1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
661 
Events of the IVeek. 
DOMESTIC.—Forest fires were burning over the Cas¬ 
cade and Coast ranges from British Columbia to Cali¬ 
fornia September 13. They destroyed millions of feet of 
lumber, farmhouses, barns and live stock. On Mill Plain, 
near Vancouver, eight farmhouses were burned. Tacoma 
and Olympia were in total darkness at noon, as a result 
of the heavy smoke. September 16, 38 bodies were found 
in the Lewis River Valley, Wash. The district was set¬ 
tled by 500 prosperous farmers, who lost all they had. 
Sixty persons camping out at Trout Lake, near the base 
of Mt. St. Helens, saved themselves by taking to the 
water on rafts. In Cowlitz County 140 sections of the 
finest timber were destroyed. The total losses in western 
Washington are estimated at fully $2,000,000. . . . Fire 
in a woolen plant at Bridgeton, N. J., September 12, 
caused a loss of $200,000.Corners in grain are 
forever made practically impossible by a decision handed 
down by Judge Chytraus in the Circuit Court, Chicago, 
September 13, if sustained by a higher court. The case 
was for an injunction asked by Waite, Thorburn & Co., 
against prominent commission houses in the recent July 
oats corner. The most important ruling is that the 
Chicago Board of Trade loses the power to pass on prop¬ 
erty rights where margins are involved, denying its au¬ 
thority to discipline members for refusing to put up 
called margins.The Danish post office has in¬ 
vited the postal authorities of other countries to consider 
the desirability of introducing^, “world’s reply stamp,” 
by the use of which correspondents in one country can 
prepay the reply to a letter from any other country. 
with international postage.A terrible gas and 
powder explosion occurred September 15 in the Big Four 
mine at North Fork, W. Va.; 16 men were killed. The 
explosion was caused by the accumulation of gas catch¬ 
ing fire from the lamp of a miner who was going to 
work, and this, in turn, firing six kegs of blasting pow¬ 
der that had been stored in the mines. The explosion 
knocked down all of the brattices for a quarter of a mile 
back toward the mine entrance, thus cutting out the 
air from the men imprisoned behind the debris. There 
had been a small gas explosion in the mine the day be¬ 
fore, which burned two mine mules to death, and Mine 
Superintendent A. J. Stewart had cautioned the men who 
worked in the mine not to attempt to work again until 
the air had been tested by a safety lamp, but they dis¬ 
regarded his caution, and went in.The coal 
strike in the United States is continuing favorably to 
affect the English iron market. One firm this week 
booked a single order for 20,000 tons of East Coast hema¬ 
tite for Pittsburg. In view of this shortage of American 
pig iron a large number of Midland and northern fur¬ 
naces are running on full time to meet American orders. 
.... One of the reservoirs supplying Utica, N. Y., 
with water burst Its walls September 16. Houses, barns 
and live stock were swept away, but there was no loss 
of human life; damage amounts to $125,000. 
ADMINISTRATION.—The deficiency in the Post Office 
Department for the year is about $1,307,000, and officials 
say it is near a paying basis.President Roose¬ 
velt has disapproved the acquittal of Captain Ryan, 
Fifth Cavalry, by court-martial on the charge of mis¬ 
conduct in the Philippines.The report of the 
Secretary of the Navy shows the growth of the navy 
since the Spanish War. The strength of enlisted men 
is now 34,750.For the present the State Depart¬ 
ment will look upon the order of the Russian Minister 
at Pekin to expel foreigners from Manchuria as one in¬ 
volving Russia, China and England alone. If it should 
appear later that there are some American prospectors 
in that country, it is not probable the decree would be 
enforced in their case, as in general terms it is aimed 
at the British and looks like a determination of Russia 
to retain control of the customs in Manchuria, while 
nominally recognizing Chinese sovereignty. . . . Sep-. 
tember 12 the battleship Wisconsin and the cruiser Cin¬ 
cinnati started for the Isthmus of Panama, where the 
Colombian revolution is causing serious danger. 
