1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
25 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—The Chicago Post Office Is about to re¬ 
place its mail wagons with automobiles. . . . The re¬ 
mains of 150 victims of the Maine were interred at Arling¬ 
ton National Cemetery December 28. . . . Smallpox is 
causing alarm on several of the Indian reservations, in¬ 
cluding Crow Creek Agency, S. D., and different places in 
Indian Territory. As soon as Congress meets an appro¬ 
priation of $50,000 will be asked for, with which to stamp 
out the epidemic. ... A paper factory in New York 
City burned December 29, the fire extending to a furniture 
factory and a number of tenements. It was one of the 
most costly and spectacular fires ever seen in New York, 
the total loss being over $2,000,000. . . . December 29, it 
was reported that four men had been frozen to death, 
within a few days, in South Carolina. In each case the 
victim had been drinking a villainous brand of dispensary 
whisky, which quickly produces unconsciousness. . . . 
One man was killed and two injured by a dynamite ex¬ 
plosion at Salona, Pa., December 29. One of the men 
raked the fire in an office and, while the poker was still 
hot, hung it upon a nail. It slipped from the nail into a 
pail containing dynamite and fuses, and a terrific explo¬ 
sion resulted. . . . The steamer Linda, of Shreveport, 
was burned on the Red River, opposite Vancevllle, La., 
December 29. The officers and crew escaped by swim¬ 
ming, but five negro rousters lost their lives. ... At 
midnight, December 31, a number of houses were wrecked 
at Knoxville, near Pittsburg, Pa., by an explosion of sewer 
gas. . . . Hawaii has asked to be allowed to send a 
delegate to the Republican National Convention. . . . 
W. J. Milsap, a prominent stockman, was seized by high¬ 
waymen at Walsenburg, Col., December 28, and robbed of 
$12,000. . . . Robbers attempted to hold up a street car 
at Seattle, Wash., December 29. There were eight pas¬ 
sengers on the car, and a fusillade of pistol shots oc¬ 
curred. One passenger was wounded, and one robber 
killed. ... A boiler exploded in the midst of a gang of 
railway laborers at Elizabethtown, Pa., December 30; four 
men were killed outright, and a number of others in¬ 
jured. . . . The schooner Puritan was wrecked on Cabot 
Island, N. F., during a furious gale January 2; eight lives 
lost. . . . Quartermaster-General White, of Michigan, 
has been indicted for defrauding the State In buying mili¬ 
tary supplies, the sum involved being $27,000. It is as¬ 
serted that a number of other military State officials are 
concerned in the transactions. . . . The Chicago Drain¬ 
age Canal, which will carry Chicago’s sewage into the 
Mississippi River, by way of the Illinois River, was 
opened January 2. This canal, which cost Chicago $33,- 
000,000, connects the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico, 
but St. Louis views it with alarm, calls It the “Ditch of 
Death,” and expects a typhoid epidemic, since it carries 
Chicago’s filth into the water supply of St. Louis. . . . 
Blizzards caused suffering through western New York 
and Pennsylvania January 2, snow being six feet deep on 
the level in several places. Many trains were blocked. 
... A fire started January 2 by a candle left burning 
on a Christmas tree, in New York City, caused the death 
of one child, and injuries to 11 persons. ... At Bridge- 
ton, N. J., January 2, two fatal accidents occurred as the 
result of starting a fire in the range while the water 
pipes were frozen. Explosions followed; in one case a 
baby was instantly killed, and in the other two children 
were injured, one mortally. . . . Two sleighloads of 
black powder exploded at Eagle River, Mich., January 3, 
two men and four horses being blown to atoms. 
CUBA.—The yellow fever statistics for Havana, during 
the last three months of 1899, show a high death rate, and 
it appears that American methods of sanitation are not so 
successful as expected. House disinfection does not 
appear to kill the germs of disease. The weather has 
been favorable to health, but there has been a great in¬ 
flux of Spanish immigrants, huddled in the lower parts of 
the city, and these people were badly nourished and un¬ 
able to resist the disease. 
