1903 
537 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Events of the Week, 
domestic.—T he Georgia House of Representatives 
has killed the Child Labor bill offered to prevent the em¬ 
ployment of children in the cotton mills by a vote of 89 
to 75.Fire destroyed the Scandinavian-American 
pier at Hoboken, N. J., July 10, with a loss of $500,000. 
, A violent storm at Baltimore, Md., July 12, up¬ 
rooted trees, carried off roofs, and caused property dam¬ 
age amounting to $500,000. Brick walls with the roofs at¬ 
tached were lifted bodily out into the streets. 
Gov. Lanham, of Texas, has issued a proclamation offer¬ 
ing a reward of $50,000 “to any person or persons who 
shall discover and furnish a practical remedy for the 
destruction of the Cotton boll weevil in Texas.” The 
issuance of the proclamation does not indicate that the 
boll weevil is doing serious harm to the cotton crop. It 
was made necessary by law. There is comparatively 
small harm from boll weevil in evidence this year. . . . 
A freight wreck occurred on the Iron Mountain Railroad 
between Bouden and Curdon, Ark., July 14. Two brake- 
men, a negro tramp and 35 carloads of horses and mules 
were killed. A box car jumped the track just as the train 
ran on to the Little Missouri River bridge. The bridge 
was wrecked and the 35 cars of stock fell into the stream 
below, a distance of 40 feet. 
ADMINISTRATION.—The law of March 3, 1903, “to 
regulate the immigration of aliens into the United States,” 
which was enacted as a result of the assassination of 
President McKinley, went Into effect on July 3. The 
State Department has construed the law as requiring the 
rejecting of all certificates of naturalization Issued after 
July 3, which do not set forth, as required by the act in 
question, that the person naturalized Is not opposed to 
all organized government, nor affiliated with any or¬ 
ganization so opposed, that he does not advocate the un¬ 
lawful assaulting or killing of officers of Government, 
and has not violated any of the provisions of the act. 
The act requires that in order to make a court judgment 
of naturalization valid, the record must show that the 
person naturalized conforms to the requirements enumer¬ 
ated above. Applications for passports from persons 
naturalized since July 3, accompanied by court records 
which do not show that the applicants are free from the 
impediments set forth in the law, will not be granted by 
the Department. 
PHILIPPINES.—Representatives of the Chinese Cham¬ 
ber of Commerce and the Evangelical Union argued for 
six hours July 8 in opposing the Opium bill at the public 
dlscus.slon of that measure on the occasion of its third 
reading. The Chinese urged that there is no change In 
the present indiscriminate sale of opium, with additional 
government supervision of its Importation. The Evan¬ 
gelical Union delegates urged the prohibition of the sale 
of opium by the United States Commission and exposed 
the most sensational conditions prevailing, alleging that 
the Chinese are tampering with the newspapers and 
raising a fund destined to be used in bringing about the 
defeat of the bill. The object of the Opium bill is to 
create an opium monopoly in the archipelago and sell It 
to the highest bidder. It is based on the theory that it 
will restrict the use of the drug to Chinamen who have 
used it all their lives, and prevent its indiscriminate sale 
to Americans and Filipinos, many of whom are falling 
victims to the use of opium. Sales of the drug are to be 
controlled by a concessionary, who may acquire the right 
to sell opium in the islands by bidding for the privilege 
every three years. There are provisions for licenses and 
control of the traffic.Shuster, the collector of 
customs at Manila, has decided that by virtue of the pro¬ 
visions of the United States Immigration law, no foreigner 
coming with a written or implied contract can be allowed 
in the Philippines. The decision arose upon the arrival 
of a British clerk for one of the chartered banks. This 
Interpretation of the law menaces all the foreign business 
and banking houses, chlefiy British, and will prevent 
them from importing assistants under contract. The 
British firms construe the application of the law as an at¬ 
tempt to drive them out of the Islands, enabling Ameri¬ 
cans to secure the entire trade. 
F ARM AND GARDEN.—The Rev. Albert Boynton 
Storms, pastor of the First Methodist Church of Des 
Moines, Iowa, has been appointed president of the Iowa 
Agricultural College, to succeed the late Dr. Beardshear. 
