1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
42 1 
Events of the Week. 
DOMESTIC.—Four men were killed and four injured at 
Whipple, Ohio, May 31, by a premature explosion of 
dynamite used in shooting an oil well.May 31, 
strikers in St. I,ouis attempted to blow up with dynamite 
a crowded car on which were 38 newly-arrived non-unioj? 
men, a sergeant and 12 policemen, a motorman, conductor, 
and the conductor’s wife. More than 20 pounds of dyna¬ 
mite were used, tearing a great hole in the street, but 
though the car flooring was forced up, and every window 
shattered, no one was killed. Up to June 1, these riots 
resulted in four people being killed and 68 wounded. June 
4, two women were beaten by the mob, most of their 
clothes being torn off, because they had ridden in the 
boycotted cars. The women of the city have sent an 
appeal to Governor Stevens, asking that they be afforded 
protection against the mob, and the citizens have asked 
for the militia.May 31, six persons were killed 
by a dynamite explosion in a house near Forest Junction, 
Wis.Three men were killed by lightning May 
3i, at St. Clair, Mich., while working in the cabin of a 
new boat.The great Calumet and Hecla copper 
mine, in the Lake Superior region of Michigan had been 
on fire for a week June 2, and all work was suspended. 
It may be necessary to smother the persistent fire by 
flooding the mine with carbonic acid gas, which was done 
under similar circumstances 12 years ago.The 
cost of the Spanish War, including amount expended in 
the Philippines prior to August, 1898, was $338,000,000. 
. . . . The officials of a “diploma mill” in Chicago were 
arrested June 4. The evidence shows that they had been 
selling law and medical diplomas for from $3 to $200. 
. . . . The New Jersey State Board of Health has de¬ 
clared consumption to be contagious, and has adopted 
stringent measures to prevent its spread.A 
large lumber plant at St. Etienne du Saguenay, Quebec, 
was burned June 5, causing a loss of $400,000, and render¬ 
ing 40 families homeless. It is believed that some lives 
were lost. 
CONGRESS.—The Subsidy Civil bill, carrying an appro¬ 
priation of $5,000,000 for the St. Louis Exposition, was 
passed May 31.June 1, the Anti-Trust amend¬ 
ment was debated in the House, and was voted down by 
151 to 131, lacking 38 of the necessary two-thirds. Sen¬ 
ator Pettigrew asked, June 4, for an immediate recon¬ 
sideration of it, but on objection, this went over. 
Senator Morgan presented a resolution favoring the abro¬ 
gation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty.June 5, 
the Anti-Trust bill was read the second time in the Sen¬ 
ate and referred to the Judiciary Committee. There was 
a storm of partisan debate, with Senators Hanna of Ohio, 
Pettigrew of South Dakota, and Carter of Montana as 
chief figures. Bitter personalities and sensational in¬ 
vectives were indulged in. In the House there was a 
sharp debate over the report of the conference committee 
on the Military Academy bill, which was again referred 
to conference. The Grout bill goes over to the next ses¬ 
sion, December 6 being fixed for its discussion. 
Congress did not adjourn June 6, owing to a deadlock 
over the Naval bill. 
PHILIPPINES.—An expedition has been sent in pursuit 
of a band of insurgents who rushed through the town of 
San Miguel de Mayomo, killing five Americans and cap¬ 
turing Capt. Roberts and two privates.It is re¬ 
ported that Major March’s troops overtook Aguinaldo's 
party 100 miles northeast of Vigan, killing an officer sup¬ 
posed to be the rebel leader, whose body was removed 
by his men.Volunteers in the Philippines will 
be withdrawn in June, 1901, and a force of 40,000 regulars 
maintained there. It is believed that over 10,000 Filipinos 
have been killed since the war began. 
CUBA.—May 31, it was announced that the Postal deficit 
is about $80,000.The third and last bulletin 
on the Cuban census has been issued. The total number 
of adult males is 417,993.W. H. Reeves, former 
Deputy Auditor, was arrested in Havana June 1, for com¬ 
plicity in the Neely frauds.Complaints are 
made that a military officer on Gen. Ludlow’s staff has 
been blackmailing Cubans extensively, the charge being 
made that he used his official position to extort money. 
