1348 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK. 
DOMESTIC—Fire in the Arcadia 
Hotel, a cheap lodging house for men in 
Boston, Mass., Dec. 3, killed 28 men and 
injured 45 more. The evidence so far 
shows that the five story brick building 
had been remodelled, the walls on the 
fourth floor having been removed and 
flimsy wooden partitions substituted. 
These cut the floor into small rooms, and 
as the woodwork did not reach to the 
ceiling there was a strong draught to 
cflrry the flames in every direction. The 
fire escapes in the rear of the building 
are said to have been too small and to 
have been placed at windows opening 
from small cell-like rooms, the doors of 
which were locked at night by the oc¬ 
cupants. The hotel was owned by a 
family named Lyons, whose members are 
said to control GT cheap lodging houses 
in various cities. 
The vacuum clothes washer game, 
which consists in selling agencies to per¬ 
sons who think they will make a fortune, 
resulted in the arrest in New York. Dec. 
3, of Charles J. Tappan, an agent who 
sold a contract to Mrs. Maud C. Parker 
for $5,000. Mrs. Parker had Tappan 
locked up in Ludlow street jail in a suit 
to recover the money she paid. She says 
she was induced to believe that she could 
sell the vacuum washers for $3.50 each, 
and that her contract called for 1,667 
washers. After she had spent $762 try¬ 
ing to sell them she found that depart¬ 
ment stores were competing with her at 
49 cents. 
The register of the Land Office at Jun¬ 
eau, Alaska, decided on November 28, that 
twenty-one coal claims of the so-called 
McAlpine group of 200 on Cook Inlet 
should be held for cancellation because of 
fraud. The promoters of the McAlpine 
group—Wilbur W .McAlpine, Albert H. 
Itoehm. George W. Ross, Frank D. An¬ 
drus, Arthur L- Holmes and McCurdy C. 
Lcbeau, of Detroit, and John M. Eush- 
nell, of Chicago—were indicted in Detroit 
on March 6, 1911. for conspiracy to de¬ 
fraud the United States. They have not 
been brought to trial. The claimants 
were mostly clerks and stenograph ers d em- 
ployed by large corporations in Detroit, 
who are alleged to have signed powers 
of attorney and relinquishment when re¬ 
quired to do so by their employers. The 
government alleges that the Cook Inlet 
Coal Fields Company, which filed on the 
McAlpine lands soon after 1900, sold 
millions of dollars of stock in the com¬ 
pany, among the investors being John D. 
Rockefeller and the late II. II. Rogers. 
Five hundred persons are dead and 20.- 
000 homeless as a result of the Texas 
floods. Dec. 4-7 a vast sea of yellow 
water was rushing gulfward, destroying 
life and property and every means of 
communication. 8ix thousand were made 
homeless by the flood in the vicinity of 
Bryan and Hearne, and there was 15,- 
000 more refugees at Temple, Lagrange, 
Austin. Navasota, Marlin, Belton. Waco, 
Waxahachie and Columbus. The worst 
feature is the lack of food. Supplies 
have been sent from Houston and Gal¬ 
veston, but the trains are not able to get 
anywhere near the stricken districts, and 
the homeless are starving and suffering 
from a cold wave that struck Texas, Dec. 
6. The Bryan Chamber of Commerce has 
issued an announcement, placing the 
death list there and at Hearne at five 
hundred. They reached this estimate by 
inability to find families that had lived 
in destroyed homes and who were not 
seen after their houses were struck by 
the torrent. Water six to ten feet deep 
has been sweeping over the fields and 
through towns unimpeded by hills, as 
Southern Texas has a gently sloping 
descent to the gulf. As the water con¬ 
tinues to fall bodies are found in ruined 
homes under debris and in fields. Many 
farmers who could have saved their lives 
were drowned because they stayed behind 
to watch livestock. Dec. 8, reports from 
Bryan put the number of people still 
missing at 6,000, and seven life savers 
were drowned that day. It is impossible 
to get supplies to the thousands of per¬ 
sons marooned in buildings, and they are 
killing cattle and other livestock and eat¬ 
ing the meats raw. An outbreak of small¬ 
pox is reported among the homeless vic¬ 
tims near there, but until the waters sub¬ 
side it is impossible to send doctors. 
