8 40 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 31 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS EAEMEU'S PAPER. 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes. 
Established 1860. 
Published weekly by the Kura) Publishing Company, 409 Pearl Street, New Tork. 
Herbert W. Coluhgwood, President and Editor, 
JOHN J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. DlLl/ON, Secretary. 
Dr. Walter Van Fleet and Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editors. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR. 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 
8 s. 6 d., or 8*2 marks, or 10*2 francs. Remit in money order, 
express order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates 50 cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for time 
orders. References required for advertisers unknown to 
us; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
"A SQUARE DEAL.” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a 
responsible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any 
loss to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler 
advertising in ourcolumns, and any such swindler will be publicly ex¬ 
posed. We protect suberibers against rogues, but we do not guarantee 
to adjust trifling differences between subscribers and honest, respon¬ 
sible advertisers. Neither will we be responsible for the debts of 
honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. Notice of the complaint 
must be sent to us within one month of the timo of the transaction, 
and you must have mentioned The Rural New-Yorker when 
writing the advertiser. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order to introduce The R. N.-Y. to progressive, 
intelligent fanners who do not now take it, we send it 
10 weeks for 10 cents for strictly introductory pur¬ 
poses. We depend on our old friends to make this 
known to neighbors and friends. 
* 
When we asked for the stories in the recent com¬ 
petition we suggested that the authors take up some 
strong problem of country life. It is interesting to see 
what the authors regard as such problems. The 
greater number have taken the struggles of town-bred 
people in their efforts to make a home on a run-down 
farm. Others have outlined the efforts of women left 
with nothing but a poor farm to keep their families 
together and save both children and farm. After all, 
these things, and what they stand for, are to have 
more than you think to do with the future of farming. 
To these might be added the hard problem of taking 
orphan children into the home. 
♦ 
The farmers of New York State need a fair pri¬ 
mary elections law. In no other way can they come 
into direct influence with the Legislature. Until they 
can secure such influence it stands to reason that they 
cannot hope for the legislation which they really need 
without making some sort of a deal to give some other 
interests a larger slice. Just as long as the present 
system of selecting candidates is in force the poli¬ 
ticians will have the better of the voters. It seems 
to us that this system of selecting candidates by popu¬ 
lar vote must be the foundation of any real reforms 
in public life. It will be nonsense to pass laws, how¬ 
ever worthy they may be, and then let the politicians 
select the men to enforce them. The only road to 
safety lies in bringing power and responsibility back 
to the people, and the way to do that is to make the 
people responsible for their candidates. Therefore 
the most important thing for the voters of New York 
this year is a fair primary elections law. 
* 
When the first automobiles appeared they were 
clumsy and unreliable. No one expected that within 
a few years they would monopolize travel over some 
of our roads. The chances now are that they will be 
made cheaper, so that many farmers can afford them. 
Even now they are in use on hundreds of farms. A 
few years ago some large steam plowing outfits were 
in use on large western farms. They did rough work, 
but no one expected that motor plows could be suc¬ 
cessfully used on a 100-acre farm. There is now in 
sight a 20 or even 10 horse-power traction which will 
haul two plows, harrows, seeders or other farm ma¬ 
chinery, haul apples from the orchard or a load of 
wheat to market, turn a wheel wherever needed and 
do dozens of other jobs on a farm. With such a 
power a farmer can plow his field and also haul a 
harrow behind the plow. He can hitch to a couple 
of potato planters or seeders, or to a potato digger, 
or a wide-cut mowing machine or hay loader. We 
believe that the application of gasoline motive power 
to farm machinery is at last to be made practical. 
* 
The potato situation seems to be about as follows: 
The American crop is below an average. Prices now 
rule high, and if there were no competition from 
abroad would go higher yet. The European crop is 
large, and potatoes will be sent to this country as 
soon as European dealers are convinced that ship¬ 
ments will pay them. The crop in Germany alone last 
year amounted to more than 1,670,000,000 bushels, 
while the crop last year in this country was about 
297,000,000 bushels. The average yield in Germany 
last year was 205 bushels per acre against 90 bushels 
here. Last year more than 100,000,000 bushels of the 
German crop were used in making alcohol, and prob¬ 
ably more of this year’s crop would be used for that 
purpose if they were not worth more for exporting 
to this country. The present tariff is 25 cents a 
bushel. German dealers say they can pay this tariff 
and the cost of freight and handling and deliver 
potatoes in New York at one cent a pound. In order 
to do this they must be able to grow the potatoes 
considerably cheaper than they are grown in this coun¬ 
try. The price this year will be decided by foreign 
shipments. American-grown potatoes will sell for 
more than foreign stock, but supplies of the latter 
will control the market. 
