586 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE nrf?ixEss farmer’s paper 
A National WeoUly Journal for Country and Suburban ]Iomc 4 
Established isao 
Piiblbh^d w^f'bly by Ihr Raral Pnblifthlog Company, 388 West SOth Hire^i,yt^vr fork 
Herbert W. Coixin*gwood, l»resident and Editor. 
.loii?^ J. Dillon, Tre^'ssurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Tniversal Postal Union, $2.(V1, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8^ marks, or lO'A francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at Xew York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates. 75 cents t>er agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders, 
SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advei^tisement in this paper is backed by a respon- 
” every ))OKsible precaution and admit the a/lveitising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to i>aid subwribers sustained by tiiisting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible axlvertisers or misleading advei’tiseinents in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exjiosed. We are also often called upon 
to adjii^ differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
re^onsible houses, whether advertisei's or not. Wo willingly use our good 
oniees to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactmns. ne protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
rosi^n^ible for the debts of honest banki upts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month or the time or 
uie transaction, and to identify it, you should mention IliE Rural New- 
Yorker when wiiting the a<ivcrtiser. 
Do not, ICC heg of gou, let oil thin war excitement 
drive gour mind aicag from gour duty in local farm 
polities. The Wiehs hill or ang of its shadows must 
he defeated. 'The Towner hill should he passed. 
The politicians welcome all this war talk hccause 
theg think it will ahsorh the attention of farmers 
so that some of the things we are fighting against 
can he guietlg slipped over while ice are shouting 
for the war. Do not let up for an instant in the 
fight for local reforms! 
* 
O NE of oiir readers who lives in the district 
represented by Senator Wicks wrote the fol¬ 
lowing model letter to the Senator: 
My Dear_ Senator: 
I am in favor of the Smith-Towner bill, also the 
Hill-Wheeler bill, and as one of your constituents, I 
ask you to s\ipport these bills. Will you do so? If 
not, why notf 
Very truly yours, 
H. G. PHILLIPS. 
That is a subject which will interest thousands 
of our readers, and here are the reasons given by 
Senator Wicks, written April 3. 
Ill answer to your favor of the 2n(l, would say that 
I too am in favor of the Hill-Wheeler bill, but in so 
far as the Smith-Towner bill is concerned, I am not 
in. favor of it and will not support it, and as you close 
your letter by saying “if not why not,” I will tell you. 
In the first place it is uiicons-titutioiial. In the sec¬ 
ond- place it would plunge the State into a policy that 
no man could honestly support. In the third place, the 
whole scheme is an experiment. There is nothing set¬ 
tled about it and I am perfectly astonished that rea¬ 
sonable, iuteHig<mt and usually farsighted men, as 
farmers are, should get aboard a bill they know noth¬ 
ing about. 
When this bill was drawn last year Commissioner 
Dillon gave it to Senator Wicks for introduction. 
The Senator said it was fine—just the needed thing. 
He was anxious to father it and thanked the Com¬ 
missioner for giving him a chance! Then, all of 
a sudden, his feet grew cold and he hesitated, and 
finally the bill was introduced by Senator Towner. 
It is evident that Senator E. R. Brown was respon¬ 
sible for this change in the mind of Senator Wicks. 
Our belief is that Senator Browui opposed the bill 
because he saw that it would start a revolution 
in the marketing of farm products, and drive cer¬ 
tain big milk dealers away from the graft and 
monopoly they have long enjoyed. To pass this bill 
and have it succeed would mean a death blow at 
the political gangs in both the old parties which 
have long lived by bleeding the big corporations 
and produce handlers. ^‘Unconstitutional!^’ That 
has always been the insolent bluff of the political 
gang. “Magna Charter” was unconstitutional in 
the mind of King John and the politicians of that 
age! The Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s 
Emancipation Proclamation, the income tax, prim¬ 
ary election—all jvere “unconstitutional” to the 
gang who, in every age, have held up the common 
people. Another word to kill off reforms is “ex¬ 
periment !” The American Revolution was an ex¬ 
periment. So was the popular election of U. S. 
Senators; so is the Oregon law for a minimum 
w^age for women—so are hundreds of other public 
acts sneered at by the politicians but now fixed as a 
rock in public life. Had there been no experiments 
in legislation, if men had always been afraid of 
that word “unconstitutional,” we would now be back 
in the dark ages—and we would deseiwe to be, too. 
