1912. 
THE RURAL* NEW-YORKEK 
866 
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 
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]. 
FOR GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, j 
J. W. Wadsworth, Jr.’s, Platform. 
I beg leave to enclose to you a copy of 
tlie statement which I issued in announcing 
my candidacy for Governor, in order that 
you may understand that I have an affirma¬ 
tive proposal to make with respect to the 
condition of agriculture in the State of 
New York. 
As you will see by the statement, I advo¬ 
cate the making of an agricultural survey. 
This work is strongly advocated by the 
faculty of the State College of Agriculture 
at Cornell, including the director of the 
college, Prof. Liberty II. Bailey. It has also 
been unqualifiedly endorsed by a committee 
of the recently reorganized State Agricul¬ 
tural Society, to which was assigned the 
task of suggesting the measures for the 
conservation and development of agriculture 
in the State. Surveys of this character 
have already been made in three or four 
counties by investigators from Cornell, and 
the information obtained from them turns 
out to be so valuable and so significant in 
many respects, as to more than warrant the 
extension of the survey to the entire State. 
Perhaps a brief discussion of this work 
would not be out of place in a letter such 
as this. 
The government, both State and National, 
has for some time been conducting experi¬ 
mental farms for the purpose of demon¬ 
strating to the farmers the best methods 
of seed selection, planting, cultivating and 
harvesting of the various agricultural pro¬ 
ducts. Some work has also been done and 
information distributed in relation to the 
quality of soils and their adaptability to 
particular crops. While I believe that this 
work should be continued and broadened 
to the utmost degree, I am convinced that 
investigations can be profitably carried on 
in a much broader field. The matters of 
transportation on public highways, rail¬ 
roads and canals; conditions under which 
agricultural products are sold, wholesale 
and retail; comparative profits accruing 
from particular crops in particular locali¬ 
ties : the types and comparative efficiency 
of farm buildings and equipment; the cap¬ 
italization of farm properties: the income 
derived from such investments; the econo¬ 
mic, social and sanitary conditions in rural 
districts; the question of agricultural edu¬ 
cation ; the effect of improved highways; 
the postal savings bank and the proposed 
parcel post—all these matters relating to 
the prosperity and general welfare of the 
rural population, in my judgment, should 
be embraced in the making of an agricul¬ 
tural survey. 
I believe that within reason, anything 
and everything should be done to fortify 
agricultural as the basic industry of the Na¬ 
tion and the State. 
I believe that the very stability of our 
government and the future of the republic 
depend upon what might be termed the 
‘back to the land” movement as contrasted 
with the present heavy drift of our popula¬ 
tion to the cities. 
As a basis for maintaining agriculture in 
its rightful position amongst the indus¬ 
tries, and for legislation which may en¬ 
courage and conserve it, every atom of in¬ 
formation which can be gathered together 
should be sought for, and so gathered. 
The making of a survey such as has 
been suggested, involves the most painstak¬ 
ing and minute inquiry by industrious, 
skillful and tactful investigators; and to 
be effective, it must be accorded ample 
time. I advocate the immediate inaugu¬ 
ration of this work as the most important 
service to be rendered to the agricultural 
interests, in order that the broad ground¬ 
work of information attained through it 
shall be available as soon as possible, and 
be followed by such legislative and other 
measures as shall meet the needs of agri¬ 
culture thus scientifically and thoroughly 
ascertained. 
I think I may justly say that my in¬ 
terest in agriculture is deep and genuine, 
for 1 am engaged myself in active and prac¬ 
tical farming. In fact my entire business 
activities are along this line. Were I, as 
the result of the present canvass and the 
coming election to become Governor of the 
State, and were I in my official capacity 
confronted with problems in which the 
farmers of the State are interested, I would 
exercise whatever power I might have for 
their benefit along practical lines, with 
which I have become familiar through my 
own experience. 
.TAMES W. WADSWORTH. JR. 
Livingston Co., N. Y. 
FARMERS AND FAIR CREDIT. 
Last week we gave an account of the Rus¬ 
sian system of small farm credits. Under 
this plan a peasant or small farmer can 
obtain a small loan at a fair rate of inter¬ 
est where otherwise he would be at the 
mercy of loan sharks. We are sometimes 
told that such small loans are not needed 
in this country. They are needed. Here 
are some actual figures showing how small 
cotton farmers are held up in their deal¬ 
ing with cotton factors: 
Below are given figures showing how the 
small cotton planter who has to borrow 
money fares under existing credit system. 