Approximately 500 Chippewa and Otta¬ 
wa Indians in Michigan are to enter a 
claim for $200,000,000 against the United 
States Government for alleged deprivation 
of valuable lands and fishing rights in the 
great lakes. The validity of this claim 
hinges upon the interpretation of the 
treaty of 1833, in which it was supposed 
the Indians had signed away all rights to 
land where South Chicago is now located, 
all lake islands and property of enorm¬ 
ous value in Illinois, Michigan and Wis¬ 
consin. The Indians allege that through 
oversight this territory was not included 
in the treaty. 
Colorado suffered a record breaking 
snowstorm Dec. 4-5. The storm is the 
worst since 1S85. The total precipita¬ 
tion was 40.7 inches. Scores of railroad 
trains were stalled within a few miles of 
Denver. Street cars were out of com¬ 
mission for thirty-six hours. Many build¬ 
ings collapsed and dangerous mountain 
slides are reported from many sections. 
Ten Denver residents are missing and re¬ 
ports state that several mail stages are 
lost. Coal deliveries were impossible and 
hotels, department stores and office build¬ 
ings abandoned heat and elevator service 
l'HE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
December 20, 
for sevewil days. All public schools were 
closed and funerals abandoned. Prob¬ 
ably two weeks will be required to clear 
the downtown district of snow, and it 
was announced, Dec. 8, that it would be 
10 days before bodies awaiting burial 
could be removed. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Reorganiza¬ 
tion of the Department of Agriculture is 
foreshadowed in Secretary Houston’s first 
annual report, presented, Dec. 6, to Presi¬ 
dent Wilson. A plan to be submitted to 
Congress in the fiscal estimates for 1916 
proposes to carry out the work of the de¬ 
partment in five or six main groups, such 
as research, State relations, rural organ¬ 
ization, forest service, weather and regu¬ 
lation. Such a plan, Secretary Houston 
believes, will promote co-ordination. 
Plans for redistricting the country for 
the enforcement of the pure food law are 
announced, and the Secretary declares 
his intention to ask for authority to pre¬ 
pare amendments to the pure food law 
to improve the food supply, protect the 
public health and promote uniformity in 
food legislation. Prosecutions under the 
food and drugs act and other regulatory 
statutes will be expedited and made still 
more effective through cooperation with 
the Department of Justice, whereby the 
solicitor will prepare cases in the form of 
criminal information and place at the ser- 
vice of the United State District At¬ 
torneys in the trial of cases the depart¬ 
ment’s attorneys, who are thoroughly fam¬ 
iliar with the highly technical and tech¬ 
nological aspects of many of these causes. 
Free distribution of seeds by Congress¬ 
men should be discontinued, the Secre¬ 
tary recommends. H.e would conduct in 
its stead a constructive work in securing 
and distributing new seeds and plants. 
The meeting of the Western New Y'ork 
Horticultural Society is both the oldest 
and largest association of fruit growers 
in the Empire State. The gathering of 
January 28th, 29th and 30th will be a 
memorable one, the program containing 
several attractive features. Among the 
out-of-State speakers will be Professor 
S. A. Beach, of the Iowa College of 
Agriculture; Dr. Lipman, director New 
Jersey Agriculture College Experiment 
Station; a Michigan peach-grower, etc. 
A large aggregation of spray rigs, etc., 
is already arranged for. Liberal prizes 
are offered in the competitive class for 
fruits. Those wishing further informa¬ 
tion regarding the fruit entries should 
communicate with John Hall, secretary- 
treasurer, 204 Granite Building, Roches¬ 
ter, N. Y. 
OBITUARY. — Aaron Montgomery 
Ward, who rose from a day laborer to 
the presidency of a mail order house, 
died, Dec. 7, at his residence at Highland 
Park, Ill. Death resulted from a com¬ 
plication of diseases which developed 
after two falls. Mr. Ward was born 
at Chatham, N. ,T.. on February 17, 1843, 
the family going West when he was eight 
years old. He advanced himself by his 
own endeavors until at his death liis 
wealth is reliably estimated at $15,000,- 
000. Mr. Ward’s long continued efforts 
to prevent the erection of buildings in 
Grant Park, Chicago, won for him the 
name of “the watchdog of the lake front.” 