Secretary of the Treasury Shaw has made arrangements 
to relieve the money market by depositing $4,000,000 with 
National banks that have unpledged bonds and by antici¬ 
pating the October interest on bonds amounting to $4,200,- 
000. He says there is no occasion for alarm over present 
conditions. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—The continued drought 
in New South Wales has caused a scarcity of beef cattle, 
and horseflesh is being used quite freely.A 
Socialist Congress opened at Munich September 15, with 
205 delegates. The Bavarian authorities treat the mem¬ 
bers of Congress with courtesy, and permit them to 
display red decorations and inscriptions.An¬ 
other Boxer uprising is reported from the Province of 
Czechuen, China. Chentu, the capital of the Province, 
is in a state of siege, and the Boxers, who call them¬ 
selves the Lantern Society, urge the extermination of 
foreigners and native Christians. It is said that more 
than 300 Roman Catholic converts have been killed. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The seventeenth annual fair 
of the Westchester Co. (N. Y.) Society of Agriculture 
and Horticulture will be held at White Plains September 
29-30, and October 1-4, 1902; secretary, E. B. Long, White 
Plains, N. Y. 
The New York State Breeders’ Association has decided 
to hold its next meeting at Rochester, and has appointed 
a committee to arrange particulars. 
The New York State Dairymen's Association will hold 
its twenty-sixth annual convention at Jamestown De¬ 
cember 9-12. The secretary of the Association is W. W. 
Hall, Gouverneur, N. Y. 
The Connecticut Pomological Society will hold its fifth 
annual exhibition of fruits in connection with the seven¬ 
teenth annual fair of the Berlin Agricultural Society at 
Berlin, Conn., October 1-2. Secretary, H. C. C. Miles, 
Milford, Conn. 
A decision of interest to exporters of butter was made 
September 16 by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 
who holds that the addition of boric preservatives in 
limited quantities to fresh butter for the purpdse purely 
of preventing rancidity does not subject such butter to 
a tax of 10 cents a pound as renovated butter within the 
meaning of the act of the last Congress. The preserva¬ 
tive is used principally in butter exported to the tropics, 
where, without it, the product would soon become rancid, 
and a majority of orders from such countries are con¬ 
ditioned on its presence. 
On September 4 an organization of cooperative cream¬ 
eries was formed at Binghamton, N. Y., by the .election 
of the following officers: President, Dewitt C. Markham, 
Port Leyden, N. Y.; vice-president, Roger S. Searl, Mon¬ 
trose, Pa.; secretary, Wm. G. Hunt, Great Bend, Pa.; 
treasurer, O. G. Sawdey, Earlville, N. Y.; advisory com¬ 
mittee, Wm. M. Peck, Walton, N. Y.; B. A. Capron, 
Boonville, N. Y.; Ira L. Snell, Kenwood, N. Y.; Otis P. 
Moore, Roxbury, N. Y., and J. W. Ross, Smithboro, N. Y. 
THE TARIFF AND TRUST-MADE GOODS. 
How Patrons of Husbandry Stand. 
We have written the Masters of the State Granges ask¬ 
ing them to give a fair statement of the views of the 
members of their Order. Should the tariff be revised so 
that articles monopolized by a trust shall not be taxed? 
Our object was to obtain a fair idea of the views held by 
Grangers—removed as far as possible from any partisan 
bias. Below are given fair samples of the letters received: 
Too Close to Politics. 
I am not prepax-ed to speak for others. For myself, 
while I would like to see some changes made in our tariff 
laws, I doubt whether the time has come for a general 
remodeling of the tariff. This is too near a political 
question to be discussed in the Grange. 
Master Kansas Grange. e. w. westgate. 
Ready to Experiment in Pennsylvania. 
This has long been one of the strongest protection 
States. Since the institution of trusts with their power 
to control the price of their output, and largely so of 
their supplies used, we are disposed to believe that the 
tariff adjustment is responsible for the advantage they 
possess. We would like to see the experiment tried of 
putting some trust-controlled articles oix the free list. 
Master Pennsylvania orange. w. t. hill. 
Oregon Grangers Oppose Trusts. 
I am decidedly of the opinion that the tariff should be 
removed entirely from those articles which are con¬ 
trolled by trusts and monopolies. There should be a gen¬ 
eral revision of the tariff and the burden placed on the 
luxui'ies l-ather than the necessaries of life. I am fully 
satisfied that the more intelligent and progressive fann¬ 
ers, and especially the members of the Grange, are of 
the same opinion as myself in regard to this matter. It 
is a question of right and justice between man and man. 
