1508 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
December 18, 1915. 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
The year 1915 has been a busy one for 
us. It seems hardly possible that a year 
has gone since we last came to you and 
called for a verdict on our record, yet a 
glance at the calendar shows that we are 
all one year older, and let us hope one 
year wiser. Now we come again and ask 
you to inspect our year’s work. It has 
not been perfect, and we do not ask you 
to say that it has been. This, however, 
is what we do ask. In your judgment 
has this year’s work of service been hon¬ 
est, sincere and faithful? Do you be¬ 
lieve that during the past year any un¬ 
truth has been knowingly allowed to creep 
into this paper? Has any thought been 
expressed by us for any purpose what¬ 
ever, except in honest service of the man 
on the farm? Has any man or concern 
been knowingly permitted to mislead or 
defraud any reader of this paper through 
Sts advertising columns? There are er¬ 
rors of judgment, differences of opinion 
ability. Laying these 
all obliged to do at 
fairly has the activity 
this paper during the 
and limitations of 
aside, as we are 
times, \ve ask you 
and influence of 
past year been a record of service to you? 
We believe that you can honestly an¬ 
swer these questions in the affirmative. 
If you cannot do so, we have failed in 
our attempts to work out an ideal, and 
it would not be fair for us to expect: you 
to follow us any further. If, however, 
you can honestly feel that’ we have tried 
to give you faithful service to the limit 
of our ability, then we have a right to 
ask an expression of approval in a prompt 
renewal of your subscription. 
One can obtain technical or practical 
knowledge of the soil and its cultiva¬ 
tion. The facts hbout s scientific agricul¬ 
ture are printed again and again, and 
the farmer often knows more about the 
practice of his profession than those who 
undertake to instruct him. This, how¬ 
ever, is not the sole need of farmers or 
. the sole function of a farm paper. There 
are things to do and things to say about 
farming which the scientific people, and 
even the organizations of farmers cannot 
and will not do or say. A farm paper 
should fight for the farmer and protect 
him, whenever and wherever that farmer 
cannot protect himself. 
We cannot be satisfied to conduct a 
farm paper along “safe and sane’’ and 
coir 'rvative lines. We do not believe in 
sticking to cautious policies, offending 
no one, doing nothing but simply trying 
to be dignified and wise. A farm paper 
is, or ought to be, a co-operative enter¬ 
prise. The Editor and the Publisher 
should really be the least of it. They 
have no right to monopolize all its bene¬ 
fits. It is their duty to think out policies 
or actions and to lead, but they are as 
helpless as children unless the subscrib¬ 
ers have confidence in them and follow 
up the work closely and help push it 
through. No one can expect the subscrib¬ 
er of a farm paper to put his shoulder 
to the wheel and work unless that paper 
carries something which when the work 
is over will benefit the humblest sub¬ 
scriber who helps support the paper. If 
such a paper does its duty it will disturb 
many contented interests, and make many 
bitter enemies. It will be exposed to 
open and brutal abuse by interests wfiich 
have enjoyed a monopoly or a graft. It 
must also endure sly and covert criticisms 
from many timid creatures who carry in 
their pockets bribes from the enemies of 
the farm. 
One Summer day, about twenty years 
ago, the Publisher and Editor of this pa¬ 
per sat over a fifteen cent meal in a 
cheap eating house in New York City, 
and discussed ideals and problems for the 
future conduct of The E. N.-Y. They 
were younger then, and their last dollar 
had been invested in this paper simply on 
the theory that they believed its readers 
would appreciate fair service and honor¬ 
able dealing. At that little conference 
three rules of conduct were adopted. 
First, everything in The II. N.-Y. must 
be true. 
Second, the policy of the paper and 
the statements made therein must first of 
all be a benefit to the man in the country 
—the man on a farm. 
Third, no misleading or dishonest ad¬ 
vertising should ever be knowingly ad¬ 
mitted in the columns of the paper. 
In other words we bound ourselves in 
mutual compact on that day to a policy 
of real service to the man we proposed 
to serve, and which service we openly 
professed. You know whether we have 
lived up to that policy or not. You may 
not have expressed your conviction in so 
many words, but through these long years 
of companionship and mutual labor, you 
have made us feel that you do know it 
and appreciate it. That is why we no 
longer doubt or question the position or 
the sentiment of the farmer. Our con¬ 
cern is only that we be right ourselves. 
