1912. 
THE RURAb NEW-VORKER 
835 
LARGE PUBLIC QUESTIONS. 
[Editor's Note.—U nder 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]. 
“ The Progressive Voter.” 
The letter printed on page 801 has called 
out a wide, range of opinion. We have 
also been in correspondence with many 
farmers. Before the nominations were 
made we called upon readers to express 
their preferences. Now we have written the 
Roosevelt and the Taft meu to learn how 
they stand. We shall in the end have a 
very good idea of the drift of public senti¬ 
ment. Thus far few if any of the Taft men 
seem to have changed their opinions. A 
few of the Roosevelt men will ‘'support the 
party." The great majority of them are 
outspoken in saying that they will not vote 
for Taft. Most of them favor the new 
party—a few have decided to support Wil¬ 
son, while the rest are still undecided. We 
find some opposition to Wilson among the 
Democrats, so that the situation is badly 
complicated. After the convention of the 
new party has been held and the candidates 
have '^accepted,” the lines will form 
rapidly. Our plan during the campaign is 
to throw aside personal opinion or political 
preference and give our readers the facts— 
from the standpoint of country people. The 
R. N.-Y. is squarely and frankly "progres¬ 
sive." as we understand the meaning of 
that term. We want to find out. if we 
can. just how our readers can vote so as 
to do their full duty as men anti as farm¬ 
ers. We do not advise haste in making a 
decision but rather study. It would be 
different if there were but one course to 
follow—but there are two. Which one is, 
the better? In New York we understand 
the Democrats expect to renominate Gov. 
Dix. We can find no popular demand for 
him. James W. Wadsworth, Jr., is out for 
the Republican nomination—making what 
he can of the claim that he is a farmer. 
Our reports show that independent voters 
believe that Mr. Wadsworth is tied up close 
to the political “machine.” We shall take 
these things all up in time. 
The Bourne Parcels Post Bill. 
Violent opposition to the Bourne parcels 
post bill has developed. This bill divides 
the country into six zones of 50. 200, 500. 
1,000 and 2.000 miles besides city or rural 
delivery with graduated charges. In addi¬ 
tion this bill combines third and fourth 
class mail matter and makes a special rate 
of one cent an ounce up to four ounces for 
circulars and small packages. At present 
the rate on third class matter is one cent 
for two ounces and on fourth class one 
cent an ounce. The third class includes 
books and other printed matter, including 
circulars, seeds and bulbs and roots. The 
change from this rate with its privilege of 
bulk postage would be a fearful blow to 
the seedsmen and catalogue makers. Take 
a catalogue weighing one pound. The post¬ 
age is now eight cents. Under the Bourne 
bill it would travel 500 miles at that price, 
but beyond that the cost would be 11 to 
12 cents. The postage on a four-ounce 
catalogue would be just twice what it is 
now. Under the international postal serv¬ 
ice printed books and catalogues go all over 
the world at two ounces for one cent. An 
American business man could have his cata¬ 
logue printed and mailed in England and 
save half the cost of distribution in his 
own country. It is also pointed out that 
under such a system the parcels trade of 
this country would be largely concentrated 
in the Middle West, where shipments could 
be made both ways within smaller zones. 
These ^ire solid and sound objections to the 
Bourne bill. The object of such legislation 
is to give the people cheaper and more 
efficient postal service. It cannot be de¬ 
need that the changes we have mentioned 
would work serious injury to a necessary 
and legitimate business by saddling a heavy 
expense and inconvenience upon it. Buy¬ 
ing by catalogue has become a necessity 
with a great majority of our people, yet 
this Bourne bill would increase the ex¬ 
pense and difficulty of getting close to the 
seller through the “silent salesman.” The 
bill is not satisfactory as it stands, and 
should not pass. 
Russian Farm Loans and Credits. 
