1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
4o5 
HOW »AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONERS” 
ARE MADE. 
DOWN IN THE DREGS OF POLITICS 1 . 
I have long been a reader and admirer of The R. 
N.-Y., fully believe that its “ editorial declarations * * * 
are * * * invariably * * * based upon truth and dic¬ 
tated by a, spirit of fairness,” and I can’t see such a 
criticism as that of Mr. John T. Roberts, on page 357, 
of May 23, pass unnoticed. His suggestion “ that the 
writer of the article relating to the new Commissioner 
of Agriculture, must have been uninformed of cer¬ 
tain facts preliminary to the appointment,” shows 
conclusively that he himself does “ not know much ” 
(anything) “regarding the appointment itself”. I have, 
doubtless, been a member of the Grange much longer 
than Mr. Roberts, as, when I joined it, there were 
not 300 members in the State. I have a very high 
opinion of the organization and the work it is doing, 
and I do not wish to see any cloud put upon its good 
name. For that reason, I wish to State some facts 
regarding the appointment of Mr. Wieting as Com¬ 
missioner, and show how the Grange became involved 
in the matter. 
Away back in the fall of 1894, Mr. D. F. Wilber, of 
Oneonta, was urged to become a Republican candidate 
for Member of Congress in the strongly Democratic 
district including Schoharie County. As an induce¬ 
ment, Tom Platt, as the boss, promised that, if he 
would do so, and put enough money into the canvass 
to be elected, he might, in case Gov. Morton was 
elected, name the Commissioner of Agriculture for 
this State. Wieting’s name was not mentioned; neither 
was a word said about the Grange. Wilber had, m 
Cobleskill, a warm Democratic friend, who was a good 
deal of a wire puller, and who was also a friend of 
Wieting, a wire-pulling Republican of the same town. 
In consideration of this Democrat turning in and help¬ 
ing to carry the district for Wilber, the scheme was 
concocted of naming Wieting for Commissioner, that 
he might give a good place to the renegade Democrat. 
At the State Fair at Syracuse, in September, 1894, 
Wilber, Wieting and this Democrat called a number 
of the members of the Grange and farmers’ institute 
workers into consultation, and parceled out the best 
places in the Department, provided Morton should be 
elected and certain things could be brought about. 
One of the things to be done, was that F. E. Dawley 
of Fayetteville, then Secretary of the Central New 
York Grange, should secure the indorsement of as 
many Granges as possible, for Wieting. Accordingly, 
he sent to many, if not all, the Granges of the State, 
a shrewdly worded letter, by means of which, many 
members, who happened to know something of 
Dawley, but nothing whatever of Wieting, were mis¬ 
led as to his qualifications, and did indorse him by 
resolution or letter. Mr. Roberts is not well posted, 
or else he intended to mislead, for the fact is that 
very many of the wisest and best posted members of 
the Grange, including many of the officers and ex¬ 
officers of the State Grange, after meeting Wieting 
and seeing his utter lack of the qualifications fitting 
a Commissioner of Agriculture, withdrew their 
indorsement and some of the more conscientious, like 
the ex-chairman of the Executive Committee, wrote 
personal letters to the Governor protesting against 
his appointment as eminently unfit to be made. 
His insinuation that several other candidates, know¬ 
ing that Gov. Morton had made a pledge that the 
Commissioner should be a member of the Grange 
(which I don’t believe), had “obtained election to the 
order,” is a gross slander upon Mr. Wyekoff and Mr. 
Brundage, who had been members much longer than 
Mr. Wieting, and either of whom would have made 
a better Commissioner. 
Mr. Roberts's statement, “I fail to see the justice of 
an accusation to the effect that Mr. Wieting’s appoint¬ 
ment was dictated by politicians,” simply shows to 
one who knows the facts, that he doesn’t know any¬ 
thing about the matter. The facts are that only a 
few days before the nomination was sent to the 
Senate, Gov. Morton assured some of the leading 
farmers of this State, and members of the Grange, 
also, that he would not appoint Mr. Wieting. That 
the name sent in should be of a well-known, practical 
farmer. Just then, Mr. Wilber came up to Albany 
from Washington, and Mr. Platt’s son came from 
New York, bearing a message from the boss, and 
they insisted that, if the Governor had not made the 
promise personally to allow Mr. Wilber to name the 
Commissioner, he had known of Platt’s making it, 
and they would hold him to a fulfillment of the 
pledge. Not one of these was a member of the 
Grange, and not a word was said about the Grange. 
It does seem as though politicians dictated the 
nominee. 