The small planter wishes to borrow $100 
to lieip raise a crop of cotton. The cotton 
factor will let him have the amount by 
mortgaging his real estate, stock and cattle 
and crop to secure the advance, but he 
must sign an agreement to ship 10 bales of 
cotton, or one bale for each $10 advanced, 
or to pay commission on any he falls short 
of 10 bales. 
He pays 2%% commission for ad¬ 
vancing . 2%% 
He pays 2%% commission on goods 
bought for him . 2%% 
Prices are advanced an average of.. 5 % 
Commissions paid for service.. 10 % 
The money is used on an average of less 
than six months, taking date of all pur¬ 
chases. which would make the 10% come to 
per annum rate of not less than (probably 
over) 20%. Interest charged at rate of 
8%, usually from date of mortgage on whole 
account, in some cases only for time money 
is used, would be at lowest estimate, per 
annum, 8%. As above shown he pays at 
rate per annum, 28%. 
Cotton averages 600 pounds per bale, fig¬ 
ured at 10 cents per pound, it makes bale 
average $60. Should he ship but eight 
bales he pays commission on two bales not 
shipped at rate of $60 or total $120 at 
2%%, $3 which on the loan of $100 is 3%. 
This 3% added to the 28% equals 31% 
fiat, or if computed for average length of 
loan would amount to 6%, which added 
to the 28% would be 34%. Thirty-four 
per cent I do not think would be too high 
to estimate what the average small farmer 
that is compelled to borrow from a factor 
pays. 
On the remaining eight bales he has to 
pay the commission of 2%%, amounting to 
$1.50 per bale, or $12, to which is added 
freight, warehouse charges, insurance, samp¬ 
ling and incidentally the weight of the 
sample, which is doubtless never less than 
one pound per bale. Quite fi’cquently he 
is given the worst of it on the grade and 
also on price on date sold. The obligation 
to ship to factor prevents him from selling 
at his railroad station, where the price 
is usually as much as in point shipped to, 
less freight, but often a little better, so 
if so sold he would save all incidental 
charges which he has to pay as above. Be¬ 
ing compelled to obligate the most bales 
possible to secure the loan, he is obliged 
to plant more cotton than he otherwise 
would to the exclusion of corn, peas and 
fodder or lmy crops. He is prevented from 
diversifying because of the credit system, 
not because of any desire on his part. 
AN OLD STRUGGLE RECALLED. 
Wo are informed by some of our report¬ 
ers that many men of middle age or older 
are drifting back to their places in the old 
parties—that the progressive movement is, 
very largely, one of young men. There are 
many elderly men, however, who recall the 
battle against the slave power, and who 
see in the present movement a somewhat 
similar issue. For the benefit of our 
younger readers we print part of a letter 
from one of these veterans: 
‘‘I found your editorial note recalling my 
old friend 1’effer, whom I had lost. Yes, 
his last days will be cheered with new 
signs of the sure victory of great measures 
that he once stood and battled for. Then 
it seemed the people were soon to rise and 
repossess their liberty. But the ‘money 
power’ was able to rally its battalions of 
Ignorant and servile soldiers, and crush 
resistance as the slave power had done so 
often before the Civil War. Each in its 
time owned both parties; each crushed op¬ 
position by tip* same brutal methods. But, 
thank God, each is downed at last, to go 
down before the stormy wrath of the peo¬ 
ple. It has been one of the great parallels 
of history, these twin monsters that have 
cursed the land, the slave power and the 
money power. In 1848 the old Whig and 
Democratic parties began to disintegrate on 
the sole issue of the extension of slavery. 
A convention was called by the bolters at 
Buffalo. I was there to see and hear. Men 
of both parties from all States north de¬ 
clared that freedom was national and slav¬ 
ery only sectional, the creature of local 
law. They did not propose to meddle with 
it in the States, but the black curse must 
spread no further. What a wonderful 
meeting it was, followed by the rallying of 
the progressives of that time! But it took 
12 years of tremendous fighting to make 
the awakened Northern sentiment effective 
in the election of Lincoln. Inch by inch 
the ground was fought over, the armies ad¬ 
vancing and retreating, matchless heroism, 
weak servility, and cowardice losing many 
times the hard fought battles. But at last 
we won. I wonder if the hopes we cherish 
to-day are to be thus delayed, and faith 
and patience thus tried. It may be. For 
after all life is our school, and to grow 
souls of strength we must fight long, hard 
battles within ourselves and without. So 
the Great Soul of all seems to have or¬ 
dained. Deliverance for the people may be 
delayed long yet. You see how the pro¬ 
gressives arc splitting into clans under 
local chiefs. We had that in the old slav¬ 
ery struggle, too. It took time to form 
them to the ‘fighting machine’ that at last 
beat down the defences of the giant that 
defied God and man and boasted its mighty 
power as impregnable.” 