If our compass is set true, we know that 
we are sure of the backing, the best sen¬ 
timent and the right support from our 
readers. 
In the past we have led as best we 
could in many contests. You readers 
have furnished the power, and together 
we have won. We do not hunt for bat¬ 
tle, and do not go about with a chip on 
our shoulders seeking for fight, but we do 
believe that every man and every set of 
men must be willing when the time 
comes to fight for his rights, and fight for 
his principles. If he will not fight for 
them he will be denied the rights, and 
will be counted as having no principle. 
With the end of this year we see large 
battles looming up ahead. The coming 
year is to bring us face to face with one 
of the greatest and most far-reaching 
contests that has ever been fought by the 
farm interests of any country on the 
face of this earth. This is the square, 
proper right of the farmer to a fair share 
of the wealth which he creates. This 
right has been challenged openly and of¬ 
fensively, and the farmers’ right to it by 
legitimate means has been openly dis¬ 
puted. Some of the most powerful in¬ 
fluences in society are at work to keep 
the farmer away from his market rights 
and an honest share of his own property. 
These interests now realize that the ques¬ 
tion is sure to arise, and every device 
known to these powerful vested interests 
will be put in operation. The meanest 
kind of politics and the most prejudiced 
partisan feeling will play their familiar 
part in this battle. The plans are al¬ 
ready laid, the organizations are already 
effected, and money in plenty will be 
forthcoming to prevent our country peo¬ 
ple from separating their great market 
issue from ordinary politics. But through 
it all there will be one clear issue, which 
we shall do our best to keep alive. On 
one side there will he a demand for a 
fairer and better reward to the farmer 
for the products of the farm, and on the 
other side a denial and refusal of that 
demand. You may rest assured that when 
this battle ends the standard will not re¬ 
main a 35-cent dollar for the farmer. It 
will be more or it will be less. The is¬ 
sue is near at hand, and when it comes 
we promise to carry a banner so that 
every one will see it. If you follow it 
and do your part as in the past the 
farmer will win. 
It is not enough that you send us a 
dollar to renew your subscription. We 
appreciate that as a vote of confidence, 
but we want more. You must also feel 
yourself a unit in a great, strong, pow¬ 
erful organization, devoted heart and soul 
to the honest interests of agriculture. 
You must help create the energy, you 
must have a hand in directing it. It may 
not be your part to originate the policy 
or the plan of battle. It is seldom that 
one man can ever do that. All the great 
things that have changed history have 
been developments. They have grown 
out of popular thought as slowly and 
solidly as an oak tree. If you stand with 
us on those questions as we have thus 
frankly put them, and if you approve of 
the plan of battle after it has been formu¬ 
lated ; if you believe they are right, then 
we ask you to lend a helping hand in the 
struggle, and if need be the great fight 
which is coming for justice to the farmer. 
Simon & Bernstein, Wallabout Mar¬ 
ket, Brooklyn, N. Y r ., dealers in fruits 
and vegetables, have failed with no tangi¬ 
ble assets. The members of the firm have 
disappeared. Another concern to put on 
your list to be watched if they solicit 
shipments from other centers. 
One of the agents of the Best Tire Co. 
of Asbury Park, N. J., came around last 
Spring and I put him off until this Fall. 
He’s about due any day. It appears they 
started business four or five years ago, 
and sold shares of stock for .$1 each. Up 
to the time they came to me they had not 
made a tire, but had a shack of a build¬ 
ing and some machinery, and had raised 
shares to $4 each. I believe the}' have 
manufactured a tire or two to present 
date, and the value of snares to-day is $10 
each. Have they the right to raise the 
value of shares the way they have done 
without showing any income outside of 
returns from shares bought? I know 
some people who have $5 worth of the 
original and (hey will sell it for the orig¬ 
inal $5. I know another man who has 
$1,500 or $2,000 worth, and he has spent 
in the neighborhood of $20 for auto trips 
between his home and the Park. The rea¬ 
son I am suspicious is, that when I told 
the agent I would look into the matter 
and ask some of the people whose name 
he had down why they didn’t take more, 
he went right up in the air, and he was 
still up whin I told him he had taken all 
the time I could give him. e. h. w. 
New Jersey. 
1 his is just another little easy money 
stock selling scheme. It is a favorite 
trick of promoters to raise the price from 
time to time—this is intended to give the 
Public the idea that the stock is really 
growing more valuable. Anyone so gul¬ 
lible as to bite on the Best Tire Co. bait 
ought to have a guardian appointed to 
look after his interests. 
