© 1-4 
TH IS RUK.AI* NKW-YOKKER 
August 9, 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC.—Fire destroyed the big 
Kiesewetter Hirer View pavilion at Se- 
caucus, N. J., early July 24. The loss is 
estimated at $100,000. An electric light 
wire is believed to have caused the fire. 
Fred Hrodek is the first automobilist 
to be found guilty of murder in Cook 
County, Ill., as a result of running down 
and killing a person while operating an 
automobile. He got a sentence of four¬ 
teen rears in the Illinois penitentiary 
July 24. 
Investigations by the State and local 
authorities into the circumstances sur¬ 
rounding the fire at the Binghamton 
Clothing Company's factory, which cost 
about 65 lives, show that the factory was 
not equipped adequately with fire fighting 
facilities. James P. Wliiskeman, an 
expert in the employ of the Wagner- 
Smith State Factory Investigating Com¬ 
mission. declares that there was more 
criminal carelessness in the Binghamton 
fire than he found in the Triangle Com¬ 
pany’s disaster. Ilis investigation re¬ 
vealed the fact that a stairway running 
through the clothing company’s building 
had been removed to make more, room for 
manufacturing. 
Harry C. Shinier and Adolph Fortgang 
of the firm of II. B. SBimer & Co., egg 
dealers, of 336 Washington Street, New 
York, pleaded guilty before Judge Ray in 
the United States District Court July 26 
to bribing freight inspectors of the Penn¬ 
sylvania and Erie Railroads to expedite 
the payment of their claims against the 
roads for consignments of eggs damaged 
in shipment. Assistant United States At¬ 
torney Guiler said in court that the de¬ 
fendants, by padding these claims, made 
$38,000 over the actual amount of the 
damage to their eggs in one year. 
Shinier pleaded guilty to an additional 
charge of bribing a railroad employee to 
obtain information concerning the busi¬ 
ness of competing egg dealers and was 
fined $6,000 on both charges. Fortgang 
was fined $5,000. Federal authorities 
believe that five railroads have lost from 
$800,000 to $1,000,000 in a single year 
by similar frauds by egg shippers. 
W. F. Gorsuch, of Baltimore, and Vic¬ 
tor Rauch, of New York, who have been 
in Philadelphia several days with the 
“Oklahoma booster car,” were arrested 
July 2,8 and held in $800 bail each for a 
further hearing on a charge of obtaining 
money on false pretences. City detectives 
and a postal inspector who made the ar¬ 
rests say the defendants represented 
themselves to have been sent out by the 
McAlester Board of Trade, and offered to 
give with each lot bought 160 acres in a 
government reservation soon to be opened 
along the Choctaw River. The detec¬ 
tives allege that the men were not sent 
out by the McAlester trade body and that 
promises of government land cannot be 
fulfilled. 
Fire swept the entire plant of the 
United Cork Company, at Lyndhurst, 
N. J., July 26, causing $100,000 damage. 
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma af¬ 
firmed the “grandfather clause” amend¬ 
ment to the State constitution which dis¬ 
franchises the negro under certain con¬ 
ditions. Notice of an appeal to the Unit¬ 
ed States Supreme Court has been given. 
Two men were killed and probably 
more than 50 persons were injured July 
30 in what was probably the most se¬ 
vere storm that ever struck V ashing ton. 
The telephone and street railway service 
was paralyzed, and more than $1,000,000 
worth of damage was inflicted. The 
White House met the full force of the 
storm, and 10 trees in the grounds sur¬ 
rounding it were destroyed, six of them 
being uprooted. The big elm, the largest 
tree on the grounds, just at the east of 
the north portico, was blown down. This 
tree was planted by President Cleveland 
during his first administration and was 
one of the historic landmarks. 
Eugene S. Robinson, alias Henry R. 
Raymond, and Adam Iloch were found 
guilty by a jury in the United States 
District Court at New York, July 30. on 
all the counts in an indictment charging 
them with using the mails to defraud in 
the sale of about $500,000 worth of the 
worthless stock of the American Tanning 
Company. Robinson is a brother of the 
notorious Peanuts Robinson, also well 
known to the Federal authorities. lie 
was secretary of Henry N. Roach & Co., 
which floated the American Tanning Co. 
and many other enterprises. Hoch was 
the chemist on whose alleged secret proc¬ 
ess for tanning leather in 14 days the 
company was promoted. H. W. Parker, 
president of Henry N. Roach & Co., was 
indicted with Robinson and Hoch, but 
escaped to Europe. 