This incident is the best illustration we have yet 
had of the blighting power of polities. Senator 
Wicks knew this Towner bill was needed and he 
knew his people wanted it. Yet Senator Brown 
touched him with the party whii>, and in an instant 
the bill became “unconstitutional” and “dangerous.” 
Before Brown snapped his finger Wicks was de¬ 
lighted with the bill—after that little performance 
he was “perfectly astonished” that farmers should 
support it. What chances have farmers when their 
BVic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
needs and wishes are thus snapped out like a boy'.s 
marble? 
* 
T his year we have a good many questions about 
preparing land for ci-op.s. People want to 
work up large fields and put in grain or potatoes. 
They want to know if they cannot harrow, cut out 
the work of plowing and get jnst as good crops. 
No! On such old land as they plan to use good 
plowing will be necessary. They might chop up 
the soil and get a start with their crops, but they 
will do far better to take less land and give it the 
best fitting pos.sible. We find farmers who think 
of rushing into beans or some other crop which they 
have never known, and plunging with borrowed money 
and expensive labor on a mere chance. This is no 
time to get excited and rush into a gambling pi’opo- 
sition—trying to cover too much ground with un¬ 
known crops. The country needs cool, sound judg¬ 
ment, and that means growing the crops w'o know 
most about—not spreading out, but handling a mod¬ 
erate amount of land as well as we know how. 
♦ 
J r ST as we go to press the announcement is 
made concerning a new form of loan to the 
farmers of New York State, A fund of .$10,000,- 
000 will l)e organized by financial interests and it is 
proposed to loan this to farmers at th(‘ rate of 41^ 
per cent. Credit will be made easy and the notes 
will be renew^able, the money to be applied for the 
purchase of seeds, fertilizers and the necessary outfit 
for raising this year’s crop. Full details have nor 
yet been worked out, but arrangements will be made 
to handle the matter through local committees, the 
State being organized into districts. Marc W. Cole, 
of Albion, N. Y., is to have general charge of this 
matter. 
Governor Whitman has appointed a committee con¬ 
sisting of Charles S. Wilson, State Commissioner of 
Agriculture, chairman; John H. Finley, State Com¬ 
missioner of Education; A. R. Mann of Ithaca, deaTi 
of the State Agricultural College; M. C. Burritt of 
Ithaca, State Director of Farm Bureaus; John J. 
Dillon of New York, State Commissioner of Foods 
and Markets; Seth .T. T. Bush of Morton, president 
of the Western New York Horticultural Society; S 
J. Low'ell of Fredonia, master of the State Grange; 
F. W. Sessions of Utica, president of the State Agri- 
cultural Society; Roswell D. Cooper of Little Falls, 
president of the Dairymen’s League. 
The first meeting of the committee will be held at 
Ithaca, N. Y,, April 16. 
* 
“I don’t know what some farmers would do if 
their wives didn’t keep track of everything.” 
HAT is honest and true comment from the 
young man who, on page 576, gives us his ex¬ 
perience as a hired man. He ought to know, be- 
ciiu.se he has wandered about searching for wages 
and experience. He has struck one of the founda¬ 
tion principles of farming. The woman of the farm 
is, in a large proportion of cases, both promoter 
and protector. Mo.st of the new and progressive 
things started on the farm grow from mother’s de¬ 
sire to give her children a fair chance. We hear 
of a middle-aged farmer -wdio proclaimed every¬ 
where about his cattle, “My stock is up to par!” 
ITis w’ife’s story w'as, “That is true, and it is be¬ 
cause / ke]it at Pa!” In a majority of farm homes 
you will find that the bookkeeping, the planning 
and the orderly arranging are done by the women, 
with credit claimed by the men. Your college 
scientist may not thank us for telling the truth, but 
he must take second place to the farmer’s wife in 
useful leadership. 
* 
T he Attorney-General of the United States 
prints a letter of advice to aliens now living 
in this country. Tw'o things are most important. 
“Obey the laws and keep your mouth shut!” 
That is good advice. We commend it not only to 
aliens but to many American citizens. Along the 
pathway of the ages may be found the final rest¬ 
ing place of many worthy men and worthy enter¬ 
prises. On the gravestone of many of them will be 
found this line: 
“They Talked Me To Death.” 
The active tongue, which usually associates with 
an inactive mind, has probably destroyed more 
worthy reputations and more hopeful enterprises 
than any other thing. The conduct of the war into 
which we have entered is in safe and strong hands. 
The President and his advisers do not need your ad¬ 
vice or your criticism. They are fully able to han¬ 
dle the situation. You cannot help them by hot¬ 
headed talk or debate. They will need your man¬ 
hood and your moral support rather than your 
mouth. The R. N.-Y. will take its own advice. 