The present administration is collecting 
information regarding the farm credit sys¬ 
tems of European countries. Without 
question something of the sort will soon 
be attempted here and it must be started 
right. Therefore we should study the 
European systems and select the one best 
adapted to our conditions. We have given 
an account of the organization for loan¬ 
ing money found among the Russian He¬ 
brews of New York. Some have wondered 
how these people could be organized in 
this way when it is so difficult to bring 
native Americans together. It is much 
the result of habit and drill. In Russia 
it appears that a cooperative credit system 
has operated for nearly 20 years with suc¬ 
cess. The Russian government has nearly 
$40,000,000 invested in this system. There 
are 10,000 farmers’ societies and the sys¬ 
tem extends to Siberia and Turkestan. It 
has become a part of the life of the Rus¬ 
sian peasants. They deposit their savings 
with the societies on the understanding 
that the money will be paid back for 
funeral expenses or as a dower for son or 
daughter. There are two classes of credit 
societies—loan saving and pure credit. 
Both are under government supervision and 
are cooperative. In one class the members 
make small deposits in order to form a 
reserve capital. In the other, members 
make very small loans and do not make 
deposits. This latter class is adapted to 
very poor and thinly settled sections. 
How Started.'— The Russian Ministry 
of Finance controls the system and it is 
supervised by a department or the state 
bank. When 20 or more individuals peti¬ 
tion the government for a loan society, an 
inspector makes investigation. He looks 
up the responsibility of the petitioners and 
the value of their land. If his report is 
satisfactory the government loans the new 
society from $500 to $1,500 for 15 years 
at five per cent. This is foundation capital. 
For working capital the government, through 
the state bank, can lend from $1,000 to 
$50,000 on short time, usually for 12 
months. The society may also obtain loans 
from banks or individuals.. It also receives 
savings deposits from members and there 
is an income from interest on loans. The 
government inspects the business and as¬ 
sumes responsibility for it. In the smaller 
societies, where the government makes a 
loan, 60 per cent of the net earnings is- 
put aside as a reserve fund. In the loan 
societies 10 per cent is thus put aside to 
take care of the loan and a dividend paid 
out of the balance. 
Tiie Loans.— The direct aim of the Rus¬ 
sian government in organizing this system 
was to protect the peasant from the money 
sharks. Like peasants in most other coun¬ 
tries, these poor people were at the mercy 
of money lenders, who charged them as 
high as 60 per cent interest. The loans 
made to farmers are of three kinds: 
(1) Those used for current expenses for 
a term of not more than one year; (2) 
those used for the purchase of agricultural 
machinery, horses, etc., up to three years ; 
and (3) those used in agricultural im¬ 
provements. irrigation works, etc., which 
run. generally, for five years. Loans to 
members usually bear an interest rate of 
eight per cent to 12 per cent. On the 
small loans, up to $150, no other guaranty 
is required of the borrower than his per¬ 
sonal word or that of another responsible 
individual. Where security is given on the 
land or the farm products of the debtor the 
farmer may borrow as high as $500. In 
case of failure of crops or other misfortunes 
coming to the borrower an extension of 
time is granted him in which to repay his 
loan, and when the harvest is not good in 
any district the State Bank will also ex¬ 
tend the same leniency to the society for 
the repayment of its loan. 
As will be seen the loans are mostly 
small—quite unlike what would be required 
in this country. Yet the system has been 
Of vast benefit to the Russian peasant. Not 
only has it brought financial relief but 
these poor people have been taught to save. 
Better yet they have been taught and 
trained to work and think together. It 
lias been an education in business and in 
the important work of getting together 
for mutual help and improvement. 
i omparisons.— It is admitted that the 
general details of, this Russian system 
would not apply to American farming. 
