1012. 
THE KUKAE IS tv W -VOKKEK 
687 
LARGE PUBLIC QUESTIONS. 
[Editou’s Note.— Under this heading we intend to 
have discussed questions which particularly interest 
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 to 
say what they think about certain things which interest 
country people]. 
LOUISIANA AND FREE SUGAR. 
I (and for that matter, everybody else 
in these parts just now), am in need of 
“more light” on the tariff question. I 
would ask an expression of opinion as to 
the proposed tariff legislation touching 
sugar. The Democratic proposition as an¬ 
nounced by Mr. Underwood is “free sugar.” 
This, we are told, is in the interest of the 
sugar trust, will destroy the cane and beet 
sugar industry of this country without 
giving the consumer cheaper sugar. The 
proposition of Senator Bristow and the Pro¬ 
gressive Republican Senators is the aboli¬ 
tion of the Dutch standards and the differ- 
tial—and a straight duty of one cent a 
pound on sugar regardless of grade or color. 
In other words “sugar is sugar” whether 
it. be the purest cut loaf or “cistern bot¬ 
toms,” black as tar. This, we are told, is 
also in the interest of the sugar trust. 
The common people, and by that I mean 
the consumer, the fellow who “pays the 
freight.' knows very little about govern¬ 
mental affairs, except that just now he is 
getting the short end in the shape of in¬ 
creased cost of living. We know somebody 
has thrown a brick, but cannot locate the 
propelling force. We all, however, have a more 
or less clearly defined idea that the present 
tariff bill was not formed in the interest of 
philanthropy, and that if anything the “big 
business” agents have succeeded in getting a 
maximum of protection against a minimum 
of revenue for the Government. This part 
of Donisiana is largely interested in the 
sugar industry. As it stands today, the 
sugar trust abxohtteln dominatr.i the mar¬ 
ket, but permits us to live. Will free sugar 
destroy ns, and the beet sugar growers of 
tlie West, and leave the octopus unscathed? 
There is no duty upon coffee—yet it is 
higher to the consumer than ever known. 
Will free sugar mean cheaper sugar to the 
consumer or merely more profit for the 
refiner and the sugar trust? 
Louisiana. e. j. Edwards. 
Answered by F. N. Clark. 
March 15 the House of Representatives 
passed a free sugar bill. It provides that 
"Sugars, tank bottoms, sirups of cane juice, 
melada. concentrated melada, concrete and 
concentrated molasses, and molasses, maple 
sugar, maple sirups, glucose or grape 
sugar, and cane sugar, shall be admitted free 
of duty.” This bill is now before the fi¬ 
nance committee of the Senate. Senator 
Bristow of Kansas intends to propose 
amendments which provide for duties ap¬ 
proximating a cent a pound graded ac¬ 
cording to a polariscope test, the purer 
the sugar the higher the tariff. The Payne- 
Aldrieli law now in effect carries an aver¬ 
age rate of 1 9-10th cents per pound, but 
by means of the joker in the tariff called 
the Dutch Standard none but dark sugars 
are imported, on which a duty of about 
si.114 per 100 pounds is paid. Our im¬ 
port tax on sugar is something like 60 mil¬ 
lion dollars, and but for this joker the tax 
would be fifty millions more. Eight words 
comprise the joker, “not above No. 16 
Dutch Standard in color. - ’ The Dutch 
Standard originated in Holland several 
hundred years ago and consisted of 20 
glass bottles graded in color from the dark¬ 
est, No. 1, to the lightest. No. 20. The 
tariff duties on sugar above No. 16 are 
practically prohibitive. The joker keeps 
out of the country the light-colored sugar 
No. 16 to No. 20. It compels the sugar 
maker in Cuba to send to the United States 
only dark sugar, which the American fam¬ 
ily will not buy. Before the dark sugar 
is put ou the market it must be refined or 
“whitened.” The sugar trust owns or con¬ 
trols tlie sugar refineries, and since it is, 
in the main, the only purchaser of Cuban 
sugar, it can fix the price that the Cubans 
receive. And since it is, in the main, the 
only producer of white granulated sugar, 
it can fix the price to the American con¬ 
sumer. It takes a profit coming and going. 