* 
Sociological investigations appear to be the order 
of the day. President Roosevelt has his rural com¬ 
mission studying the conditions and demands of farm 
life. The Carnegie Institution and Sage Foundation 
have experts among the city workers. The National 
Department of Commerce and Labor, of necessity, 
must investigate the conditions of wage earners. 
Guilds, societies and individuals without number are 
prying into the life conditions of the poor. Would it 
not be in keeping officially to investigate the rich? 
How they got it, and just what forces of society en¬ 
able the holders of “swollen fortunes” to retain pos¬ 
session in the face of adverse sentiment are perhaps 
problems too deep and complicated for a mere com¬ 
mission, but information as to the actual conditions 
of life among the wealthy would be of genuine in¬ 
terest. The spending classes surely need authoritative 
investigation as greatly as do the producers. At pres¬ 
ent a lone novelist and a few over-worked magazine 
writers and journalists are all that are engaged in 
the work. How do the rich live, what personal benefit 
do they get from their possessions over their physical 
needs, and why are they, as a rule, so lavish in their 
display before persons of comfortable incomes and so 
ineffably mean in their direct dealings with the needy 
poor, are all questions of absorbing interest to the 
investigator and general public. Let us have an ex¬ 
haustive investigation of life conditions among the 
rich in America. 
* 
A few years ago the papers and magazines began 
to fill up with stories about the wonderful profits in 
growing rubber. Too many people invested their 
savings in Mexican rubber plantations. To use a com¬ 
mon expression, most of them are still “rubbering” for 
that money! Then came the “great discovery” that a 
rubber plant had been discovered growing on the 
western plains, from which rubber could be made. 
We tried to head investments in this off by stating 
the facts about this plant, but the “industry” seems to 
have started. To add a little romance*and stretch the 
rubber business a little the story of “The Durango 
Ram” is printed in newspapers: 
A gentleman in Durango, Colorado, had shipped to him 
from Vermont a very valuable ram for breeding purposes, 
lie had not had the ram long when it was found dead on 
the range. A post-mortem examination revealed the cause 
of death was clogging of the stomach with little balls 
of gum. The little balls were taken to a chemist for 
analysis and this revealed the properties of India rubber. 
This was really the starting point of Colorado’s rubber 
industry. 
Prof. Glover, of the Colorado College, says there is 
just enough possibility in this to let it into the rubber 
“industry.” The Pinguay weed or rubber plant does 
kill many sheep—not by poisoning, but by causing im¬ 
paction of the bowels. It does not give a good 
quality of rubber, but this story could not be denied, 
and may help sell some stock in a rubber company. 
If you swallow such big stories of profits in “rubber 
culture” your pocketbook will be worse off than that 
ram! 
* 
Last week we stated the results of the campaign 
of publicity against those 15 State Senators. One of 
them died, but the other 14 desired a renomination. 
Several of them worked hard for it, but they found 
so much feeling against them that they either retired 
or were defeated. Sixteen months ago, when we be¬ 
gan to print these names, it seemed to many like a 
hopeless contest. For many years the political ma¬ 
chine had been supreme. Any opposition or any asser¬ 
tion of independence was promptly trampled out of 
sight. These politicians were about as arrogant as the 
messenger of the Assyrian King. We are told in the 
Bible how he came to Jerusalem and boasted in his 
pride and strength to scorn the weak and humble 
Jews: 
“IVhat confidence is this wherein thou trusteth? 
“Thou sayest (but they are but vain words ) I have 
council and strength for the war. Now in whom dost 
thou trust that thou rcbellest against me?” 
The Jews were so impressed at first that they 
begged him to speak in his own language so their sol¬ 
diers would not hear him. In reply he shouted in the 
Jewish language so that everyone heard hiin, but no 
man answered. And in all its pride and power the 
Assyrian host was destroyed in a single night! A re¬ 
markable thing about the Bible is the fact that in its 
sketches of ancient history you can find a parallel for 
nearly every important event of modern times. We 
do not wonder that the politicians laughed when the 
effort to defeat their insurance Senators started. 