Express Companies and Misdirected Packages 
There is one point that seems to me has 
been overlooked in the investigation of the 
express business. That is the care given by 
the express company to uncalled-for pack¬ 
ages and to those misdirected. I will cite 
two instances. The last week in March I 
ordered from .T. L. Lewis of your city a 
bill of photographic goods, amounting to 
$27.48. This was ordered sent by Wells 
Fargo to Hunt. N. Y., but was addressed to 
Livingston, N. Y. A tracer was sent about 
the middle of April, and every effort on our 
part has been made since, but without 
avail, to find the goods. The shipper’s 
name and address are plainly printed on 
die package, and if it cannot he delivered 
where sent why do they not notify him? 
The other instance was where a box 
valued at $20 was shipped to our local 
station and was refused, the agent told to 
notify the shipper to that effect, both par¬ 
ties being well known to the express agent. 
No such notice was given, neither was he 
told at any of the several times that he 
was at the office during the 30 days that it 
was kept there before being shipped to 
where the company hold their annual sale 
of unclaimed packages. The shipper’s name 
anl address were both plainly printed on 
the box. It would be a very easy thing 
for the express companies to avoid all such 
trouble and loss to their patrons. 
c. I. HUNT. 
R. N.-Y.—This is one of the chief com¬ 
plaints made by the Interstate Commerce 
Commission. In the large towns and cities 
the express companies, at intervals, hold 
“auction sales” of such packages, and often 
realize large sums of money. 
Apples, pears and other small fruits 
a failure in this section ; early corn looks 
poor. Late corn and potatoes need rain 
badly. Cabbage is also suffering from tile 
drouth. j. w. P- 
Moravia, N. Y. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Charges that land sharks 
in large numbers were operating in Bur¬ 
lington and Ocean counties were made July 
24 at the hearing of the commission 
appointed by the Legislature to investigate 
taxation in New Jersey. According to 
President Van Hise of the Ocean County 
Tax Board, these land sharks buy up scrub 
land at $3 and $4 an acre, and lay it out 
into lots, which they sell for from $15 to 
$25 each. The purchasers of these lots 
come from all over the world, the tax col¬ 
lector of Berkley township sending tax 
bills yearly to residents of even far-off 
Japan. 
Fire at the plant of the Union Petroleum 
Company at Marcus Hook, Pa., July 24, 
destroyed the warehouse, barrel factory, tin 
factory, several oil tanks, and part of the 
wharf of the company, and almost com¬ 
pletely wrecked the British tank steamer 
Trinidadian. Several freight cars were 
also burned. The loss, aside from that sus¬ 
tained by the steamer, is estimated at 
$200,000. The Trinidadian was so heavily 
loaded that she could not be got out of the 
path of the fire, and was soon ablaze. Capt. 
Swank and his crew of 29 men were asleep 
when the fire started, and had barely time 
to escape in small boats. 
Flood damage estimated as high as $500,- 
000 was wrought July 24 from the break¬ 
ing of two dams on the Wisconsin River 
north of Wausau. Three bridges in Wau¬ 
sau have been washed out, and a fourth has 
been partly destroyed. All electric power, 
including street-car service, was put out of 
commission. The flood cut off the city’s 
water supply. A large volume of water 
swept down the river front, covering the 
streets of Wausau near the river and sur¬ 
rounding the city hall. 
Fifteen men lost their lives when Evans 
Mine No. 2 of the Superba Coal Company 
at Evans Station, Pa., xvas flooded July 24. 
When the waters from the leaking Cool 
Spring reservoir came rushing down the 
mountainside 64 men were in the mine. 
The water was seen going in the manway 
of the mine by William Genear, the pit 
boss. He rushed in the mine and passed 
the warning along that the mine was being 
flooded. The men who perished were 4,000 
feet back in the mine in what is known 
as the sump and the word either failed 
to reach them or they did not heed the 
warning. The water rushed into the mine 
with such force through the manway that 
a hole 75 feet in diameter was carved out. 
Officials of the mine say it will be 60 days 
before the water can be got out of the 
mine so that the bodies can be reached. 
Over 60 lives were claimed July 24 by 
floods and cloudbursts in Southwestern 
Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and hun¬ 
dreds of homes and business houses de¬ 
stroyed. Uniontown, Penna., leads the list 
of known dead with 15. At Wheeling, W. 
