1912. 
<3^7" 
THE RURA.I> NEW-YORKER, 
LARGE PUBLIC QUESTIONS. 
[Editor’s Note. —Under this heading we intend to 
nave discussed questions which particularly interets 
country people. We do not agree with all that our 
correspondents say, but we shall give men and women 
who possess the courage of conviction an opportunity ot 
say what they think about certain things which interest 
country people]. 
THE NEXT PRESIDENT. 
As the campaign progresses the bitter¬ 
ness between the Taft and Roosevelt forces 
grows deeper. In our canvass Mr. Roose¬ 
velt still continues a three to one favorite 
among farmers and country people. The 
personal character which the Presidential 
debate has assumed is having its effect. 
Here is a sample letter from a New York 
State farmer: 
The Personal Political Debate. 
You cannot regret more than I do the 
personal turn that the political debate 
has taken, in fact, I felt so bad about it 
that, a few days ago, I sent a note of pro¬ 
test to the Colonel. It can do no good, of 
course, unless backed up by many others 
like it, but it is hard to keep quiet when 
tilings are going as they are now. Maybe 
The R. N.-Y. would better start another 
postage stamp campaign in the interest of 
public peace. One can draw about any les¬ 
son from present conditions that he has a 
mind to, but a most significant thing to me 
is the apparent loss of leadership of public 
opinion by the great journals. So far as 
1 know, the Eastern papers are almost a 
unit in hammering Col. Roosevelt, and that 
with an enthusiasm that borders upon vin¬ 
dictiveness, but wherever a preferential 
primary has been held he lias had enormous 
popular support. 1 still believe that the 
pripciples which Roosevelt advocates, and 
for the adoption of which he did so much 
while President, are most essential, and I 
want to see Roosevelt, or a like-minded man, 
our next President. My faith in Roosevelt 
is founded, not upon what he says now, but 
upon what he did during the seven years 
that he occupied the White House, and, per 
contra, my lack of faith in Taft is founded 
upon what he has failed to do while in the 
same position. p. m. b. 
New York. 
R. N.-Y'.—It is hard for a farmer to realize 
the fearful bitterness against Mr. Roosevelt 
in the large Eastern cities. In a way this 
contest for the nomination is a struggle be¬ 
tween the country and the city, perhaps as 
clear cut as any we have thus far had in 
this country. 
Both Sides of a Speech. 
We have a letter from one of the best- 
known farmers in this country—an old ad¬ 
mirer and friend of Mr. Roosevelt, who 
says: 
‘•Sincerely, I believe Roosevelt is insane 
—positively crazy in his eagerness to hold 
the people, and with a lot of dangerous 
cunning in his head. He has made a fear¬ 
ful mistake in dragging the President into a 
personal controversy. His speech at Wor¬ 
cester, Mass., stamps him as a very unsafe 
man for office.” 
l'et two days later we receive the follow¬ 
ing from another -clear-headed man deeply 
interested in farming: 
“Did you read Roosevelt's speech at Wor¬ 
cester, Mass., in reply to Mr. Taft’s speech, 
in which he set out to ‘uncork’ things? 
That speech at Worcester is the best thing 
that Roosevelt has done yet. I almost 
think that if he keeps on I should be in¬ 
clined to vote for him. Certainly I never 
could bring myself around to a point where 
I could vote for Mr. Taft, but yet I am 
not sure that Roosevelt is the right man.” 
The Effect of Personalities. 
Since the President and Mr. Roosevelt 
began to make political faces and throw 
words at each other a change has come 
over the opinions which our people send 
us. There is less direct argument and 
more abuse or personal criticism. This is 
the worst feature of the campaign, for the 
politicians on both sides can work their 
game behind such smoke. Here is a sam¬ 
ple : 
I want to make a comparison between 
two official acts, of President Taft and ex- 
President Roosevelt, which it seems to me 
absolutely show the character of both men. 
