432 
THE) RURAb NEW-YORKER 
March 30, 
LARGE PUBLIC QUESTIONS. 
[Editor's Note.— Under this heading we 
intend to have discussed questions which 
particularly interest country people. We 
do not agree with all that our correspond¬ 
ents say, but we shall give men and women 
who possess the courage of conviction an 
opportunity to say what they think about 
certain things which interest country peo¬ 
ple.] 
THE PENSION QUESTION. 
The Sherwood pension bill recently 
reported in The R. N.-Y. has called up 
a bitter controversy over the right or 
justice of pension legislation in general. 
The following letters are typical of the 
arguments advanced on both sides. First 
is a letter written to Senator Elihu 
Root of New York. Then follows a 
letter from an old soldier: 
Opposed to the Pension Bill. 
I am writing this to urge you to use all 
of your powers of mind and body to defeat 
the latest of the grab bills to loot the treas¬ 
ury, viz., the Sherwood pension bill, which 
I see has passed the House. I cannot con¬ 
ceive what our law makers are thinking 
about to keep increasing the pension list, 
as fast as it begins to show any signs of 
falling off, and adding continually to the 
burdens of the rest of the people. Why 
cannot they realize that they have changed 
an army of patriotic young men (who we 
will admit for the sake of argument, went 
to the war from patriotic motives, although 
we who lived at that time know that thou¬ 
sands of them went for the bounty that the 
States, counties and towns, and some indi¬ 
viduals offered to induce enlistments), into 
the most gigantic graft that ever cursed 
a nation; and why cannot they see the 
results of such a policy, that are just as 
certain to follow, as that to give to every 
tramp that walks the streets but serves to 
increase vagrancy? 
See how it has worked in regard to the 
little brush we had with Spain. No sooner 
was tlie war over, than the Spanish War 
Veterans were organized on the same lines 
as the Grand Army, and for what purpose 
but to get their share of money that an 
unwise governmental policy was lavishly 
and .foolishly dealing out to those who had 
only done their duty to their country? I 
enclose a clipping from an account of the 
meeting (in support of the ratification of 
the arbitration treaties) in Carnegie Ilall, 
which was broken up by the hoodlum ele¬ 
ment, which is attributed to disaffected 
Irish and Germans, but which I am con¬ 
vinced was by those who would like noth¬ 
ing better than to plunge the country into 
another war, that they might show their 
patriotism forsooth, so that afterwards 
they could be taken care of by the Govern¬ 
ment with the rest of its pensioners! 
I also firmly believe that there is no 
other question that is so detrimental to the 
cause of universal peace as is this very 
pension policy of our Government. Now 
do not think from this that I am opposed 
to pensions; far from it, but I do believe 
that pensions for disability on account of 
wounds (as was the policy of the Govern¬ 
ment before the Civil War), is the only 
safe rule to follow. 
I also think that the most reprehensible 
policy of the Roosevelt administration was 
his forcing through the service pensions act. 
Now my dear Senator, 1 have gotten to be 
an old man, who has 'watched the trend 
of events from the organization of ■ the 
Republican party, having cast my first vote 
for President for Abraham Lincoln in 1800, 
having been just too young to vote for 
John C. Fremont in 1856; have always been 
a Republican, and for many years voted 
my party ticket, but for a number of years 
last past have voted for men, instead of 
party. I have a brother older than my¬ 
self who served three years in the Civil 
War (and like the rest of the old veterans, 
is ready, I presume, to take all the Gov¬ 
ernment is willing to give), while I felt it 
my duty to stay on the old farm, and help 
feed the army and care for the old folks at 
home. I have also watched the proceedings 
of Congress since the close of the War of 
the Rebellion, and have noticed how each 
party in Congress has seemed to try to 
outdo the other in order to secure the 
soldier vote, to keep or get in control of 
the Government virtually willing to sacri¬ 
fice their country for personal preferment. 
New York. u. n. gaurett. 
An Old Soldier on Pensions. 
