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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER’S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal l'or Country and Suburban Home* 
Established i8S0 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl St, New York 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. 82.04, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8>i marks, or 10>£ francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates 60 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 respon¬ 
sible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any loss to paid 
subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising in our 
columns, and any such swindler will be publicly exposed. We protect sub¬ 
scribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee to ail j ust trifling differences 
between subscribers and honest, responsible 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 or the time of 
the transaction, and you must have i lentioned The Rural New-Yorker 
when writing the advertiser. 
TEN WEEKS FOR 10 CENTS. 
In order to introduce The R. N.-Y. to progressive, 
intelligent farmers 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. 
' * 
In English cities as a rule food is cheaper than in 
American cities of about the same class and size. At 
the same time the English farmer usually receives not 
only a larger share of the consumer’s dollar, but a 
higher price per pound or measure than the Ameri¬ 
can. In considering this we must also remember 
that a large proportion of English food is imported— 
carried in many cases thousands of miles before de¬ 
livery. How can such a thing be? The chief reasons 
are the English parcels post and cooperation among 
English farmers. The parcels post has compelled the 
railroads to give cheaper and better transportation and 
practically driven out the express companies. Co¬ 
operation has enabled producers to deal direct with 
consumers or with one or two larger middlemen. 
Thus the consumer’s dollar is divided among fewer 
people, and the farmer gets more of it. We must 
follow along the same line in this country. That 
way lies prosperity. 
* 
In looking over the last issue of The R. N.-Y., I find 
that my name is not included in the list of members 
voting for the Collin bill. I wish to say that I supported 
the Collin bill, not only in the committee, of which I 
was a member, but voted for the same. There was so 
much confusion at the time the vote was taken that I 
did not know till I was informed some time afterwards 
that I had been recorded in the negative. The above 
statement I can verify by several of the members. I am 
a fruit grower, and have had quite a few years’ experi¬ 
ence in shipping to commission men, and have had a 
practical experience in being fleeced by the same. I hope 
to see the time when there will be a law to regulate the 
sale of fruit and produce consigned to commission men, 
and I shall use my best efforts to that end. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. a. yeomans. 
We received three different check lists from the 
Assembly, and in each of them Mr. Yeomans was 
recorded as absent or not voting. We were confident 
that he would support the bill. As a fruit grower he 
understands the need of such legislation. We shall 
keep right after this thing until the principle of that 
Collin bill is part of the law. Nothing has been heard 
vet from James S. Parker. 
* 
Our judgment may be warped some way, but the 
confession of that sucker from Texas which starts 
on the first page seems to us the best thing of the 
sort we have yet read. Any honest record of ordinary 
human life will be pretty much the confession of a, 
sucker. There are some wonderful know-it-all men 
who always succeed in every undertaking—at least 
they say so. Most of us, however, find life well filled 
with blunders and “gold bricks.” Emerson said: 
“The true preacher may be known by this, that he 
deals out to the people his life—life passed through 
the fire of thought.” We do not know of anything 
more solemn or important in life than for a man over 
50 years to risk all that he has in a new country in 
the hunt for home and health. That is what our 
friend from Texas did, and he gives us the truth 
about it. Some men might pour out bitterness and 
curse the country, or sing some golden song in the 
hope of passing the “brick” along. This man is a 
philosopher who gives a fair statement That is 
why we want you to read every word of it We 
shall have similar statements about other sections 
which the land boomers are trying to exploit. You 
know where we stand. If any man tells you that he 
can sell you land in a country where an untrained and 
ailing man can make hortie, health and fortune with 
limited capital and easy work—tell him at once he is a 
fraud and a knave, and charge it directly to us. 
Sec. 6. The fact that there is now no adequate 
lazv for the protection of farmers and truck growers 
creates an emergency and an imperative public neces¬ 
sity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be 
read on three several days be suspended, and that 
this bill take effect and be in force from and after its 
passage. 
