1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
579 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Henry H. Rogers, vice-president of the 
Standard Oil Company, active leader in the organization 
of the Amalgamated Copper Company, builder of the Tide¬ 
water Railway, and one of the most successful fortune- 
makers in the world, died at his home in New York, May 
19, aged 09. For years Wall Street had known Mr. Rogers 
as one of the two leaders in the “Standard Oil Clique.” 
The other principal member of the group has been Wil¬ 
liam Rockefeller. Outside of his business career, which 
had been one of the most sensationally successful among 
all those of the last half century’s accumulators of mil¬ 
lions, Mr. Rogers was known as a philanthropist, a yachts¬ 
man, and a man of many friends. As a philanthropist, 
Mr. Rogers shone almost entirely in Fairhaven, Mass., 
where he was born in 1S40. Three millions of dollars, it 
is estimated, were spent by him in making the little town 
a model of healthfulness, beauty, and prosperity. He 
appeared before the courts many times in connection with 
trust litigation, liis estate is variously estimated at from 
$50,000.000 to $200,000,000. . . . May 19-21 the Allen 
Line steamer Mongolian was stuck in the ice off St. 
John’s, X. F., unable to make a landing, and was finally 
compelled to seek another harbor. Conditions of wind 
and tide piled immense ice fields along that coast. . . . 
Samuel W. Gebo, George W. Dally, Wilberforce Sully, 
John Nelson, John B. Wight, Rufus J. Ireland, Thomas 
McDonald and Frank T. Wells, who are said to be prom¬ 
inent New Yorkers, were indicted by the Federal Grand 
Jury at Cheyenne, Wyo., May 21, for conspiracy to 
defraud the Government out of thousands of acres of valu¬ 
able land in Big Horn county, Wyoming. The defendants 
operated as the Gebo Coal Company, but the company 
was not indicted. The lands were filed upon three years 
ago. There are two indictments against each of the first 
five men named. ... A tornado swept over the 
southern part of Ellis county, Texas, May 21, and did 
extensive damage to crops and other property. I’art of the 
town of Italy was blown away. The cotton warehouse, 
oil mill, school buildings, two churches, and more than 
twenty frame buildings were wrecked. Only one person 
was hurt. Many barns and other farm outhouses were 
wrecked in the surrounding country, but no report of loss 
of life has been made. . . . Through their Consuls 
resident in Chicago the foreign miners who were recently 
driven from the coal mines in Greene and Sullivan coun¬ 
ties, Ind., by American miners and forced to quit their 
homes have appealed to Gov. Marshall for protection and 
the right to work in Indiana. In the riots preceding the 
exodus of the foreign miners a number were wounded after 
being Imprisoned in their homes, and the attack ceased only 
when the foreigners agreed to take their families and per¬ 
sonal effects and leave the country. Gov. Marshall has 
referred the matter to the local prosecutors and to the 
Judges of the Circuit courts, and the Grand Jury will inves¬ 
tigate. . . . Despite the fact that over $1,000,000 has 
been spent to extinguish the fire raging for fifty years in 
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company’s mine at Sum¬ 
mit Hill, Wilkesbarre, Pa., the fire is now spreading toward 
the Spring tunnel workings, and May 22 30 of the Read¬ 
ing company’s carpenters and masons were sent from the 
Ashland district to aid in erecting concrete walls to check 
its spread. Great quantities of sulphur are placed in the 
shafts sunk and work is so dangerous that workmen are 
daily brought to the surface unconscious. It may be 
necessary to fill all these shafts with sulphur in order to 
continue the battle against the fire. . . . The plant of 
the Lockport Cold Storage Company, Lockport, X. Y., was 
destroyed by fire May 22. The loss is between $30,000 and 
$00,000. . . . The steamer Dora has arrived at Seward, 
Alaska, with 194 survivors of the ship Columbia, wrecked 
near Unimaka Pass. The survivors tell a remarkable tale 
of suffering. After the grounding of the ship in a blind¬ 
ing snowstorm eight miles east of Unimaka Pass on the 
night of April 30 the experiences of the passengers and 
crew of the Columbia were harrowing. On the vessel were 
53 Italians, 96 Japanese and 45 Americans and Scandi¬ 
navians. All were obedient in the face of danger; only the 
Italians, in panic, raved and prayed. A boat was lowered 
and the Italians, including their bosses, poured into it. 