For 17 Years 
America’s 
Leading Silo 
E NDORSED by leading dairy authorities for extreme 
simplicity of operation, massive durable construction 
and perfect preservation of silage. 
Harder features have been copied everywhere hy other Silos. I' censed 
under Harder patents. So superior are Harder Silos that they are 
Used by the U. S. Government 
and hy the most prominent Public Institutions and Private Dairymen 
in the Eastern States. 1 he Harder gets tiie most out of the corn crop. 
It means healthier cows. It is the cheapest and easiest to install and 
the most economical to manage. 
Heavy, non-conducting, steel-bound walls, rigid dowel con- -w 1 
struction, air-tight, convenient doors, safe ladder, storm-proof 
Catalog 
Free 
b 
anchor—the most durable and profitable Silo on the maricet. 
Will cut your feed hills in half and pay for itself within a 
year or two. Hundreds of Harder owners say this. 
Write for catalog telling of new Harder features for 1916. ‘ | 
HARDER MANUFACTURING CO. 
Box 11 COBLESKILL, N. Y. 
If 
m 
Slil 
m 
Settle the 
Silo Question 
—and settle it for 
good. Do away with 
repairs, with tightening 
lugs and adjusting of 
hoops. K 710 -M that your silo won’t 
over. Be sure of perfect silage at all times, 
Build the worryless, efficient 
of 
blow 
Permanency and Prosperity— Natco Silo, 
i8 x 36 and Natco Barn, 40 x 150, on 
High Hill Dairy I-'arm • Pulaski, Pa. 
Natco Imperishable Silo 
“The Silo that Lasts for Generations'* 
Its hollow, vitrified, clay tile are impervious to air and moisture — they preserve 
the silage sweet and juicy. The dead air spaces in the wall resist frost—making it 
the silo tor severe climates. The continuous, reinforcing bands laid in the 
mortar hold it in a grasp of steel. It is a silo of efficiency , and a silo 
you’ll be proud of. Send for our silo catalog describing it fully. 
Also get our splendid new book, "Natco On The Farm,’" 
describing other farm buildings made of Natco Hollow 
Tile and just as efficient. Both books free. We 
have many farm building plans to submit, and 
will help you solve your building 
problems, free. What are you * 
going to build? Let’s hear 31101131 
Wtitc today. F | pc p r0() l ing 
Natco Silo Wall. 
Note perforated shell, 
providing- firm anchor¬ 
age for mortar joints. 
Company 
1121 Fulton Building 
Pittsburgh - - Pa. 
BJ Factories — Prompt Ship7ncnt8* 
5-Horse Power 
hipped from warehouse near you 
Economy Engines are built 
with large bearings, drop forged 
crankshafts, heavy base and fly¬ 
wheels, fly ball governor with speed 
regulator, and an economical mix¬ 
ing valve; in fact, everything 
needed to make an easy, smooth 
running engine, developing a large 
surplus of power. Will operate on 
gasoline, kerosen natural or arti¬ 
ficial gas. 
These engines rated bv Univer¬ 
sity experts; full report of their 
test given in our Engine Catalog. 
Quality—Price—Service 
Two factories at Evansville, Ind., one building each year 
twice as many buggies as any other factory in the United 
States, the other building over 100 engines a day, in order 
to meet our demand is proof that Sears-Roebuck quality 
price and service are right. 
We have fifteen warehouses in different parts of the United 
States (one near you) from which we ship American Beauty 
Buggies and Economy Gasoline Engines. 
You Are Not Treating Your Pocketbook Fairly 
unless you at least write us and ask for our wonderful engine or 
buggy proposition, or both, if you want them. Write today and our 
proposition will be sent you immediately, postpaid. 
Saved $20.00 to $30.00 
Our customers tell us that by 
purchasing their vehicles from us 
they saved from $20.00 to $30.00 
on what they would have paid else¬ 
where. Because of our splendid 
manufacturing facilities and tre¬ 
mendous output we are able to give 
you better vehicles at lower prices 
than anyone else. Our American 
Beauty Buggies have won the 
lead on account of high quality and 
low prices. We are acknowledged 
as headquarters for vehicle^ and 
it will pay you to send for our 
Special Catalog before ordering 
elsewhere. Sent free on request. 
Shipped from 
warehouse 
near you. 