PHILIPPINES.—The report of the rescue of Lieut. Gill- 
more is contradicted, and it is now feared that the in¬ 
surgents have taken the prisoners to remote parts of the 
mountains. . . . January 1, there was a sharp fight at 
Cabunay and Santa Rosa. The American loss was two 
killed and four wounded; the insurgent loss was severe, 
and 100 prisoners were taken. . . . Explosive bombs 
discovered in Manila December 31 revealed a plan to ef¬ 
fect an outbreak at Gen. Lawton’s funeral, the intention 
being to hurl the bombs among foreign officials, thus 
causing international complications. . . . Col. Lockett 
had a second engagement with the rebels at Montalban 
December 30, driving the insurgents from their position, 
and capturing a quantity of supplies. . . . Reports from 
officers of the Thirty-first Infantry confirm the unsea- 
worthy condition of the transport Manauense, which ar¬ 
rived at Manila November 28. The Colonel’s report 
recommends claims against the ship’s owners for the uni¬ 
forms of the whole battalion, which were ruined during 
the voyage. . . . The bubonic plague has been discov¬ 
ered in Manila. It has reappeared in Honolulu. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—The government of 
British India is giving famine relief to nearly 3,000,000 per¬ 
sons. . . . Numerous wrecks were reported on the 
British coast December 30, with considerable loss of life. 
. . . January 1, an earthquake in the Achalkalak dis¬ 
trict of Tiflis, Russia, destroyed 10 villages and 600 people. 
. . . January 1, a portion of Lord Methuen’s force de¬ 
feated the Boers at Sunnyside. . . . The Transvaal 
government has promulgated a new gold tax law, by 
which individuals and companies working their own 
mines are taxed 30 per cent of the output, while mines 
worked by the government will pay 50 per cent. Sus¬ 
pended mines will pay 30 per cent on their probable out¬ 
put, calculated on three months’ workings. Reducing 
works will pay 30 per cent of their net profits. The law 
is retroactive to October 11. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Two international pomologlcal 
congresses will be held at Paris, France, during the ex¬ 
position this year, one being held May 25-26, and the other 
September 13-14. Information concerning these congres¬ 
ses may be obtained from the United States Pomologist 
at Washington. 
Benjamin K. Bliss, formerly prominent among New 
York seedsmen, died in Boston, Mass., December 25, aged 
81 years. He was at one time publisher of American 
Gardening, and was a familiar figure in the horticultural 
world. 
The National Fanciers’ Association will meet at Chi¬ 
cago, Ill., January 22-27; secretary, Fred L. Kimmey. 
The Ohio State Poultry Association will meet at Co¬ 
lumbus January 18-23; secretary, Charles McClave, New 
London, O. 
James Harvey Sanders, founder of the Breeder’s Ga¬ 
zette of Chicago, died at Memphis, Tenn., December 22, 
aged 67 years. He was born on a farm in Ohio, went to 
Iowa with his pioneer parents in 1852, and found his first 
success upon the farm. He established the Western 
Stock Journal in 1S69, this paper being consolidated later 
with the National Live-Stock Journal. Later he became 
editor of the New York Spirit of the Times, and estab¬ 
lished the Breeder’s Gazette in 1881. He wrote several 
books upon kindred subjects. Personally, he was a man 
whose character and integrity commanded warm esteem, 
and his death is a severe loss to a wide circle. 
Ohio’s wheat crop is reported to be badly damaged by 
cold, there being no snow to protect it. 
The annual meeting of the New York State Agricultural 
Society will be held in Agricultural Hall, Albany, N. Y., 
on Wednesday, January 17. The principal business of the 
meeting is the election of officers for the ensuing year. 
On January 18, the Association of County Agricultural 
Societies will hold its annual meeting in the same place. 
The union of agricultural societies, composed of the 
managers of town fairs, will also hold its annual meeting 
In Albany on January 18. 
THE COMMISSION MERCHANT FRAUD. 
He Is Up to His Old Tricks. 
The fraudulent commission merchant is still doing 
business—not “at the same old stand,” for he fre¬ 
quently changes places for the good of his health. 
Last week we received the following letter from a 
western creameryman: 
We have shipped butter six or seven years to commis¬ 
sion merchants, and never lost any, but now I guess we’re 
bit. The Baltimore market seemed stronger than most, 
and we got an offer from N. T. Redman, of that city, of 
one-quarter cent per pound more than we were receiv¬ 
ing, and we shipped nine tubs, without taking the precau¬ 
tion to look up his references, as his letterheads, cards, 
stencils, etc., received, seemed to denote a prosperous 
business man. But we haven’t had a word or scratch 
of the pen from him since. I understand that he has 
left for Washington. What would you advise us to do in 
the case? I suppose that there is nothing that can be 
done to recover the money due or send him to the peni¬ 
tentiary. 
