-43a 
tf'HEJ RURAb NEW.YORKER 
March 22, 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSIKESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A Notional Weekly Journal Tor Country anil Suburban Home* 
Established tSSO 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 409 Pearl St., New York 
Herbert W. Coltjxgwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wi. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.01, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
marks, or 10^ francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates CO cents per agate line—7 words. Discount for time orders. 
References required for advertisers unknown to us ; and 
cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paper is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. But to make doubly sure we will make good any loss to paid 
subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler advertising in our 
columns, and any such swindler wilt be publicly exposed. We protect sub¬ 
scribers against rogues, but we do not guarantee to adjust trilling differences 
between subscribers and honest, responsible advertisers. Neither will wo bo 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the tim e of 
the transaction, and you must have mentioned The Rural New-Yorker 
when writing the advertiser. 
Let us have your experience with the parcel post— 
good, bad or indifferent. We want the truth about 
this system—what you can do and what you cannot 
do with it. 
♦ 
What is the truth about dwelling houses made of 
concrete blocks? Can they be called fully satisfac¬ 
tory? The last time we asked this question most 
people wanted more time to watch the behavior of 
the concrete blocks. Now the houses are old enough 
What are the facts? Also tell us about concrete 
roofs. 
* 
On page 451 is an account of the hearing at 
Columbus, Ohio, on the proposed new agricultural 
commission. A large proportion of the real farmers 
who were represented had serious objections to the 
bill. Later they went to Governor Cox and had a 
heart-to-heart talk with him. He assured them that 
their interests would be guarded, that he wanted the 
law to be satisfactory and right, and he advised them 
to prepare such amendments as they desire—all to 
receive a fair hearing. The Governor assured the 
farmers that he was interested in their welfare and 
had no other motive in urging the passage of this bill. 
This interview went far to convince the farmers that 
they are to have a fair chance in perfecting the bill, 
so that when finally passed it will protect their rights. 
* 
Do not let up for a moment in the fight for that 
commission man’s bill. The letters are pouring into 
* Albany, and every one serves a double purpose. 
There is the definite thing of showing that this 
particular law is wanted and the less direct thing 
of showing that farmers and country people are 
alive and watching their public interests. Here and 
there local papers are working in the interests of the 
commission men and attacking or sneering at this 
proposed law. Such papers may be compared with 
the w.atch dog whose “watching” consists in look¬ 
ing for a chance to bite his feeder. Keep right at 
Albany with the letters. Do not reason that others 
will do your work for you. Get right out and do it 
yourself. The entire country is watching this fight. 
Shippers from other States ask what they can do 
to help. They can ^vrite to Governor Sulzer and 
tell him that this is a great national question, and 
they want New York to take the lead. That argu¬ 
ment will have its effect. Help out! 
♦ 
We have the following letter from ex-Senator 
Travis: 
In your issue of March 1 you printed the following as 
an editorial: 
“That fiery speech was largely fireworks of the pop-gnn 
variety, and most the guns kicked back, as this effort 
to put Mr. Hale on record has done. The commission 
merchants must be hard up for arguments to take such 
chances and then have the trap spring on them.” 
Senator Roosevelt, who evidently sent you the letter of 
Mr. Hale, must have been aware that Mr. Travis made 
no such statement as was contained in the Fruitman’s 
Guide. What Mr. Travis said was as follows: “I would 
like to have the stenographer mention the fact that Mr. 
J. H. Hale, who is probably one of the largest peach 
growers in the world, and one of the leading growers in 
the State of Georgia, although his borne is in Connecticut, 
where he also grows peaches on a large scale, and is a 
member of the Public Service Commission of that State, 
which commission meets to-day, had expected to be pres¬ 
ent, and on his behalf, may I say that he wishes to register 
the strongest objection to this bill before us as far as 
products are concerned grown outside of this State.” 
As an honorable paper, I shall expect you to give this 
the same prominence as you did the misstatement. 
EUGENE M. TRAVIS. 
Mr. Hale sent us the letter direct. Senator Roose¬ 
velt had nothing to do with its publication. In a 
subsequent letter Mr. J. H. Hale states that, with 
some changes (which we understand the friends of 
the bill are willing to make) he thinks “ it would be a 
mighty good thing for all honest commission men as it 
would drive the other fellow out of business. 