April 21, 1917. 
T is reported that the English government has 
bargained for the entire crop of Canadian wheat 
at prices averaging the farmer something over $1.7.1 
per bushel. The Canadian government will con¬ 
trol the sale and see that the crop is delivered. In 
Great Britain the government will guarantee cer¬ 
tain prices for staple farm crops for three years. 
These are minimum prices which may go higher in 
ca.se of demand. The Briti.sh government feels jus¬ 
tified in guaranteeing these prices, and in time of 
war no one makes serious objection, since the need 
of food for the consumers and the need of a guar¬ 
antee for farmers is recognized by all. It was 
settled that English farmers would not greatly in¬ 
crease production or change their methods of fann¬ 
ing unless some guarantee was given them. In 
making this precedent we think the English people 
have gone farther than they think, and we believe 
that after the war farmers will demand and re¬ 
ceive some guarantee which will insure them per¬ 
manently high prices. Every nation on earth now 
knows that the fanners represent the most import¬ 
ant class on earth in war or in peace. They also 
know that the only way to increase farm crops 
is to guarantee a living price to the farmer. We 
believe that the world will be forced to act on the 
principle that the fundamental duty of every na¬ 
tion is to see that the farmer is properly paid for 
his labor. 
i i O HALL I u.se chemical fertilizer on the Win- 
O ter grain this Spring?” We have that ques¬ 
tion from many people. The wheat, they say, has 
not wintered well. It looks thin and yellow, and 
does not start off right. Nothing .but soluble nitro¬ 
gen and phofsphoric acid will ever pay for such fer¬ 
tilizing. One pait of nitrate of soda to three parts 
of acid phosphate would make a good mixture for 
Spring use, but with present prices for chemicals 
wheat should bring at least $1.50 per bushel to 
make it profitable. That price seems assured thi.s 
year, and if the wheat is poor we think 250 pounds 
of the mixture would pay. If the wheat is strong 
and thick, on good soil, we do not think it would 
pay to use the chemicals. 
* 
The enclosed clippings and many more like them, 
appear in the daily papers every day, and I am not 
the only farmer who admits that they are getting on 
his nerves. How in. common sense can we raise 
more crops with less help than ever before on the 
farm? Why can we not get help? We can when we 
adopt the eight-hour law. Who will work on a farm 
14 or 16 hours a day when he can work other jobs 
eight hours and get time and a half for every hour over 
that number? The farmer’s eight hours are now eight 
in the morning and eight after dinner, and we pity 
the consumer if we worked only their eight hours a 
F. Q. W. 
HE clippings referred to are from the daily 
jtapers in which various city iieople undertake 
to tell the farmers what they ought to do. These 
people seem to think farm crops care for theni- 
selve.s, and that any fanner can easily double his 
output if he cares to. The frightful ignorance of 
the average city man regarding fanning is now be¬ 
ing exjiosed, and it is about the mo.st discouraging 
thing in connection with the pre.seut serious food 
prohlein. It does not seem to occur to the.se ehildisii 
advisers to say that manufacturers of necessities 
should double their output and tell them how to 
do it, but they confine their advice to fanners. 
What W'ould the manufacturers and railroads say 
if they were ordered to double their output by using 
school boys, clerks on vacation, or failures at other 
trades? Yet the farmers are expected to make 
brides without straw, and blamed if they do not 
do it. There are no more patriotic citizens in the 
country than our farmers. They have always done 
more than any other class when public sacrifices 
wei-e demanded, but they have the right to demand 
just as fair treatment as is given any other in¬ 
dustry. 
Brevities 
The law of the Lord is final. 
Last year American railroads used 42,126,417 bar¬ 
rels of fuel oil. 
It is no crime to be young, yet some people are so 
.sour that they make age look like a criminal! 
Now they say Alaska will surely be able to ship 
large quantities of reindeer meat to this country. 
The hawks and crows are helping fight that scourge 
of mice mentioned by Mr. Powell on page 577. 
A :jros8-BACK! Well, sir, moss never grows on the 
back of a worthless rock. Mo.ss is an indication of 
quality. 
Beware of the map agent who claims to be em¬ 
ployed by the U. S. Geological Survey. Some agents 
make such statements in order to gain credit. They 
are L-auds. 
Every day ‘brings news of great apple orcbard.s 
I'uiued by soldiers in the European war. Remember 
that this country may supply the fruit until these or¬ 
chards are replanted and grow to bearing age. 