That is what appears in a law passed by the Texas 
Legislature in 1907. This law compels all commission 
merchants doing business in Texas to make a bond 
for $2,000. The bond is approved by the county 
clerk and paid to the county judge. This bond may 
be sued upon and recovery made by shippers who 
claim to have been swindled by the commission men. 
Should such suits eat up the entire bond a new one 
must be made. Any commission man who shall ad¬ 
vertise or solicit goods without making this bond is 
guilty of misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be 
fined from $100 to $1,000. This is the Texas law. 
The South Carolina Legislature will be asked to 
pass a stronger one next year. All over the country 
this plan of making the commission men play fair 
will become the great business issue for farmers. 
* 
Dr. Harvey W. Wiley is chiefly responsible for the 
national pure food and drug law, and also for its en¬ 
forcement. That is one of the most useful laws ever 
enacted in this country. For many years a gang of 
unscrupulous scoundrels, large and small, poisoned 
and adulterated the food and drink which the people 
were supposed to consume. Chemicals that would 
eat out an iron pipe were used to embalm food, saw¬ 
dust, white earth, filth and hulls were mixed and sold- 
as pure materials, and stuff and poisons were bottled 
and packed without limit This filthy and dishonest 
practice cut both ways. Every pound of such stomach 
killers displaced a pound of pure food and helped 
break down the health of the people. The trade was 
enormously profitable. The oleo men in their day 
could take 10-cent fat, “doctor” and color it and sell 
it at 30 cents, but these food adulterators could beat 
such profit by 1,000 per cent. Dr. Wiley fought this 
gang of food thieves almost alone. A competent 
chemist and a fearless man, he drove the frauds from 
cover to cover and from tree to tree, until Congress 
passed the pure food law. Many laws are passed and 
then left to die by the wayside—there being no one 
brave and strong enough to stay by them until public 
spirit is aroused in their favor. Dr. Wiley took the 
job of seeing that the law was enforced. You may 
search the history of this country without finding a 
case where one man has done more to make a 
righteous law effective and respected. For doing this 
Dr. Wiley has been subjected to abuse and criticism 
which would wither 99 per cent of the men in public 
life. These food sharks are not willing to give up the 
millions which poisons and filth have brought them. 
Again and again, first in one way and then in an¬ 
other, they work for Dr. Wiley’s removal. A few 
weeks ago we printed part of a letter in which a bribe 
of advertising was offered to the papers who would 
carry out their infamous program. Now they have 
been working on a new line. Trivial charges were 
trumped up against Dr. Wiley, and President Taft is 
asked to remove him! Back of all this is the old 
scheme to get rid of a good watchdog who will not 
permit thieves to break in and steal. The rogue who 
has felt the dog’s teeth while trying to rob a hen 
roost would naturally use all his powers of per¬ 
suasion to induce the owner to get rid of the dog! 
The chicken thief is a gentleman beside the public 
poisoners and trash packers who are trying to re¬ 
move Dr. Wiley. The public are vitally interested in 
this fight. The pure food laws must be enforced and 
made stronger. Dr. Wiley is the man for the place, 
and he must be kept right where he is. 
* 
On page 783 is a discussion of the matter of 
cancellation of orders taken by a nursery agent. We 
have no doubt nurserymen are right in their state¬ 
ment that many bogus excuses are made for not ac¬ 
cepting trees. We have no defense whatever for a 
man who would order trees, sign a definite contract 
to accept them and then simply change his mind 
and try to evade his responsibility. In many such 
cases the nurserymen accept the order in good faith, 
settle with their agents and even pay for the stock. 
The man who makes such a bargain with them and 
is able to carry it out should be held to his contract 
unless he can show that he was induced to sign 
through misrepresentation or fraud. We wish to have 
it distinctly understood that we would not uphold any 
violation of a contract simply “to get out of it.” At 
the same time we feel that in the case mentioned the 
buyer should not have been forced to take the stock. 
He had sold his farm, and had no place to plant the 
July 29, 
trees. He notified the nurseryman in time and we 
think he had good reason for refusing the stock. 