PARCEL POST.—Railway represen¬ 
tatives joined, July 23. in the fight to 
prevent Postmaster General Burleson 
from increasing the size of parcel post 
packages and reducing the rates, to be¬ 
come effective August 15. A delegation 
representing the railroads throughout the 
country laid their complaint before .Sena¬ 
tors and Representatives and prepared to 
protest formally to the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission. In Congress Senator 
Bryan, of Florida, introduced a joint res¬ 
olution to repeal the section of the parcel 
post law under which the Postmaster 
General claims the right to regulate races 
and sizes. The railway representatives 
contended that at present the rohds re¬ 
ceived 50 per cent of the pay collected 
by express companies for the carriage of 
packages, and complained that they 
would lose from $15,000,000 to $20,000,- 
000 a year on business the government 
would take from the express companies. 
It was also urged that in the enactment 
of the parcel post law Congress allowed 
the railroads five per cent additional pay 
for the increased business, and that if the 
purposed changes were made the roads 
would be entitled to a further increase. 
The delegation suggested that the matter 
would be carried to the courts if neces¬ 
sary. Interstate Commerce officials said 
the commission’s consent had been given 
to the Postmaster General. Still further 
expansion of the parcel post system and 
still deeper inroads into the business of 
the express companies were indicated 
July 25 in an announcement by Postmas¬ 
ter General Burleson to the Senate Com¬ 
mittee on Post Offices and Post Roads, 
that he hoped soon to raise the maximum 
weight from 20 to 100 pounds. An in¬ 
crease from 11 to 20 pounds will become 
effective August 15. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Dr Stephen 
M. Babcock of the University of Wis¬ 
consin, has retired after 25 years of ac¬ 
tive service, becoming professor emeritus 
of his department. In addition to his 
famous Babcock test, curd test, and dis¬ 
coveries in the curing of cheese, Dr. 
Babcock has also invented a viscometer 
for testing the viscosity and therefore 
the value of oils and for detecting adult¬ 
erants; he has devised a gravimeter 
method for analyzing milk that has been 
adopted as the official method used by the 
agricultural chemists of the United 
States; he has discovered a method for 
determining the number and the size of 
fat globules in milk; and he has devoted 
much of his time to the investigation 
of various problems of a biological char¬ 
acter. One of his most interesting and 
original investigations resulted in the 
conclusion that the water produced by 
animals and plants, when carrying on life 
processes, is not wholly a waste product, 
hut subserves an important and useful 
purpose by which, for instance, the suc¬ 
culence of fruits and the ascent of sap 
in trees is satisfactorily explained. Dur¬ 
ing his investigations of the ultimate na¬ 
ture of matter he discovered that the 
weight of a body varies with its tempera¬ 
ture, there being a perceptible difference 
in the weight of a piece of ice and of the 
water composing it. His deduction was 
that “the weight of a body is an inverse 
function of its inherent energy.” Dr. 
Babcock has never patented any of his 
inventions, declaring that they belonged 
to the State he served, and not to any 
individual. 
The American Association of Instruc¬ 
tors and Investigators in Poultry Hus¬ 
bandry will hold its sixth annual meet¬ 
ing at the New Jersey Experiment Sta¬ 
tion. New Brunswick, August 18-20. An 
interesting programme has been prepared. 
J. B. Joel, the South African sports¬ 
man, purchased Prince Palatine at Lon¬ 
don. July 30, from T. Pilkiugton for 
$250,000, the highest price ever paid for 
a Thoroughbred horse. The previous 
mark was held by Flying Fox, who 
changed hands at $196,875. Prince 
Palatine is ranked with the greatest 
horses of the English turf. He has run 
only twice this year, winning the Coro¬ 
nation Cup at Epsom and the Ascot Gold 
Cup. _ 
Horses are high, selling from $200 to 
$300 a head. Cows with calves by their 
sides bring $70 to $00; dry cows, $55 to 
$65; veal calves, nine to lOVa cents per 
pound live weight. Roasting chickens 
retail for 20 to 22 cents per pound; 
Spring chickens, 35 to 40 _ cents per 
pound; squab ducks. 40 to 45 cents per 
pound; eggs retail for 30 to 32 cents per 
dozen; guineas, dressed, 50 cents each. 