At one time there were forty-six projects 
for buildings on the park, and he fought 
these projects in the face of general op¬ 
position. Two years ago the State Su¬ 
preme Court handed down a decision pro¬ 
hibiting the erection of buildings on the 
Chicago lake front. 
WASHINGTON.—The advance on the 
cold storage trust and the high cost of 
living menace was begun Dec. 5, when 
the House Committee on Interstate and 
Foreign Commerce appointed a sub-com¬ 
mittee to take charge of anti-cold storage 
bills and to hold hearings to fix responsi¬ 
bility, if possible, for the prevailing prices 
of eggs and other foodstuffs. The sub¬ 
committee will begin hearings next week. 
It includes Representatives Adamson, 
chairman; Covington, Cullop, Hamilton 
and Lafferty. The bill of Mr. McKellar, 
of Tennessee, to prohibit the cornering of 
the market in foodstuffs and to prescribe 
a time limit for the storing of eggs and 
meats, was referred to the sub-commit¬ 
tee. Mr. McKellar, who charges that a 
combination of beef packers is responsi¬ 
ble not only for the high prices of meats, 
but of eggs, obtained the consent of the 
House to speak for one hour, Dec. 8, on 
the subject of the high cost of living. 
While the sub-committee is devoting at¬ 
tention specifically to the cold storage 
trust the Judiciary Committee will under¬ 
take a probe of the trust question in 
general. That committee is also after 
the beef combination, and its majority 
members hope to absolve Democracy from 
blame for a condition of affairs which 
depletes the pocketbook of the ultimate 
consumer. 
A Danish Farmer in New York. 
[The following letter was written by 
a Danish American farmer—J. P. Lind- 
berg, formerly of Minnesota, who bought 
a farm of 112 acres in Otsego Co.. N. Y., 
Notice that the great need he finds in 
New York is cooperation and credit as he 
found them in Denmark.] 
I moved here in March, 1913, brought 
five horses, some bushels of oats, barley, 
corn and some other things I had use for 
here, in all 16,000 pounds. I moved on 
the farm March 15, but did not get any¬ 
thing done before April 15, on account 
of rain every day. I brought a man along 
from Minnesota whom I paid $25 per 
month and board. Then he began to 
plow, and here I met my first disappoint¬ 
ment. The old farmers had not plowed 
deeper than four inches and I went down 
eight inches. We plowed in all 40 acres 
and I took out about 500 loads of stones. 
It cost me $7 per acre to get it plowed 
and to take the stones off. I had 10 
acres in oats, 12 acres in buckwheat, two 
acres in barley, 15 acres in corn and one 
acre potatoes. I sowed grass seed in the 
10 acres oats, on the same 10 acres I 
spread 10% tons lime, because clover will 
not grow here wifnout lime. I got 30 
bushels of oats per acre, but my grass 
seed did not come as well as I thought 
it would, but now I am spreading eight 
loads manure per acre on top and expect 
to get a good stand next year. On the 
two acres barley I got 50 bushels No. 1 
barley, potatoes 200 bushels to the acre. 
Corn was a disappointment. I planted 
it May 16 and 17, got a good stand and 
it grew well until June 9, then we got 
a frost which took it right down to the 
ground, still it came up again fairly well, 
and in August it looked as if I should 
get 25 to 30 bushels to the acre, but again 
on September 8, there came a frost and 
we got nothing to speak of; still I had 
gathered four bushels for seed for next 
year and will try it again. As it was 
very dry here this year, and it looked as 
if iiay would be scarce, I planted two 
acres for fodder corn July 3, which came 
fairly well, and I also got it cut down be¬ 
fore the frost. Next year I shall plant six 
acres in July and cut it about September 
1. as it will yield more per acre than any¬ 
thing else. On the 12 acres of wheat I 
got 100 bushels, but the straw is not good 
for anything but bedding. 
