1352 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUfSJNESa FARMERS PAPER 
h. ?iational Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban llomen 
Established tSM 
PnblUhrd weekly by tbe Raral Pablisbine Compsoy, 8S3 Weft SOtb Street^b'ew Tork 
Herbert W. Colungwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dn:JX)N, Tre.'eurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dii-ixin, Secretary. Mr,s. E. T. Rotee, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.W, eqtial to Ss. 6d., or 
8>4 marks, or 10)4 francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at Kew Tork Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 76 cents per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL" 
We believe that every adverti-sement in this paper Is backed by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every possible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible advertisers or misleading advertisements In our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not 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 time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rgbae Nbw- 
Torker when writing the advertiser. 
Soldiers of the Legion 
I am sending you a clipping from my daughter’s let¬ 
ter (a teacher in Horace Mann). a. w. B. 
E call this letter, short, sweet and interest¬ 
ing: 
^ Dean Russell read to the school from The Rural 
New-Yorker to-day. Dad, about the farmers beginning 
to realize how much stronger they’d be if they combine, 
etc. 
There are several fine things about that. It’s great 
to have a girl write to her father that way. It is 
great, too, when teachers can bring out that thought 
about farmers. And, well, we feel glad to think The 
R. N.-Y can help in this way. 
* 
I N order to put 50 farmers in the New York Legis¬ 
lature a non-partisan league must be formed, and 
its members must carry a big stick. We do not refer 
to a club, though that may be necessary, too, but to 
the motto which put the North Dakota farmers 
over: 
We’ll Stick 
Determined and persistent men are needed for this 
w^orlc. It will be “stick or he stuck” after you get in. 
We do not need to form a new party. The best 
woi’k will be done by taking control of the existing 
parties wherever we can. That will finally mean 
every rural county in New York. We need you in 
this. Will you come? Here is a good chance for the 
farm women to start in right. 
* 
The other day a man came with a petition which I 
endorsed fully. He said, "Just put your ‘John Hancock’ 
down here!” I signed, but what did he mean? I have 
heard the remark before. j. w. L. 
E have at home a picture of the original Dec¬ 
laration of Independence with jthe signatures 
attached to it. Among them the name of JOHN 
HANCOCK stands out from the rest in big black 
lettei's. The men who signed that document under¬ 
stood that it was practically an act of treason, and 
that on the failure of the Revolution they would be 
hung if caught. It was then that Ben Franklin said 
“We must hang together or we shall all hang sepa¬ 
rately.” When John Hancock came to sign some¬ 
one reminded him of. that, and as an answer he 
printed those big, black letters. “I will sign so that 
King George can read it without his speetacles!” he 
said. These men were unafraid, and that was why 
they won their rights. Signing your “John Han¬ 
cock” means coming out openly, boldly and for life 
against oppression or injustice. Your name signed 
in that way becomes a bond as useful in its way as 
a Liberty bond. By all means sign your “John Han¬ 
cock” to this move to put 50 fanners in the New 
York Legislature. 
This article is an indignant protest against the 
tirades and false statements which have been fathered 
by the city press for many months past, and the one 
thing I long for most is a chance to get these “knockers” 
out on a tract of land and the authority to compel them 
to get a living from the soil or starve, and you can rest 
assured the “dead wagon” -would soon be making regu¬ 
lar trips that way. 
HAT is one of the things L. H. Reynolds of 
Connecticut writes the Waterbury American in 
reply to one of these soft-shelled “advisers” who are 
abusing the faxmer. Mr. Reynolds will never get 
his chance unless these “knockers” are deprived of 
their graft and have to go to the poor farm. You 
could not get them out on the farm to work as a 
farmer is obliged to if you hooked a tractor to them. 
We could all afford to laugh at them for what they 
are—a herd of donkeys—if the poor things were not 
acting as catspaws or puppets for larger and brainier 
men who have started this crusade of abuse for a 
purpo.se. These bigger men are preparing the public 
mind to accept the claim that farmers are entirely 
responsible for high prices. The.se poor donkeys who 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
bray at the farmers when the “inAdsible forces” tell 
them to, haven’t .sense enough to realize that the 
hope for them in the future lies in working for 
closer association with the farmers—not in abusing 
them! 
* 
a man were permitted to write the ballads 
JL he need not care who should make the laws of 
a nation.” 