Dr. Leonard Pearson, State Veterinarian of the Penn¬ 
sylvania Department of Agriculture, has been offered an 
appointment as a member of the Philadelphia Board of 
Health. This offer of appointment comes nearer giving 
milk producers representation on a city board of health 
than they have ever had before. Dr. Pearson’s sympa¬ 
thies are with milk producers, and as a result of his 
efforts in their behalf, he has their confidence to an un¬ 
usual degree. Together with Dr. Gilliland, he has worked 
out at the University of Pennsylvania, and is now per¬ 
fecting under the support of the State Live Stock Sani¬ 
tary Board, a system for preventing tuberculosis of cattle 
by vaccination. 
Arrangements are being made for the twenty-fourth 
annual meeting of the National Farmers’ Congress, at 
Niagara Falls, beginning September 22. President 
Flanders states that the following addresses are expected: 
Maj. D. G. Purse, Savannah, Ga., “Sugar Supply in the 
United States;” Hon. Timothy L. Woodruff, Brooklyn, 
“Agricultural Conditions Understood to Exist in Our In¬ 
sular Possessions, and the Possibilities in their Develop¬ 
ment;” O. P. Austin, Chief of the Bureau of Statistics, 
Washington, D. C., “Farm Products in the Markets of 
the World;’' Dr. D. E. Salmon, Washington, D. C., ‘Tn- 
fectlous and Contagious Diseases of Farm Animals and 
their Effect on American Agriculture;” Prof. F. M. Web¬ 
ster, Urbana, Ill., “Diseases and Insect Pests of Plants 
^d their Effect on American Agriculture;” James Wood, 
Mt. Kisco, N. Y., “How Can We Enlarge Our Foreign 
M^kets for Farm Products?” Aaron Jones, South Bend, 
Ind., “Extension of the Facilities of Our Mail System.” 
Gov. Odell will deliver the address of welcome, and the 
response will be made by Hon. Harvie Jordan, Monticello. 
Ga., first vice-president of the Congress. 
A DISCUSSION OF SOCIALISM. 
Arguments of a Critic. 
In your issue of January 3 is an article on socialism 
signed W. V. F. Now I wish to take issue with the 
writer. He speaks of the benefits to be derived from the 
public ownership of coal fields, transportation lines and 
lines of communication, also municipal water and gas 
works and many industries owned and managed by pri¬ 
vate capital. In theory the article is all right, but how 
about the practical side? Who ever saw a public works 
that was not a public steal? More than two-thirds of 
the money raised by taxation for such purposes goes to 
fill the pockets of the ring politicians, and until future 
generations shall produce a race of honest and fair-deal¬ 
ing politicians the practice of socialism will remain a 
dead letter. I do not say that socialism is not a good 
thing, for the improvident, the non-taxpayer and the in¬ 
digent, for it is, and they and the beer-besotted labor 
demagogues are its chief expounders. This very class 
has been for several years trying to foment trouble be¬ 
tween the rich and poor. Some have only advocated 
socialism while others have been bold enough to expound 
the theory of anarchy, the parent of socialism. The ques¬ 
tion comes to my mind, and I think it has come to other 
laboring men, what would we do if it were not for the 
rich? And they must have investments or they cannot 
have riches. The rich give us a market for our raw ma¬ 
terial (“our muscle”). They make it possible for us to live 
well, dress well, own houses of our own and have sav¬ 
ings bank accounts, and if the American laboring man 
does not have those things it is not the fault of the em¬ 
ployer but of the employee. The man that lives upon the 
theory of “live to-day, for to-morrow we may be dead,” 
has few rights that the State or an employer is bound to 
respect. The only one that I know, of Is the right to go 
to the poorhouse and that is one too many. c. J. 
A Conservative Reply. 
The usual objections to socialism are here urged in an 
able and temperate manner, with the possible exception 
of the claim that anarchy is the parent of socialism. 
This confusion of ideas regarding these very opposite 
theories of social conduct is no doubt largely due to the 
ignorance or unfairness of press writers, who seldom care 
to ascertain the truth or falsity of their statements con¬ 
cerning these matters. Modern socialism is an outgrowth 
of man’s inherent sense of justice, and the Idea is to 
restrain such Individual or corporate acts as infringe 
the rights and lessen the opportunities of the mass of 
mankind. Anarchism is simply unbridled personal license 
and war on all restrictions to the unhampered will of the 
individual. 