The specific allegation is made that he levied tribute, 
said to amount to $4,000, on Havana dairymen, in consid¬ 
eration of not enforcing the military order requiring them 
to remove cows from the city to the country. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.-The City of Panama 
is threatened by Colombian rebels. The Machias is at 
Colon, and will land marines if necessary.Re¬ 
ports from China show that the Boxer outbreak is as¬ 
suming more serious proportions. A missionary station 
has been burned and eight Americans are reported miss¬ 
ing. Admiral Kemplf, commanding the United States 
cruiser Newark, reported June 5 that fighting had com¬ 
menced, and that he had landed more men. The State 
Department is in a quandary, owing to the pressure put 
upon it by churchmen to provide adequate protection for 
American missionaries. The American policy is strongly 
against concerted action with the other powers, but no 
other course seems open. Troops may be ordered to 
China from the Philippines.June 5, Lord Rob¬ 
erts and the British troops entered Pretoria. A sharp 
engagement was fought outside the city June 4, which 
resulted in the complete defeat of the Boers, who re¬ 
treated beyond the capital. The surrender of the city was 
unconditional. It is said that President Kruger took 
$10,000,000 in cash with him to Middleburg, and the wife 
of State Secretary Reitz took $750,000 in bar gold to Hol¬ 
land. The Boers captured a battalion of Irish Yeomanry 
at Lindley, the prisonex-s including the Earl of Leltx-im, 
the Earl of Longford, and the Earl of Ennismore. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Kansas farmers protest against 
the scheme .of a New York newspaper to transport sev¬ 
eral thousand of the idle men of that city to Kansas to 
assist in saving her 100,000,000 bushels of wheat. The 
farmers declai-e that they do not want men schooled in 
the “eight-hour-a-day” business, nor do they want agita¬ 
tors who would resort to strikes in harvest fields. Kan¬ 
sas farmers work in the harvest field from sunrise to sun¬ 
set, and often into the night. They say New York’s idle 
men would come not to do faithful work, but to plant 
the seeds of discord. 
Arrangements have been completed by William R. 
Shelby, George W. Cass and others of Chicago, owners 
of 1,000 acres of Kankakee Valley land, near Crown Point, 
Ind., under the name of the Lake Agricultural Company, 
to build an immense sugar beet factory at Shelby, on the 
Kankakee River. Stock amounting to $300,000 has all 
been subscribed and men are busy planting hundreds of 
aci'es of beets. It is reported that Nelson Morris, of 
Chicago, and John Brown, of Crown Point, who own 
10,000 acres each, will engage in beet-raising also. 
June 4, representatives of Pennsylvania dairy interests 
visited Governor Stone, to request the resignation of Sec¬ 
retary of Agriculture John Hamilton, and the appoint¬ 
ment of Jason Sexton to be Dairy and Food Commis¬ 
sioner. Master W. F. Hill, of the State Grange, said it 
was a peculiar fact that while the State of Pennsylvania 
and the State of New York have the same oleomargax'ine 
laws, there has been a difference in the administration. 
Statistics show that in the past year 11,000,000 pounds of 
oleomargarine had been sold in Pennsylvania, as against 
222,000 pounds sold in New York. In closing, he warned 
the Governor in a tone that was almost a threat, that if 
there is not a change in affairs very shortly there will 
be a x-evolution when the Legislatui'e meets next year. 
The National Livestock Association is urging discrimi¬ 
natory tariff on German goods, in retaliation for the Ger¬ 
man Meat bill. Representative Bailey, of Kansas, has 
introduced a bill in the House asking an increase of 10 
per cent duty on all German goods, after the Meat bill 
becomes operative. All the livestock States are deeply 
interested in this legislation. 
Reports from Kansas state that both the Hessian fly 
and an unfamiliar insect, said to be some form of plant 
louse, are damaging wheat severely. 
Belgian hare breedei's have organized in Kansas. There 
are 18 charter members, with 300 hares, valued at $5,000. 
The annual meeting of the Oregon Wool-growers’ A.sso- 
Census Taker : “ Have you a mortgage on your property ? ” 
Uncle Sam : “ Well--er--I believe that I have a considerable 
incumbrance.”- Philadelphia Record. 
ciatioxx was held at The Dalles May 26. The following 
officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, F. 
N. Jones; secretary, F. W. Wilson; treasurer, D. M. 
French. A number of new members were admitted to 
the Association. It is said that owing to favorable con¬ 
ditions during the past year the Oregon and Washington 
fleeces of tnis season’s clip are exceptionally fine in 
quality. 
Summer field meetings of the Connecticut Pomological 
Society are being arranged. This Society stands among 
those i - eceiving second awards for exhibits of fruits at 
the Paxis Exposition. 
A session of the Pennsylvania State Board of Agricul- 
tui'e began June 6 at Lock Haven, with 100 delegates in 
attendance. 
Prof. Atkins, of the Michigan Agricultural College, has 
had the sight of his left eye destroyed by a chemical ex¬ 
plosion. 
AN INDUSTRIAL HOME IN CUBA. 
Cheap Rations for Children. 
We have referred several times to the industrial home 
for Cuban orphan children which was established at 
Matanzas, Cuba, by Mr. E. E. Hubbard. The following 
letter from Mr. Hubbard will prove interesting to many 
readers: 
When you want to take care of a large number of 
children at a small expense, and with a comparative¬ 
ly small amount of lalbor, come to Cuba. Here they 
can be out of doom with bare feet every day in the 
year, can sleep with wide-open winkiows almost every 
night, need but a small amount of clothing, thrive on 
two simple meals a day, and occasion very few doc¬ 
tor bills. With Government help in the way of ra¬ 
tions and some other supplies, our Industrial Home 
has been established and has cared for an average 
of 44 children for 14 months at a cost of less than 
$1,500. The chief item of expense is rent. So many 
buildings are in ruins that vacant houses in good 
condition are very scarce. Rents will probably re¬ 
main high till the Island recovers itself, or until 
American enterprise puts up its own buildings. 