I am a soldier of the Civil War, 75 years 
old, and have been incapacitated from 
manual labor for many years, consequently 
have nothing but what little the Government 
gives me to support wife and myself (thank 
God there are no children), and that is little 
enough, especially when you consider it in 
the light of a large sign that was very 
conspicuously posted on the side of the 
White House at the time of the great re¬ 
view in Washington. This sign or painted 
canvas, with letters so large they could be 
read a mile off, informed the soldier and the 
public generally “The only debt this country 
can never repay is the debt it owes to its 
volunteer soldiers.” I am 75 years old, 
and pensioned on two counts, but when 
you come to paying rent and clothe yourself, 
and the doctor, butcher and grocery man, 
it doesn’t take much figuring to see there 
is not much left out of $5 a week. Now 
we ask for bread by the way of a little 
more pension, and get a stone, while our 
Senators are having a good time loafing 
away their time on fat salaries, and they 
have to thank these very same old men 
who bore the brunt of battle to save this 
country, and make it possible to have a 
Senate and a chance for them to loaf. 
They ought every one of them to give $500 
a year to increase the pension fund; instead 
thev are kicking and snarling over giving 
us $1 a day. an old veteran. 
Maine. 
Letter Writers Instead of an Agrarian Party. 
Minority parties undoubtedly have a dis¬ 
tinct field of usefulness in all but despotic 
governments, yet I cannot help feeling that 
it would be a vast waste of energy to at¬ 
tempt the organization of an agrarian party 
in the United States. Like most other 
attempted short cuts, I believe it would fail 
of its original purpose. In the early stages 
of its development, every organization must 
have centralized authority exercising a 
good deal of delegated power. Later, as 
the organization spreads and comes to 
wield genuine influence, factors that were 
originally sources of strength become ele¬ 
ments of weakness. Recent inside history 
of the National Grange illustrates the above 
process perfectly. 
Agriculture is the basic industry of civ¬ 
ilization. Upon the farmer depends the pros¬ 
perity of every other class, and conversely 
upon all the other classes depends the 
prosperity of the farmer. The problems of 
society as a whole (the elimination of spe¬ 
cial privilege for instance), are therefore 
the farmers’ more than any one’s else. Fur¬ 
thermore, the farmer, because of his semi¬ 
independent position, is better able to meet 
the situation than anyone else. In the 
battle over special privilege, men divide 
naturally into liberals and conservatives. 
It almost seems though, as if our govern¬ 
mental system had been deliberately planned 
for the purpose of keeping the liberal ele¬ 
ments in politics from uniting. By a grad¬ 
ual process of evolution we have been plac¬ 
ing the control of both parties with' the 
rank and file, yet in neither is the process 
anywhere complete. Which of the two 
great parties will first come under popular 
and therefore liberal control, no one can 
say, although the consummation is evi¬ 
dently close at hand. As I stated above, 
the farmers’ interests distinctly lie with 
the liberals. Therefore it is both good 
business and good politics for him to give 
his support to the liberal cause in every 
election. To do this successfully he must 
be absolutely independent 
Although the politicians diligently culti¬ 
vate tradition to the contrary, it is a fact 
that the man who allows his vote to be 
counted in advance of election, thereby 
throws away the most of his influence. Both 
parties are always eager to bid for the in¬ 
dependent vote. Therefore those have the 
most influence on governmental processes 
who loudly proclaim their independence 
and make known their demands. That is 
what makes the postage stamp such a tre¬ 
mendous power in politics to-day. In fact 
any small, compact, and energetic body of 
letter writers can get almost anything they 
go after to-day. 
CHRISTOPHER M. GALLUP. 
Somerset County, Me. 
STRAWBERRIES 
Plant3 by the dozen or by the million 
120 acres planted In 103 varieties. All 
the standards and the most promising ol 
the new ones. Largest grower in 
America. Every plant true to came. 
Also Raspberry,Blackberry,Gooseberry 
and Currant Plants, Grape Vines, Cali¬ 
fornia Privet and other Shrubbery. 
[Cultural directions with each ship¬ 
ment. Beautiful Catalogue FREE. Send 
a postal today. My personal guarantee 
back of every sale. 
W. F. ALLEN 
72 Market Street, Saliabury, Md. 
I 
Make Every Acre Net $200 Each Year 
I An acre of Berries will bring more net profit than ten acres I 
of corn or wheat—W ith LESS WORK—five acres, more | 
I income than the salary of the average state senator. Be 
growing Is a solid, permanent business. City people s 
* are eating more and more berries. Prices are; 
i double what they were ten years ago. 
j Learn the facts. Get Knight's 1912 Book^ 
of Small Fruits. It’s free if you write soon. 