That is what Andrew Fletcher wrote over 200 
years ago. He was i-ight then, and what he said is 
true nowL For history is ever written with imag¬ 
ination rather than with facts. In like manner the 
popular jokes of a nation will measure the clean 
biting human nature of a people. The following 
remark credited to John D. Rockefeller is going 
through the papers. Someone congratulated him on 
his giving .$5,000,000 to the Red Cross: 
Thank you for your congratulations. So many people, 
you know, take my giving as a matter of course. It 
rather puts me in the position of the divine. He was 
very charitable, and a woman said one day to one of his 
aged pensioners: 
“Wasn’t it kind of Dr. Fifthly, on hearing you were 
ill, to walk six miles to your cottage in all this heat 
■with a big basket of fruit and port wine and chicken 
and coffee?” 
The old woman froyrned in puzzled surprise. 
“Kind?” she said. “Why, what’s he for?” 
That’s right! What’s he for? When any man has 
grown extravagantly rich out of what we may call 
the 200-cent dollar, what's he for? You will get 1,000 
an.swers to the question. Have you ever thought to 
ask the same que.stion of yourself—j’ou with your 
own modest accumulation— what's he for? 
* 
T here can be no increase in the production of 
food unless farmers are enabled to compete with 
other indiLSti-ies in employing skilleil labor. That is 
what the situation is coming to. When men can earn 
.$5 a day or more for 10 hours of medium labor they 
are not going to stay on the farm at ordinary hired 
men’s wages. If they do not stay the work will not 
lie done, and in that case the crop will not be grown. 
There is no getting away from this fact. Unless the 
farmer can sell his crops for money enough to com- 
jiete in the labor market, the crops w-ill not be grown. 
Some of the city men are cursing the farmers be¬ 
cause they stand for this evident proposition, yet 
every one of those city men In his own business will 
stop producing when the cost runs above the selling 
price. The scheme of “food conservation’’ seems to 
be founded on the wrong theory that low prices to 
consumers must be made, regardless of the cost to 
producers. That is the safest way to satisfy the 
city workmen, who are well organized. The farmers, 
who are not organized, are expected to take what 
they can get, and are called “unpatriotic” when they 
demand equal rights with other workmen. The 
same thing is working out in Canada. Food prices 
are to be fixed so as to make cheaper food for the 
city without much consideration for the farmer. The 
result is that Canada farms are rapidly changing to 
pastures because farmers cannot afford to hire help 
for growing grain and potatoes. The same thing 
will surely follow in this country unless farmers are 
paid enough so that they can compete in the labor 
market. 
* 
T he second Liberty loan was oversubscribed by 
54 per cent, thei’e being a total of over $4,000,- 
000,000 offered. The finest feature of this loan is 
that 9,600,000 individuals bought the bonds. Outside 
of the loans made by the French people to their gov¬ 
ernment, there neA'er was a more popular support for 
any great nation. It is true that Germany has float¬ 
ed eight loans, but in that countrj' the money goes 
about in a circle. Pi’actically no money leaves Ger¬ 
many except for loans to her allies. James W. Ger¬ 
ard says that when he left the country the German 
government had borroAved about 80,000,000,000 
marks. The Germans expected that all war expenses 
would be paid by conquered nations, but they have 
probably dropped that idea now, though Belgium, 
Servia and Roumania are being bled for their share. 
The German loans are being subscribed mainly by 
the great German companies, savings banks, life and 
fire insurance, accident insurance, land and other 
hanks and associations or frateimities—all the insti¬ 
tutions Avhich collect savings. Thus $1,000 loaned 
to the government is spent in such a way that a 
good share of it comes back to workmen as wages, to 
be invested once moi*e in bonds. Again, a German 
who bought $1,000 of bonds of the first issue can take 
them to a bank and on agreeing to invest in the next 
loan, borrow $800 on the bonds. Then he can add 
$200 of his money and buy $1,000 of the second loan. 
Thus the same money is turned over and over eight 
or 10 times. Thus our own Liberty loan, with its 
nearly 10,000,000 backers, represents the most popu¬ 
November 24, 1917 
lar government support ever knoivn outside of 
France. It is a fine thing in every way—the finest 
of all being that the creditors of this government are 
not confined to a small group of financiers, but scat¬ 
tered all through the ranks of the common people. 