The refining or "whitening” of dark sugar 
which is about 96 per cent pure is a very 
slight expense, but gives a monopoly to the 
refiners. The sugar trust has by this joker 
levied a tribute of some 50 millions an¬ 
nually on the American people, robbed the 
Government of 50 millions of revenue, 
plundered Cuba, absorbed the beet sugar 
industry of the United States and much 
of the cane sugar industry as well, and has 
also by false weighing and bribery at our 
custom houses defrauded the people of 
other millions. 
The beet sugar growers as well as the 
cane sugar growers of the country oppose 
free sugar. They say it will ruin them. 
They are ground down now by the trust, 
but free sugar will completely ruin them 
they insist. It seems probable that some, 
perhaps many sugar producers, would suf¬ 
fer considerably. The Bristow amendments 
would allow of large importations of the 
lighter sugar and cut into the profits of 
the sugar trust considerably. The lowering 
of the duties would lower the price of 
sugar to the consuming public without 
question. Free sugar would lower the price 
still more to the American consumer. 
Whether these lower prices would be per¬ 
manent is questioned. It is claimed by the 
beet and cane growers that free sugar 
would wipe out the sugar growing indus¬ 
try, and that then all sugar would 
be imported and eventually must rise 
in price and cost the American public 
as much as at present. The writer is of 
the opinion that free sugar will not destroy 
the sugar industry of the country but 
would lessen the monopoly of the sugar 
trust somewhat. The Bristow amendment 
would affect the trust’s profits somewhat. 
Neither measure would destroy the sugar 
trust nor seriously affect its monopoly. 
Either measure would be of great benefit 
to the people as a whole, but there is no 
likelihood of either measure becoming law. 
President Taft would veto either measure, 
therefore the beet and cane growers need 
have no fears at present. 
Tlie high price of coffee is not due to a 
tariff on coffee, for there is none. We pro¬ 
duce no coffee. Most of the coffee of the 
world comes from Brazil. The government 
of Brazil has placed an export tax on coffee 
which causes the very high price of coffee 
to-day. It is a government monopoly in 
Brazil. 
SENATOR BRIGGS AND PARCELS POST. 
In a recent issue of The R. N.-Y. ap¬ 
peared a letter signed by me, stating that 
Senator Briggs would give the matter of 
parcels post his consideration, followed by 
a criticism of Senator Briggs’ position on 
the subject. As I am sure you do not wish 
to be unfair or partisan in this matter I 
wish to call to your attention certain facts. 
Senator Briggs was a member of the sub¬ 
committee that reported to the Senate the 
Bourne Parcels Post bill. The committee 
held hearings extending over several weeks, 
questioning men who were in favor of such 
a bill, and men who opposed parcels post 
of any kind. At that time Senator Briggs 
received daily letters and post cards from 
New Jersey urging him to vote for certain 
parcels post bills, mainly the Sulzer or 
Moon bills. Many of the letters and cards 
were printed, others were written and un- 
stereotyped. At that time the bills had 
taken no definite shape and it was impos¬ 
sible to predict its form or substance. The 
Sulzer and other bills had been pronounced 
by the postal authorities and other men 
who studied them to be impracticable, un¬ 
workable and sure to result in a great 
deficit of revenues if enacted. At that time, 
therefore, it would seem that the statement 
that the matter would receive his “care¬ 
ful consideration - ’ was a proper one. Bills 
are so amended before they pass Congress 
that a Senator who commits himself to 
them in advance may find when they come 
up for final vote that objectionable fea¬ 
tures have been incorporated in them that 
he cannot honestly support, or else so 
emasculated of good points that they do 
not deserve support. The same holds true 
of the parcels post hearings then in pro¬ 
gress. 