DAVID KNIGHT & SON 
)Box 105 Sawyer, Michiganf 
RELIABLE 
FRUIT TREES 
We do not ask for your order* 
simply because we are one of the 
oldest nursery firms in the business 
or because we are the largest in this 
section of the country. But we do ask 
your business on the merits of our trees 
and plants—the best and most reliable that 
money can buy. Our long experience and 
success is your guarantee that our pro* 
duct and prices are right. 
Send a postal today for our practical 
Booklet. It boils down for your benefit 
what we have learned during thirty years’ 
experience in growing fruit. 
BARNES BROS. NURSERY CO. 
Box 8, Yalesville. Conn. 
GET VIGOROUS WESTERN 
D CORN 
lean sell you high germination seed for 
less than you pay the Iocal| 
forpoor stuff. It will 
produce from 30 to 40 ton 9 
an acre on good land. Read, 
what one customersays aboutit: 
‘Preble, N. Y.,Feb. 12, 1912. 
Henry Field: / had ensilage 
corn from you last year and it 
was over 12 feet high, an earl 
onevery stalk, sometimes two. ’ 
Can you furnish me the same 
seed this year. W. IV. ROOT. 
Price—$1.50 per bu., freight prepaid, in la.. Ill., 
Mo,, Neb., Kans., Wis., Ind. andOhioon4 bu. 
or over. $1.75per bu. freight prepaid to Btatee 
east and south of Ohio ou 4 bu. or over. 
Seed guaranteed satisfactory or your 
money back. Catalogs and samples 
• ree .t2 r asking. Write me today. 
HENRY FIELD SEED CO.. 
Box 26 Shenandoah, Iowa. 
A A I P A Trees. True to Name. Ten 
4 times your money back for all 
treesthat prove not true speciosa. Also Catalpa seed. I havo 
Cypress Trees, the most beautiful tree in the world. 
H. C. ROGERS, Box 11 Mechanicsburg, Ohio 
CLOVER * n d TIMOTHY 1 7 A°h p !? 
Cheapest ami Best Seeding Known. 
Alsike, Clover and Timothy mixed. Fully one-third AI» 
sike, a great bargain. Most wonderful hay and pasture 
combination that grows. Write for FREE SAMPLE and 
our large 76-page catalog describing this wonderful grass 
mixture and be convinced. Far ahead of anything you 
can sow and ridiculously cheap* Write before advance. 
A. A. BERRY SEED CO., Bo*560 CLARINDA, IOWA. 
POTATOES 
Are a Sure Money Crop when Raised with 
E. FRANK COE FERTILIZERS 
185*7“■The Business Farmers’ Favorite For Over Fifty Years —1012 
A Young Business Farmer of Aroostook County, Maine, Makes a Wonderful 
Crop with Coe's Potato Fertilizer 
Mr. Benjamin H. Ward of Aroostook County, Maine, last spring pur¬ 
chased a $15,000 farm, paying a small amount down and giving a mortgage for 
the balance. (Quite an undertaking for a young man of about twenty years.) 
On Aug. 9th, 1911, Mr. Ward wrote us as follows: 
“E. Frank Coe’s Standard Potato Fertilizer is giving me splendid results this 
year. I have 50 acres of Potatoes (Cobblers, Green Mountain, Carmans, Bliss and Gold 
Coin! on which I used 40 tons of your F. Frank Coe’s Standard Potato Fertilizer. 
The tops are stocky and the crop has set heavily. I have 47 acres in one field and I have 
never seen anything finer in Aroostook County. This tells the quality of the Fertilizer.” 
At digging time, from this 50 acres of Potatoes, young Mr. Ward har¬ 
vested 6,451 barrels of Potatoes, or 17,739 bushels, an average of 354 bushels 
per acre. This is no garden patch, or a crop receiving special culture to 
force yields. The crop was cultivated and sprayed by young Mr. Ward 
alone without any help. 
RESULTS: Under date of Feb. 20th, 1912, Mr. Ward writes as follows: 
“I have deposited $8,570.98 from my potatoes »o far, and I have eighteen hundred barrels yet. ” 
We have never seen a better example of what grit and ability can do, 
hacked up by E. Fbank Coe Fertilizers. 
While amateur farmers are wasting time and money over home mixing 
and various “freak” fertilizers, real business farmers are using E. Frank 
Coe Fertilizers and getting results like the above. 