♦ 
T here are men in this country who will admit 
that Hoover has done one thing, at least. He 
has started up a new interest in the “balanced ra¬ 
tion” for human beings. Many a woman now comes 
to husband or father ivith this pleasant question; 
“What would you like to have for dinner?” Of 
coUr.se, she has already decided what is going to be 
served, but ever since the days of Eve it has been a 
cheerful part of the game of life to let Adam, think 
he really has a choice! The man expresses his de- 
.sires, and is met with the following: “Oh, no! That 
is not a balanced ration. There is too much starch 
in it!” The average man does not have starch 
enough in his make-up to argue the case, and he eats 
what is put before him. As a rule he is better fed 
than ever before, and more economically as well. 
We know of one case where a family of grown-up 
people have found that milk curds, or “pot cheese” 
and W'ell-cooked oatmeal, with whole wheat bread 
and butter supply all the food needed for active 
work. This was figured out by a woman who be¬ 
came interested, and she Avas fortunate enough to 
have a family capable of breaking away from the 
habit of eating with the eyes and using memory as 
a stomach. Most men cannot or -will not break away 
from well-formed eating habits. They feel that they 
must continue to have their allowance of meat and 
all the other things to which life has accustomed 
them. We know men who feed a fully balanced ra¬ 
tion to their cattle and then feed themseh’^es on a 
system Avhich is sux-ely breaking them doAAm and 
shortening their active life. If such men Avere put 
off on a desert island where they could find only 
green vegetables, fruit and a little fish, they would 
make a “come-back” to healtli and vigor that W'ould 
astonish them. The R. N.-Y. has never tried to lay 
down any rules of human diet, or to tell people what 
they should eat. The average human will eat Avhat 
he likes and Avhat he can buy or get on credit, until 
necessity or some higher intelligence compels him 
to change. He will not substitute rice for potatoes, 
Avhole Avheat for Avhite bread, nuts or milk for meat, 
or fruit for pastry, until he has to, although such a 
change might make a new man of him. Lack of 
money or disease may proAude the necessity. Possi¬ 
bly the lIooA'erized wife may represent the “higher 
intelligence.” 
* 
H OW this war is shaking up the world in all 
lines of farming! Ncaa' crops and neAV meth¬ 
ods are appearing everywhere. In England immense 
quantities of seaweed are being used to supply pot¬ 
ash, and, as we knoAA', the kelp on our Pacific coast 
is being used for the same purpose. There is a 
movement in England to groAV our maize or Indian 
corn, and use our American silos. Sir John B. 
LaAA'es said that he had one great desire for visiting 
America, and that Avas to see a great cornfield at its 
best. While corn Avill not mature in most parts of 
England, some A'arieties Avill make a heavy growth 
of fodder, and this is to be used in the silo. This 
may yet be Avoi-ked out so as to make a great change 
in English farming. Then there is a great fertilizing 
duel going on betAveen Germany and England. In 
both countries farmers are striving in every way to 
supply food. Both countries have been under culti¬ 
vation for centuries, and both have scoured the 
earth for plant food. Noav the Avar finds England 
short of potash and Germany short of phosphorus, 
both being fairly AA-ell supplied Avith nitrogen. The 
Germans haA'e claimed that England and the East¬ 
ern part of this country would be starved out if de¬ 
prived of potash for a feAv years. It will be found 
that phosphorus is a more vital element on most 
soils. 
Brevities 
“Tractioneering” is the latest word. It means the 
art and business of running a farm tractor. 
Prof. Laaibert of Rhode Island says a fancier is one 
who would rather talk poultry than politics. Seems to 
us we need more gamecock talk in politics anyway. 
Wfe understand the trade in clover ‘••^d has begun 
earlier than usual this year. Farmers are determined to 
make sure of their seed. 
Pride plays hearse to a fall, as many a back-to-the- 
lander Av-^ho bragged of his crops in July will testify in 
October. 
New York women will vote for members of the Leg¬ 
islature in 1918. What a start the country women will 
make by helping to put 50 farmers in the Legislature! 
Some one says the farmer is the goose that lays the 
golden egg. Others say he is the goose to lay one. The 
city man apparently wants to kill him to learn hoAv he 
does it. 
