fiO 
i'he Rural New-Yorker 
rnK nrfijNEHS farmer's rarer 
A Nutlonul •fuiiriiul I’or ('oiintry un<l fe>ul>iirliuii lloinen 
Extablighni IKM 
I'lihlliihvd wMkIy by Ibe Knr»l I'nbliiihlne ('omiinnj, 3S3 W»«t 30lh Siri-Tt, Nur Vork 
IlKRtiEnT \V. Coi.l.lNowoOD, l’rf“si(]pnt aiirl K<litor. 
John J. Dii.ixjn, Trivaurer ami (lonoral Manager. 
\Vm. F. Dii.xX)N, Secretary. .Mk.n. K. T. Itoyi.E, Associate Kditor. 
.SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To loreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $101. equal to 8s. Cd., or 
8‘5 murks, or lOij francs. Kemit. in money oriler. exjiress 
order, |icrs<jnal elieck or ljunk draft. 
Kntered at New York I’ost Ofllee as Seconil class Matter. 
Advertising rati>s. T.'i cents per ag.ste line—7 words. Iteferences i-eqnired for 
advertisers unknown to us . uml casli must aeeompuny transient orders. 
"A SQUARE DF.AU” _ 
tVe believe tliat every advertisement in tills paper is hacked by a respon- 
ailile lao'son. Wo use every jiossible precaution and admit tlie advertising of 
reliable houses only. Hut to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subscribers sustaimsi by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon- 
silde advertisers or misleading advertisements In our columns, and any 
siieti swiniller will be publicly exposed. Wo are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our suliseribers and lioncst, 
responsible houses, whether advertisers or not. Wo willingly iiso our good 
oHiees to this end, but such cases should not bo confused with dishonest 
Iransaetions. We protect subscribers against rogues, Mit wo will not bo 
res|Kinsiblo for the debts of hone.«t ‘>ankrupt.s sanctioned by the courts, 
.Notice of the complaint must bo sent to us within one month of tlie time of 
tile transaction, ami to identify it, you slioiild mention Tim Kuhai. New- 
Yokkkk when writing the ailver’tiser. 
I F Ulo <»1<1 Pu|)iili.Nts tif .■>() .Years a;;o can now rctil- 
izo wlitit is ht'iiit; tloiic on caiMli, liow tlicy innst 
liiive felt wlien I’resiileiit Wilson, in (lie iiiinut of tlio 
i lovernintnit, iissiiinetl conlrol of tlio railro.ads. 
Tliese nn*n w<*re not veiy polilo or .snioolh in tlniir 
lanffnaKOi ainl nuicli lliat (liey said tiliont the r:iil- 
loails woiihl not look jiiTht.v in jirint, but we can 
iniai.iine tlicin noildiiiff (heir jira.v hojids in apiiroval 
of I’resiilent Wilson's reason for taking over the 
r.ailroads: 
“Hecaii.se (hf’i'e wore some (hiii;is whieh the j;ov- 
i rnrnent can do and iiiaviitt? inaiiJitfenitMit eannot." 
We liiive moved jiloiij; in .‘JO years. The I’oinilists 
W(*re ridiculed jiiid cni'.'cd. Now no one rais(‘s it 
word of protest when I’l-esident Wilson says: 
It had hf‘Ci)in(‘ nmnistakjihl.v ]ilain that only under 
government administration can (lie entire equipment of 
ihe seveiid systems of transportation be fully ami nnre- 
servedl.v thrown into a comiiion service without iii.iiiri- 
ou.s (iisei'imination agiiinst particulai' jiropertle.s. <)nl.v 
under government ailministration e.-in an alisolulel.v un¬ 
restricted and unemhari-as.sed common use he mmle of 
all traek.s, all terminals, terminal facilities and eipiip- 
ment of every kind. «»nl.v under that authority can 
new terminals be constructed and develoiied without re¬ 
gard to the requirements or limitations of - particular 
roiids. TJut under government administration all these 
iliings will be possible—not instantl.v, but as fast as 
prrciical ditlieullies, which cannot be merely con.iured 
away, give way before the new management. 
It is true that tliis aclioti was demanded as a war 
measure, hut no oii<* c;in belli hioking ithciid to the 
coining da.vs wlnui iimici' will bidiig in;w industrial 
and sociiil jii’ohleins. Will the jnihlic then jiermit 
the goviMMiment to gi\<* iiii its control and let the 
railroads rcdiirn to Ilnur old methods? Personally, 
we doubt it. The (endiuicy iinioiig the great middle 
chiss of workers is toward ;i more <•oml)I('te democ- 
i;.cy. Along (he .^thintic cojist and in tint niiinn- 
faciuring distiucts jirivate control and ownershi]) 
will Inive strong hacking, hut tlu> hist election shows 
tlnit Ihe balance of jiower in this country has jias.sed 
to the West and South, Avlnu-e (he riiili-oiid pi-ohlem 
means more to fanners ami small towns than it 
do«‘s hei-e with our shoi-(er luiiils. When the Jirni.v 
comes hack fi-oiii Furoiie we slnill iill lind (hat 
many of the government regulations demanded as 
war nieasni’<‘s aiT' not “socialistic aftiu all. hut 
needed ill time of jieace. 
