1000 
THE RURAL N E’W'-YORKER 
479 
WHEAT PRICES AND WHEAT GROWING. 
Grain gamblers in Chicago have been able to corner 
wheat so that the price has run up to the highest 
point in years. Last week it averaged 40 cents a 
bushel higher than for the corresponding date last 
year. The result is a great increase in price of flour. 
Bakers are forced to increase the price of bread or 
decrease the size of the loaf. No large quantities 
of wheat are being sold by farmers. The crop seems 
to have left their hands. Speculators and dealers 
will make whatever profit there is in this deal. It 
appears to be a pure case of gambling, at great loss 
to the American people. Congress seems to be pow¬ 
erless to act in any way that would really help. A 
proposition has been made to take the tariff off Ca¬ 
nadian wheat and thus prevent such corners by in¬ 
creasing the supply of grain. In France the tariffs 
on grain and other foods are arranged on a sliding 
scale. In heavy crop years when prices rule low the 
tariff is raised so as to protect the home market. In 
a short crop year with very high prices, the tariff is 
removed—to protect the people. That is an excel¬ 
lent principle wherevthere must be a tariff, but it is 
not likely that Congress will pay any attention to it. 
With a tariff commission such things could be 
quickly arranged, and the poor could* not be held up 
for the price of bread with large stores of wheat 
over the line in Canada. 
'file fact is that the world’s supply of wheat is 
shorter than in years at this season. Population is 
increasing, and nations which in former years rarely 
tasted flour are now demanding it. There has been 
no great increase in wheat supplies. While the pres¬ 
ent extraordinary increase in wheat prices is not 
justified, there is no reason to expect a return to 
the low prices of a few years ago. All grain must 
in the future bring high prices. The demand for 
wheat flour is not confined to the towns and cities. 
We are safe in saying that a majority of the farmers 
east of Buffalo, buy all or part of the wheat flour 
used in their families. The time has come when 
eastern farmers can well afford to raise more grain. 
They went out of grain-growing when wheat brought 
75 cents and corn 40. Now they can well afford to 
get back again. We have been urging farmers to 
plant all the corn they can care for properly. Plow 
old meadows and pastures and use fertilizers to grow 
corn. .With good culture much of this ground will 
then be fit for wheat seeding, and by using more 
fertilizer a good crop can be grown. Now is the 
chance for many a farmer to work back into grain 
farming at a profit_ 
It lias been supposed that there was no full substi¬ 
tute for American hickory wood in carriage making. It 
is now claimed that the Crow’s-foot elm, grown in Aus¬ 
tralia. is fully equal to hickory. 
TAXES IN ENGLAND. 
The British government derives a revenue of 
nearly $95,000,000 yearly from death duties or inher¬ 
itance taxes. 1 his is for a population of about 44,- 
000,000 and a little over 67,000 estates with a gross 
value of $1,527,587,459. No death tax is levied on 
less than $500. The rates run from one per cent 
up to $2,500 to 10 per cent on $3,750,000 to $5,000,- 
000. Thus if a man die and leave $5,000,000 the 
state takes $500,000 of it. If he is so unfortunate 
as to leave $15,000,000 the state takes in all $2,000,- 
000 or 15 per cent of all after the first million. 
There are in England 25 estates of $2,500,000 or 
more. I he bulk of the tax comes from estates of 
$50,000 or more. In 1908 there were 3,945 of such 
estates which provided nearly 70 per cent of the 
total tax. It is evident that unless these estates in¬ 
creased in value from one generation to another the 
property would in time pass to the government. As 
it is the British government now collects $168,668,- 
02.i from income taxes, which, with the death taxes, 
makes more than half the total internal revenue! 