'Phe statement that all public enterprises are public 
steals is scarcely warranted by general experience. In¬ 
deed it may be doubted if politicians, flagrant and cor¬ 
rupt as many are known to be, have a lower moral stand¬ 
ard than the mass of successful business men. The short- 
comings, fancied or otherwise, of the one class are trum¬ 
peted abroad by the opposition and given the widest pub¬ 
licity as a matter of course, while those of the latter re- 
'main concealed unless the actual law is infringed. The 
wrongdoing covered up in the workings of some of our 
present great commercial enterprises might make a long¬ 
er story than the peccadilloes of politicians. In every 
locality there are instances of socialistic public activities 
such as schools, public roads, hospitals, libraries, etc., 
carried on with honesty, economy and efficiency. The 
new Congressional Library, probably the most creditable 
building in America, was finished for less than the esti¬ 
mates and appropriations. The architects, contractors 
and decorators as well as the “politicians” who promoted 
and passed the necessary legislation, all seemed to be 
Impressed with the duty of serving the people in an ef¬ 
fective manner. It is not likely that the present genera¬ 
tion—the result of ages of hereditary greed—will make 
great advances in social reform, but it is highly desirable 
that the way be gradually cleared for such Improvements 
in business morals as the fair-minded public really de¬ 
sires. Honest politicians will come to the front as soon 
as there is a general demand for an enlarged and more 
efficient public service. 
C. J. certainly errs in the claim that socialism Is de¬ 
sired by or will greatly benefit the indolent and extrava¬ 
gant. Such Ineffective persons, conveniently known as 
wastrels, have always existed, and under our present 
system must be cared for In the end whenever their own 
efforts are insufficient. Under socialism they would have' 
to work or starve, but opportunities for moderately-paid 
effort would be so enormously increased by the curtail¬ 
ment of private monopoly that they would be easily self- 
supporting. Chances for self-improvement would so mul¬ 
tiply that every incentive to honorable ambition would 
arise. That ultimate socialism is still a theory, though 
largely in actual practice, cannot be considered a re¬ 
proach. All great reforms, from and preceding the 
Magna Charta to the abolition of slavery in civilized 
countries, were once theories held by a small minority, 
but gained a permanent ascendency when the proper op 
portunlty came. 
Farmers will not generally agree with the contention 
that the rich are needed to make markets for the pro¬ 
ducts of labor. Any farmer, dairyman or gardener who 
directly sells his products knows that the well-paid 
laborer or middle class patron is the best and most re¬ 
liable customer. Wealthy persons will often pay ex¬ 
travagant prices for small quantities of fancy produce, 
but such markets are precarious and difficult to reach 
except through costly middlemen. The rich dissipate 
their incomes all over the earth while the prosperous 
workman spends his earnings locally and buys what he 
can afford with liberality. When a great panic comes 
the incomes of the wealthy are seldom greatly diminished 
but the market for labor and commodities at once stag¬ 
nates because the ordinary citizen no longer dares spend 
his means with freedom. The actual consumption of the 
rich and their dependants still goes on but cuts a poor 
figure in such disastrous times. It is not denied that 
much good is done by the very rich—those forceful in¬ 
dividuals, the Captains of Industry, who have amassed 
such Incredible fortunes of late years in the way of pub 
lie enterprise and generosity. They have shown how to 
combine and organize to overcome great obstacles, but 
their achievements have so generally been accompanied 
by oppression and injustice that it is safe to say there is 
no proper function of great Individual wealth that may 
not better be performed by associated efforts of the peo¬ 
ple comprehended under the term of socialism, w. v. f. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
The apple crop will be about one-third of last year’s. 
Pears nearly a failure; plums abundant; plant lice nu¬ 
merous, but doing little damage. Corn very backward; 
hay is an average crop; oats fine. f. h. a. 
Holley, N. Y. 
I have cut one crop of Alfalfa and will cut again the 
middle of July; two tons per acre the first time, and 
nearly as much the second. I cut the first crop before I 
was done planting corn. Corn is all sizes here; wheat a 
slim crop; a fine crop of clover hay, mostly put up in 
excellent shape, although I did not succeed so well with 
my own. j. m. j. 
Ross Co., O. 