T he vaiuous anthoiuiies do not siuuii (o.jigree re- 
gai'ding ihe ai'ea .seedeil to Winter grjiiii in New 
York .State, and its condition. It is !i fact, liowever, 
(hat both area and condition ai'e too low, Jiiid there 
i^; likely to he another shoi tag(‘ of sniiiH gniin. Tims 
I lie seeding of oiits and harle.v (his Sinuiig must he 
;i.s large as iio.ssihle. AVc* do not. ailvise Si*e<ling 
.'^jiring wheat or rye. 'I'his is no time for experi- 
inenr. P.arley is :i neglected grjnn on many farms. 
It will oftiui give more grain feed than oats. In 
our own CJise, (he labor jinihlem has hecoine so hard 
that Ave shiill cut out ii good slnii'e of the homl <u'ops 
^jiiid sow oats, barley and Soy he.ins, keeping hogs 
to eiit iiji or hai'A’i'st th«* ci'ops. -Vt ;iii.v I'jite, a\ e must 
s(U‘d nioiv Spring grain. 
* 
A CONFKKMNt’F w.us Indd on Friday. Deceiiiher 
2S, at the Yates Hotel, Syracuse, N. Y.. at 
Avhicli th(“re wiu'e pi'esent nqiri^sentatives o( all the 
leailing iigi-ii-nltoral oi-giinizations of this Sta1(‘. 
.\n orgiini/.atioii was perfc'ctiul along the liin*s of the 
.\nierican F(*dei'iition of Labor. The naim‘ ol the 
orgiini/.ation is the New York 1-edt‘ration id Agiiciil- 
ture, iiml tin' ollicers elected ai‘«>: S. i.. Striving.s, 
lire.sideiit New ' rk State Federation of Farm Un- 
nans. prc'sideiit. i 'Stile, N. Y.; Samuel Frasm-, vice- 
president, Cenesi-o, N J Seth .T. T. Push, president 
Western New York Tlor icultural Society, secretary, 
.Morton. N. Y.; Willis K Kogers, president New York 
Mh-te Fruit Crowiu-s’ Association, treasurer. William- 
.>^ 011 , N. Y. 'I'lnu-e is oiipurtunity in this organization 
CAc RURAL NEW-YORKER 
for gooil service to the agricultural inter(‘sts of the 
Stati'. We liick nnifonnit.v of intinence and action, 
i)ut in oi'der to make it responsive to farm senti¬ 
ment it must h(> demociatic. It must come from the 
r.unk and tile of (lie memlicrsliip of (lie farm orgaiii- 
ziilioiis. Otherwise tlio federation would la* Iiureau- 
cratic iind not reiiresent the real farm iiiins or .senti¬ 
ment. From tlie report of (lie conference it is evi¬ 
dent tliat tlie.se iieculs were in mind, and it only re- 
nijiins for the memlxus of tlie various organizations 
to see tliiit tlie.A’ are iiroperl.v reiiri'sented in the conn- 
ells of (lie federation, .'it all events a beginning lias 
licen niadib Tliis has been discus.sed.iuid attemiited 
many times h<‘fore. 'I'lie promise of a permanent 
success is now enconraglng Its usefulness to farm¬ 
ers will depend largel.v on tlieir individual contrihn- 
tions in tliought, energy .und means, to it. 
* 
T K.xci.osE a clipping from the Rochester, N. Y.. Ilcr- 
idd of .Jiinuary 1. I was aware that the production of 
eggs Avas diminishing, but that (lie (ifiricidtitnil joiinuil 
was entirely responsible wsis qniti* a shock to me. Thi.s 
particular editor (Rochester Herald) lias been continu¬ 
ally misrepresenting farmers Jind their interests for the 
past year or more, and 1 think someone should gi\'e him 
a tall'dllg to. EDWAUD MASON. 
Livingston Co., N. Y. 
T he Rochester Herald printed .‘in editorial on 
“Profiteering,” and in sjieaking of eggs it said; 
Hue of (lie influences detrimental to the proper pro¬ 
duction and (listrihutioii of this particular i-miimodity is 
ilie agricultural journal, which is assiduously .seeking to 
imiuess the farmer with tlie notion lliat it costs him as 
much to keep a chicken a.s it does to rai.se one of liis 
cliildren. 
Somelhiiig is Avroicg witli Hie Roclio-stcr Herald. 