It is also practically impossible for the 
average Senator with his heavy mail, his 
committee duties and his attendance on the 
sessions of the Senate to give in every case 
a detailed answer to the hundreds of 
printed letters and cards urging the pass¬ 
age or defeat of various measures. To a 
great many correspondents, however. Sena¬ 
tor Briggs stated the objections to the Sul¬ 
zer and Moon bills, and told them that ho 
was a member of the sub-committee which 
was giving its attention to a thorough in¬ 
vestigation of the whole subject and that 
the sub-committee hoped to be able to re¬ 
port to the Senate a parcels post bill that 
would prove acceptable both to the friends 
of parcels post and to the postal authori¬ 
ties who would be charged with its admin¬ 
istration. Senator Briggs was invited by 
Senator Bourne, who is a champion of par¬ 
cels post, to act on the sub committee and 
it is not likely that he would have been 
invited unless he had been friendly to the 
project. 
Since the reporting of the bill, when he 
was able to write with a thorough under¬ 
standing of this specific bill, Senator Briggs 
has written in detail to the correspondents 
who wrote him while the hearings were in 
progress, that he believed the Bourne bill 
would afford the relief they desired; that 
its use of the zone system instead of a 
fiat rate would prevent a large deficiency 
of revenue; that it would give to farmers 
the benefits of proximity to markets, an 
essential feature in his judgment; and that 
he believed the delay caused by the care¬ 
ful consideration of the measure would not 
be lost. He has further stated to certain 
correspondents that if the farmers want a 
parcels post without delay they should 
throw their support to the Bourne bill and 
that he hopes for its passage by this Con¬ 
gress. He believes that the Gardner bill 
involves legal questions that would lead to 
protracted debate and cause inevitable de¬ 
lay in the passage of any legislation. It 
would, in his opinion, raise the question of 
government ownership of railroad lines and 
other matters that would tend to befog the 
issue. The fact that the postal authorities 
are practically committed to the Bourne 
bill would also facilitate its enactment be¬ 
fore that of any other bill. 
In conclusion I hope that you will give 
this letter the same publicity that you gave 
the other and thank you in advance for 
that courtesy. I have written this entirely 
of my own initiative as, while my own 
connection with it is of no importance, I 
think the Senator’s position on parcels post 
has been unwittingly misrepresented. 
frank e. evans, Secretary. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—The three men held respon¬ 
sible for the broken dam at Austin, l’a., 
which caused 80 deaths last September, 
are now held under warrants charging 
manslaughter. The defendants are George 
C. Bayless, Fred N. Hamlin and Michael C. 
Bailey, respectively president, general man¬ 
ager and watchman of the company con¬ 
trolling the dam. Under the warrants 
issued last year against Bayless and Ham¬ 
lin. they were accused of involuntary man¬ 
slaughter. Bailey was not then indicted. 
The association of flood survivors, which 
is seeking the punishment of the men, in¬ 
cludes in its membership more than 100 
relatives of persons who perished in the 
flood which followed the bursting of the 
dam. 
Federal and State engineers May 25 
abandoned the attempt to close the Ily- 
melia crevasse on the west bank of the 
Mississippi and the thousands of men who 
have been working there are being with¬ 
drawn. Well informed persons believe the 
damage done from this broken levee alone 
will exceed the $25,000,000 figure placed by 
the Federal experts when the levee first 
gave way. The estimated width of the 
•gap is 2250 feet, with an average depth of 
40 feet. The current is tearing past the 
upper end of the break at the rate of 10 
miles an hour and the average flow of 
water through the gap is 5,037.000 gallons 
per second. The combined Federal, State 
and private funds which have been ex¬ 
pended upon the crevasse since the cave 
was reported May 16 amounts to $60,000. 
An enormous region, comprising parts of 
five parishes, is flooded and the waters are 
creeping steadily southwest and south. 
May 22 Joseph Ilerzberg, of New York, 
was arrested on the complaint of C. F. 
Klerbauer, a dealer in antiques, to whom 
he had sold a bag of alleged gold dust for 
$5,070. The “gold dust” proved to be brass 
filings, worth about 15 cents a pound. 