President Taft suggested an inheritance tax in con¬ 
nection with the present tariff bill, but Congress 
seems inclined to dodge it. Such a tax is easiest 
to collect and easiest upon the public of any form 
of taxation. What any man may collect during 
his lifetime is really a gift from societv, or in rare 
cases good payment for. services rendered. When 
the holder can no longer use it. should not society 
justly claim a share? This share would involve no 
serious loss or burden upon the heirs to a large 
estate. The truth is that most of them would be 
better off if they had nothing except what they are 
willing to work for and earn. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—After being marooned in the snow on the 
summit of the Rockies in Colorado for four days sev¬ 
enty-five passengers got away April 14. by walking two 
t«, a «'«* For three nights 7 they shmt in 
day coaches and subsisted on provisions taken from the 
express ear and from a freight train stalled near "hem 
iheie was plenty of coal and the cars were steam 
heated. . . Gov. Campbell, of Texas Anril 14 an- 
P r ,° ved IImcU 11 p;,sstHl at the regular session of the legis- 
atun which fixes the minimum penalty for violating 
•Vt'Vl Win ari 'Phi ri h S - t ii IilW at , * 500 ? fia - v and the maximum 
at $l,o00. the bill was drawn by Attorney-General Da¬ 
vidson, who expects that the heavy penalty will deter 
trusts from operating in Texas. . . . The Kenilworth 
Inn, near Asheville, N. C., was destroyed by fire April 
14loss, $200,000. There were some narrow escapes 
among the seventy-five guests. ,T. M. Gazzant, owner of 
the mn, was fatally hurt by jumping from a window 
, • : • I ' i . re at Elyria, Ohio. April 14 destroyed the 
rheatrc atl<l somo business buildings; loss. 
Jiuo.ooo. Gov. Johnson, of Minnesota, signed 
the anti-cigarette hill April 15 and no cigarettes may be 
sold in that .State after August 1. . . Indictments 
were returned at Topeka, Kan.. April 16. by the Federal 
grand jury against the Cudahy Packing Company of Kan¬ 
sas City, Kan., on 737 counts for defrauding the govern¬ 
ment out of $80,000 by violations of the internal reve¬ 
nue laws. The charge is that it defrauded tile Govern¬ 
ment of more than $ 80,000 in revenues on oleomargarine. 
The minimum fine on each of the 73 counts is $1,000 
The revenue law provide* that each pound of umolored 
oleomargarine must bear a revenue stamp of a quarter of 
a cent, hut that each pound to which coloring matter 
lias been added to give it the appearance of butter, a 
ten-cent revenue stamp must be attached. It is charged 
in the indictments that the Gudahy Packing Company has 
sold the colored product under the quarter of a cent 
tax It is claimed by the Government officials that the 
Cudahy company has succeeded in monopolizing (lie oleo¬ 
margarine market by selling the colored product and pay¬ 
ing the tax on the basis of uncolored. District Attorney 
Rone will bring a civil action in the Federal Court against 
the company to have the plant and machinery used in the 
manufacture of oleomargarine confiscated. Tile oleomar¬ 
garine manufacturing plant is connected with the Cudahy 
packing establishment in Kansas City. . . . The Im¬ 
perial Company's large fertilizer plant at Money Point Ya 
on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River.' was 
burned April it,. file loss is $150,000, with about three- 
fourths insurance. Tile Imperial Company’s plant was 
one of the largest fertilizer plants in Virginia. It stood 
opposite the I'nited States naval magazine at St Julien's 
J reek, and tin John T. Roper lumber mills at Gilmorton. 
the latter were threatened for a time by flying sparks 
across the water. . . . Mecklenburg's Hotel, Rich¬ 
mond, \n.. was burned April 16; loss, $200,000 
Fire which was discovered in the stockroom' on the 
fourth floor of McCurdy Ill-others’ department store. Front 
and York streets. Philadelphia, April 16. caused a loss 
estimated at $150,000. Seventy-five girls who were em¬ 
ployed in the place reached the street in safety. 
1-ire which started in a San Francisco lodging house 
April 1G, caused the death of at least six workingmen 
and probably more, and a property loss of $125,000. ' The 
buildings were cheap frame structures put up after the 
great fire. ... On the ground tHat any person is en¬ 
titled to damages for the shock to his feelings caused 
by an invasion of his right of personal liberty Judge 
A. M. .1. Cochran, of tile I'nited States District Court 
of Covington. Ky.. April 15 instructed the jury to render 
a verdict for \Y. S. Henderson, the plaintiff, in the night 
rider eases. I’nder these instructions \V. S. Henderson 
a former tobacco merchant of Augusta. Bracken County’ 
Ky.. now a resident of Cincinnati, will recover damages 
from fourteen residents of Bracken Countv for an assault 
upon him. committed in Augusta about two years ago 
during the height of the night rider troubles ' He sued 
for $25,000 damages. . . . Nearly $2,000,000 of Wa¬ 
ters-Pie roe Oil Company money passed through Dallas 
Tex., over the Frisco-Santa Fe route April 19 in transit 
from St. Louis to Austin, to pay the oil company’s tine 
to the^ State of Texas for violation of the anti-trust laws. 