Although a member of the Grange, I agree fully 
with The R. N.-Y., that “Gov. Morton had no busi¬ 
ness ” (or right) “ to tie himself up with promises and 
pledges.” “ The Grange is a worthy institution ;” I 
am proud of it, but as you say, “ A great ma jority of 
the farmers of New York do not belong to the Grange 
at all; ” and I have always felt as though ours was a 
work of love, that our highest object was to benefit 
all the farming class. I question the right to insist 
that one of our members should be selected in prefer¬ 
ence to a better man who did not happen to belong to 
the order. It seems to me that when we do so, we are 
taking the Grange out of its proper sphere. That we 
are doing it a vital injury, and very greatly lessening 
its power for good, by showing to the outsiders that 
we are lowering it to the level of the ordinary poli¬ 
tician, and prefer the selection of a member, even at 
the sacrifice of better men. That, instead of demand¬ 
ing ability in a candidate and efficient service, we pre¬ 
fer a member of the Grange, even though of acknowl¬ 
edged unfitness. Such a course is unfortunate, and 
every honest Patron must admit that it would be a 
mistake. j. B. B. 
More Light on a Dark Subject. 
I notice in The R. N.-Y. of May 23, an article by 
John T. Roberts, in which he censures The R. N.-Y. 
for the editorial upon the appointment of the present 
Commissioner of Agriculture, by saying that the 
writer of the article “must have been uninformed of 
certain facts preliminary to the appointment.” He 
then gives certain reasons why the appointment was 
made, but omits “those certain facts preliminary” 
which were the basis for the opposition of those who 
have been so closely identified with the agricultural 
interests of the State. It is no secret that, during the 
holding of the State Fair in Syracuse in the fall of 
1894, the present Commissioner met a few men 
at the Globe Hotel, and imparted to them the infor¬ 
mation that he was to be the next Commissioner of 
Agriculture. That the arrangements were all made, 
but at the same time, he would be pleased to have the 
support of, at least, a few who were in close touch 
with the agricultural interests of the State, and as a 
reward they should be taken care of. That he had 
recently been in New York, where he had a confer¬ 
ence with Mr. Platt, and from whom he had received 
positive assurance that he should receive the appoint¬ 
ment for and in consideration of the political work 
which he had done in Schoharie County. 
The question was asked him, what Mr. Platt had to 
do with so important an appointment. He replied 
that Mr. Morton realized that he owed his nomination 
to Mr. Platt, and that he would be in duty bound to 
meet Mr. Platt’s wishes. It was at this time that the 
scheme for working the Grange was planned, and 
through certain influences, some of the Granges be¬ 
came petitioners, which I doubt would have been the 
case had the full facts been placed before them. These 
are the “ certain facts preliminary to the appoint¬ 
ment,” which Mr. Roberts did not give, and of which, 
undoubtedly, he was not informed. The appointment 
has justified the statement made two months before 
Mr. Morton was elected Governor, that, “ What 
Platt says goes!” that political debts must be paid 
regardless of the importance of agriculture ; that Mr. 
Wieting was given the position to pay a political 
debt; that Mr. Platt has fulfilled his part of the con¬ 
tract. Think of it, brother farmers ! The man in 
whom we have placed implicit confidence, has traded 
away the best and most important office within his 
gift, to pay a political debt for T. C. Platt! 
How long, Oh, Israel, how long I A. r. Eastman. 
Ah AGE OF ELECTRICITY. 
WHAT DOES IT PROMISE ? 
In The R. N.-Y. of May 23, we spoke of the Elec¬ 
trical Exposition then being held in this city. It 
closed the last day of May, but public interest con¬ 
tinued to increase as it neared the end, and the 
immense hall was literally packed every night. This 
serves to show the great interest evinced in this won¬ 
derful force, and in its latest applications in the 
industrial world. None but an expert could correctly 
describe and explain the myriads of devices shown, 
and the uninitiated would have difficulty in under¬ 
standing the details if explained. But any one can 
see the “ wheels go ’round,” and can see the actual, 
practical work accomplished. It is a mystifying 
power, doing its work silently, yet effectively. 
The common incandescent and arc lights used for 
illumination, both in and outdoors, are very familiar, 
probably, to most of our readers. They have many 
advantages over other ordinary methods of illumina 
tion, especially when lights are used for decorative 
purposes. They can be advantageously used where- 
ever a wire can be run, and are safe, clean and more 
easily controlled. Boats are illuminated, the elec¬ 
tricity being generated by the same engine that fur¬ 
nishes the motive power. Some of the ferry boats in 
the harbor have different colored electric lights 
arranged on the walking beams, and the effect on a 
dark night is a pretty one. Large signs are erected 
at conspicuous points, the letters being outlined by 
electric light globes, sometimes of different colors. 