Va., three were drowned; at Lamont, Pa., 
four were drowned ; at Ellenwood, Pa., three 
were drowned, and 36 lives are reported to 
have been lost in other towns of the two 
States. Uniontown, Lamont, Mount Brad- 
dock, Connellsville and Dunbar, Pa., were in¬ 
undated. In Turtle Creek Valley the dam¬ 
age is enormous and scores of families are 
homeless in the upper Youghiogheny Val¬ 
ley. Railroad traffic through a great terri¬ 
tory was demoralized, especially so at 
Uniontown, where the tracks of two rail¬ 
ways were torn from their foundations. The 
cloudburst of July 24 came before the dis¬ 
trict had recovered from more than 24 hours 
of torrential rains on July 21, and with 
every stream bank full, soon all were out of 
their banks. Heavy rocks have been split, 
heavy railroad iron has been lifted from al¬ 
most solid beds and dropped into rivers, 
while on all sides deep scars mark the sur¬ 
face of the earth where the crowding waters 
have made new courses for themselves. 
Dunbar, near Connellsville, was inundated. 
The waters raged through the main streets, 
upsetting massive structures and endanger¬ 
ing the lives of hundreds. The Turtle Creek 
Valley was visited by a disastrous flood, and 
the damage is enormous. Crops were blotted 
from the earth. Railroad traffic through 
a great territory was demoralized. With 
four connections into Uniontown. the Penn¬ 
sylvania was unable to get passengers into 
the city July 24. Several railroad bridges 
of that system and the Baltimore & Ohio 
were torn from foundations. 
Eight aldermen and the secretary of the 
Common Council committees were placed 
under arrest at Detroit, Mich., July 26, 
on charges of accepting bribes and conspir¬ 
acy to accept a bribe for their votes and 
influence in the passing of a measure af¬ 
fecting city property recently transferred 
to the Wabash Railroad. At least six other 
arrests of aldermen are expected, and it is 
alleged that $3,700 changed hands, in sums 
of from $100 to $1,000. The bribery was 
consummated, it is said, and the arrests 
made under the personal supervision of De¬ 
tective William J. Burns. 
Alleged sugar frauds atl Philadelphia, 
under investigation by Secretary . Mac- 
Veagh and Attorney General Wickersham 
for the last year, have been settled by the 
payment of nearly $250,000 to the United 
States Government by the sugjir refining 
companies involved. Investigation of al¬ 
leged sugar frauds at New York and New 
Orleans, it was reported, are approaching 
conclusion. These constitute the final act 
of the nation-wide inquiry that resulted in 
the revelations of abuses in sugar impor¬ 
tations at New York several years ago. 
Bubonic bacilli were discovei’od July 27 
on a rat found on the waterfront at New 
Orleans. The discovery was made after 
several hundred rodents had been examined. 
Dr. J. IT. White of the United States Ma¬ 
rine Hospital, said the discovery need not 
cause alarm. 
A fine of $20,000 was paid into the United 
States Court at Savannah, Gn., July 26. by 
the Merchants and Miners’ Transportation 
Company. It was levied by Judge Emory 
Speer after the corporation was convicted of 
violating the commerce laws in shipments 
of grain from Philadelphia to Savannah. 
An appeal was taken and lost. 
The New York District Attorney has se¬ 
cured evidence from several professional 
gamblers who assert that Police Lieutenant 
Becker was the leader in the plot to mur¬ 
der Herman Rosenthal, a gambler who 
threatened to reveal the crooked methods 
of the police. They assert that Becker 
shared largely in $2,400,000 paid by gam¬ 
blers for protection, and assert that other 
men higher up are implicated. The mur¬ 
der has uncovered abominable crookedness 
in official circles. 
WASHINGTON.—Senator Cummins in¬ 
troduced a wool bill July 24. The bill is 
a complicated measure which carries duties 
on washed contents of raw wool of 18 cents 
and makes reductions in the manufactures 
of wool below the existing rates, but some¬ 
what higher than those provided by the 
Underwood bill that came over from the 
House. The bill provides specific duties 
in most instances, which Senator Cummins 
says are based on the recommendations of 
the Tariff Board, but which shall not in 
any case exceed the equivalent of 45 per 
cent ad valorem. Senator Cummins is hope¬ 
ful that after the Democrats have demon¬ 
strated their inability to pass the Under¬ 
wood bill they will vote for his measure as 
affording a marked reduction from existing 
rates. If the Democrats should vote for the 
Cummins bill the measure might pass, for 
it is conceded that it will command the 
votes of the progressive Republicans. 
A blow at venders of quack patent medi¬ 
cines was struck by the House Interstate 
Commerce Committee July 30 when it favor¬ 
ably reported the bill of Representative Shir¬ 
ley to amend the pure food and drug act. 