One September evening in Mr. Taft’s first 
year as President, a young and unknown 
man named diavis, who occupied a sub¬ 
ordinate position with the Department of 
the Interior, went to Beverly and pre¬ 
sented to Mr. Taft in a manly and straight¬ 
forward manner a serious charge against 
his superior, the Secretary of the Interior, 
Ballinger. The charge was that Mr. Bal¬ 
linger was conniving with the Cunningham 
coal claimants to defraud the Government 
of its coal property. This charge he sup¬ 
ported with a thousand pages qf typewritten 
notes, gathered with enormous labor from 
various States in the Union. Mr. Taft 
listened to Glavis’s story and summoned 
Ballinger and Ballinger’s counselor and as¬ 
sistant. Lawlor. They came the next even¬ 
ing and stated to Mr. Taft that there was 
no truth in the story, and Mr. Taft told 
T.awlor to write an answer to the charges, 
dismissing Glavis for insubordination, and 
exonerating Ballinger, as if he were Presi¬ 
dent. This letter was written and. with a 
few corrections, signed by Mr. Taft. Glavis 
lost his position within about three days 
after lie had made the charge. 
In December the public feeling against 
this act had grown so strong throughout 
the country (the talk was that it was a 
snap judgment), that the Senate demanded 
of Mr. Taft, in a resolution, the documents 
and papers on which Mr. Taft had acted. 
Fifteen days later Mr. Taft submitted the 
papers to the Senate with a note saying 
that these were the papers upon which ho 
had acted. The papers were Glavis’s thou¬ 
sand pages of .testimony, which had been 
put into Mr. Taft’s hands on September 
II or 12. together with a brief of Attorney 
General Wickersham, of some forty thou¬ 
sand words, dated September 12. in which 
the Attorney-General stated that the 
charges were baseless and advised Mr. Taft 
to dismiss Glavis and exonerate Ballinger. 
This practically settled .the matter for the 
time. being, as the country felt that the 
President had not used snap judgment, be¬ 
cause he had had the opinion of the Attor¬ 
ney-General of the United States in a care¬ 
fully written brief before he had acted. 
Unfortunately for Mr. Taft, Mr. Brandeis, 
Glavis’s lawyer, was not satisfied with 
this, and finally secured a man in the De¬ 
partment honest enough to admit that he 
had written on the dictation of Lawlor 
and produced his copy of the letter on 
which Mr. Taft had really acted, and it 
was proved and admitted by Mr. Taft that 
the Wickersham letter was not written until 
after the Senate Committee had asked for 
the documents upon which Mr. Taft had 
acted. In other words, it was written be¬ 
tween December 15 and 20 and dated Sep¬ 
tember 12. On the other band, take the 
case of Theodore Roosevelt with the dele¬ 
gates of Massachusetts. The delegates who 
were instructed for him had been elected 
by some seven or eight thousand majority, 
but Mr. Taft was given the preferential vote 
of tlie State by about three thousand. Im¬ 
mediately upon learning these facts, Mr. 
Roosevelt telegraphed to each delegate at 
large demanding that they follow the will 
of the people as expressed by the majority 
and vote for Mr. Taft, instead of following 
their instructions and voting for Roosevelt. 
The first is the act of a shyster lawyer, 
and for less than this men have frequently 
been disbarred. The second is the act of 
an honorable gentleman. I can see no 
moral difference between antedating evi¬ 
dence and forging a man's name. This ex¬ 
plains why I am for Theodore Roosevelt 
and, though a Republican, will vote for 
any Democrat nominated against William 
Howard Taft. J. m. b. 
New York. 
It. N.-Y'.—Right ahead of this letter came 
a clipping from the New York World about 
the action of Mr. Roosevelt in giving up 
those delegates. 