I he Wells-Fargo express car containing the treasure had 
six special guards, all heavily armed. . . . Hyman 
Gritzhandler, a burglar who was indicted as a second 
offender, was sentenced to forty-two years in Sing Sing by 
Judge Dike in the County Court at Brooklyn, N. Y., April 
19. Gritzhandler and Mayer Krinieh, his associate in 
a hundred or more robberies, were arrested on April 3 
Both had been out of prison only a few months. They 
used to pull the tips from the gas jets on entering the 
rooms and turn on the gas in order to stupefy the occu¬ 
pants. Krinieh is awaiting trial. . * . . Five thousand 
hales of cotton, estimated in value at $250,000, were 
burned April 20 at Little Roek. Ark. The fire threatened 
for several hours totally to destroy the plant of the St. 
Louis Compress Company, valued, with its contents, at 
$1,000,000. . . . The ice jam at Niagara caused a 
backing up of the water April 20, and the ice was so high 
that it almost reached the Lewiston suspension bridge. 
Serious damage by flood was feared. * 
FARM AND GARDEN.—South Carolina now lias a law 
which states that all live stock sent into the State must 
be accompanied by a certificate of health. All cattle over 
six months of age. except those for immediate slaughter, 
must be tested with tuberculin and must’be free of tuber¬ 
culosis before they are brought in that State. Tempera¬ 
ture reports of the test or a certified copy of same must 
accompany the health certificate. The tuberculin test 
must be made within thirty days preceding shipment. 
The New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell 
University will co-operate with the Chautauqua Institute 
in holdiug a big country life week at Chautauqua on 
August 23 and 24. This event will be in the nature of 
a general conference of all people interested in country 
lifo. There will be a symposium of the problems of 
country life by men who are in direct touch with the 
farmers, as well as men of prominence in other xvalks 
of life. The agricultural schools of the country will lie 
represented in many cases by the heads of the institutions. 
Congo 
The OnlyRoofing Guaranteed 
BY A 
Surety Bond 
It ProtectsYou Absolutely 
A Guarantee Without a Loophole 
When we used to say 
that Congo 3-ply would 
last ten years people 
laughed and replied that 
“Everybody claimed that.” 
When we offered to guarantee such ser¬ 
vice they said “Guarantees mean nothing 
—the buyer can never enforce them.” 
So we went to the National Surety Co. 
and paid them a large cash premium to 
issue a Surety Bond with every roll of 
Congo Roofing. 
J hese bonds give our customers a real, 
substantial guarantee as good as a govern¬ 
ment bond. 
If the customer’s own lawyer drew the 
guarantee he could not devise an instru¬ 
ment that would give any better protection. 
It is because Congo is so tough, perfect 
and durable that the National Surety Com¬ 
pany is willing to stand back of it. They 
know that we use the best materials and 
the best methods and that we watch and 
inspect every roll. Then we wrap it for 
domestic use just as carefully as if it were 
destined for Madagascar or Thibet, and 
you get perfect, undamaged rolls every 
inch of which you can use. 
The man that buys Congo gets the 
most value for his money and takes no 
chances. 
We will send you a copy of that guar¬ 
antee on request—also a sample of Congo 
Roofing free. 
UNITED ROOFING AND MFG. CO. 
532 WEST END TRUST BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
CHICAGO 
Successor to 
Buchanan Foster Co. 
SAN FRANCISCO 
The Best 
Separator 
To Bey. 
The Best 
Separator 
To Sell. 
get 
For the Farmer. 
A machine that’s ready to run 
^ every time he wants to use it. 
That will 
cream, II of 
all conditions. 
That will produce any de¬ 
sired density oE cream. 
That runs easily and is easily 
cleaned and cared for. 
all of the 
the time, under 
m For the Dealer. 
A machine that stays sold 
and gives lasting satisfaction. 
That does all the user ex¬ 
pects of it, all tfie time. 
That is backed directly by 
the manufacturer. 
That is built right and stays 
right without constant atten¬ 
tion. 
The 1909 
IMPROVED 
U NITED Cl 
STATE i3 
CREAM 
SEPARATOR 
FULFILLS EVERY REQUIREMENT. 
It is backed by years of experience in building hand separators and 
is made today of the same high grade materials and with the extreme 
care that has made the United States Cream Separator celebrated for 
durability and reliability. 
2>o the dealer who appreciates the benefits of selling the 
•BEST CREAM SEPARATOR MADE, We have an attractive 
proposition. 
Write today for our beautiful, concise, illustrated Catalogue No. 159 
VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