The rations we receive are rice, black beans, bacon, 
salt, condensed milk, flour, fresh beef anti canned 
soup. In addition to these things we use wheat, 
sweet potatoes, squash, cabbage and fruit. The 
wheat, which is sent to us from New York, is parched 
in a coffee-roaster, ground in a large coffee mill, and 
makes an excellent breakfast dish, better suited to 
the tropics than oatmeal. The main fruits within our 
reach are mangoes, oranges, bananas and guava jelly 
—mangoes cheap and delicious for a few weeks in the 
Summer, oranges 50 to 75 cents a hundred from 
November to Felbruary, bananas four to eight cents a 
dozen, and guava jelly aJbout seven cents a pound the 
year around. The Government beef is excellent, but 
I would much rather have the money that the beef 
costs the Government than the beef itself. For the 
two months of July and August last year, I had to 
buy all our food except 662 pounds of bread and aJbout 
$6 worth of fruit and vegetables. We used almost no 
meat, and the children did remarkably well on food 
that cost for 22 children and four adults only $60.75 
for the two months. Before we received beef and 
bacon, we used lard and olive oil to balance our ra¬ 
tions. I have tasted butter hardly a dozen times in 
as many months, and I don’t miss it here; condensed 
milk takes its place to some extent. The cost of pro¬ 
visions, when we have to buy them, is about as fol ¬ 
lows, per 25 pounds, prices in Spanish silver: Ride, 
90 cents; marrow beans, $1.50; black beans, $1; bread, 
$1.25; brown sugar, $1; salt, 38 cents; lard, $2.50; 
olive oil, $3; sweet potatoes, 25 cents, and Irish pota¬ 
toes, 60 cents. We have three kinds of money in use 
here: American money, Spanish gold and Spanish 
silver. An American dollar is equal to about $1.09 
Spanish gold, or $1.30 Spanish Silver. Retail prices 
are in Spanish silver, wholesale prices usually in 
Spanish gold, and Government transactions in Amer¬ 
ican money. Here is a problem for some of the 
youngsters. The price cf my railroad ticket was $5.86 
Spanish gold. I gave the agent a $10 bill, American 
money, and he gave me back my change in Spanish 
silver. How much did he give me? Such complica¬ 
tions in making change are common. I buy 25 pounds 
of sweet potatoes, and give the grocer a $1 bill, and 
he gives me back $1.05. 
Our 90 Brown Leghorn hens have been on Cuban 
soil for three weeks. They had a long journey, and 
were quite droopy for some days. From one egg the 
first day, they have gradually increased to about two 
dozen a day. It takes time for them to recover and 
get accustomed to the climate. The price of fresh 
eggs here now is 30 cents a dozen. That ought to be 
an inducement to an enterprising hen. I should like 
very much to know of a correspondence school that 
teaches natural history and makes a specialty of 
fleas. Mr. Flea and I have been closely associated 
since I came to CUba. In some respects I know him 
well, but there are still many secrets in his life of 
which I am painfully ignorant. How rapidly does he 
multiply? How many of his family must be slaugh¬ 
tered in order to make any perceptible thinning out 
of his ranks? Could he be induced under any condi¬ 
tions to make a change in his bill of fare? When 
you are tired of his company, is there any way of 
showing him the door? When you meet him on the 
street, or in the market-place, is it of any use to turn 
to him the cold Shoulder, or does he especially enjoy 
a cold lunch? I think I can understand the feelings 
of the experienced missionary who, when asked by a 
young theological student what he considered the 
greatest trial of the foreign missionary’s life, an¬ 
swered unhesitatingly, “Fleas.” They told me in 
Japan that the fleas were drawn up in a line on the 
coast waiting for each fresh foreigner to land. I 
lived in the interior, and I can testify that some of 
the most bloodthirsty or the Japanese fleas were not 
drawn up in a line on the coast. There is a chance 
for some one to win the everlasting gratitude of many 
foreign missionaries, and of some other people, by 
telling us how we can keep clear of these troublesome 
little fellows. 
The next time our friend in Brevities goes planting 
corn let him take warm water, pour that over his corn 
to warm it, then take his warm tar and mix; after that 
dry Paris-green (for mice, if they are troublesome), and 
ashes. a. p. 
Long Island. 
Sea Farming.—A reader on Cape Cod sends us this 
statement: “There are only four horses In this part of 
town. I keep hens and cows, and go fishing.” That 
will be strange reading for some of the western farmers, 
who cultivate wide tracts of land and count their stock 
by the hundred. “Hen, cows and Ashing!” That will 
seem like small business, and yet there is a good living at 
it. The “fishing” probably refers to work on the cod 
or mackerel fleets, which are busy during the Summer. 
It is such farming which, in the past, earned a good 
shai - e of the money which was sent West to develop 
that country. 