“These eight delegates are Roosevelt men, 
and under tiie Roosevelt instructions they 
would rote for Mr. Taft only on the ques¬ 
tion of the nomination. They would not 
vote for Mr. Taft on other questions. If 
the contest at Chicago is as close as it 
promises to be, the nomination will be won 
or lost in the fight for permanent control 
of the convention. On this vital issue these 
eight Massachusetts delegates will be with 
Roosevelt and against Taft. The Roosevelt 
managers have started contests wherever 
contests could be started, and if the Roose¬ 
velt contestants can be seated Mr. Taft’s 
fate is sealed. Thus it can be seen that in 
generously surrendering to Mr. Taft the 
nomination votes of eight Massachusetts 
delegates Mr. Roosevelt has given up noth¬ 
ing of importance and Mr. Taft has gained 
nothing of importance. Although Mr. Taft 
carried the State in the preferential pri¬ 
mary, the operation of the law deprives him 
of all the real fruits of victory.” 
Where Many Seem to be Going. 
One surprising tiling about this canvass 
is the large number of voters who write 
about as follows: 
Taft should be beaten decisively for the 
reason that if elected he personally would 
logically interpret his election as an en¬ 
dorsement of his own political beliefs as 
manifested in his actions and speeches and 
his stand-pat allies and supporters would 
be correct in asuming that Taft's election 
impressed the people's seal of approval on 
their reactionary policies. The Republican 
party, as dominated at the present time, 
has outlived its usefulness. Regarding 
Roosevelt, I cannot see my way clear to vote 
for him, because in the first place, he is 
not keeping faith in that he is again seeking 
the nomination. That the people are so 
sorely pressed for the want of the right 
kind of a man that he was forced to enter 
the contest is nonsense. Are the people 
of these United States ready to admit that 
another man. just as good or better, cannot 
be produced so that we must must accept 
Roosevelt as our savior? Honest now, 
are we ready to admit that to ourselves 
and the world? 
Aside from the traditions in regard to 
a third term (though he could squeeze 
out of that on a technicality), were not 
some of his actions while in office rather 
“shady?” During Roosevelt's incumbency 
was there not another blot placed upon the 
history of our country in the treatment 
of our little weak sister—Republic of Co¬ 
lombia, in connection with the Panama 
affair? Is it any wonder that the republics 
to the south of us hate us Americans as 
arrogant and domineering neighbors? My 
choice for President then would be either 
Wilson or LaFollette. However, I doubt 
that Mr. Wilson can reform the Democratic 
party, so then only LaFollette is left for 
me. If I cannot vote for him. then I shall 
not hesitate to vote the Socialistic ticket. 
This party’s doctrines, I remember, some 20 
years ago, were denounced as anarchistic, 
but T also observe that to-day at least some 
of their teachings have been adopted by ail 
of the progressives. If our statesmen are 
wise they will heed the handwriting on the 
wall of this day and bring about the needed 
reforms before we become hopelessly 
swamped in industrial feudalism. The peo¬ 
ple seem to be very patient and docile but 
some day they may wake up and find that 
their provocations for a radical change are 
greater than those of our forefathers were, 
who fought for the freedom of this country. 
New Jersey. e. y. 
Senator Root and Parcels Post. 
Thousands of our readers have written 
Senator Elihu Root of New York about par¬ 
cels post. At first they received “careful 
consideration.” Then the following made 
its appearance: 
“I have to acknowledge your recent letter 
in favor of the extension of the parcels 
post system. I have long been an advocate 
of the parcels post and T so declared my¬ 
self in my speech to the Legislature of New 
York, accepting the Senatorship. Januarv 28, 
1909.” 
One of our people who received this note 
wants to know what Mr. Root said to the 
Legislature. Here is the only reference 
to parcels post that we find in his speech : 
From speech of Senator Root before N. 
Y. Legislature January 28. 1909. 
. . . “Difficult questions are contin¬ 
ually presented, which affect the interests 
of every State, and the wide and immense 
and varied interests of the State of New 
York are particularly liable to be affected 
by the great variety of measures which 
come before the National Congress. I 
would be glad to have you express your 
opinions upon all measures which appear 
to you to affect the interests of the State. 