The measure prohibits “false and fraudulent” 
curative claims on labels. It seeks to meet 
a decision of the Supreme Court that false 
and extravagant claims as curative power 
of medicines was not in violation of the 
pure food law. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—“Agricultural 
Opportunities” is the title of a series of 
pamphlets compiled by the Department of 
Commerce and Labor concerning resources, 
products and physical character of the va¬ 
rious States. The information was collected 
for immigrants who apply at the Depart¬ 
ment’s offices in New York or Galveston, 
but the Government will supply all who 
apply. Controller Tracewell, of the Treas¬ 
ury Department, has advised Secretary 
Wilson that the Government no longer can 
pay expenses of officers or employees of the 
Department of Agriculture who deliver lec¬ 
tures or impart information on agriculture 
to assembled farmers, students of universi¬ 
ties, Summer schools or boys’ camps, as 
has been the custom. A recent act of Con¬ 
gress prohibited payment by the Govern¬ 
ment of dues for membership in associa¬ 
tions or traveling expenses to conventions 
or meetings, unless specifically authorized 
by Congress. Secretary Wilson contended 
the contrary because the organic act of the 
Department stipulates that it acquire and 
diffuse to people of the country useful in¬ 
formation regarding agriculture. The Con¬ 
troller also held that Secretary Fisher was 
not authorized to pay expenses of field 
agents of the Interior Department to attend 
conferences with local organizations on 
land matters. 
President Taft has entered his prize cow, 
“Pauline Wayne,” which has for the past 
year supplied the White House with milk, 
in the annual show of the Pennsylvania 
State Cattle Show Association that will be 
held on the polo grounds at Devon, Pa., 
September 19 and 20. President Taft is 
honorary president of the association, and 
“Pauline Wayne” is the first entry. 
Senator MeCumber’s bill to provide for 
the inspection and grading of grain enter¬ 
ing into interstate commerce, and to secure 
uniformity in standards and classification 
was ordered favorably reported by the Sen¬ 
ate Committee on Agriculture. A similar 
bill was brought before the Senate three 
years ago by the late Senator Dolliver. The 
bill provides for the establishment of a 
grain inspection and grading bureau in the 
Department of Agriculture, and would re¬ 
quire the Secretary to determine and fix 
classifications and grades of wheat, flax, 
corn, rye, oats, barley and other grains such 
as in his judgment the usages of trade may 
warrant and permit. The bill calls for the 
appointment of inspectors at Portland, Me., 
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, 
Minneapolis, Duluth, Superior, Kansas City, 
Mo., St. Louis, New Orleans, Seattle, Ta¬ 
coma and San Francisco. 
That the scarcity of horses now bred in 
New York State is becoming acute and that 
legislation encouraging the industry of 
breeding should be secured were the domi¬ 
nating topics of the July 30 section at the 
thirty-third annual convention of the New 
York State Veterinary Medical Society. 
New York State, it was said, is especially 
adapted to the breeding of horses, yet 
$1,600,000 is spent in importing stock each 
year into the State. 
In Decembei’, 1910, a pi’ofessor of fores¬ 
try was appointed to the staff of the New 
Y'ork State College of Agriculture at Cor¬ 
nell University. The State has appropriated 
$100,000 for a building at Ithaca to house 
the forestry department. At the opening of 
college this Fall there will be four pro¬ 
fessors of forestry. The aims of ’the de¬ 
partment are to help the woodland owners 
of New York State in the care of their 
wooded property and in forest planting; to 
give genei’al instruction in elementarv for¬ 
estry to agricultural and other students, 
and to train young men in technical fores¬ 
try as a profession. One bulletin has al¬ 
ready been issued. This is called “The Im¬ 
provement of the Woodlot,” and may be 
had fi’ee by applying to the College of 
Agriculture, Ithaca, N. Y. The forestry de¬ 
partment offers to send one of its staff to 
look over any woodland in New York State, 
or any open land on which a forest planta¬ 
tion is to be made. The only expense to 
the owner for such a trip is for the neces¬ 
sary travel and subsistence, there being no 
fee to the representative of the department. 
Personal advice is given on the ground as 
to the best methods of planting or of car¬ 
ing for woodland, also a brief written re¬ 
port containing definite suggestions for the 
work. Anyone wishing to make applica¬ 
tion for such an examination of land in 
New Y’ork State should address the De¬ 
partment of Forestry, College of Agi-icul- 
ture, Ithaca, N. Y.. giving the following in¬ 
formation : (1) The approximate number 
of acres of woodland or of open land to be 
examined; (2) the railroad depot to which 
the representative of the department should 
come; (3) whether the owner is willing to 
pay the necessary traveling expenses, pro¬ 
vided such expenses do not exceed ten dol¬ 
lars. 