Young pigs are selling from $5 to $10 
each, according to the breeding. Oat 
crop looks very poor; straw short and 
heads light. C. w. H. 
Ambler, Pa. 
COMING FARMERS’ MEETINGS. 
Summer Field Meeting, Massachusetts 
State Grange, Barnstable Fair Grounds, 
Barnstable, Mass., August 1. 
Apple show and convention of the In¬ 
ternational Apple Shippers’ Association, 
Hotel Statler. Cleveland, O., August 6-8. 
American Association of Instructors 
and Investigators in Poultry Husbandry, 
annual meeting. New Jersey Experiment 
Station, New Brunswick, August 18-20. 
Wisconsin State Horticultural Society, 
Sturgeon Bay, August 20-21. 
New York State Fair and Grand Cir¬ 
cuit Meeting, Syracuse, N. Y., September 
8-13. 
Lancaster Fair, Lancaster, Pa., Sep¬ 
tember 30-Oc-tober 3. 
Vermont Corn Show, Windsor, Vt., 
November 5-7. 
Third Indiana Apple Show, Indianapo¬ 
lis. November 5-11. 
National Grange, Annual Meeting, 
Manchester, N. II., November 12. 
New England Fruit Show, Horticul¬ 
tural Hall, Boston, November 12-16. 
Maryland State Horticultural Society. 
Maryland Crop Improvement Association, 
Maryland Dairymen’s Association, Mary¬ 
land Beekeepers’ Association and Farm¬ 
ers’ League, Baltimore, November 17-22. 
The Capital Poultry and Pigeon Asso¬ 
ciation will hold its annual show at 
Washington, D. C., December 2-6. 
St. Mary’s Poultry Club; first annual 
show, St. Mary’s, Pa., December 18-19. 
Peninsula Horticultural Society, an¬ 
nual Winter meeting, Easton, Md., Jan¬ 
uary U ’,-15. 1914. 
Send Us One New Yearly Sub¬ 
scription or Ten Trial Subscriptions 
And Obtain One of These 
Kitchen Outfits as a Reward 
This Set of Three Kitchen Knives Consists of: 
No. 1. Small Carver.—This knife is called French Savatier. The 
handle is of Walnut, riveted with three brass rivets. The blade is 4 
inches; made of extra refined Jessup steel; hand-forged, the forging 
marks being discernible in the blade. It can be used as a small 
carver. 
No. 2. Vegetable Knife.—This knife is strongly made of English 
Wardlow steel; blade 4 inches; handle of Boxwood, uncolored; 
strongly riveted. The blade of this knife is so constructed, and of 
such shape as to make it especially desirable for preparing vegetables 
of all kinds for cooking. The blade and steel handle of the knife 
is imbedded in the Boxwood handle, so as to avoid any injury to tne 
hand. It is sanitary and easily cleaned, and is one of the best, all 
around articles for kitchen use. 
No. 3. Paring Knife.—This paring knife is of English Wardlow 
steel; blade, 2J4 inches; Ebony; strongly riveted to blade with brass 
rivets; nicely polished and finished. The blade and steel handle ot 
the knife is so inserted in the Ebony as to prevent hurting the hand. 
The blade is specially constructed and is of short length, so that one 
can readily use the point for taking imperfections out of vegetables 
without the hand coming in contact with the sharp portion of the 
blade. This sharp paring knife has been adopted by some of the 
largest Canning Houses in the country. 
These three knives are an invaluable addition to the 
kitchen. In fact, they cover every phase of kitchen work. 
They are strongly constructed, sanitary, of the finest material, 
easily cleaned, and will last a lifetime. These goods are fully 
warranted and any imperfect goods will be replaced. 
These articles are not given with a subscription to the 
R. N.-Y., but are given to the agent as a reward, in 
of cash, for extending the subscription list of the R. N.-Y. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 333 West 30th Street, New York 