The Italians attempted to seize two more boats, but were 
restrained at the muzzles of guns. Returning two days 
later for provisions the Italians were again compelled with 
revolvers to take only food and refrain from looting. The 
former life saving men. Christ Christopherson and Ernest 
Anderson, insisted that they be allowed to proceed to shore 
alone in a small skiff. They established a life line to the 
shore. Many were nearly drowned, and it was in the resus¬ 
citation of these that the Japanese showed fine spirit. 
Only one woman, the Australian wife of Mate Cameron, 
was with the party. On the morning of May 2 a storm 
caused the abandonment of the wrecked Columbia. The 
same day the ship burned to the water’s edge. . . . An 
attempt was made May 24 to blow up with dynamite a pier 
of the Southern Railway bridge over the Ohio River at 
Cincinnati, O., now in course of construction. Considerable 
damage was done, but no one was hurt. Previous attempts 
have been made to dynamite the bridge, and it is believed 
that labor troubles are responsible for the crime. . . . 
The Kentucky law enforcing local option, under which the 
Adams Express Company was fined $50 for delivering liquor 
to a resident of Hart county, who was known to be an 
inebriate, was held May 24 by the Supreme Court to be 
in violation of the section of the Federal Constitution 
which vested in Congress jurisdiction over interstate com¬ 
merce. The shipments were made from Indiana and Ten¬ 
nessee, which the Court holds made them interstate com¬ 
merce, and under previous decisions of the court the trans¬ 
portation was not complete until delivery to the consignee. 
The State law was enacted under the police power of the 
State, but, said Justice Brewer in delivering the Court's 
opinion, it was also an attempt in virtue of that power 
to directly regulate commerce, and in case of a conflict 
between the two powers, that of Congress to regulate 
such commerce must prevail. The law therefore was void. 
Bills to place such shipments under the control of the 
several States have been urged before Congress for some 
years. Thirty-five other cases against different express 
companies in Hart county also abide by the decision in 
this case. . . . The Georgia Railroad was still com¬ 
pletely tied up May 24 by the strike of white firemen 
against the employment of negroes. The situation is 
growing serious along the line owing to the failure of food 
supplies. Many towns report that they are short of flour 
and that the fresh meat supply is exhausted. The man¬ 
agement of the road recognizes that residents along the 
line are responsible for the tieup. and it is said the road 
is willing for the people to be punished. Tne firemen 
charge that the road is bent on punishing the interme¬ 
diate points between Atlanta and Augusta, at which there 
has been such strong aid for the strikers. . . . Charles 
L. Pcnfield, of Meriden, was fined $400 and costs and 
sentenced to six months in jail, at New Haven, Conn., 
May 25, by Judge Ernest Simpson in the Common Pleas 
Court for auto speeding, driving while intoxicated and 
breach of the peace. The jail sentence was suspended till 
November and Penfield was put in charge of a probation 
officer, because it was alleged in court that he was suf¬ 
fering from tuberculosis. He was ordered by the Court 
not to run an automobile for six months. He was ar¬ 
rested on April 27 for speeding in the heart of the city 
and the policeman who slopped him, George Murphy, got 
into the machine and ordered him to drive to police 
headquarters. Instead Penfield took Murphy for a mile 
a minute right through the centre of the town, endanger¬ 
ing the lives of many pedestrians and finally running 
info a crowd of teams. ... A motion on' behalf of 
John L. Dudley, the stockholder of the United States 
Express Company who is suing for an accounting, was 
on the calendar in Special Term. I’art I., of the Supreme 
Court at New York, May 25. It asked for the appoint¬ 
ment of a receiver. Just before the case was called 
Louis II. Newkirk, counsel for Dudley, received a letter 
from State Senator B. E. Sundberg, of Minnesota, saying 
that he had lodged a complaint with the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission alleging that the United States, Adams 
and American express companies were in a combination 
to fix rates. Senator Sundberg suggested that Mr. New¬ 
kirk have a conference with him in Washington on June 
1. In view of this state of facts the motion was with¬ 
drawn. but it will be made again after a conference with 
the Minnesota legislator. . . . The highest water 
known in El Paso, Texas, in years is now crumbling the 
banks of the Rio Grande. It is due to tlie melling 
snows in the Colorado and New Mexico mountains, which 
is twice as deep this year as the average. The river 
was several inches above flood tide, which is fourteen feet 
at El Paso, May 25, and the soft, sandy banks were caving 
rapidly. Workmen were fighting to prevent the river cutting 
into the big canal that irrigates the valley below El 
Paso, for if it breaks the river will doubtless change 
its course and throw a big area of Texas into Mexico. 