The prices for the various products are, 
just now, oats 50 cents per bushel; bar¬ 
ley $1; buckwheat 75 ; corn 85 ; hay from 
$12 to $16 per ton, eggs 45 cents per 
dozen; cream 35; hogs, dressed 10 cents; 
beef from eight to 10, dressed. Hay I 
got scarcely three-fourths ton to the acre. 
I had three cows through the Summer, 
which brought me $15 per month, be¬ 
sides what we used in the house. 
I have sold two horses and bought four 
more cows and have besides three calves, 
two hogs and about 100 hens. That will 
be all I can keep this Winter, and then 
I still shall have to buy about $15 worth 
of grain per month. Last Spring I used 
about $100 worth of fertilizer, but will 
use more next year until I get over it 
with manure. What we need here is 
manure, lime and good work. I have 
seen oats here bring 70 bushels per acre 
and hay three tons on land that was well 
kept. The land around here is quite 
hilly and has a good many stones on it, 
with woods here and there. We have 
a layer of lmrdpan underneath and need 
rain at least once a week, otherwise it 
gets too dry, but we generally get the 
rain. 
Land sells for $10 to $30 per acre, for 
$25 per acre you can buy a good farm 
with good buildings, for $10 per acre a 
so-called “run-down” farm. Generally 
one-third to one-half is required cash, 
the rest on longer time; 90 out of every 
100 farms are for sale here, the reason as 
far as I can judge is that all the young 
people have gone to town and the old 
people are left alone on the farm and 
can do nothing. What we need is good 
farmers with at least from $1,500 to 
$3,000 who can pay half of it on the 
farm and have enough left to start with, 
but what we need most of all is coopera- 
tibn, as they are 50 years behind as to 
buying and selling. Credit hardly exists 
yet, but it will come by and by. A year 
ago here was only one Danish family, 
now we are 21, not so bad in one year. 
We have also got a Danish Brotherhood 
Lodge started with 14 members. Also 
a Danish pastor from Iowa has bought 
a farm here and will move here with his 
family in March. IIis name is A Kirke- 
gaard. Thus we may by and by expect 
to have a congregation established. We 
have from two to three miles to railroad 
and from seven to 10 miles to Oneonta, 
a city with 12,000 inhabitants. Schools 
are found everywhere. Generally lumber 
enough is found on every farm for own 
use, and often some to sell. We hav** 
plenty of good water and the climate is 
good. The Danes say it is almost like 
Denmark. 
As a warning I shall say this. Don’t 
settle too far from town, look out that 
there is plenty of water and that the 
land is not too rough, with too many 
stones, and it will not be amiss if ttie 
land slants towards the south or east. 
See that there is woodland enough for 
own use, and last but not least don’t go 
near the agents; they are worse than out 
West. Have $1,500 or more, good cour¬ 
age and a pair of good hands to work 
with, then I believe here is as good a 
place to find a home and a good living 
as any place I know. 
When you write advertisers mention 
The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply 
and a “square deal.” See guarantee edi¬ 
torial page. 
Where 
Men cf 
Ambition 
. VTOWHERE 
L IN is ambition 
rewarded more 
generously than 
inthe Southeast. 
r Small capital 
and energy will 
accomplish wonder¬ 
ful results for you in 
this favored land. 
Dairying, trucking, fruit growing, poultry 
raising and general farming are making South¬ 
ern farmers independent. 
Plenty of rain and ample sunshine every 
month, irrigation unnecessary. Growing season 
from 7 to ’9 months duration. Two and three 
crops raised annually. Local markets plentiful 
and profitable. Early vegetables and fruit bring 
high prices in Northern cities. 
Modern schools and highways, good churches, 
rural telephones, healthful climate anddelightful 
summers and winters make the South the most 
desirable location in America for Homeseekers. 
Learn How to Make Money 
Send for the ”Southern 
Field” magazine, book¬ 
lets and farm lists which 
give the whole facts. 
M. V. RICHARDS 
Land and Industrial Agent 
Room 87 Washington, D. C. 
I r ft FARMS FOB SALE—Near Phi la. and Trenton markets; 
I0U good R.R. and trolley facilities. New catalogue. Es¬ 
tablished 25 years. HORACE G. REEDER. Newtown, Ps. 