Our conditions are entirely different, yet the 
principle of government supervision and aid 
is entirely sound here. The Russian loans 
are small—average not to exceed $50. They 
are mostly for the purpose of buying some 
tool or for seed and are usually paid at 
harvest. Such farmers have but small 
pieces, of land and the tenure or property 
right is different from ours. In this coun¬ 
try the American farmer has a much larger 
farm and needs larger working capital. He 
would make loans for building or for drain¬ 
age, starting orchards or other permanent 
improvements. It would be some years 
before he could hope to realize on such in¬ 
vestments. as the loans would be needed for 
long times, therefore the French or German 
systems, which we shall describe later, 
would be better adapted here. The first 
thmg to make clear is that the principle 
is sound that is the theory of government 
loans or government supervision of loans 
to farmers We must first fight out the 
principle that productive land is a safe 
pi ?? pe l r basi f. for government loans. 
Settle that and the details will follow. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.- —Five residents of Los An- 
£ e ‘^> - ay who were thought to have per- 
ished in the desert while seeking Govern¬ 
ment lands in an auto were found July 17, 
The party went through harrowing experi¬ 
ences during the four days they were ma¬ 
rooned on the sands. The party was fount! 
starving and not one of them able to move. 
J he autoists ran into a waterspout in Barejc 
\alley July 13. An earthslide carried then 
machine down into a ravine. The occu¬ 
pants were forced to jump for their lives 
A cloudburst in the towns of Seven 
Troughs and Mazuma, Nov., swept out both 
towns July 18. One hundred persons are 
reported missing, and 20 persons have been 
found dead. 
Nine persons were drowned as a result 
of a cloudburst over the Jacobs Creek dis¬ 
trict in Pennsylvania July 17. The family 
of John Raymond, a miner, including his 
■wife and six children, was wiped out, only 
Raymond escaping. The mother and a 
brother of Mrs. Raymond also were 
drowned. The Raymond family lived in an 
old log house situated on the banks of 
Barren Run, a tributary of Jacobs Creek. 
Early in the evening a heavy rain began 
falling, increasing in density. The little 
stream rose rapidly. Overflowing its banks 
it spread out over the lowlands and rose 
six feet higher than it ever was known to 
reach before. In the rush of waters one 
side of the foundation was cut out and the 
house toppled over. So quickly did it occur 
that the family had no time to prepare for 
the^ disaster. 
New indictments were returned July 17 
by the Federal Grand Jury in New York 
against Jared Flagg and eight men asso¬ 
ciated with him in his enterprise of offer¬ 
ing to make one per cent a week for per¬ 
sons who would entrust their money to 
him for speculation in Wall Street. The 
new indictments are far more sweeping than 
the previous ones. They are based partly 
on the testimony of Flagg himself. Flagg 
issued a booklet after his office was raided 
on September 23, 1911. in which he said 
he was being hounded bv the Federal au¬ 
thorities and that if he could present 
his case before the Grand Jury and was 
indicted in the face of his testimony he 
would plead guilty. His booklet had a wide 
circulation and created so much comment 
that the Flagg case was reopened and he 
was invited to become a voluntary witness. 
He was before the jurors for two days. 
Each of the new indictments charges the 
conspiracy to defraud. The first six' counts 
describe how Flagg formed his customers 
into units of $10,000 each and had two 
classes of these units. For one class he 
represented that he was buying short and 
selling long, and for the other selling short 
and buying long. The indictment charges 
that Flagg represented that there would 
be a one point profit for each customer 
on a tranasetion, and that no matter what 
the market did the “class” couldn't lose. 
It is alleged that a part of Flagg’s fraudu¬ 
lent scheme was to get profits for himself 
by inducing the brokers with whom he 
dealt to give him a secret rebate on the 
commission charged to him, while he 
charged up the full amount to his custom¬ 
ers. It is against the rules of the Stock 
Exchange for a broker to give secret re¬ 
bates on commissions. 
