1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Events of the Week 
DOMESTIC.—General Miles, In his annual report, dis¬ 
putes the theory that the abolition of the army canteen 
prevents enlistments and causes desertions. 
There is an epidemic of smallpox on the Kickapoo Reser¬ 
vation, near Hiawatha, Kan.A fire which 
started in a picture frame factory in Chicago, Ill., Octo¬ 
ber 30, made 75 families homeless, and caused damage 
amounting to $250,000.Forest fires were raging 
along the slope of mountains In Tazewell County, Va., 
between Graham and Flat Top Yards, October 31. The 
entire mountain was a sheet of flame, and a vast amount 
of fine timber and fences have been ruined. The flames 
have crossed from one side of the railroad and river to 
the other at numerous places.Yaqui Indians are 
on the warpath in Sonora, Mexico, recently attacking 
ranchers near Onaias, where they killed 30 persons. 
. . . . There is an epidemic of smallpox among Win¬ 
nebago Indians in northwestern Nebraska, and many of 
them are dying. An attempt was made to vaccinate 
them a month ago, but they rebelled against it. 
November 3, fierce forest fires were raging near Poplar 
Bluff, Mo.; the woods had been on fire three days, and 
farmers and stockmen, whose cattle and horses were in 
danger, turned out in force to fight the flames. 
November 3, a fire which started in a peg mill at Lisbon, 
N. H., destroyed a large part of the business section of 
the town; loss $100,000.The Jacob Dold packing 
establishment at Buffalo, N. Y., was destroyed by fire 
November 3; loss $100,000.Great alarm has been 
caused in St. Louis, Mo., by a number of cases of tetanus 
or lockjaw, 12 proving fatal. The disease appears to 
come from Infected antitoxin supplied by the city board 
of health for diphtheria cases, the serum being culti¬ 
vated for this purpose. The horse supplying it was af¬ 
fected with tetanus.The Pan-American Exposi¬ 
tion closed November 2. The Exposition has not been a 
financial success, but it is believed the benefits derived 
from it will be of great value to the commercial interests 
of the country. The financial loss will be in the neigh¬ 
borhood of $3,000,000, which will fall upon the holders of 
the common stock, the holders of second mortgage bonds, 
and the contractors who erected the buildings. The total 
number of admissions for the six months was close to 
8,000,000. An average of 2,000,000 a month had been figured 
on by the Exposition officials. The great snowstorm of 
last April was a severe blow to the Exposition. An im¬ 
mense amount of work was undone, and work on the 
grounds and buildings was delayed for a week. The 
lamentable tragedy in the Temple of Music, which robbed 
the nation of a beloved President, was another blow to 
the Pan-American. The attendance had been increasing 
steadily up to the date of the assassination of President 
McKinley. The gates were closed for two days, and 
when reopened there was a drop of 12 per cent in the at¬ 
tendance, and no improvement followed.What 
is said to be the strictest pure food law in the United 
States went into effect in New Jersey November 1. Its 
enforcement has been intrusted to the State Board of 
Health. Under it the office of State Dairy Commissioner 
is abolished and a chief food inspector substituted. There 
will be a large number of deputies throughout the State. 
Everything that can come into use for human consump¬ 
tion as food or drink, even including canned goods, is in¬ 
cluded under the law. It does not matter whether any¬ 
thing is manufactured or put up outside the State or in 
it.The most notable feature of the elections 
November 5 was the revolt of New York against Tam¬ 
many misrule. Seth Low, the Fusionist candidate, was 
elected with a plurality of nearly 30,000, and the entire 
city Fusion ticket went with him. This means the down¬ 
fall of Richard Croker, whose power over Tammany ap¬ 
pears to be at an end. The State was generally Repub¬ 
lican. Ohio went Republican, but apparently without 
gain; Iowa Republican with a big gain. Governor Cum¬ 
mins having a plurality of 90,000; Nebraska Republican 
with slight gain. Raw weather kept down the town and 
city vote, but the farmers turned out in the country dis¬ 
tricts in full force, though it had been feared that cold 
and snow would keep them at home. Democrats won in 
Virginia by more than 30,000 majority. The negroes did 
not go to the polls at all in many parts of the State, and 
there will be a decided falling off in the total number of 
votes cast. The failure of the negroes to vote is ascribed 
in part to the belief that their votes would not be counted 
if cast, and in part to fear that by voting they would 
assent to the endeavor of the Constitutional Convention 
to disfranchise them. The city of Richmond gave a Dem¬ 
ocratic majority of 6,000, a considerable part of which 
came from the region Inhabited almost exclusively by 
negroes. Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania 
went Republican, the machine politicians carrying Phila¬ 
delphia. Crane, Republican, was elected Governor of 
Massachusetts over Quincy, Democrat, by about the same 
plurality as a year ago. The vote was heavy. In Mis¬ 
sissippi, the only candidates were Democrats.A 
fire which started in a wholesale grocery store at Port¬ 
land, Me., November 6, spread to adjacent lumber 
wharves, and caused a loss of $250,000. 