I shall be glad to be at liberty to consult 
you freely, as occasion offers, upon the prac¬ 
tical operation of measures pending before 
the National Congress on the interests of 
the State. If you think it will be bene¬ 
ficial to the State of New York, for example, 
as I now think it would be, to have a par¬ 
cels post provision included in our postal 
laws (applause), so that the 39.000 rural 
free delivery carriers instead of driving 
around the country with empty buggies, as 
they do now, shall earn enough to pay their 
salary by carrying small packages to the 
people they serve—if you think that would 
be beneficial to the interests of the State 
of New Y'ork, I would be glad to have you 
say so, and if you think I am wrong in that 
I would be glad to have you say so.” 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Five men were burned to 
death at Cleveland, O., May 1, when with 
six successive explosions 100,000 gallons 
of gasolene and naphtha in the compart¬ 
ments of the new Standard Oil Company 
barge 88, covered everything in the vicinity 
witli the blazing fluid. The property dam¬ 
age is estimated at from §150,000 to $200,- 
000. There was no insurance on the new 
steel barge nor on the tugs, dr.vdocks, 
wharves and sheds of the towing company 
which were damaged. 
The State Department made public May 
2 information received from the American 
Legation at La Paz, Bolivia, branding as 
false the reports of extensive discoveries of 
gold in that country. According to the 
State Department advices, many Americans 
are arriving in Bolivia to seek gold, having 
been misled by false reports said to have 
been circulated in a letter signed by a 
man named Ferguson. This letter, which is 
said to have been widely circulated in the 
United States, especially in the West, is 
declared to be a fake. The American Le¬ 
gation at La Paz is receiving many letters 
and cablegrams of inquiry regarding the 
alleged gold discoveries in Bolivia from 
Americans about to proceed to that country. 
Many of these inquiries have been received 
from persons in the Western States. 
A suit for the recovery of $116,410 in 
customs duties, alleged to have been lost by 
the Government through undenveighing of 
imported sugar, was filed May 2 in the 
Federal courts by Henry A. Wise, United 
States District Attorney, against the Fed¬ 
eral Sugar Refining Company. The under¬ 
weighing, the Government charged, was 
done in 1909 on cargoes brought to the com¬ 
pany’s docks at Yonkers. The Government’s 
claim was established as a result of a re¬ 
liquidation of the entries of importations 
by the sugar company ordered by Collector 
Locb. The alleged discrepancy between the 
amount in duties paid and that due was 
then discovered, and the suit was filed. 
May 2 the combined waters of the Missis¬ 
sippi and Red rivers were rushing through 
the Torras. La., levee, and the damage was 
put at $10,000,000; 157,000 persons were 
dependent upon Government relief. The 
Angola convict farm was wiped off the 
map. and a State sugar refinery heavily 
damaged. Fifteen boats belonging to the 
War Department are now engaged in the 
relief work along the Mississippi. Rations 
valued at $250,000 have already been dis¬ 
tributed to the sufferers and nearly $100,000 
has been expended for forage, tents and 
quartermaster’s supplies. May 3 conditions 
were very serious at Baton Rogue, and 
hundreds of men of all classes, white, col¬ 
ored and convicts, worked at building extra 
levees. Bayou Sara was under from 10 to 
15 feet of water, and it had the appearance 
of the entire Mississippi river flowing 
through the town. The water reached the 
second floor of many houses and 10 large 
houses were seen floating away. Some 
sections have been utterly devastated by 
the flood and innumerable cattle are floun¬ 
dering about in the water, while thousands 
of women and children are destitute on the 
banks. The extent of the loss of human 
life is not known, but is believed to be 
large. Harrowing stories told by refugees 
picked up by rescue boats May 0 and brought 
to New Roads, Baton Rouge and other 
places of comparative safety show that 
thousands are marooned, witli little chance 
of escape. The refugees say that many of 
these will die of hunger and exposure. Al¬ 
though effort has been made to get boats 
and many have been given without charge, 
their work has to be more or less hap¬ 
hazard. In addition the smaller craft in 
most places are hampered by the furious* 
current, while larger boats are unable to 
penetrate many parts of the flooded interior. 