That tells the story in a nutshell. A law firm in 
Baltimore writes that it is impossible to collect any¬ 
thing from Redman. There are many claims against 
him, and lawyers are looking for him, but he seems 
to have given them the slip. It is the old, old story 
with variations. Here is a copy of the letter he sent 
to his victims: 
My receipts of fancy creamery butter have decreased 
considerably, and it finds me short in filling my orders. 
If you are in a position to supply me with 15 to 25 tubs 
each week, or even more, forward me 10 tubs as a sample. 
I will pay you Elgin, Ill., market quotation week of ship¬ 
ment, net F. O. B. your station, no freight, drayage or 
commission for this trial shipment. You will receive 
prompt remittance to balance all shipments as soon as 
they arrive at Baltimore. If found satisfactory, I will 
take your entire shipment the year round on same basis. 
References: The People’s National Bank, Baltimore, 
Md.; F. A. Stir, Cashier Lincoln National Bank, Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., (with whom I did business for 10 years). 
Please let me hear from you, and if possible get trial 
shipment off within the next few days. I trust we may 
be able to do business regularly. Let me know how 
many tubs you could ship me each week. 
This letter seems to be printed in good imitation of 
a type-written letter. All this fraud did was to 
write in the name of the party to whom It was sent. 
There is a finely-printed heading to the letter showing 
a great store, as though this Redman were doing 
a tremendous trade. We can imagine how such a let¬ 
ter would prove tempting bait to many a butter 
maker. It is an old trick for these rogues to pretend 
that they have a very fine private trade, which will 
not be satisfied with ordinary goods. Of course it 
makes a farmer feel good to think that his butter or 
poultry is fine enough to suit such exacting custom¬ 
ers. The truth is that such rascals rarely have any 
store at all. Their mail comes to a cigar store or 
some little office. Such shipments as they succeed in 
stealing (for no other word will answer) are sold at 
once to dealers, usually at a low figure. In some 
cases they will pay high prices for the first “sample 
shipment,” but this is done to call out larger ones. 
These rascals are shrewd judges of human nature, 
and they will often flatter and coax a man until they 
secure a large shipment from him. When things get 
too hot for them, they disappear, only to open up 
some new game on another corner and under a new 
name. 
These men are a curse to the trade. They not only 
steal produce, but they often throw it on the market 
at such figures that prices are upset, so that honest 
goods suffer. It is safe to say that such rogues will 
flourish and wax fat just so long as farmers can be 
tempted to leave reliable old commission houses to 
run after such bait as is stuffed into the above letter, 
FARMERS AND T H E “ B 0 0 M 
Sound and Sensible Advice. 
The other day \ chanced to meet a farmer who is 
very sanguine as to the future prices of farm pro¬ 
ductions. He believes that now is the time to in¬ 
vest both in farm lands and in stock; that the next 
few years will be money-making years, and the man 
who gets into the race at once will make some money, 
while the man who waits may be too late to profit 
by advancing prices. This is not an uncommon view 
among certain farmers, and it would be foolish to 
question its possible correctness. I have no doubt 
that the man to whom I have referred will succeed, 
for he is energetic, yet conservative; and if he buys 
a larger farm, I think that he will pay for it. But 
how about his neighbor who is in debt? If he gets 
deeper in debt, I fear he will be sorry for it. If we 
are to have a year or two, or even a little longer 
time, of higher prices, isn’t it a good time to econo¬ 
mize a littl 3 and pay off the debts that remain, and 
be ready for the reaction which is pretty sure to fol¬ 
low? Farm lands have been too low; they may ad¬ 
vance, and then hold some part, if not all, of that 
advance. Prices for farm produce are a little higher, 
but so far as my observation goes, the things a 
farmer has to buy are advancing rather more than 
the things he has to sell. Can we be sure that these 
higher prices are due entirely to better times? 
Milk is higher than a year ago, and the Five States 
Milk Producers’ Association claims much credit for 
it. But is not the advance fully accounted for by 
the shortage caused by the widespread and severe 
drought? Butter is at this writing higher than it 
was a year ago, in the New York market, but it la 
wise to note that receipts are less. So with cheese; 
prices are higher and offerings less. Eggs, it is true, 
are higher than a year ago, and no shortage noticed; 
but lambs are much lower, with no more reason than 
I am able to give for eggs being higher. I wish the 
Five States people abundant success, and I hope 
farmers may secure much better prices, yet for one I 
do not feel like indulging in very much of a jubilee 
over the prospects. That prices will be a little better 
for a time, I have small doubt, at least, for some pro¬ 
ductions of the farm, and it is quite possible that 
things a farmer has to buy will be higher in propor¬ 
tion. Hired men have caught the spirit, and are al¬ 
ready demanding higher wages for another season, 
and some of us will have to pay an advance, and do 
it from an income only slightly increased. 