ADMINISTRATION.—The Postmaster-General, in his 
forthcoming annual report, will ask for an appropriation 
of $6,000,000 for the maintenance and extension of the rural 
free delivery system. Fully 4,000,000 people are now 
served by the system, and 6,000 applications are on file 
for its extension to other communities. The encourage¬ 
ment which was given to the extension of the free rural 
delivery system under the Administration of President 
McKinley will be continued under President Roosevelt. 
In addition to the financial provision that is to be made 
for the new method of delivering mail to the remoter 
sections of the country, there is a strong prospect that 
the service will be placed under the civil service rules, 
and that the 5,600 carriers will be protected and retained 
in employment on the merit plan, and without regard to 
political infiuences. It will be several months no doubt 
before this will be done, but it is understood that the 
Civil Service Commission is already at work on the rules 
that will apply to the service. The fact that the rural 
carrier provides his own horse or automobile, as is the 
case in a few instances, requires a different examination 
from any other now in vogue. He is also expected to 
have an acquaintance with the region and the patrons to 
be served, and this makes necessary a more cabeful ex¬ 
amination and a certain degree of specialization of the 
questions to be asked of applicants.Rear Ad¬ 
miral Henry C. Taylor, the coming chief of the Naviga¬ 
tion Bureau, in a report submitted to the Navy Depart¬ 
ment upon the establishing of an immense naval station 
in the Philippines, estimates that the project will cost 
the Government $30,000,000, and perhaps $40,000,000. 
Lord Pauncefote, the British Ambassador, has notified 
Secretary Hay formally that the British Government ac¬ 
cepts the American proposition relative to the Clayton- 
Bulwer treaty as basis for a new treaty.The 
State Department has received telegraphic advices from 
Turkey and Bulgaria stating that Miss Stone and Madame 
Tsilka were alive and being treated well. Nothing defi¬ 
nite can be obtained respecting the progress of the nego¬ 
tiations which Consul General Dickinson is conducting 
with the brigands, except that they demand the full 
amount of the ransom fund. 
PHILIPPINES.—General Hughes reports the complete 
surrender of the insurgents in the Island of Cebu, con¬ 
sisting of 460 men and 60 officers, with 150 rifles and eight 
brass field pieces. The pouring of troops into the Island 
of Samar is believed to have had a good effect on the 
Cebu insurgents, who had been wavering for some time. 
The malcontents kept up the conflict by saying that a 
majority of the American troops had left the Philippines. 
.... Affairs in the Island of Bohol are very unsatis¬ 
factory, and more troops will be sent there.A 
plot to massacre the American garrison at Moncada, 
Province of Tarlac, Island of Luzon, has been revealed 
and the conspiratoi's arrested. Gen. Smith has ordered 
the deportation of Gen. Lukban, leader of the Samar 
rebels. In a fight near Catbalogan, Samar, recently a 
body of scouts under Lieutenant Gaujot killed 25 rebels, 
burned 175 houses and captured 5,000 pounds of rice and 
other supplies. 
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.—According to reliable 
reports received from Gen. Warren, 600,000 persons in the 
province of An Hui and 300,000 in the province of Kiang 
Su, China, are on the verge of starvation, and the famine 
is spreading. The available funds are insignificant. The 
Chinese have contributed $37,500 and the foreigners $7,500. 
A committee of the consuls is being formed to aid the 
sufferers.The revolution in Colombia continues, 
the revolutionists meeting with considerable success. 
Yellow fever is epidemic in some sections of Colombia. 
. . . . The flooding of mountain streams in Sicily has 
caused widespread damage, and 11 lives have been lost. 
.... A disaster to the British forces occurred in the 
eastern Transvaal November 1 in which several officers 
were killed or wounded, and 54 men were killed and 16U 
wounded.France is making hostile demonstraT 
tions against Turkey, and has captured three ports on 
the Island of Mitylene. The Sultan has ordered the 
speedy completion of defences at Turkish ports and at 
the entrance to the Dardanelles, the laying of mines and 
the mobilization of troops. A strong anti-French feeling 
prevails at Constantinople.During a recent 
storm on Lake Baikal, Siberia, scores of fishing boats 
were destroyed, and 170 men drowned. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The annual convention of the 
New York State Dairymen's Association, to be held at 
Glean December 11-12, will be a very important meeting. 