Commissioner James W. Fleming of the 
division of fish and game of the New York 
State Conservation Commission, has divided 
the State into 12 districts, each of which 
is in charge of a division game protector, 
each division protector having charge of the 
counties and protectors included within his 
division. These division chiefs and protec¬ 
tors are placed under the direct supervision 
of Chief Protector Legge and Deputy Chief 
Sauter. Commissioner Flemming has di¬ 
rected that monthly meetings of the division 
chiefs held in Albany. The Metropolitan 
and Long Island division is under the di¬ 
rection of Chief John T. McCormick of New 
York. 
The Federal Grand Jury at Washington 
July 19 returned an indictment against live 
laundrymen, charging them with conspir¬ 
ing to defraud the United States by shutting 
off competition on contracts to do its laun¬ 
dry work. The alleged conspiracy was in 
connection with bids advertised for the 
washing of towels in the various depart¬ 
ments of the Federal Government for the 
present fiscal year. An inquiry started in 
one of the departments developed the fact 
that the bids were double those of the pre¬ 
ceding fiscal year. The indictment charges 
that the laundrymen agreed on prices and 
then apportioned the departments among 
themselves. 
Three deaths and thousands of dollars 
damage from washouts and flooded areas 
were results of the terrific rainstorm which 
swept over the Pittsburgh district in Penn¬ 
sylvania July 22. Many industrial plants 
were flooded. At Wilmington. Del., the 
storm caused $50,000 damage, and two per¬ 
sons were drowned. Damage to growing 
crops was reported from many localities. 
The textile strike at New Bedford. Mass., 
which entered its second week July 21. had 
up to that time cost the operatives $100,- 
000 in wages. 
John Mitchell, vice-president of the 
American Federation of Labor, was sen¬ 
tenced July 23 to serve nine months in jail 
for contempt of court in the proceedings 
growing out of the Bucks Stove and Range 
case. Justice Wright of the Supreme Court 
of the District of Columbia pronounced sen¬ 
tence. Mr. Mitchell was not in court as 
he is filling Chautauqua lecture dates, and 
the Justice, in deference to a written re¬ 
quest from Mr. Mitchell, imposed sentence 
in his absence. This is the same sentence 
imposed by Justice Wright in the original 
proceeding', which was remanded by the 
Supreme Court of the United States. Sam¬ 
uel Gompers and Fi-ank Morrison, president 
and secretary respectively of the federa¬ 
tion, were recently sentenced in the case. 
Mr. Gompers got 12 months and Morrison 
six months. All three have floted appeals. 
PARCELS POST.—A parcels post pat¬ 
terned after the zone plan originated by 
Senator Bourne, more regular hours for 
postal employes and a commission to in¬ 
vestigate the proposed improvement of 
highways in conjunction with the carrying 
of the mails are provided in the post 
office appropriation bill reported to the 
Senate July 23. Shortly after Senator 
Bourne had reported the bill Senator 
Gardner, of Maine, launched into an attack 
on the parcels post plan, characterizing it 
as a “mockery” calculated to benefit the 
railroads. He advocated the adoption of 
the House plan for a flat rate on parcels 
and the acquisition by the Government of 
the express companies, either by purchase 
or condemnation. The Senate committee 
struck out the House provision permitting 
postal employes to organize into unions, 
but agreed to the provision allowing them 
a hearing before dismissal. The measure 
also stipulates that postal clerks and car¬ 
riers shall not be required to work more 
than eight hours, which must fall within a 
period of 10 consecutive hours. The total 
appropriations proposed by the bill are 
above those of the House measure, which 
carried approximately $260,000,000. One 
of the principal increases is in the pay of 
railroads for transporting mails, the Sen¬ 
ate committee adding more than $2,500,- 
000. The parcels post section is radically 
different from that incorporated in the 
House bill, which provided a flat rate of 
postage for all distances. The Senate pro¬ 
vision is that of the Bourne bill, slightly 
modified. Senator Bourne recommended 
that third and fourth class mail matter be 
combined for the parcels post service, but 
the bill makes the parcels post apply only 
to fourth-class matter. The House bill also 
provided for the abolishment of the pres¬ 
ent system of carrying second-class mail 
by fast freight, under what is known as 
the “blue tag” system. Under the Senate 
bill all second-class mail would be put back 
into regular mail cars after August 31. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The Secretary 
of Agriculture has received through the 
Secretary of State official notification from 
the Imperial Embassy of Russia at Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., that under the patronage of 
his majesty, the Emperor of Russia, an 
International Exposition of Horticulture 
will be held at St. Petersburg during the 
Spring of the year 1913. The organization 
of the exposition in charge of an ex¬ 
ecutive committee undey the direction of 
A. de Jaczewski, vice-president of the Im¬ 
perial Society of Horticulture of Russia, 
president; and M. Tv. Borowski, general sec¬ 
retary of the society, secretary. Requests 
for registration should be addressed to the 
executive committee, care of the Bureau of 
the Imperial Society of Horticulture of Rus¬ 
sia, Quai de la Four, 32, St. Petersburg, Rus¬ 
sia, on or before February 1, 1913, by Rus¬ 
sian exhibitors, and not later than January 
1, 1913. by foreign exhibitors. 