Sometimes the current is turned on and off at inter¬ 
vals, the brilliant sign flashing out suddenly where a 
moment before all was darkness ; this is sure to 
attract instant attention. 
At the exposition, a new application of the electric 
current for lighting was shown. As many visitors as 
could squeeze into a perfectly dark room, were 
admitted, the curtains were drawn, and the room 
became illuminated with a white light much resem¬ 
bling daylight in appearance. Luminous glass tubes 
could be seen running along the ceiling, which were, 
evidently, the source of light; but there was no glare 
as from an ordinary lamp, and one could read ordi¬ 
nary print as easily as in broad daylight. 
The electric light promises to be a great aid in medi¬ 
cine and surgery. The X rays enable the surgeon 
to see at a glance the character and extent of any 
dislocation or fracture of any of the bones of the 
human frame. By illuminating the interior of the 
body, the condition of the different organs may be 
seen. Only a few days ago, a child’s life was saved 
through its aid. A tube had slipped down the child’s 
throat, was shown up clearly, thus being removed with¬ 
out difficulty or danger. Dentists have a great helper, 
and are enabled to detect and locate any imperfec¬ 
tions in the teeth, as well as to use the easily-regulated 
current in operating their delicate instruments. Of 
course, many of these appliances are not yet fully 
developed, and have hardly passed the experimental 
stage ; yet enough has already been accomplished to 
make one wonder what the end will be. 
As a motive power, electricity has a wide field. The 
immense force developed by the cataract at Niagara, 
has been harnessed, and will be widely distributed. 
It is measured by hundreds of thousands of horse 
power, and will turn the wheels in hundreds of mills 
and factories. Any one wishing power, can connect 
with this source, and buy his electric power the same 
as he would buy gas, paying in proportion to what he 
uses. At the exposition, was shown a model of a canal 
boat propelled by electricity like the boats on a sec¬ 
tion of the Erie Canal, which is to be equipped for 
this purpose. It seems the most feasible solution of 
the canal traction problem yet devised. 
The application of electricity to the propulsion of 
street cars is widespread. It has created almost a 
revolution in many localities. Not only is it used in 
towns and cities, but such cars are invading country 
places, bringing villages nearer together, breaking 
the isolation of farming communities, and bringing 
them into closer touch with the outside world. Most 
cities are equipped with trolley lines, in which the 
power is communicated to the cars from a wire strung 
on poles. Strange as it may seem, New York has 
none of these except in some of the annexed districts. 
A number of years ago, cars run by electricity from 
storage batteries were tried, but for some reason, were 
not adopted. Experiments are now in progress, and 
with good promise of success, that look toward the 
equipping of our great steam railroads with electric 
locomotives that shall attain a speed compared with 
which the Empire State Express, the Royal Blue, or 
the Black Diamond Express, shall appear like slow 
freights. We are living in a fast age, and electricity 
promises to make it still faster. 
But what of the farm and the farmer ? The R. N.- 
Y. has already told how the Hale Brothers send their 
peaches to market by electricity. These easily con¬ 
structed and inexpensive roads may be widely ex¬ 
tended, and reach almost every farm. A man may 
have a switch, and a line leading to his barns, where 
he may load his grain or other products. He may, 
from the same wire that furnishes the motive power, 
divert a current to operate his thrashing machine, 
fanning mill, corn sheller, saw, churn, separator or 
any other machinery. He may light his buildings, or 
cook his dinner from the same wire. The wife can 
run the sewing machine, the washer, or iron the 
clothes. When the storage battery is perfected, as it 
doubtless will be, he can equip his wagon, his sulky 
plow, his wheel harrow or harvester, and guide them 
where he will. Who knows but the farmer of th 
next century, instead of taking to town his greasy old 
oil can to get it filled with kerosene, will, instead, 
speed in on a trolley car, with his storage battery, 
and order from the central station, so many volts of 
pure condensed electricity, Niagara brand ? If the 
horse business is flat, now, what will it be when that 
time comes ? 
BUSINESS BITS. 
TntED of pitching hay on that high wagon, are you ? Better in¬ 
vestigate the Handy, All-Steel truck made by the Bettendorf Axle 
Co., Davenport, la. It’s indestructible, strong, easy on team, and 
reasonable in price. Send for catalogue. 
Tax hay crop will be light this year, in many localities, and 
farmers will have to provide bulky feeds from other sources. 
Mangels, carrots, turnips, corn and millet will serve well to till 
in the gap in the hay crop. Henry A. Dreer, 714 Chestnut Street, 
Philadelphia, Pa., has anticipated the farmers’ wants in this 
direction, and is prepared to fill orders for anything in this line 
by the pound, bushel or quantity, 