I’lililislied in one of Hie greatest farming districts in 
.Vmeric-a, and i»ecnliarl.v deiiendent upon farmers for 
its living, tliis paptu* is continuiilly liriiig some sneer 
or .slur at farmers. .Tnst Avhy tliis is done no one 
semns to know, lint it looks like a case of pure “ens- 
sedness.” Not long ago the Herald went ont of its 
Avay to in-iiit some lignres about hogs from Indiana. 
'I'he Herald tried to make ont that a farmer maile 
.‘jtoLOtMl on (he sale of hogs, and used tliis incident to 
insiiinate that farmers are Jill getting inch—or might 
get rich if they Avere not l:izy slackers. Wo Avroto 
this Indiana niiin and found tli.-it ho is a l»ank(*r. and 
lie gives these figures aliont Ins liogs: 
On the third day of October I .sold 1.1.'J4 hogs, for 
AA’hicli 1 rcc(‘ived .'jt.oO,iS48..‘}L Imt it is lianlly ncccssar.v 
for mo to add that yon liavo licon sligliily misinformed 
a.s to tlic profit. I Avill attempt to give yon the ap¬ 
proximate cost of producing Hiese liogs: 
1.134 hogs, averiiging about 100 Ills., at .$14 . . .$l.‘)..S7d.OO 
Immnuing . LFILOO 
IP,(IPO Im. corn iit .$2.2."). ‘Jg.'iPP.PO 
84 tons liomiii.v h’od at .$00 . 4,02P.P0 
IPO acres clover pasture at .$1P. l,P(Kt.P() 
.$4.5,1.‘}P.(K) 
I IniA’e made 110 attempt to estimate Ihe lahoi’, Avliicli, 
of course, is an item to lie coiisidereil. av. C. MU.i.Kil. 
No one would take care of 1,134 hogs for nothing, 
and every farmer knows there are oHier charges 
wliicli Avould hriiig tliis cost iij) to .$47,POP. Yet the 
Rocheslm* Herald tries to make it appear from these 
figures tliat farmers an* all getting rich. This is 
only one sample of many delilu'rate efforts to dis¬ 
credit farmers. Our friend thinks “someone sliould 
give him a talking- to.” 'I'ln* mo.st (‘IfectiA’e talking 
to any iiaper is done by its readers! 
C oNORESS aiilliorizial Hie President to lairchase 
IPP.PPP tons of nitrate of soda and distribute it 
at cost to farmers. It li;is liei'ii imiiossihlo to lind 
slilps to carry tliis nitrali^ before now, lint Seendar.v 
Honslon now .says that about LS.iMip tons Avill he de¬ 
livered at smihoard jiorls during .lannar.v. 'I'lie luil- 
ance xif Hie 1 PP,PpO tons will follow. 'I'lie jirlce Avill 
he about $75 per ton on Hie cars, and the farmers 
must iia.A' freiglit. State t:ixi*s and oHier local ex- 
lieiises. 'I'liis nitrate avIU he sold only to fanners 
for use during Hie coniing season, and not more than 
they IniA’e nseil in former years. AVe lind tliat many 
farmers have (‘xpected great things from tliis goA’- 
ernmeiit sale of nitrate. The ) ’-'u. as outlined, does 
not look Avonderfnl, to sa.v the le:i,st. 
T he campaign for reiM*al of Hie .s<-liool law is 
growing like a snowball. 'I'lie sniiervisors of 
Saratoga, Onondaga. Uroome. AVyoniing, lielaAvare, 
f'lienango and oHier counties have voted against the 
law and'directed Hieir nqire.sentativi's at .\lliany to 
work for sm-ii rejieal. Word conu's to us Hiat Hov. 
Wliilman ami the “leadi-rs’’ recognizi* Hu* storm that 
is coming, and are now r(*ad.v to anu'iid Hu* law. on 
Hio ground tliat it contains some good features 
wiiich should lie n-tained. AVe would liave iiotliiiig 
to do witli Hieir amendments. If country peojile do 
not know Hie tricks of these “amenders” already 
they never can learn. 'I'liese jioliticians Avonld lix 
the laAv so it Avould lie worse Hian ever. We should 
all stand for absolute repeal. 'I'lien let our country 
.Tamiary 19, 191S 
lieojile .get together and Avork out a iicaa’ laAv Avhich 
Avill be fair to the rural district.s. Parts of Hie 
jiresent laAV may he re-enacted if desired. Init let ns 
.get rid of this law as it stands tirst of all. On page 
81 is a call for the formation of a Patrons’ Lca.iruc 
to concentrate and organize sentiment in this scliool 
rpiesHon. Every man and woman Avho lives in a 
New York rural district should .ioiii at once, for avo 
liave hero Hie basis for a great organization. Out 
of nearl.v l.OPO communications on this .school hnv 
about 15 people have favored the hiAV AA-ithout quali- 
(ication and say we do not give tliem a fair .shoAving. 