The county stationed men with dynamite at bridges to 
break the driftwood loose and prevent the structures 
washing out. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—A mysterious fatal disease is 
reported among sheep on farms near Nunda, Livingston 
County. The symptoms are the appearance of a swelling 
under the chops, like the mumps, and an hour later the 
animal dies. 
The Government threw open for settlement, May 24, 
the second unit of 14,000 acres of land in the Shoshone 
irrigation project. The first batch of this land, about 
1O.0OO acres, near fogy, Wyo.. was opened a year ago, 
and is now practically filled with settlers. This land is 
part of 450,000 acres in tlie Big Horn Basin, which will 
bo made available for agricultural purposes by the Sho¬ 
shone project. 
At a meeting of the board of directors of the American 
Jersey Cattle Club, held May 4. 1909, the following reso¬ 
lution was adopted : “No private test shall be accepted 
for record, or published by the club, that was made more 
than twelve months prior to the report of said test to 
the club. This resolution to go into effect January 1, 
1910.” 
The executive committee of the New Y’ork Mercantile 
Exchange, the leading organization in the butter, egg and 
cheese trade in this city, is investigating certain sales 
of butter by Armour & Co. to the Manhattan and other 
State asylums. Certificates issued by the exchange to 
Armour & Co. as a guarantee for the quality of butter 
have been altered by some one so as to include many 
more cases of butter than were submitted to the ex¬ 
change for inspection. In one instance the exchange's 
certificate was raised from 23 to 123 tubs. The investi¬ 
gation has been brought about by the complaint of F. A. 
Wheeler, purchasing steward for the State Commission 
of Lunacy. Mr. Wheeler buys supplies for the Central 
Islip Asylum, the Kings Park State Hospital and the 
Long Island State Hospital, in addition to the Manhattan 
State Hospital on Ward’s Island. All told he uses from 
150 to 170 tubs of butter a week. He gets bids each 
week and gives his order for seven days to the lowest 
bidder, stipulating that the butter shali pass inspection 
by the exchange. Armour & Co. got the orders from the 
hospital steward for the weeks beginning May 3 and 
May 10 of the present year. Mr. Wheeler upon receiving 
the butter was struck by the small percentage of tubs 
that had been actually tested by the Mercantile Exchange, 
and he wrote to the butter committee of the exchange 
asking if the number of tubs examined by the exchanges 
inspector was sufficient to give a fair idea of the quality 
of the lot. J. J. Walton, chairman of the butter com¬ 
mittee, replied and asked for copies of the certificates. 
They were received by return mail. The authorities of 
the exchange compared them with the records that are 
kept of each test and immediately found that they had 
been tampered with. The quality of the butter called for 
by the certificates is known as “extras.” Steward Wheeler 
said that the quality of the butter he had received was 
"fair.” At the time when the deliveries were made there 
was a scarcity of “extra” butter and prices were strong. 
The authorities of the Mercantile Exchange say they have 
never before had a case like this before them. If the 
certificates have been wilfully altered it would, so they 
have been advised, probably constitute a case of forgery. 
AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATIONS IN NEW YORK 
STATE.—Governor Hughes signed the bill appropriating 
$5,000,000 for good roads construction work, $1,500,000 
to be available at once and the balance on October 1 next. 
He vetoed an appropriation of $10,000 for investigation 
of milk products, and also an appropriation of $40,000 
for building at the Geneva Experiment Station. Of the 
disallowance of items for the State Fair of $2,500 for 
fencing and painting. $19,000 for building an annex to 
stable and carriage building, etc.. $30,000 for a live stock 
building, a like sum for a poultry building, $50,000 for 
a moving grand stand, track and clubhouse and $200,000 
for the construction of live stock buildings, the Governor 
says; “These items for the State Fair cannot be allowed. 
By special bill there has already been appropriated this 
year for the State Fair $278,000. The supply bill in 
addition to appropriations for current expenses provides 
$42,000 for further improvements which are needed this 
year. The additional appropriations in the items above 
set forth in justice to other demands upon the State 
must be deferred. The fencing and painting required 
can be taken care of out of the general fund ‘for main¬ 
tenance and improvement of grounds.’ ” 
THE DAIRYMEN’S LEAGUE. 