The exhibit of dairy products and dairy machinery will 
be eliminated this year. The reason for this is that these 
products have been so fully represented, both at the Pan- 
American Exposition and the State Fair, that a further 
exhibition among.the dairymen would impose an unneces¬ 
sary tax upon exhibitors. This enables the Association 
to coniine its energies to securing prominent speakers, 
and prepaiing a fine programme. The customary exhibi¬ 
tion will be resumed next year. 
The Missouri State Horticultural Society will hold its 
forty-fourth annual meeting at St. Joseph, Mo., December 
3-5. A fine exhibition is expected, and there will be a 
complete and instructive programme. 
The results in the model dairy contest of the Pan- 
..\.merican Exposition are announced by Frank A. Con¬ 
verse, Superintendent of the Live Stock Division, as fol¬ 
lows: Greatest net profit in butter fat—Guernseys, margin 
of $4.66. Greatest net profit in churned butter—Guernseys, 
margin of $5.86. Greatest net profit in solids—Holstein- 
Friesians, margin of $26.14. Greatest gam in live weight— 
Holstein-Friesians. 
O. E. Bradfute, the well-known Ohio breeder of Angus 
cattle and feeder of prime steers, will discuss beef cattle 
topics before the Pennsylvania Live Stock Breeders’ meet¬ 
ing at Pittsburg December 18 and 19, Breeders in Penn¬ 
sylvania and neighboring States should not fail to hear 
him and other authorities who will be on the programme. 
E. H. Webster, a graduate of the Iowa Agricultural 
College, has been appointed chief of the dairy dep^rt- 
ment of the Kansas Experiment Station. 
William Gray Storrs, one of the most prominent and 
respected citizens of Painesville, O., and owner of large 
interests in the Storrs & Harrison Co., of which he was 
vice-president and genei-al manager, died October 22. Mr. 
Storrs was born in Lapier, Cortland Co., N. Y., January 
19. 1840. In 1854 he went to Lake County, Ohio, with his 
brother, the late Horatio Storrs, and his father, Jesse 
Storrs, who founded the Storrs & Harrison nursery. He 
was educated in the Painesville high school, and spent 
his early life there assisting his father in the develop¬ 
ment of the new enterprise. August 22, 1861, he enlisted 
in Company G, Second Ohio Cavalry, and served until 
September 17, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. 
The early part of his service was in the Western army 
at Fort Scott and at Indian Territory. He returned to 
Ohio in December, 1862, and recruited through the Winter 
at Columbus. Leaving April 6, 1863, he went to Kentucky 
and joined the Army of the Cumberland, operating 
through that State until Fall, when he went with Burn¬ 
side to Tennessee, being among the first to occupy Knox¬ 
ville. Later, engaged with Longstreet’s forces in Vir¬ 
ginia, he suffered many hardships. In April, 1864, he 
joined the Army of the Potomac, and in May was with 
Grant’s army in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsyl- 
vania and Cold Harbor, la August, 1S64, Mr. Storrs be¬ 
came blind with erysipelas, and after much difficulty se¬ 
cured his removal to Cleveland, where he recovered. 
Then in December, 1864, he again joined his regiment and 
continued in the service until the close of the war. Mr. 
Storrs was held in the highest esteem by all with whom 
777 
• 
he was associated, and his untimely death is deeply re¬ 
gretted. He leaves a widow and four daughters. 
The annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Dairy Union 
will be held at York, Pa., December 4-5. A number of 
prominent speakers will be present, including Dr. W. H. 
Jordan, of the New York Experiment Station; Prof. 
Voorhees, of the New Jersey Experiment Station; Prof. 
Hills, of the Vermont Experiment Station, and many 
others. Secretary, H. Hayward, State College, Centro 
Co., Pa. 
Lnd of the Dairy lest at Buffalo. 
The great test of dairy cows at the Pan-American Ex¬ 
position came to an end on October 31. The Guernseys 
won on net profits on butter fat, and also on the net 
proiits on churned butter. The Holsteiiis won on total 
solids and also on gain in live weight. The margin of 
the Guernseys was very small, while the Holstelns in 
their classes had a good lead, thus proving themselves 
excellent general-purpose cows. We shall have the pith 
of the whole thing 
soon. 
The corrected 
figures 
for the 
fuil six months are 
given below; 
Butter Churned 
Total 
Solids (& 
auueu 
lau 
butter. 
solius. 
weigliL. 
Guernsey . 
$8::u.37 
$292.(0 
$206.69 
J ersey . 
Ayrshire . 
214.91 
291.02 
297.19 
212.91 
23o. (9 
242.24 
Hoistein . 
192.66 
262.14 
2'(3.8'( 
Red Poll . 
.. i9V.80 
191.63 
291.61 
212.98 
Brown awiss . 
.. 183.U8 
1(6.63 
29(.69 
213.63 
I'rench-oanadian .. 