A recent writer says that the prices of iron and 
other building material have advanced, as a whole, 
from 30 to 40 per cent, and remarks that conserva¬ 
tive builders will not erect so many buildings the 
coming year, which, if true, will not tend to help 
labor or manufacturers of building material. A prom¬ 
inent business man remarked to me, not long ago, 
that he remembered at least three of these spasmodic 
advances, but those lasted scarcely a twelvemonth. 
This may be somewhat more lasting, but we who are 
on farms, must, evidently, keep right on studying 
how we can cheapen production. At all events, let us 
see if we can’t reduce that indebtedness just a little, 
while we have a good chance. h. h. l. 
FARQUHAR 
VARIABLE FRICTION FEED 
SAW MILL 
AND 
AJAX S ENGINE 
Rapid, accurate, strong and 
simple, with large capacity. 
Knglnes on sills or wheels. 
Strong and safe. No Far- 
quhar Boiler lias ever 
exploded. Send for catalog 
of PortableKngines,Shingle 
Mills, Thrashing Machines, 
Stationary Engines and 
Boilers, 
erally. 
Implements 
Ltd., York, 
He Is a rich 
man indeed 
who can afford 
to feed whole 
grain to cattle, 
hogs and other 
live stock. 
Much whole 
grain passes 
through the 
animals and is 
wasted. All 
ground grain is 
digested and 
s simllated 
that stops 
all waste. 
STAR FEED GRINDERS 
are mite. Taut and efficient. Grind ear corn dry, damp 
or frozen. No choking. They have the shortest sweep 
made. Send for new circulars of Sweep and Power Mills. 
STAR ,H'FQ. CO., 13 Depot Street, New Lexington, 0. 
No. 3 "PRIZE” FEED MILL 
OVER 30,000 IN USE. 
All Iron and Steel. Automatic 
Shake Feed. Perfect Ad¬ 
justable Feed Slide. 
Grinds as tine or coarse as 
desired. Will run by any 
power,one to live horse,sweep, 
tread, steam or wind. Will 
not choke down the smallest: 
power. Sold at a low price to - „ ,, 
advertise the fact that wo are the largest manufi 
turers in the world of labor saving farm machinei 
Bend for special offer on this mill and large illi 
Mm ed ?i . gU0 of “Hero” and “American” ttrindli 
wouuuue uaivunuea steel ana W ood Wind Mlll.f 
power and pumping, W ood Saws, Corn SheUcra. etc. 
APPLETON MFQ.CO.,27 Fargo St., BATAVIA, 1L1 
GOOD CUTTERS, low prices. 
Thio No. 11 Wolverine Feed Cutter rep-*; 
resent, unusual value at our price. Has extended, 
knife shaft—pulley or fly wheel may. 
be placed on either aide. Likeall“ 
our power cutters, It has hardened steel 
4-edged cutting bar. When one 
edge gete dull, simply turn the bar and 
you have anew cutting edge. Makes 
It laat 4 times us long as the ordin¬ 
ary shear plate. 1J< In. steel knife shaft; 
11^4 In. knives; big feed rollers and wide 
throat— easy to feed; pulleys 6 , 8 , 10 , 12 or 1* In., as ordersd; 
any length swivel carrier when ordered, extra; delivers teed 
any height, any angle; weighs 425 lbs.; cuts with 2 knives X. 
1, IK and 2 Inches PrTee, #20.25. Cuts with4 knives W. 
A and 1 inch. Price, $22.95. Capacity for ensilage, 2 to 4 torn 
per hour; dry feed, 1 to \y t tons per hour. Trial given and 
satisfaction guaranteed on everything we sell, orgoods 
returned at our expense and ull money refunded. Send 
for free 886-puge Illustrated catalogue. 
We have 53 sizes hand and power cutters and shredders 
..larvln Smith Co., 55-57-59 N. Jefferson St., M-16 Chicago. 
Cider Machinery—Send for catalogue to Boomer A 
Boaohert Preas Co., 118 West Water St., Syracuaa^N.Y. 
