight boots, and tor¬ 
turing collar of the “ dude.” In the lat¬ 
ter case man only inflicts ridicule upon 
himself. Tn the'former case he inflicts 
cruelty upon a helpless animal and lessens 
its ability to <Jefend itself against insect 
enemies. Wc join with Mr. Berghin urg¬ 
ing the managers of the ^National Horse 
Show to discountenance this practice. 
They can drive it out of fashiou if they 
wish to do so. 
The strength of the vote cast for Hen¬ 
ry George in this city was a great surprise 
to the politicians. No wonder they are 
frightened. That such a new party, without 
organization, without funds and without 
the help of experienced politicians can 
poll 67,000 votes in this city is indeed 
surprising. The George ticket was the 
earliest in the field. Hundreds of extreme 
party men pledged themselves to support 
George before the other nominations were 
made. They supposed, naturally enough, 
that each of the old parties would put up 
some political “boss,” as in previous 
years. Having given their word, they 
supported George even thotlgh their own 
parties were forced into nominating the 
best set of candidates ever placed before 
the people of New York. Farmers can 
learn a lesson from this movement. By 
taking a determined and dignified stand 
in favor of what they know to he right, 
by thoroughly organizing and holding 
their organizations, they can force honest 
and courageous candidates upon parties. 
Is it not worth doing this? 
♦♦♦ - 
The farmers have done fairly well at 
the hands of the voters. Mr. Luce is 
elected Governor of Michigan, Messrs. 
■Russell and Burnett go to Congress from 
Massachusetts, and many other farmers 
have been honored by an election to State 
or National offices. Tn many districts 
the farmers’ vote made itself felt unmis¬ 
takably. It is high, time that it should. 
The farmer has carried political hacks on 
his back long enough, It is time he 
shook off the burden and carried himself 
more erect. That is just what he : s going 
to do, as wc have faith to believe. The 
old argument that no one but a lawyer 
can make a law is growing weaker. The 
old sneer at “farmer legislation” is heard 
les c frequently. Wc need men of all 
classes in our legislatures. We need 
farmers, mechanics, business men and 
lawyers. Our laws affect them all. Their 
views should betaken into consideration. 
The idea that wc must pick out the town 
lawyer to send to the legislature has been 
killed forever. Why should a class of 
men select as their representative a man 
of theories who knows nothing of tlicr 
wants or of their ways of life? This 
question fairly put to the mechanics m 
more than one of our manufacturing 
towns destroyed the political hopes of 
dapper young lawyers. Let the farmers 
of the country adopt the same tactics. 
Tn a few years they will notice a wonderful 
improvement in the character of their 
candidates. 
A MARVELOUS SCHEME. 
The extortions of the Cotton Oil Trust 
Company in the South have given rise to 
a gigantic scheme looking to a combination 
of the cotton planting industry of the four 
States of Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and 
Louisiana. It iaproposed to organize a 
syndicate or trust company composed of 
large capitalists from all parts of the 
country and the planters of these four 
States, and that the. latter should exchange 
their property for stock certificates in the 
corporation, to the full value of their hold¬ 
ings, the company to manage each planta¬ 
tion through the planter or an overseer 
under a district supervisor, one supervisor 
to he in each parish or county, the planter, 
if in charge, to be allowed a reasonable 
salary for his services. The company is to 
furnish money to purchase for cash from 
first hands all the supplies necessary to 
carry on the business, and to handle the 
products through competent agents, 
thereby saving immensely in the ex¬ 
penses of handling, selling, and freights, 
as well as in the cost of production. 
The company would be able to demand 
from the Trust Company, in spite of its 
$35,000,000 capitalization, fair and re¬ 
munerative prices for its cotton seed, or in 
case of refusal, establish mills and make 
cotton-seed oil ami cake itself. Of course, 
if the scheme proved practical and success¬ 
ful in the above four States, it would he 
very easy to extend its limits over all the 
Cotton States, while a similar organization 
might be formed to farm all the land in 
the rest of the country. The plan seems 
a trifle chimerical; but the very conception 
of it and its thoughtful consideration by 
practical men show very forcibly the 
straits to which the agricultural interests 
of the South are forced to seek an escape 
from the oppression of a gigantic monop¬ 
oly. 
-♦ * » - - 
HELPING MANKIND. 
A young student recently gave us his 
ideas about the regeneration of mankind. 