Capt. P. C. Johnson, Canadian Dominion 
Government inspector of lighthouses, one 
of the most experienced of Canadian navi¬ 
gators. who was in charge of the expedi¬ 
tion sent out on the Government steamer 
Montmagny in search of Titanic bodies, re¬ 
ports a remarkable discovery made at the 
scene of the Titanic wreck which he be¬ 
lieves accounts for the disaster. This is a 
change in the Arctic current which thereby 
formed a great pocket of cold water within 
the usual course of the Gulf Stream. _ This 
change was not known to Capt. Smith of 
the Titanic, and Capt. Johnson says ex¬ 
plains why lie did not avoid icebergs of 
which he 'was warned. 
Two big fires near Perth Amboy, N. ,T., 
May 25 caused damage amounting to more 
than $1,000,000, and threw about 1,000 
men out of employment. One fire, caused 
by defective wiring, was at the Didier- 
March brick works, while the other was at 
the Barber Asphalt factory. 
The longest term of imprisonment ever 
imposed at Boston, Mass., in an automobile 
case was given to John A. Maloy May 27 
when he was sentenced to serve from five 
to seven years in State prison after plead¬ 
ing guilty to manslaughter in connection 
with the death of two Boston elevated rail¬ 
way workmen, in Boylston street, early on 
the morning of April 27. Maloy was in¬ 
dicted for second degree murder. He was 
a chauffeur. A gang of 15 men were re¬ 
pairing the track in Boylston street near 
Dartmouth after midnight. Maloy came 
by in the automobile, which he was using 
without the owner’s permission, at a speed 
of 50 miles an hour. He struck the two 
men, killing one of them almost instantly 
and injuring the other so badly that he 
died several hours later at the hospital. 
Maloy drove on after the accident, but an 
auto tire shoe found on Harvard Bridge 
soon after the accident led to bis arrest. 
Maloy had ben fined four times previously 
for violating the automobile laws and his 
license had been suspended once. 
The contributions to the New York 
Mayor’s fund for the relief of the sufferers 
in the Southern floods up to May 28 was 
$10,513. Thousands of farmers are in im¬ 
mediate need of seed corn, cotton seed, fod¬ 
der, agricultural implements and, in many 
cases, the stock absolutely necessary for 
them to carry on their farming and re¬ 
plant their crops which were destroyed. 
The receding floods will leave exposed to 
the sun stagnant pools and the carcasses 
of thousands of dead animals, and the re¬ 
lief committees are facing perhaps the 
most serious part of their work in provid¬ 
ing for effective sanitary supervision. 
Without warning the big dam of the 
American Brass Company reservoir, at An- 
sonia. Conn., gave way May 28, causing 
nearly $200,000 damage and, strange to 
say, no loss of life. The reservoir is a half 
mile long, 200 feet wide and 50 feet deep. 
Tons of water rushed through the mill, en¬ 
dangering the lives of hundreds of work¬ 
men who sought refuge on the machinery 
joists. Much damage was done to adjacent 
property. 
The advocates of woman suffrage had 
their inning in Ohio May 28 when the con¬ 
stitutional convention, 74 to 37. passed the 
woman suffrage clause, which wRi be pre¬ 
sented to the voters in the Fall. 
Record temperatures for May 28 were es¬ 
tablished in San Antonio, Tex., when the 
thermometer in the tower of the Govern¬ 
ment building registered 103 degrees. 
Thermometers on the streets registered 
seven degrees higher in the shade. Accord¬ 
ing to United States Weather Bureau re¬ 
ports San Antonio was the hottest spot in 
America on this date. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—More than $322.- 
269 was paid out in premiums by the 90 
county and town agricultural fair associa¬ 
tions in New York at fairs held in 1911. 
The State reimburses the societies to the 
amount of $250,000 for premiums paid for 
the promotion of agriculture, domestic arts, 
education along agricultural lines and the 
improvement of the breed of cattle, sheep, 
horses and other domestic animals. Ten 
societies receive the limit of $4,000 each. 