Master Oregon Gi’ange. b. g. leedy. 
Growing Sentiment in Illinois. 
it is a well-known fact that Illinois has stood for pro¬ 
tection, but had the tariff question been stripped of par¬ 
tisan bias as it should have been, there is no doubt that 
the farmers would have been much closer together than 
they are to-day. In regard to trusts the Illinois State 
Grange has at different times gone on record against 
them, and is, 1 believe, willing to see any honorable mea¬ 
sure passed that will suppress them. While the Grange 
has not gone on record in favor of not protecting trust- 
made goods there is no doubt a growing sentiment that 
this is about the only way to control them. My opinion 
is that if such a resolution was presented at the lxext 
State Grange it would be carried with a big majority. 
Many who have been and are now allied to the protec¬ 
tion party are not in favor of that plank, unless some 
means can be devised whei'eby farm products will x'eceive 
the same share of protection as manufactured articles. 
Master Illinois Grange. Oliver Wilson. 
Common Sense from West Virginia. 
The Grange membership in West Virginia, as in all 
other States, is made up of people belonging to all the 
political parties, and in this State the membership is quite 
evenly divided between the two dominant parties. While 
this is true I feel sure there is but little or no difference 
of opinion upon the proposition that the tax'iff should be 
revised so that articles monopolized by a trust or com¬ 
bination should not be taxed, believing that the tariff 
should not protect monopolies, and that the common peo¬ 
ple should have the benefit of some competition in home 
products if not on foreign imports. I am inclined to 
think that our people believe in a tariff but oppose making 
it a means of oppression to the common people, or a 
breeder of trusts. I regret that purely economic ques¬ 
tions, like the tariff and trusts should have become in any 
sense partisan questions, and that they must stand or fall 
by the success or failure of one or another of the polit¬ 
ical parties. However, public sentiment is stronger than 
party in this country, and in the course of time any great 
injustice is likely to be righted. Were it otherwise the 
institution of government for the people by the people 
would be a dismal failure. t. c. atkeson. 
Master West Virginia Grange. 
Kentucky Farmers a Unit. 
It can be safely assumed that the farmers of Kentucky 
without regard to party affiliation are a unit in favor of 
such a revision of the tariff laws as shall absolutely de- 
prive all monopolies or trusts of the protection afforded 
them by the present tariff system. Complex as the views 
upon the general question of the tariff may be, improp¬ 
erly and unfortunately made a party issue as it has been 
in past years, all opponents of monopolies and trusts may 
find a strong and impregnable rallying point in the de¬ 
mand for such tariff revision as shall strike' a serious 
blow at the trust problem. The Order of Patrons Oi Hus¬ 
bandry has for over 30 years declared in its "declaration 
of purposes” and by resolution from its highest represen¬ 
tative body, its opposition to the “tyranny of monopo¬ 
lies” in whatever form it may appear. So far as 30 years’ 
of active work in Gi’ange interests can enable one to 
speak of Grange sentiment in connection with the ques¬ 
tion of the tariff divested of any political significance, 
but as it relates to the protection of monopolies and 
trusts, it may naturally be assumed that the farmers 
affiliated with the Grange in every State of the Union 
are a unit in favor of such revision. Kentucky is uncom¬ 
promisingly SO. E. P. WOLCOTT. 
Master Kentucky Gi’ange. 
The Feeling in Wisconsin. 
In Wisconsin, as I think in most other localities, we 
have a diversity of opinions upon both of these questions, 
and their inter-relations to each other. The former has 
so long been made the party shibboleth that it seems 
hard to get people to look at it from anything but a par¬ 
tisan standpoint; however, I think I can safely say that 
the Patrons of Wisconsin are generally in favor of a revi¬ 
sion in our tariff laws, whereby trust articles would be 
placed on the free list; and this from a rapid trust or¬ 
ganization wouid mean in the very near future absolute 
free trade. Personally, I am of the opinion that some 
other more just and equitable way of raising a revenue 
can be devised than by tariff, not but what I believe it has 
done much toward building up the country, but changed 
conditions, seem to make some other method imperative. 
Master Wisconsin Grange. a. c. powers. 
/I Cautious Position in New York. 