.. 1^6.34 
181.81 
182.(6 
191.49 
Short-ihorn . 
164. V ( 
290.6 ( 
229.V3 
Boiled Jei’sey . 
160.U9 
140.38 
153.63 
Dutch Belted . 
.. 116.94 
111.96 
143.66 
154.94 
Of individual cows a Guernsey made 
the largest in- 
dividual profit on butter, making $59.40. A Red Poll cow 
was second, a Guernsey third, and a Jersey fourth. As 
we have mentioned before, butter was reckoned at 25 
cents a pound and total solids figured at nine cents, while 
the gain in live weight was estimated at three cents. 
farm Conditions in Nebraska. 
I live in the fertile West, where chemicals and fer¬ 
tilizers are unknown except those found in the manure 
pile, which is always accessible in the towns free of cost, 
and many even hire it drawn out into the country and 
dumped by the roadside. Yes, we raise clover here, but 
not to any great extent, but the acreage is increasing 
yearly. Prairie grass furnishes us our hay and pasture. 
Alialta is not altogether a success here. Our principal 
crops are corn and wheat. Cattle raising and feeding ai’e 
important industries, also the raising of hogs. This is 
not a dairy country. We can and do raise some fine fruit 
here, in fact all kinds except those of the tropics. I 
notice in the article from c, E. Chapman that he has 
an idea that we, in the West, are "in the mud " most of 
the year. I want to say that we are not bothered in 
that respect in Nebraska. i>'ew farmers are compelled to 
wait longer than a day alter the heaviest rain before 
back again in the field. As to roads, we do not need any 
crushed stone, as our soil packs hard when traveled 
upon for any length of time, and any farmer's team can 
haul from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds to market easily, I be¬ 
lieve in the theory of "a little farm well tilled,’’ and that 
the inlensive and not the exlmaive farmer will be the pros¬ 
perous one in the end. c. v. d. 
Tecumseh, Neb. 
MUk Prices. 
The New York Milk Exchange has I’aised the price to 
the producer to three cents per quart. This is the same 
as last year, but the increase then was made the last of 
September. This price is usually called net to the pro¬ 
ducer in the 26-cent freight zone, but there are other 
icenis which must be deducted, such as ferriage ahd ex¬ 
penses at receiving stations where such charges are made. 
November prices at eastern condenseries are a trille 
higher. At Middletown and Johnsons it is nine cents per 
can more, and at Walton four cents, while at Elgin, Ill., 
the price is the same as that of the New York Exchange, 
and for the year it averages one-fifth cent per quart 
less than at the highest eastern condenseries. The Phila¬ 
delphia Exchange price is four cents per quart, from 
which an average of one-half cent freight must be taken. 
California has a boom in sales of vegetables to the 
Middle West this year. The drought cut the crop short 
in a large section of this territory, which ordinarily pro¬ 
duces most of its own vegetables. The potato crop in 
the vicinity of Sacramento is large, and shipments are 
now being made to Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and 
Texas. The onion crop of California and Oregon is large, 
but the demand is heavy and prices are advancing. 
THE QUAKER IDEA OF HONESTY.—An item in your 
issue of November 2 on editorial page arrested my at¬ 
tention yesterday, and I thought your attention ought 
to be called to it. The point of the article is to warn 
farmers against swindlers who try to get money from 
them by pretending to want to buy their farms at fancy 
prices. This is right, but in the case noted the act of 
the farmer in breaking his agreement to sell was a much 
more venal act than the other. As it reads, because he 
was offered more money over night he deliberately con¬ 
cluded to break his contract, made in good faith (as 
far at least as the farmer then knew or believed), prob¬ 
ably intending to take advantage of the fact that it was 
a verbal agreement only, not in writing or under notarial 
seal, that the other was a stranger to the neighborhood, 
and would not be believed before the farmer’s friend. 
Squire -, etc. That he had to lose $1,500 was the 
result of his doing a wrong act, not the swindler or his 
friend. Your article says naught of this and in no way 
censures the act. That this should go out to your thou¬ 
sands of readers as having your editorial sanction I can 
hardly believe you Intend. It seems to me it was a case 
of the biter who was bitten, and in no way is the farmer 
entitled to any sympathy. I am a farmer, and also in 
the real estate business, and here in Pennsylvania 
among us Quakers, a man who would refuse to sell 
after a contract was made verbally or written because 
he had a better offer, would be ostracised, as he ought 
to be. Whatever it may do for New York, it would not 
do here, neither, as “said Jno. P. Robinson he, that 
ain’t the way they did down in Judee.’’ It is a bad ex¬ 
ample for my four boys or any other man’s boys who 
read it. samuel c. eastburn. 
Pennsylvania.. 