May 7, 18 persons were drowned near Torras 
by the capsizing or sinking of rescue boats. 
The will of John Jacob Astor, disposing 
of an estate valued roughly at $100,000,000, 
was summarized May 6 by Lewis Gass Led- 
yard, the lawyer who drew it. Mr. Astor 
left the estate almost intact to his son, 
William Vincent Astor, who. is not yet 21 
years old. Not much more than $8,000,000 
can in any event be diverted from the main 
Astor line. To Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor 
lie gave outright $100,000 and the income 
from a trust fund of $5,000,000 and the use 
during her life of the house at 840 Fifth 
avenue and its contents. She loses both 
in case she marries again. YIrs. Ava Will¬ 
ing Astor, his first wife, he did not mention. 
He gave $5,000,000 in trust for her daugh¬ 
ter, Ava Alice Muriel Astor. who is about 
10 years old, which becomes hers absolutely 
upon her reaching her majority. A fund 
of $3,000,000 was also set side for “each 
child who shall survive the testator” be¬ 
sides the two by his first marriage. A post¬ 
humous child will inherit this. Mr. Astor’s 
general bequests amounted to about $175,- 
000. Of this sum $100,000 went to friends, 
four of whom had served as trustees of the 
Astor estate. He gave $45,000 to three 
men who had served him in various capaci¬ 
ties. The only bequest which could be con¬ 
strued as serving a public purpose, was a 
legacy of $30,000 to St. Paul’s School. He 
provided also for the continuance of the 
Astor cups, annual trophies of the New 
Y'ork Yacht Club. 
Eleven persons went to instant death, 
half a dozen more were injured so seriously 
that they will die, 40 sustained broken 
bones, severe bruises or internal injuries, 
and a like number were hurt slightly or cut 
with broken glass when a special train gq- 
ing from Dallas, Tex., to the Confederate 
reunion at Macon, Ga., and crowded with 
veterans and their families was wrecked 
six miles north of Hattiesburg, Miss., 
May 6. 
Fire that started in the storage house of 
the Revere Rubber Company at Providence, 
R. I., May 7, extended to an adjacent lum¬ 
ber yard and caused a total loss of $600;- 
000, automobile tires to the value of $550,- 
000 being burned. 
On account of the liability of owners and 
directors of racetracks under the betting 
law, it has been decided to give up the 
Dutchess County. N. Y., fair this year. A 
fair without racing would not be a success, 
it is claimed. The chances of trouble on 
account of the betting law are so great 
that Jacob liuppert, owner of the fair 
grounds, has refused to lease them. These 
are the most beautiful and best equipped 
in the State, with the exception of the 
State Fair grounds at Syracuse. 
The Connecticut Sheep Breeders’ Associa¬ 
tion will hold its annual field day and 
shearing contest at the farm of D. M. Mit¬ 
chell, Southbury, Conn., May 21. 
ADMINISTRATION.—A general pension 
bill carrying an annual increase over the 
present pension rolls of $25,797,578 was 
agreed upon by the conferrees of the House 
and Senate May 2 and will probably be ap¬ 
proved by both branches arid sent to the 
President for signature. The measure is 
that passed by the Senate as a substitute 
for the House bill, which provided for an 
increase of $75,000,000. In its final form 
the Dill provides for an increase of $1,685,- 
000 over the Senate bill. Amendments pro¬ 
viding that the Commissioner of Pensions 
shall publish a list of all pensioners and 
that any person having an income of $2,400 
a year should not be eligible for an in- 1 
crease under the bill were stricken out by 
the conference committee. 
The post office appropriation bill, with its 
various legislative features, including au¬ 
thorization for the establishment of an ex¬ 
perimental parcels post, was finally passed 
by the House May 2. In postponing the 
establishment of a general parcels post the 
Hones authorizes the creation of a joint 
committee of six persons, three to be ap¬ 
pointed by the Speaker and three by the 
Vice-President, which shall report at the 
beginning of the next session a general par¬ 
cels post bill. 