Mr. Ward has written a letter telling in detail how he raised this crop. 
Probably he thought we would “fix it up” for an advertisement. Instead 
we have had it printed word for word as he has written it. You have 
never read anything more interesting, and there is a free copy waiting for 
you if you will only ask us for it. 
♦ 
Write for “Story of a Profitable Potato Crop** 
«“ulng up “ n Genuine E. Frank Coe Brands S" 
THE COE-MORTIMER CO. 
51 CHAMBERS STREET NEW YORK CITY 
Burpee’s Seeds Grow! 
T HE truth of this famous “slogan” is attested by thousands of the 
most progressive planters throughout the world, who rely year after 
year upon Burpee’s Seeds as The Best Seeds That Can Be Grown ! 
If you are willing to pay a fair price for Quality-Seeds, we shall 
be pleased to mail, without cost, a copy of Burpee’s Annual for 1912. 
Long known as “The Leading American Seed Catalog.” This Bright 
New Book of 178 pages tells the plain truth and is a safe guide to 
success in the garden. Do you want it? If so, write today! Address 
W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., Philadelphia 
Dibble’s Farm Seeds 
o 1 f\ ■ early bright, heavy grain thoroughly recleaned and enormously 
deed UatS productive. 
C J D „ Dibble’s Canadian six-rowed with a record of 54 bushels pe r 
deed Barley acre. 40 acres on the Dibble farms. 
ri J ft of high germination, four varieties best for crop and the silo, 
deed Lorn offer the product of 300 acres. 
n , m. ,| i a if if Celebrated D. B. brand 99.50* 
Clover Seed, Timothy and Alfalfa 
„ i r» owing to heavy demand, sold ont of many varieties. Can still 
NpPfi rmAmPC fill orders with choice stock for a number of our very best 
ajvvu i uuuvvo early, intermediate and main crop kinds. 
Ask for special potato price list and Dibble’s comprehensive Farm Seed Catalog. FREE. 
Address, EDWARD F. DIBBLE, Seedgrower, Honeoye Falls, N* Y. Box B 
From Our Farms to Yours- 
ALFALFA 
All Northern crown, guaranteed to be 99 percent 
pure and free from dodder. Write for free sample 
on which we invite yon to get Government test*. 
This seed should produce hay at $60 per acre] an¬ 
nually. Free instructions on growing. 
GRAIN AND GRASS SEED 
Northern grown and of .strongest vitality. We 
handle export grade only and can furnish grass 
mixture suitable for any soils. Write for catalog. 
WING SEED CO., Box 223 Mechanicsburg, O. 
SEED CORN 
Write today for our Free Catalogue telling how 
we select and dry the seed and showing actual 
photographs of our high yielding varieties. 
C. C.VALE, It. No. 10, New Carlisle, O. 
nrrn ft ft nil—Kcid’n Yellow Dent, Imp. Early Learning 
OCCU uUnll and White Cap. Tested Seed. Also SEED 
OATS. Catalog free. THEO. BURT & SONS, Melrose. Ohio. 
ONION SEED GER H MI NATION 
Yellow Danvers, $1.10: Yellow Globe Danvers,$1.25 ; 
Southport Yellow Globe, $1.50: Ohio Yellow Globe, 
$1.50; Prizetaker, $1.40; Southport JRed Globe, $1.40; 
Red Wethersfield, $1.25 per pound, postpaid. 
ONION SETS-Fancy Yellow. $2.25: White. 
$2.75 bushel. 
Write for Seed Catalog and FREE trial pkt. of 
New Eukhuizen Glory Cabbage. 
J. AUG. DRAKE, Seedsman, 100 Main St., Chester, N. J 
For Reliable Seeds 
Bought direct from the farming community, and 
sold direct to the farmer:—Medium and Mammoth 
Clover, Alsike, Alfalfa, White and Crimson Clover, 
Timothy, Rape, Ited Top, Blue Grass, Orchard 
Grass, Barley. Rye, Spring Wheat, all kinds of 
Seed Com and Peas. Freight prepaid your Rail¬ 
road Station. Write for samples and prices. 
[Party who sent the fifty cents in stamps for order to us, 
will please send their name and address to us, as the letter 
and stamps were lost. We will send the seed.] 
N. Wertheimer & Sons. Ligonier, Ind. 