Apples promise to be a fine crop in this locality, the 
best for many years. Many orchards are sold at good 
prices. I have not learned of much damage being done 
by plant lice. Buyers tell us very thorough spraying 
is done here. Peaches are forming about 60 per cent of a 
crop. Plum and pear crop much lighter. Corn, oats and 
mint are very promising; quite a large acreage of the 
latter planted this past Spring. Hay crop is light. 
Fennville, Mich. h. m. 
The present condition of the fruit crop in this locality 
is as follows: Winter apples about one-fourth of a crop; 
early apples 30 per cent. The freeze of May 1 caused 
them to drop badly. No peaches; very few plums; the 
Blue Damson is about the only plum showing any fruit; 
pears will make about 25 per cent of a crop; raspberries 
are very scarce, making possibly one-sixth of a crop; 
blackberries are a disappointment, making only a fraction 
of a crop. Corn is backward and badly in need of rain, 
but with moisture and a late Fall, should make a fair 
crop. Oats have come out wonderfully, and will make 
a fair crop. Harvesting will soon begin. Very little 
wheat was grown here this year. Rye about half a crop. 
Hay is being put up now; $2 per day is being paid for 
hands. Hay is making ton per acre. e. m. m. 
Hillsboro, Ill. 
KILLING FLIES.—For deodorizing stables, etc., a cheap 
remedy will be found by using creolln, a tablespoonful 
to quart or two of water, sprinkled round once or twice 
a day. I give my horse much comfort and the flies a 
very sick stomach, by using a homemade preparation of 
pine tar oil one-half pint, fish oil same, creolin two to 
four teaspoonfuls, with half teaspoonful carbolic acid. 
'Chis to be lightly brushed over legs morning, noon and 
night. K. L. H. 
E. Liverpool, O. 
WET WEATHER PHILOSOPHY.—There is always a 
bright side to every kind of weather. While we could 
not work the land except with a raft we could cement 
the cellar for the women folks, and do a lot of odd jobs 
which I am sure would not have been done right away 
if we had not been afflicted with a continuous wet spell. 
Why we say “cemented the cellar for the women folks” 
I don’t know except that they have been the ones who 
have kept our minds fresh as to the Importance of it. 
Only last week we completed plowing orchard that 
should have been put in shape last Spring early. But 
we not only had the corn in on time; we were fortunate 
enough to get it up and well cultivated twice and three 
times scratched with the weeder. w. 
New York. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Cattle, sheep and swine owned In New York State and 
awarded first premium at the State Pair, Syracuse, Sep¬ 
tember 7-12, will be entitled to free transportation to the 
St. Louis Exposition. Write for premium list to S. C. 
Shaver, Albany, N. Y. 
Metal wheels for low wagons are a convenience and 
means of labor saving, both of man and team. The im¬ 
proved grooved tire metal wheels are made by the Havana 
Metal Wheel Co., Havana, Ill., the largest manufacturers 
of steel farm wagon wheels in America. They guarantee 
all their wheels. Write them for directions for measure¬ 
ment. They can fit the skeins and furnish any sort of 
metal wheels needed. 
Those of our readers who may have occasion to look 
up a college for their sons during the coming year would 
do well to correspond with the president of University of 
Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind., who will send them a 
catalogue free of charge, as well as all particulars re¬ 
garding terms, courses of studies, etc. Sixty years of 
active work in the cause of education have made this 
institution famous all over the country. 
A PROFITABLE business for men of moderate means is 
well drilling. Plenty of water Is wanted everywhere. The 
modern country home is not complete without an 
abundant supply throughout the house. Artesian wells 
are a necessity in many parts of the country, and there 
always exists an opportunity of striking it rich by suc¬ 
cessfully drilling for oil, gas or coal. Well drillers and 
those who are looking for a paying business should send 
to the Loomis Machine Company, Tiffin, Ohio, for further 
information and catalogue. 
We call the attention of our readers to the advertise¬ 
ment of St. Mary’s Academy, Notre Dame, Ind. We do 
not need to expatiate upon the scholastic advantages of 
St. Mary’s, for the catalogue of the school shows the 
scope of work included in its curriculum, which is of the 
same high standard as that of Vassar and Bryn Mawr, 
and is carried out faithfully in the class rooms. Every 
advantage of equipment in the class rooms, laboratories 
and study rooms, every care in the matter of food and 
clothing, and exceptional excellence of classic conditions 
are found at St. Mary’s. 