* 
What It Hopes to Accomplish. 
In a very good article, on page 511. entitled “A State¬ 
ment of the Milk Problem,” and signed II. B. Betts, the 
writer says: “The farmers have no one to organize them 
so they can stand up for their rights.” I do not know 
where Mr. Betts is located, but for his information there 
is an organization, well under way, called the Dairymen’s 
League, and farmers about New York City whose milk 
goes to that market are fast forming branches of the 
league. The prospectus can be obtained from Albert 
Manning, secretary, Otisville, N. Y. His advertisement 
is in Tub It. N.-Y. In order to become a member of this 
league, the dairy farmer signs his name and the number 
of cows in his herd, at the expense of 25 cents per cow, 
10 cents at the time of signing and tin* remainder when 
the various branches have enough cows pledged to assure 
them the, control of the New York milk market. The 
league will then enable the farmer to make his price 
lur mu in i priniut 
lost of production, giving him a fair return for his labor 
and sufficient income to make needed improvements and 
increase his business if he chooses, instead of accepting 
the price fixed by the company which buys his milk and 
which is getting rich on its share of the profits and the 
share belonging to the farmer as well. The league will 
be prepared to take care of the surplus, that these same 
companies cannot make profit out of that also. Short¬ 
sightedness and too easy-going methods of doing business 
on the part of the farmer have brought about the present 
state of affairs; therefore, instead of finding fault with 
the several companies who receive the milk, let us rather 
commend them for their keen foresight and business abil¬ 
ity. the proof of which is so plainlv evident. Now that 
these companies have facilities to handle, care for and 
dispose of the milk to the best possible advantage, there 
is every reason why they should continue to do so. pro¬ 
vided they buy it. as they buy everything else they use, 
at the price asked by the producer—the same as the 
farmer buys his cows, his feed, his cans, etc. The milk 
(ompanies cannot exist without milk, and, while they 
will struggle and fight to hold the advantage of the pres¬ 
ent arrangement, they will still buy the milk and have 
more respect for the farmers who come forward and 
claim their right to conduct their affairs on a proper 
business basis. I believe every farmer who knows about 
the league should pass the news along, that those who 
are not enlightened may invite some of the men who 
go out from day to day speaking for the league and 
organizing branches to come and meet with them, thus 
keeping the good work moving on. The faster the farmers 
come in,, the sooner the organization can carry out its 
plans. There are bright, able, enthusiastic men ready 
to go wherever called, men who have made' 1 this matter 
a study, and persevered under difficulties, worked steadily 
on in spite of lukewarmness, opposition, criticism. Let 
them see some fruit from their labors, and incite them 
to further activity by your ready help. What farmer 
will wish to have it said, “Well, he knew he would have 
the benefit anyway, and it was easier to reap what others 
had sown. Rather let him put his shoulder to the wheel 
and push with the rest. The league is not a theory 
but a fact in places where its plans have been put in 
operation. Not only should the farmer awake to the 
need of such an organization, but also to the knowledge 
that the sooner he begins to conduct bis business on the 
same careful plan as the merchant, the lawyer, or any 
other business man. keeping accounts from day to day 
under a regular system, so much sooner will lie discover 
Ins mistakes and failures and correct them This is 
very clearly brought out in an article written in Tub 
lw r™ 0 P « ge n ol1 ’n ent L tIed “ Thc rit - v Man ,,n a Farm.” 
by Geoige S. Powell. Some one has said, “Anv fool can 
a farmer, but I tell you nay! Manv farmers have 
allowed themselves to lie made fools, but ‘to be a farmer 
in the truest sense of the word takes brains. m- b. ii. 
CROP PROSPECTS. 
, P, ea . lors are contracting this year’s wheat crop at $4 per 
an( ], rh< : corn crop at 60 cents per bushel. Pork is 
selling on the farm at $7 per 100 live weight. Wheat crop 
in Green County is near a total failure. There is an un- 
ilf’iunUnYr'm?'creage of corn being planted. One farmer 
is planting (.00 acres. Me are having a lot of rain Corn 
planting is nearly over (May 22) and some corn large 
enough to cultivate. v V T 
Jeffersonville, O. 