Senator Burnham reported the agricul¬ 
tural appropriation bill May 3. It in¬ 
creases the appropriations of the House by 
$1,723,610, and carries a total of $17,656,- 
967. which is nearly $2,000,000 in excess 
of the estimates. The increases are dis¬ 
tributed among the several bureaus and di¬ 
visions of the Department of Agriculture as 
follows: Secretary’s office, $12,850; Weather 
Bureau, $10,990; Bureau of Animal Indus¬ 
try. $73,800; Bureau of Plant Industry, 
$130,310 ; Forest Service, $328,800 ; Bureau 
of Chemistry, $25,240 ; Bureau of Soils, $20,- 
490; Bureau of Entomology. $50,000; Bu¬ 
reau of Biological Survey, $96,000 ; Division 
of Publication, $2,130; Bureau of Statis¬ 
tics, $50.000; Office of Experiment Sta¬ 
tions, $32.300; Office of Public Roads, $30,- 
000: emergency, fire fighting and patrol 
of the Forest Service, $ 800 , 000 ; chestnut 
tree bark disease, $40,000. The increase in 
the Weather Bureau is to provide for the 
establishment of an additional station and 
increase salaries of a few employees. This 
section is amended also to provide for the 
scientific study of earthquake phenomena. 
An increase of $27,040 for the Bureau of 
Plant Industry is to study the best method 
of meeting the ravages of the cotton bo 11- 
wcevtl. The increase in the Forest Service 
allows $100 additional salaries to each of 
the 54 forestry rangers and $225,000 is 
added for construction and maintenance of 
roads, trails, telephone lines, etc., in the 
national forest reserves. The $50,000 in¬ 
crease charged against the Bureau of Sta¬ 
tistics is for the creation of a new division 
to be known as the Division of Markets, 
to study the marketing of farm products. 
What is “Winter-killing?” 
[We are hearing much this year about 
winter-killing of fruit trees as a result of 
the severe Winter. Just what does this 
winter-killing meanjl 
The exact process of winter-killing in 
plants is brought about in various ways. 
When plants are frozen, the expansion drives 
the water from the ceils into the inter¬ 
cellular spaces, and when a thaw occurs, 
the water attempts to return to its former 
position. If this thaw is very sudden, 
however, the tissue may be ruptured. This 
explains how plants are sometimes unin¬ 
jured by freezing when they thaw out very 
slowly, while severe damage often occurs 
when the thawing out process is very rapid. 
Considerable winter-killing may also occur 
when the ground is deeply frozen and dry, 
so that little moisture can be secured by 
the roots. Evaporation takes place froiii 
the twigs of plants during the dormant 
season, as well as in Summer and when 
dry and sqvere winds occur, while the roots 
of the plants are entirely incased in dry, 
frozen soil, much twig killing may result. 
This is. of course, caused by the actual 
drying out of the twigs, and the evaporation 
of moisture from the tissue of the plants. 
This same injury may occur to the needles 
and foliage of evergreens. So-called Winter 
killing may sometimes occur in very mild 
Winters, following a very dry Summer and 
Fall. In such cases, it is probably true 
that the twigs have not been able to make 
a mature development and are easily in¬ 
jured. It is a well-known fact that twigs 
which grow very late in the season are fre¬ 
quently winter-killed. The freezing of such 
twigs would result in a more rapid expul¬ 
sion of the moisture from the cells by ex¬ 
pansion than would be the case in well- 
riponed tissue, and there would be a more 
rapid change in balance in the moisture 
content between the cells and the intercellu¬ 
lar spaces, with more likelihood of ruptured 
tissue in the freezing and thawing process. 
There are undoubtedly other factors which 
bring about the various injuries listed under 
the term “winter-killing,” many of which 
are not well understood at present. 
New Jersey Station. m. a. bi.ake. 