Recently we told of a cooperative buying associa¬ 
tion among the employes of a great insurance com¬ 
pany. On page 426 is the story of another smaller 
society. Now we have letters from farmers who want 
to sell produce to such societies. The first thing is 
a demand for guarantees—as to quality and also quan¬ 
tity. These buying associations want to deal with 
people who can always supply what they want. The 
individual farmer cannot hope to supply the demand 
every day in the year—yet that is the basis on which 
these societies must buy. Thus they naturally prefer 
to trade with a dealer or with some organized body 
of producers which will always have the goods. This 
shows us again the positive need of organization 
among producers. In the new plan of cooperative 
buying the individual cannot hope to supply the trade 
because he, alone, cannot produce enough or in great 
variety. There must be organization at both ends. 
* 
Here is the letter referred to by Mr. Robert Rinker 
on page 448. Never mind the particular paper. Take 
it as a type of a dozen that you know: 
Dear Sir: I beg leave to acknowledge your favor ask¬ 
ing us to discontinue the — — for the reason that wo 
advocate better fanning and larger yields. We are pleased 
to discontinue sending the — — to all such people. I 
note what you say in regard to six-year-old children 
and over-production. My observation has been that when¬ 
ever a man is found with brains sufficient to increase his 
crop yield, he also has brains sufficient to market it. 
The progress of the world has always been retarded 
more or less by a class of individuals bearing the marks 
that judging by your letter you seem to possess, and life 
is too short to bother with them. Like the poor they 
are always with us and we suffer them because it is less 
trouble to bear with their idiosyncrasies than to make 
the effort to set them right. 
Truly yours, 
Managing Editor. 
Here is a snob and a side-stepper. Mr. Rinker did 
not stop the paper because it advocated better farm¬ 
ing, but because it lacked the courage to stand up for 
the farmer’s common rights. Here is your true “two 
blades of grass” man. He is so exceedingly “safe and 
sane” that he has gone to seed. He is a sprout or 
seedling come up from “the new education” and not 
properly top-worked. When you tell such a man, 
and prove it to him, that farmers now receive 35 cents 
of the consumer’s dollar, his remedy is “Raise twice 
as much and get \7 l /t cents.” Life is too short for 
such men to bother with any such fool propositions 
as improving markets or cutting out useless middle¬ 
men. Get out and raise twice as much as you did 
last year and let the carriers and middlemen alone! 
They represent the world and you interfere with 
their progress. But this man has one thing right— 
“like the poor, they are always with us!” Correct, 
and they will stay with you as never before. About 
five centuries ago such men as this “managing editor” 
might have snapped their fingers and at the sound 
their “subscribers” would have doffed their hats. The 
poor thing seems to think he is living back in the 
fifteenth century. The modern subscriber has the 
true “recall” and knows how to use it, as Mr. Rinker 
did. 
* 
Fierce opposition has developed to Assembly bill 
No. 955 in the New York Legislature. This bill pro¬ 
poses a tonnage stamp tax on feeding stuffs. On 
page 443 you will find statements of the arguments 
on both sides. The opposition started with the feed 
mixers and dealers and has been taken up by farmers 
all over the State. Without question this method of 
stamp tax would result in an increase in the price of 
feed. The dealers and mixers are organized and they 
would at once add the cost of the stamps and more 
to what they charge for the goods, thus saddling 
the whole thing upon the consumer. True, the farmer 
now pays his share of the cost of inspection through 
taxation and otherwise, but this would be a new 
direct tax for which he would get little, if any, direct 
benefit. According to the Agricultural Department 
report for 1912, the cost of enforcing inspection was 
about $16,000, while license fees of $30,515 were col¬ 
lected. All sorts of estimates are made concerning 
the amount of revenue which would result from this 
tonnage tax. These estimates run from $60,000 to 
$200,000 per year, with no promise of any more effec¬ 
tive inspection. Thus there would be a large surplus 
in cash above the cost of inspection. That probably 
explains the reason why this bill was started, and also 
explains the fierce opposition to it. As a revenue 
measure this bill, with the similar one applying to 
fertilizers, would raise a large fund for the Agricul¬ 
tural Department, thus reducing, or at least not in¬ 
creasing, the regular appropriation from the State. 
That appears to be the heart of the proposition. The 
rich State of New York is abundantly able to provide 
inspection and protection for her farmers and should 
do so without inflicting burdensome taxes. In some 
of the States these stamp taxes are avowedly for the 
“s... 
purpose of squeezing money out of farmers and others, 
but there is no necessity for any such scheme in New 
York. It is well enough to raise, by means of a 
moderate tax, enough revenue to pay the cost of 
proper inspection, but our farmers will not stand for 
the principle of paying this increased price for feed 
and fertilizers in order to pile up a surplus to be used 
for regular Department work. They are justified in 
opposing such a proposition and they are doing it 
effectively. 