In most orchards in this vicinity the bloom on apple, 
pear and cherry trees was abundant, and the weather some 
days quite favorable for pollination, and fruit set well, 
we shall have but few peaches and plums. Grapes and the 
small fruits promise well, but are not raised in sufficient 
quantity to make any showing in market. Winter wheat 
is rather below the average condition, though some fields 
are in excellent condition. The same remarks apply to 
oats also, and both are backward, owing to the cold Spring 
leather About half the corn planting is done, and the 
early planting is coming up slowly. Meadows and pas¬ 
tures are two weeks behind their usual development With 
favorable weather conditions our prospects, however, are 
good for fair crops. n v t. 
I’ayson, Ill. D ' E ’ R ' 
Spring is rather backward and wet. Apples, pears, plums 
and cherries are all in bloom (May 18), though not as 
much as last season, as this is our off year. Peaches will 
be a total failure. I have not seen a single blossom on any 
troo. Meadows look well and pastures, though short, fur¬ 
nish grass for stock. Oats are small, but have a good and 
healthy color._ Very lit lie wheat, barley and rye are raised 
here. 1 he click of check rower is heard in all directions 
and most of the corn in this section will be planted this 
week. Plowing is well under way where the land is dry 
enough to work, but as we have the Des Moines River and 
.Skunk River running through the county there is naturally 
a good deal of bottom land that is too wet to work. The 
northern part of Marion County is principally occupied bv 
Hollanders, and they are hustlers. c it 
Pella, Iowa. 
We have had an unusually cold April: on the morning 
of the 30th of that month the thermometer stood at 27 at 
.) a. m. It was this night that most damage was done in 
Has neighborhood, although some report great damage pre¬ 
vious lo this date. The Eiberta peaches, mostly grown 
here, are pretty well gone in this vicinity; some have a few 
left. Some other kinds, notably the Champion, have a fair 
crop, but one thing is certain, that the peach industry for 
this year is badly crippled. Some report saving their crop 
by smudge pots, but that is a new thing here, anil has not 
been tried much. Apples a full crop, I believe, also plums 
and prunes; a good crop of sour cherries, sweet kinds, from 
light to a half crop: a few apricots left, but not many. 
Pears are not raised much on account of the blight I 
believe there will be a fair crop of those. Small fruit full 
crop; strawberries in full bloom at this writing. In regard 
to other crops, I believe they will be as usual, which means 
average crops. Alfalfa, or. as we old-timers call it. Lu¬ 
cerne, looks well, but it is somewhat late on account of cold 
weather. It is now about one foot high. We are now 
planting out the tomato plants in open ground. 
Ogden, Utah. " r. v. d. 
Apple trees in blossom and indicate about one-sixth nor¬ 
mal crop. This is the off year for apples. Plums and cher¬ 
ries promise a full crop. Currants and small fruits look 
well. Rye and wheat look extra well. Oats are backward 
on account of wet and cold weather; some just planting. 
Potatoes and corn just planting. Timothy looks fine, but a 
little backward. On the flats (lowlands) along banks of 
the north branch of the Susquehanna River below Wilkes- 
Barre, Pa., the recent heavy rains caused the river to over¬ 
flow its banks, destroying the garden truckers’ early plant¬ 
ings of vegetables. Streams and springs are full and in 
better shape to withstand a dry spell than in years before. 
Plowing is belated on account of continued wet weather. 
The farmers in the neighborhood of Nuangola Borough. 
Luzerne County. Pa., have organized a stock company and 
are building a creamery, and expect to be in operation June 
1. a. r. c. 
Nuangola, Pa. 
PRIZES AT THE STATE FAIR.—Secretary S. C. Shaver, 
of the New York State Fair Commission, has issued prize lists 
for cattle, sheep and swine, farm products and fruit. Some 
changes are noted. The classes for Ilolsteins, Ayrshires. 
Guernseys and Jerseys are somewhat changed. In each of 
these sections a class has been added for the four best 
dairy cows, cows five years old and over, three years old 
and under five, heifers is and under 24 months, heifers 12 
and under 18 months. There is also a new class for grade 
dairy cows. The swine classes have been increased by add¬ 
ing a third prize. There are important changes in the fruit 
department. Special prizes are offered for society. Subor¬ 
dinate Grange and local organization collections. Under 
single dishes of apples the prizes on the leading varieties 
have been very materially increased. This is also true in 
the classes for plums, pears, peaches and grapes. Classes 
have also been provided for commercial exhibits, fruit pack¬ 
ages. evaporated fruits, nursery plants, manufactured fruit 
products and a boys’ and girls’ collection, all of which 
should add to the interest in the fruit department this year. 