He graduated at one of our leading uni¬ 
versities and then studied several years in 
Germany. Ho was supposed to be well 
grounded in the theory of progress. He 
talked well. What lie said seemed plausi¬ 
ble enough. It did scorn as though happi¬ 
ness could be manufactured to order, and 
that a fow_coldjphilo8ophers,]could live in 
seclusion and guide the woild. outside 
their retreat, to a higher standard of en¬ 
joyment ami comfort. As we walked up 
the street a woman sat on a door step. She 
carried a crying baby. Weary and worn 
she had stopped for rest. She dropped 
her handkerchief into the street. She 
could not secure it without putting the 
baby to one side. Did our young philos¬ 
opher, with his intense desire to increase 
the comfort and happiness of the world, 
help her? Not he! Ilis great plans could 
not be interrupted by sueli tilings. He 
walked on proving most logically that, our 
system of government was all wrong,while 
a laboring man picked tip the handker¬ 
chief, gave the. baby a smile and passed 
on. Which man is doing the most good, 
the theorist or the man who believes in 
practical benevolence? They are like two 
men climbing up a ladder. One has his 
eye only at the top; he neglects to watch 
his feet. The other goes slowly up watch¬ 
ing the rounds and making sure of his 
work. It is far easier to theorize than it 
is to practice. We can all toll what ought 
to be done for those who need help, but. 
how many of us have the patience and 
courage to do the little things that go to 
make life what it ought to he? The fact 
of it is that there arc chances for doing 
good all around us. He does the most for 
mankind who makes the circle of his im¬ 
mediate influence as bright as possible. 
He is a poor reformer who reaches over the 
heads of those near him to put his hand a 
little nearer the lamp of popularity. 
- 
TOO MUCH TRUST A CAUSE OF 
DISHONESTY. 
While business dishonesty is so gener¬ 
ally commented upon as one of the appall¬ 
ing sins of the day, would it not he well 
for the defrauded ones to consider how 
much they—themselves—are to blame for 
it? How many housekeepers who Inly 
sugar and tea, meat and muslin, weigh or 
measure the same, and know that they are 
dealing with honest tradesmen? ITow 
many tradesmen have a realizing sense 
that if they defraud their customers, even 
in a small way, they will surely be found 
out and suffer for their dishonesty? Hmv 
many hank directors make it practioaBy 
impossible for the cashier to make away 
with all the available funds? Is it not 
true that a false sentiment hav grown up 
in the land, which is fostered by lazi¬ 
ness and inertness—that it is “narrow” 
and “mean” to make it difficult, for peo¬ 
ple to be dishonest. Everybody likes to 
be “popular”—to he thought “liberal- 
minded” bv his fellows. This infinite 
trust in everybody’s honesty goes beauti¬ 
fully until the supposed honesty looms up 
in the shape of fraud, when everyone cries 
aloud for an argus-cyed being who is 
“ mean” enough, and suspicious enough, 
to know that affairs are dishonestly con¬ 
ducted and unwilling to trust to the hon¬ 
esty of the honesfest man alive. We may 
not “love” the precise, accurate man, 
who is just to the last cent, both ways, 
so well as we do the easy-going fellow; 
but w r e trust and respect, him a great deal 
more, in fact. 
If nobody “finds fault,” the “general 
average” of excellence is quickly lowered. 
The pound of butter weighs hut fifteen 
ounces, the “new” milk is made up half 
of yesterday’s skimmed milk, the dress¬ 
maker retains for her private use the left¬ 
overs from the fabrics she cuts into gowns, 
and tells you upon her honor that not. a 
scrap was left. The workmnn gossips 
for half an hour with the hired man on 
the other side of the fence and calls his day 
a ‘full” one—and so on, nil infinitum ,— 
purchasers and employers “let things go” 
because it ia too much trouble to make a 
“fuss.” The “fuss” may not be nice, 
but if properly made, it goes a long way 
in keeping things up to a righteous level 
and the sense of honor whetted. It is to 
the credit of human nature that it has 
civilized itself—what civilization it has at¬ 
tained to But rill uplifting of the race 
comes from certain individual heroism 
and courage, which quite as often wins 
opprobrium at the time, ns glory. Rut, it. 
is the saving salt, nevertheless, just, as 
strict discipline, and the requirement of 
strict service, on the part of those in pow¬ 
er, tend to a higher morality in those who 
serve. 
- 
THE OLEOMARGARINE LAW IN FORCE. 
TiiE’oleomargarine tax law went into 
effect, on Monday. A considerable num¬ 
ber of’the manufactories have either shut 
down entirely or suspended the manufac¬ 
ture of oleomargarine for the present,con¬ 
fining themselves entirely to the produc¬ 
tion *of the oils, which the United States 
Attorney-General has lately decided are 
not within the scopo'of the law. Most of 
the manufactories aud a considerable num¬ 
ber of wholesale dealers have already tak¬ 
en out licenses, but there is less alacrity 
among retailers. In this city there were 
more than 3,000 retail dealers in oleomar¬ 
garine before the new law went into ef¬ 
fect,. Few of these were selling the stuff 
frankly and without disguise.while a great 
many deliberately deceived and defrauded 
their customers who bought, the counter¬ 
feit, for genuine butter. There is no eager¬ 
ness among any class of retailers to take 
advantage of the new law and sell the con¬ 
coction solely on its merits, for less than 
100 of them have hitherto taken out li¬ 
censes. 