The first' sample of the new wheat crop 
in the Northwest was received at Minne¬ 
apolis July 22. The wheat was of excel¬ 
lent quality and was graded No. 1 North¬ 
ern by the grain experts at the Chamber 
of Commerce. Nearly 10,000 new grain 
cars are being built by the roads having 
headquarters and large terminals in the 
Twin Cities. The cars are being rushed to 
the grain producing points in order that 
there may be no dearth of rolling stock 
when the grain begins to move. All roads 
are preparing for a heavy business. Not 
only are the railroads getting box cars 
ready, but there is an average of about 25 
new engines for for every road. 
The next annual meeting of the Ameri¬ 
can Association of Farmers’ Institute 
Workers will be held at Atlanta, Ga., No¬ 
vember 11 to 13. 1912. At the same place 
and beginning November 13 will be held 
the annual meeting of the Association of 
American Agricultural Colleges and Experi¬ 
ment Stations. 
THE OUTLOOK FOR CRANBERRIES. 
Cranberry growers who make a careful 
study of the business report that notwith¬ 
standing many bogs were partly damaged 
by frost early in June, still if conditions 
remain favorable from now till mid-Septem¬ 
ber, there will be perhaps the heaviest 
crop ever harvested. There are two reasons 
for this, and the first and most important 
reason is the large increase in cranberry 
acreage in the past few years. The second 
reason is that many old bogs, so long 
neglected as to be practically out of bear¬ 
ing, have been put in shape and are this 
year ready to bear a good crop if condi¬ 
tions continue favorable. This growth in 
acreage is not confined to New Jersey. Cape 
Cod and the Western States have now a 
larger amount of cranberry bog under cul¬ 
tivation than ever before. A well informed 
grower has made the statement that the 
land under cultivation in New Jersey was 
now probably twice what it was 10 years 
ago. The same thing on almost as large a 
scale holds good in Massachusetts and Wis¬ 
consin. Many old bogs have changed hands. 
These run-down bogs have been ditched, 
new gates and damns placed where needed, 
the vines sprayed, bushes and briers taken 
out. and the bogs are now bearing well. 
The frost did not do as much damage as 
was at first feared to the Jersey berries. 
Present indications are for a bigger crop 
for New Jersey, the West and Cape Cod 
than*last year. Cape Cod was hit some by 
the frosts, or a crop double last year's 
might have been looked for. As it is, that 
yield will be much heavier than last year. 
The frosts in New Jersey made a semi¬ 
circular sweep, mostly on the western or 
inland edge of the pine belt, hitting Farm- 
ingdale, New Egypt. New Lisbon. Pember¬ 
ton. Medford and on down to May's Land¬ 
ing. The seaboard section generally es¬ 
caped. 