U:. • • ,, FOR SALE— Prices right. Terms 
Virginia Farms Reasonable. Soil fertile. Mild 
Climate. Best Markets. We have farms from 5 
acres to 5,000 acres. Write for our Free Illustrated 
Catalogues. Southside Realty Co., Inc., Petersburg, Vi. 
Farms forJSalG 
Fertile and beautiful farm lands, water fronts 
and timber land on the Eastern shore of Maryland. 
SAMUEL P WOODCOCK, - Salisbury, Maryland 
VIRGINIA !L2IOO-acre Ranch 
on James River, $10 per acre. Torms. Send for 
Free List Dairy and Poultry Farms. 'We can suit 
all. Casselman &Company,Richmond, Virginia 
THE FARM IDEAL 
Overlooks beautiful valley and river, near trolley 
and live town, 127 acres under high state of cultiva¬ 
tion, sloping mostly south; fine barns; residence, 
9 rooms, bath, steam heat Less than $100 an acre. 
E. E. SLOCUM, 141 liroadway, N. V. City 
New York Farms Lead the Country 
in fruit, dairy and general crops. Fair market price 
and expert services are assured by selections from 
the big illustrated and descriptive catalog, with 
map, sent free on application to the Secretary. No. 
4, of STATE FARM BROKERS’ ASSOCIATION. Oneida, N. Y. 
154 ACRES 
10-room house, two barns, 30x40, 20x40: granary, liog- 
bouse, ice-house, milk-house, all good condition. 
Apples, plums, cherries and pears. Hundred thou, 
sand saw lumber. 2 miles to Railroad town and 
milk shipping station to New York City. $4,500— 
..... -..-I, UAIf’CCADM ARFNrV fluupnn Tinna Pn N V 
35 BUSHELS PER ACRE i 
was the yield of WHEAT 
I6oac«. 
country 
Cl hum si ..., , ,i, 
on many farms in West¬ 
ern Canada In 1913, some 
yields being reported as 
high as 50 bushels 
per acre. As high as 
100 bushels were record¬ 
ed In some districts 
for oats, 50 bushels for 
barley and from 10 to 
20 bushels for ilax. 
J. Keys arrived In the 
years ago from Den¬ 
mark, with very little means. He 
homesteaded, worked hard, is 
now the owner of 320 acres of j 
land, In 1913 had a crop of 200 
aeres.wliich will realize him about 
$4,000. His wheat weighed 68 
lbs. to the bushel and averaged 
I over 35 bushels to the acre. 
Thousands of similar instances mightbo 
related of the homesteaders in Manitoba, 
Saskatchewan and Alberta. 
The crop o.f 1913 was an abundant one 
everywhere in Western Canada. 
Ask for descriptive literature and reduced 
railway rates. Apply to 
Superintendent of Immigration, 
Ottawa, Canada, or 
Canadian Government Agent. 
J. S. Crawford, 
301 E. Genesee Street, 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
BOOKS WORTH BUYING 
The Rose, Parsons. 1.00 
Plant Diseases, Massee. 1.60 
Landscape Gardening, Maynard.... 1.50 
Clovers, Shaw. 1.00 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
333 WEST 30th ST., NEW YORK. 
DON’T BURN CORN 
s Winter to heat the ice cold water for 
ur stock. Burn coal, cobs or wood in a 
COW BOY TANK HEATER 
ickest Heater; Strongest Draft; ashes removed with- 
disturbing the fire; keeps fire 24 hours; Absolutely 
e; pays for itself in two months with four cows. 
!l C ClftllMIIPi adapted to large or small tanks. 
■Lr vlllIVliiUi Most reliable, practical, conven- 
t and efficient Tank Heater ma nufactured. 
UR DISC JOINTERSSf cdTstE 
lure, etc., deep in the furrow where it will make fertilizer 
not interfere with preparing best seed bed or best cultiva- 
i of crop. Consult your dealer at once. Write for illustrated. 
=nptivefO T .de E rs W|LLsMANu|rACTURlNGCO 
Seventh St. Mendota, lll- 