* 
There have been advertised of late devices for sup¬ 
plying oxygen to an incubator while the little chicks 
are first enjoying their freedom from the egg. Claims 
are made for the device on the theory that oxygen is 
used to save life or revive weak and fainting people. 
Many of our readers ask if these devices are worth 
buying, but, strange to say, we can get no expert to 
give a definite opinion. Here is what a practical 
poultryman says: 
I regret that I cannot tell you anything definite. Per¬ 
sonally, it would not interest me, as any up-to-date incuba¬ 
tor if properly handled should have all the oxygen neces¬ 
sary for the young chicks hatched, and chicks depending 
upon an extra supply of oxygen to keep them alive are 
not worth raising. The artificial administration of oxygen 
to anything temporarily ailing is all right, but a chick 
hatched too weak to live under ordinary circumstances 
will never, in my opinion, develop into a strong, hardy 
chick. 
The poultry experts ought to be able to tell a hen 
man whether this device is worth while or not. The 
above comment seems strong and sensible enough to 
live without oxygen. 
* 
I notice in a late issue that the Universal Exchange 
Corporation of Columbus, OHio, is out again this Spring. I 
had some experience last year with them through their 
vice-president, Powell. I purchased about $45 -worth of 
seeds for myself and aided Mr. Powell in selling a silo 
to a neighbor. Soon after I found they had no rating 
in Dun and Bradstreet Then I wrote The R. N.-Y., 
and soon found I was “stung,” and had aided in stinging 
my neighbor. The seeds soon arrived and were duly fed 
to my hogs, but the silo was a Jonah—our lumber dealer 
pronounced it worth about §40 or $50 together with the 
two kegs of coal tar, alias porcelain lining. Of course 
we went to court, or started rather, my neighbor taking 
his check book and I an article I clipped from The R. 
N.-Y., exposing the company. I handed the clipping to 
Judge Graham of Marshall, and he after looking it over, 
told us to go home and wait future developments. In 
about 10 days we were notified by railway agent that 
silo had been ordered shipped out to Vandalia to another 
party. We were saved $379 by car fare to county seat 
and price of one year’s subscription t<* R. N.-Y. 
Illinois. B. H. EMRICH. 
We print the above just as it comes to us without 
dotting an “i” or crossing a “t”. Old readers will 
remember that the spirit behind this “corporation” 
is our old friend, J. W. Woodruff of American Farm 
Company fame. The incident reminds us of the 
change that has come over the advertising business 
since we first showed up the Woodruff scheme, some 
eight or ten years ago. While The R. N.-Y. was 
exposing the schemes, other papers continued at the 
same time to run their advertising, and there was 
little, if any, protest from the people. To-day if 
any paper, either through ignorance or avarice, car¬ 
ried such an advertisement, the protest of farmers 
would be prompt and vigorous. The Woodruff 
schemes are now worked through circulars and 
agents. No respectable farm paper could be induced 
to accept his advertising. If every man who got 
stung on a fake, put up a fight as this correspondent 
did, it might cost him as much as the original loss, 
but he would have a chance of saving his money, 
and the satisfaction of driving rogues out of the farm 
supply business. 
BREVITIES. 
Many a farmer is watching a seeding of vetch this 
Spring with curious eyes. We want to know how this 
crop comes through the Winter. Our own fields seem to be 
alive but the plants are small. 
Maine seems to be the last hope of the ice men this 
year unless they move to Canada. In most parts of the 
North the ice is thin. An army of men have been sent to 
Maine to cut while the ice holds out. 
It is claimed at the Kansas Agricultural College that 
there are 3216 girls and women studying domestic science 
and art at all the agricultural colleges in the country. 
Of these 819 are at the Kansas College! The Kansas 
kitchen of the future will be au annex to the better land. 
Fresh manure may be spread on the sod and plowed 
under and then slaked lime put on the furrows aud har¬ 
rowed in. The lime used in this way will hasten the 
decay of the manure, while the ammonia will be left in 
the soil. Do not mix lime and manure above ground. 
Some swindlers have been defrauding Illinois farmers 
by representing themselves as book agents for the National 
Department of Agriculture, selling hooks under this 
pretext. They have been indicted at Springfield on the 
charge of conspiracy against the government, and some 
arrests have been made. 