The methods of marketing cranberries 
have altogether changed since the cran¬ 
berry exchanges wore formed. It used to 
be a hit-or-miss matter with all. grower, 
jobber and retailer. Now it is planned out 
in advance. All the Spring and Summer, 
after the crop of one year Is gone, the sell¬ 
ing force of the sales company is engaged 
in mapping out the next Winter’s campaign 
and in traveling over the country making 
arrangements to place the next year’s crop. 
In this way the market for cranberries is 
increased, the salesmen placing orders for 
berries in localities where the fruit was 
heretofore almost unknown and seldom 
sold. It is thus hoped to be able to handle 
a crop twice the size of any yet produced, 
for it is the belief that the acreage will 
continue to grow, and that under the ap¬ 
plication of new methods of cultivation the 
yield of the older bogs will increase. To 
show how important the growers consider 
the work of selling their crops, it is only 
necessary to state that the exchange pays 
its manager a salary of $12,000 a year and 
an assistant manager half that sum and 
maintains an office in New York City all 
tiie year round. New Jersey cranberry men 
predict that the industry is yet in its in¬ 
fancy and the next decade will see an in¬ 
crease as great proportionately as the last. 
One of the ways in which the exchange or 
sales agency is of great benefit to the 
grower is that it collects and collates for 
him all the possible advance information as 
to the size of the crop, so that he is able 
to form a better idea as to the price he 
will be able to get and also as to when it 
is best to sell. Not only the cranberry crop 
is considered in getting this information 
but also the yield of other fruits that com¬ 
pete with the cranberry. It might for in¬ 
stance on first thought be considered a far 
cry from the cranberry bogs of Cape Cod 
and South Jersey to tiie prune orchards of 
California, but a moment’s consideration 
will show that a big crop of cranberries 
will lower the price of prunes, and vice 
versa, for both fruits are used for the same 
purpose of making table sauce. The same 
thing is true of the apple yield. It used 
to be said that the price of a barrel of 
apples on the market fixed the price of a 
crate of cranberries, so closely was the sale 
of the two big sauce making fruits inter¬ 
related. This is no longer true, because of 
the ‘changes in the relative productions of 
the two fruits, the tendency of the apple 
grower to go in for fancy Winter fruit in¬ 
stead of Fall or sauce-making fruit, and 
the introduction of other home-grown fruits, 
like the prune, that is used for table sauce. 
But the crop statistics of prunes, apples 
and all such rivals of the cranberry are 
secured and prepared for the grower by his 
selling exchange now. The result is that 
the crop of berries is put on the market in 
a much more intelligent way. There is 
loss _ likelihood of flooding a market and 
getting no price at all because of the slump, 
and also less likelihood of getting enormous 
prices for a few berries. Instead the ten¬ 
dency is all the time toward a steadier mar¬ 
ket and a more uniform price. d. t. h. 
New Jersey. 
The International Institute of Agricul¬ 
ture gives the following crop information : 
For Hungary (including Croatia and Sla¬ 
vonia), the production of wheat is esti¬ 
mated at 187,264.000 bushels; rye 59.900,- 
000 bushels; barley 70.399,000 bushels. 
For Hungary (not including Croatia and 
Slavonia), oats 80,615,000 bushels. For 
Italy, production of wheat, 174.533.000 
bushels, oats 31.693,000 bushels. For Bel¬ 
gium, production of oats, 44,005.000 bush¬ 
els. For Lower Egypt, the condition of 
cotton is estimated to he 116 per cent of 
an average condition and for Upper Egypt, 
118. 
Plenty of wet here now and things begin 
to look green again. Fall apples a good 
crop; Winter apples a fair, but not large 
one. Pears and peaches light crop: cherry 
crop was good. Plums will be very light 
here; blackberries and grapes fully up to 
the average. The prospect is that farmers 
about here will have a more prosperous 
year than in 1911. h. o. m. 