What we wish to condemn is the cold-blooded propo¬ 
sition of those nurserymen that they pay no attention 
to such notices, but go ahead and force payment 
wherever they can. We know that many nurserymen 
do try to investigate such cases, and they would not 
force a man to accept what they knew he could not 
use. This business of paying no attention to a fair 
request has no justification whatever. If it is to be 
the general practice our advice would be to refuse to 
sign any contract to buy such goods. 
* 
That recent article on Eucalyptus growing in Cali¬ 
fornia has stirred up a hornet’s nest. The hornets in 
this case are gentlemen who seem to have stock in 
Eucalyptus “booms” for sale. Several of their letters 
have fallen into our hands. They are very sorry for 
our “ignorance.” Thank you, gentlemen. We ap¬ 
preciate your kindness. Ignorance is a misfortune 
rather than a crime. We have no doubt the time will 
come when Eucalyptus will add a profitable supply to 
our hard wood timber. If one has the land and can 
do it himself we would not advise against planting. 
We have just “ignorance” enough of high finance to 
keep on advising our readers never to buy stock in 
any scheme for planting these trees on a large scale. 
Keep right away from the promoters. 
* 
A letter is reported from President Taft’s secre¬ 
tary to John M. Stahl in which the following occurs: 
The President is strongly in favor of the establishment 
of a general parcels post, and will recommend the same, 
without qualification, in liis next message. 
We shall believe parcels post is coming when we 
see it in actual operation. President Taft as a parcels 
poster will be very welcome. We assume that the 
President knows what farmers in the Northern States 
and along the border think of him. Perhaps this does 
not disturb him, but his persistent fight for Canadian 
reciprocity has without any question lost him the sup¬ 
port of the most loyal and devoted members of his 
party in northern New York, New England, Ohio 
and similar States. We refer to the farmers who 
have for years and in many eases against their best 
interests supported a high tariff. We do not believe 
the President has ever quite realized what his course 
has meant to these farmers. He could not possibly 
do a wiser or more politic thing now than to come 
out openly for parcels post and push a bill through 
Congress just as he did with reciprocity. He will 
find this a hard thing to do, for both of the political 
parties are deathly afraid of the express companies. 
* 
Comparatively few people seem to realize that the 
State Legislatures are acting upon a proposed con¬ 
stitutional amendment which may change our entire 
system of collecting public revenues. A few years ago 
the Supreme Court declared a Federal income tax 
unconstitutional. The friends of this form of taxa¬ 
tion proceeded to agitate for a constitutional amend¬ 
ment. Such an amendment must be ratified by the 
Legislatures of 35 States. New York has just en¬ 
dorsed the proposition, which makes 31 in favor to 
eight opposed. Five out of the eight States opposed 
are in New England, with New Jersey added. Maine 
is the only New England State supporting the tax. 
Opposition to the plan is largely sectional, and is due 
to the fact that the Eastern States are the money 
lenders—controlling a large share of the nation’s cash. 
These money lenders feel that this tax is aimed 
against them. They can now invest their money so 
that the borrowers must in the end pay taxes as well 
as interest. A Federal income tax will not only 
bring more concealed fortunes out for taxation, but 
it will reduce other forms of taxation and lessen the 
necessity for a tariff for revenue. The amendment 
will not be ratified this year, but it seems sure to be 
within 12 months. 
BREVITIES. 
An accursed habit—lashing the horses with a whip on 
general principles. 
It required 150, 1 16 tons of soapstone to supply this 
country’s needs last year. 
Now we have a class of men coming forward to tell us 
how much of their living they can supply from their own 
farms. That is good work. 
Several readers have come recently asking where they 
can buy oxen. These people generally own motor cars, 
too. They want oxen for the slow, heavy farm work. 
“When my ship comes in !” We wish we had the power 
to blow upon the sails of your lost vessel. It will come 
some day when you least expect it. The cargo may not be 
what you figure on now—but it may be better. 
New Jersey has been called the paradise of motor car 
drivers. Prince Edward Island is the reverse of this, for 
the law there provides that anyone running a motor 
vehicle on the highways or public places of that island 
shall be fined $500 or jailed six months! 