“Now in whom dost thou trust?” That was a natural 
question, and we think they can now answer it with¬ 
out much trouble. We are in hopes that at least two 
more of these Senators will be defeated at the polls. 
The work which the farmers of New York have done 
in handling these Senators ought to make every hon¬ 
est man more hopeful for the future of his country. 
When Wadsworth was defeated we said that a new 
power had come into public life—straight from the 
soil. The statement was true, and that power will yet 
prove the dominating force in New York. 
* 
We now print for the last time what the farmers 
of New York have left after working over the list of 
15 State Senators who opposed Gov. Hughes in the 
famous insurance case: 
John Raines, Canandaigua. 
Jotham P. Allds, Norwich. 
Horace White, Syracuse. 
Joseph Ackroyd, Utica. 
Wm. W. Wemple, Schenectady. 
We would like to see every one of them defeated, 
and we hope at least two of them will be. One of 
our readers in Chenango Co. wrote Senator Allds 
asking him if he favored a primary elections law. In 
reply Mr. Allds proceeds to walk all around the sub¬ 
ject, no more touching it than he would a vine of 
poison ivy. 
Replying to your favor, I beg- to advise you that I am 
In full accord with the Republican platform because that is 
what states party principles, and second, I am in full accord 
with the views of Governor Hughes because, both from his 
record and the fact that he is our standard hearer, he is 
entitled to the cordial support of every man who is a real 
Republican. j. p. allds. 
That is about as slick as anything we ever read. 
Two years ago the man who asked the question might 
have quit the job of trying to stick postage stamps on 
an eel. Like thousands of others he has learned what 
to do. He came right back with the following: 
Mr. Jotlmm P. Allds. 
Dear Sir: I am a Republican and a stalwart. I have 
supported you all these years; have asked no favors, nor 
expected any. But when I asked your position in regard 
to a direct primary law I expected an answer and received 
an evasive one, which does not fit my politics. Please talk 
plain. 
But Mr. Allds will not “talk plain” if he can help 
it. He wants to use words that will let him crawl 
out in half a dozen directions if there is anything in 
it for Allds. He knows well enough that you would 
never hear of him again after he once faced a fair 
primary election. In striking contrast to Mr. Allds’ 
letter is the following from another Chenango Co. 
man who is a candidate for the Legislature: 
I am in favor of the hill proposed by Governor Hughes 
last Winter, and which failed to carry, and if I am elected, 
will do everything I can to promote the passage of such a 
bill. I believe that all of our matters of government should 
be brought closer to the people, and this hill, as 1 under¬ 
stand it, is a move in that direction. If anything further 
about the matter is desired, or if I have not made myself 
clear, I shall he very glad to hear from you again. 
NELSON P. BONNEY. 
BREVITIES. 
There seems to he much “graft” in the grafted pecan 
business. 
“You couldn’t pry me loose from The R. N.-Y.,” writes 
a Connecticut reader. We are not going to try. 
Tell us how you would treat the bottom end of fence 
posts before setting them—to make them last longer. 
We can tell where the Crimson clover was best last 
year by the appearance of this Fall’s crop on the same 
ground. 
Apple growers in the west of England have combined 
to control their home market in apples. A new sort of 
an apple league. 
Which do you consider more dangerous—the hard 
cider barrel in the “sporting” farmer’s cellar or the beer 
keg in the saloon? 
Here is one way that new trade is created. Under old 
laws the Turks were obliged to wear the fez to cover their 
heads. Now that law is done away with, and millions 
of hats and caps will in time he demanded. 
How would our ginseng growers like to live in Korea? 
In that country the government reserves the exclusive 
right to prepare the ginseng. Private parties may grow 
and sell the root after they pay for a license. 
Every year at this season the new beginners with Al¬ 
falfa want to know whether they should clip the crop this 
Fall. The experts appear to differ. We believe in clipping 
in November and letting the clippings remain on the 
ground. 
The dry weather is proving too much for the “catch 
crops” this Fall. Crimson clover and turnips have made a 
poor growth—not half as much as they do in a moist Fall. 
Rye, as usual, seems able to grow in a dust heap. It is 
not only the goat hut the camel among small grains. 
Unless we have a wet November Fall-seeded crops will have 
a struggle to get through the Winter. 