Tn addition to the two cent tax upon 
the manufactured article, every manu¬ 
facturer must pay a yearly license of $600; 
while wholesale and retail dealers must 
pay, the former, $480 and the latter, one- 
tenth of that amount, and very heavy 
penalties are attached to violation of any 
provision of the law. The Federal au¬ 
thorities arc more vigilant and efficient in 
detecting and punishing any violation of 
the Internal Revenue laws, than are those 
of any of the States. There are hundreds 
of liquor and cigar dealers in this and 
other large cities who pav no State taxes; 
but the number of those who evade 
United States taxes is very small. At 
first, there will probably he sonic difficulty 
in detecting bogus from genuine butter, 
but the risks for dishonest dealers will lie 
greatly increased by the fact that manu¬ 
facturers and wholesale dealers must make 
monthly returns to the* local collectors of 
internal revenue specifying the quantity 
made and t he parties to whom it was sold. 
There is n, good deal of difference of 
opinion as to the effect of the law on the 
sale of oleo. Many say that as the stuff 
must he sold without disguise under its 
real name, the falling off in the number of 
customers must be great. Others insist 
that ns the law charges the revenue offi¬ 
cers with the duty of inspecting the man¬ 
ufactured article, and empowers them to 
condemnnllunwholesome.material, thisin- 
spcction will certify to the consumers that 
the article offered for sale is pure, and 
thousands will prefer pure, cheap oleo to 
dear butter that may be less palatable 
however pure. 
4 t» 
BREVITIES. 
The Thanksgiving Number of the R. N.-Y. 
next week. 
We have received fine heads of Thousand¬ 
fold ^ye from H. E. Boyd, of Wilmington, 
Vermont, 
Mr. A. «T. CATWOOD informs ns that he is 
lint 62 years of age. We may therefore hope 
that he will not, onlv live long enough to learn 
t hat what little we have said against his fruits 
has not been said from the low motive ho as¬ 
cribes to us. but that he will live to originate 
lots of other varieties SO perfect that, no one 
in the land can justly say one word against 
thorn. 
Encouraging! The Rural New-Yorker 
has been coming to me for 30 vears or more, 
without a single year’s omission, save one, 
during thi» war, when the Potomac River was 
blockaded for n term. The Rural has not a 
more constant and abiding friend in all its list 
of subscribers. No paper has come no more 
fully to ruv idea land particularly of late) of 
what is the poofoction of a rural family paper. 
T feel that my davs are nearly numbered, and 
don't know but what I shall have my family 
to continue it in my name. j. g, r. 
Lovellsvillo, Va. 
The Wan Francisco papers are doing well in 
once more urging the wine growers of Cali¬ 
fornia to stop giving foreign name* to domes¬ 
tic wines. The idea of American names for 
American wines is gaining headway; but it 
should be encouraged still more bvall who have 
the beet interests of American vinovardists at 
heart. The average rpinlitv of good Ameri¬ 
can wines is held to be better than that of 
imnorted wines; and the latter would steadily 
fall Into disrepute were it. not that their repu¬ 
tation is kept up by the superior quality of 
domestic winos sold under their names, 
There can tie no doubt that the evil of in¬ 
dorsing notes has resulted in the ruin of many 
good farmers Young men particularly 
should shun this practice. The responsibility 
is too great. The indorsee assumes every re- 
sponsibiltv, yet he has no share in Ur* profits 
of the business transaction, and no voice in its 
management Ho must simply pay the full 
amount, if by means of misfortune, mis¬ 
management or rascality the maker of the 
note cannot pav it. There is nothing to be 
made but everything to lose. The demands 
of friendship are great, hut the duty one owes 
to himself and those who are dear to him 
should never be overlooked. 
Prop. Roberts, who examined the famous 
eow Clothilda during her recent, test, savs that 
before she was milked lie saw the nail turned 
bottom up by the milker. The object was to 
nutke sure that no milk was contained in the 
pail lief ore milking began. It was not to in¬ 
ure cleanliness the cow could not have made 
her record in a filthy place. It was n simple 
thing to do. and vet thousands of dollars 
would t»e added to the value of our dairv pro¬ 
ducts if the practice could be made universal. 
Often do we see milkers sit at the cow’s sido 
with the pail on their knees. After a few 
brushes at the udder anil side they begin to 
milk, regardless of the hairs, dirt and dust 
they have brushed directly into the pail. All 
this dirt hurts the price of buttertfar more 
than oleomargarino over can. 