Rabies quarantines are in force in nine 
towns and one incorporated village of New 
York State, according to a statement, May 
25, by Commissioner Huson, of the State 
Department of Agriculture. Quarantines 
are in effect in Sheldon and Bennington, 
Wyoming County; Darien and Oakfield, 
Genesee County, the village and town of 
Owego, Tioga County; Elden and Marilla, 
Erie County, and North Hempstead and 
Hempstead, Nassau County. “Reports are 
being received quite frequently,” says the 
statement, “indicating that rabies is pre¬ 
valent to a marked degree in Erie, Genesee, 
Wyoming and Nassau Counties.” 
To stimulate the growing of corn in 
southern Alberta, F. C. Lowes & Co.,. the 
largest realty operators in that province, 
have donated to the Exposition Committee 
of the International Dry-Farming Congress 
a silver trophy cup of the value of $2o0 
as a premium open to the world for the 
best six ears of corn grown in 1912, and 
exhibited at the Dry-Farmed Products Ex¬ 
position at Lethbridge, October 21 to 26. 
The greatest display of the world’s flori¬ 
culture every known was opened by the 
King and Queen at the grounds of Chelsea 
Hospital. London, England, May 22. The 
show is in a tent covering four acres. It is 
filled with priceless blooms from many 
climes, among which is one group of or¬ 
chids alone valued at $1,000,000. This is 
an international show, and a number of 
American florists have gone across to see 
it. In addition to the display under the 
tent, grounds covering about 30 acres are 
laid out with elaborate landscape features 
for the display of outdoor plants. 
The Massachusetts State Board of Agri¬ 
culture will hold its Summer field meeting 
at the C. I. Hood Farm, Lowell, on Friday, 
.Tune 21, 1912. Demonstrations of the 
ideal dairy cow and the profitable hog will 
be given. The Hood Farm herd of about 
300 Jerseys, and large drove of Berkshire 
hogs will furnish ample material. Field 
trials of farming machinery and implement* 
will be made also by an expert demon¬ 
strator. 
The Indiana Apple Show will be held at 
Lafayette November 13-19. Programmes 
and premium lists may be obtained from 
the secretary, C. G. Woodbury, Lafayette, 
Ind. 
CUBA.—Under orders issued May 23 by 
the Navy Department the transport Prairie 
sailed from Philadelphia with 600 marines 
on board for Guantanamo, where they are 
to be held in readiness in the event that 
the negro uprising in Cuba gets beyond the 
control of the island government. The 
Cuban Government declared the upris¬ 
ing had collapsed, but it accepted all 
volunteers who presented themselves and 
reports indicate the rebellion is growing 
at an alarming rate in Santiago province. 
While the government expressed the hope 
that intervention would not be necssary, 
it expressed its pleasure that the United 
States had acted so promptly in sending 
troops to protect the whites and Cuban 
independence. 
WASHINGTON.—The Senate added $12,- 
500,000 to the annual budget for payment 
of pensions carried in the pension appro- 
E riation bill as it came from the House 
lay 23. The addition, it was explained, 
was made necessary by the service pension 
bill recently passed and signed bv the Presi¬ 
dent. Next year, the committee explains, 
it will be necessary to increase the total 
about $35,000,000. The pension bill was 
reported to the Senate Mav 23. The total 
carried by the bill is $160,000,000, the 
largest in many years. The Senate voted 
to restore the 17 independent pension 
agencies, from which pensions are dis¬ 
bursed, that the House had knocked out. 
Senator William Alden Smith, of Michi¬ 
gan, submitted to the Senate May 28 the 
report of the Titanic investigation com¬ 
mittee and also made a speech. At his sug¬ 
gestion the Senate passed a resolution ap¬ 
propriating $1,000 for a gold medal to be 
presented to Capt. Rostron of the Carpathia 
In recognition of the services of himself 
and his crew. With it goes the thanks of 
Congress, admitting Capt. Rostron to the 
floor of the Senate and the House. Im¬ 
portant points in the Smith committee re¬ 
ports are: Capt. Smith, of the Titanic, 
blamed for his failure to heed at least three 
warnings that icebergs lav ahead, is blamed 
for the wreck. Capt. Lord, of the Califor 
nian, is charged with the responsibility for 
the great loss of life because he saw dis¬ 
tress signals when he was within 19 miles 
of the Titanic and failed to resnond. The 
British Board of Trade is censured for lax 
regulations and improper inspection. If 
the. Titanic’s lifeboats had been used to 
their full capacity 1,176 persons might have 
been saved instead of 706. The “water¬ 
tight compartments of the Titanic were 
not actually watertight. Eight ships, all 
equipped with wireless, were in the vicin¬ 
ity of the Titanic and failed to respond. 