I am fully in accord with the proposition that the tariff 
should be revised so that all articles monopolized by 
trusts or combines should be regulated by some Federal 
law that would protect the common people, and prevent 
monopolies to be formed that would inflict burdens upon 
the people. This matter has not yet been very much dis¬ 
cussed by the Grange, only that in the National Grange 
platform of principles, at its last session, it declared it¬ 
self against any combinations that were enabled to take 
advantage of our tariff laws to Inflict hardships upon 
the common people. It seems to be a settled growing fea¬ 
ture in the Grange that something should be done to 
regulate these so-called trusts. Of course it is a question 
that involves a vast amount of money, and it will require 
persistent effort and a thorough organization to cope 
with it. I think that it is a subject that should be dis¬ 
cussed fully in the Grange from a non-partisan stand¬ 
point for the best interests of the people. 
Master New York Grange. e. b. norris. 
What Washington Grangers Say. 
Through a thorough discussion of the subject in a non¬ 
partisan way the policy of the Grange has long been that 
if we have protection for one protection for all. But the 
farmer has never been able to obtain any benefit, for the 
bulk of his crops are exported. Individually (and I think 
I voice the sentiment of a majority of the members) I 
believe that our policy should be the greatest good to the 
greatest number. Our country is so large, our interests 
so diversified, that what is for the benefit of one section 
is detrimental to some other. Trusts have multiplied to 
such an extent in the last few years as a result to a 
great extent of our tariff, that I have almost become a 
free trader. I certainly would place on the free list all 
products controlled by a trust. The only danger we need 
fear from free trade is the Asiatic nations. With their 
hordes of laborers willing to work for a few pence per 
day, once introduce our improved machinery there and 
we could not compete with them, for they are very quick 
to learn and are great imitators. This should not be a 
party question, and I think if the matter was placed in 
the hands of a committee of practical business men from 
all parties they would come nearer to the right thing 
than anything we have ever had. J. o. wing. 
Master Washington Grange. 
THE HAY CROP. 
Our correspondents state that the hay crop on tho 
whole will be as large as last year, but will consist prin¬ 
cipally of clover and clover mixed, and a low-grade Tim¬ 
othy hay. We believe that we shall have the smallest 
crop of No. 1 or even good Timothy hay that we have had 
in the last 10 years. carscallen & cassidy. 
Jersey City, N. J. 
The crop of hay in our neighborhood, comprising Ohio 
and Indiana, is very large, but the percentage of No. 1 
Timothy is not as large as it was last year. There is a 
great deal of clover and clover mixed, and much more 
of the hay was harvested in bad condition in proportion 
to last year. We are in constant communication with all 
parts of the two States, and base our opinion upon our 
regular correspondence. ellis & Fleming. 
Cincinnati, O. 
There is quite a large hay crop in Michigan this sea¬ 
son, we think fully as large as usual. The weather has 
been very favorable for the growth of everything in the 
way of grasses, and in many instances a second crop has 
been secured from the same meadow. Nearly all the hay 
will be below the usual standard, for we had almost con¬ 
tinuous rains during haying time, which prevented the 
farmers from properly curing their products. We should 
judge that more than half of the crop will be below the 
grade of No. 2 Timothy. There is some good hay in the 
State, of course, but that is being picked up at fancy 
prices. FERRIN BROTHERS CO. 
Detroit, Mich. 
While the sections that usually supply the New York 
and New England markets have a large crop this season, 
the quality of that in the United States will average 
much below that of the last few years. We look for 
bright-colored hay to sell higher than last season. Quebec 
has a better average crop than our United States sec¬ 
tions this year, and as New York and New England will 
be the best outlet for same, especially New England, we 
expect to see Quebec hay a large factor during the sea¬ 
son. The loss of the South African demand and poor 
prospects of favorable prices in the United Kingdom will 
force the Quebec hay into the States, regardless of $4 per 
2,240 pounds duty. the American hay co. 
New York. 
CONNECTICUT APPLES.—Our reports from the grow¬ 
ers figure up about 330,000 bushels for the whole State, 
and the quality of the fruit is very fine. Few if any 
sales are reported so far, but our growers expect good 
prices owing to short crop in other sections. 
Milford, Conn. h. c. c. miles. 