No general alarm was sounded on the Ti¬ 
tanic to warn passengers, the result being 
that many of them did not feel the neces¬ 
sity of taking to th e lifeboats. J. Bruce 
Ismay, managing director of the White Star 
Line, is not criticised and is scarcely men¬ 
tioned in the report. Those responsible for 
alleged violation of the laws are com¬ 
mended to Great Britain for punishment. 
Student Labor on Fruit Farms. 
I have employed a good many college 
students for several years, and so has my 
brother, who is engaged like myself iii 
fruit growing and general farming, and we 
find it as a whole very satisfactory, and 
are still employing them. Last year I hail 
at one time seven such students, and only 
one of them was unsatisfactory, while most 
of them were far above the average in 
efficiency, and pleasant to have about. I 
have had students mostly from the agricul¬ 
tural colleges of Ohio, Pennsylvania and 
Indiana. They are usually young men of 
high character and have an intelligent in¬ 
terest in their work. They sometimes ask 
questions which brighten our wits to an¬ 
swer, and this I think is one of the ad¬ 
vantages in employing them, and possibly 
one of the reasons why some object to hir¬ 
ing them. The only objections I can see 
are that they cannot usually be secured un¬ 
til June, which is too late for some farm¬ 
ers, and must usually leave in early Sep¬ 
tember, which is too early. Again, it may 
sometimes be difficult to secure board for 
them, but we live on the edge of a village 
where they board. Of course we keep our 
regular yearly help, which is mostly housed 
in tenant houses ou the farm, but for extra 
help during vacation we arc well pleased 
with the students, and judging from the 
number of applications we receive (far in 
excess of our capacity) the students are 
pleased. w. w. Farnsworth. 
Ohio. 
I have been keeping some students from 
agricultural school during the Summer and 
Fall for three or four years and have 
found them as good laborers as other men 
I employ". I have never had but one who 
was a poor one, and he was not an agri¬ 
cultural student. They have been active 
and eager to learn and had very good 
manners. I was particular to get young 
men who do not use tobacco or strong 
drink, or bad language, and the children 
have liked them and learned quite a lot 
from being in their company. They have 
been accommodating about the house and 
everywhere, and have not been so eager 
to stop work ou the minute when quitting 
time comes like factory hands. While 
they are entirely ignorant about many 
kinds of work they can soon get enough 
ideas from seeing it done and sometimes 
do it better. They are usually particular 
to do it as well as they can. Most of the 
work I have had them do has been in the 
orchards at spraying, thinning fruit, picking, 
sorting, packing, also general farm work to 
a slight extent. I appreciate their company 
and can depend on them, and I think I have 
done enough for them so they appreciate it. 
Is it not our mission to help others so they 
can do well? Should we be so close that 
everything we do and get should be for our¬ 
selves? Is that according to the teachings 
of the Good Book? Is not one happiest 
when he is doing or saying something to 
help others? If a person desires to em¬ 
ploy students he can get real Information 
about them from their teachers, and they 
can tell pretty well what is in a young 
man at work. Some employers may not be 
such men that students would want to 
work for them, and they could leave if 
things were not satisfactory, or if one 
hired a student who was simply in the way 
it would not be out of the way to tell 
him to go on. u. t. cox. 
Lawrence Co., Ohio. 
Coming Farmers’ Meetings. 
American Ass’n of Nurserymen, Boston, 
Mass.. June 12-17. 
International Dry Farming Congress, 
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada: Congress of 
Farm Women, week beginning October 21. 
Indiana Apple Show. Lafayette. Novem¬ 
ber 13-19; secretary, C. G. Woodbury, La¬ 
fayette, Ind. 