Next week Ave sliall iirint Avhat seems to us the fair¬ 
est statement of the case tliat can be presented. 
W E tliink tliat ver.v imich of Hie .soft com iiro- 
duced in the Central West last year Avonid 
haA’e lieen imicli better qualil.v if jivailable ]ihos- 
pliorus had lieen n.sed as a fertilizer. It seems to he 
denioiistrated tliat jihospliorus Avill ijuicken maturity 
of .seed. Nitrogen seems to jirolong groAvth. .Some¬ 
times corn planted in a heavily manured sod Avill 
make a very rank and lung groAvth. so that an early 
frost AA'ill catch it nnripened. Sniicrphosjihate used 
Avitli tlie manure would have ripened the com 
earlier, and. in some cases, saved it from frost. 
There are a few iieojilo in Hie conntr.A’ Avho accuse us 
of selling out to Hie fertilizer trust Avlienever avo 
advise the use of snporiihosiiliate. 'I'lie fact Is that 
aA'ailalile phos|)liorus is one of the most nece.s.sary 
fertilizers for all grains. It is also a fact that Hu* 
fertilizer manufacturers are having their trouhh's 
tills year, like all Hie rest of ns. Shall Ave he ac¬ 
cused of “selling out” to our readers Avlieii Ave tell 
them that avaiiahle phosphorus Avill not only ripen 
the grain earlier, hut plump the Avheat kernels and 
increase the yield? 
T he Avomeii Avon 'a notable vii-tory Avhen the 
House of Representatives gave a two-thirds Aote 
for a woman sulTrage amendment. For more than 
70 yeiirs, or at least Iavo generations, the tight for 
this right to A’ote lias been carried on. Tlie Senate 
must still supiiort the amendment, and it will hi* a 
A'ory close A’oto. In Ncaa’ York the “antis” are iirov- 
in.g themselves very “poor loser.s.’’ 'I'lie State .g.'.vc 
a .great majorit.v for siilYragi*. Now the Avomen av’.io 
are opposed are AA’orking to have the Legislature tr..' 
to reA’orse thi.s decision h.A' ordering anoHier A’oti*. .V 
second campaign Ax^onld niily result in a larger 
ma.jorlt.v' than ever. Wlicrever we go aa'o find count r.v 
women takiii.g their new duties s»*rh)nsl.v, and thc.v 
Avill iieA'ei’ p(*rmit the ballot to he taki'ii from tlu*ni. 
H: is liard to nnderstaiid the mind anil method of 
these “antic." No one has mncli sympathy for a 
"lioor loser." in politics or elsewhere! 
It’s no use to ask Governor AVhitnian. He, eares 
nothing for u.s fanners, else he voulihrt have depose 1 
the farmers’ stainieh friend, or aiqiointcd that excre.s- 
ceiu-e, ('has. 11. Uetls. on the Food Cmitrol. I saw aril 
liearil liiin at our < hmndaga Farm Uureau meeting. He 
imlled himself up like a toad. He talked, hut didn’t say 
anything. Tiios. n. woktman. 
T HA'r descriiiHon certainly lits* Mr. Itetts. (tm* 
great thing Jihont this eimt(*st over the sehool 
hiAV is tliat it lias driven farmers to cut out the non- 
esscnlials. 'I'he Avar, the hard Winter, big expenses, 
the labor question and the iineertainty about emps 
tiiiil jiriees iiai'e all eomhined to foi-ee farim*rs into 
a dlseussiou of essential things. 'J’heir lioiiies ami 
Hi<*ir futures are at stake. 'I'liey go to a meeting 
eager for strong, vital talk by brave men, and liear 
Urotlier llotts and similar orators prate ahont Hie 
excellent committees anil tine jiolitieal maeliiiiery 
wliich is to make hash of Hie food question. "He 
talked, but didn't sa.v anything!” .V very good 
report of an hour's siicech, and the striuige thing 
about it is that Uetts and liis like tliink tliey are 
making a great hit Avith tlie farmers. 
Brevities 
Potato pancakes to save bread. 
T.ai.k all you will about the new legumes, hut good 
.old clover hay is still the stand-by. 
Much of Hu* fuel Avasted in hoiiiires will make a good 
lire in the kitchen stove. 
AYhat has become of tin* inomised cheap feed? Must 
he snowed in. 
'riiEiiE Avill be more war gardens than ever before this 
year. 
Fifty cents a pound for dried rabbit .skims mi.uht 
seem like a hominza until you n-alize tliat six or sevr-n 
skins are needed to make a iiomnl. 
Tt is ri'tiorted that Australia has 120.000.000 bushels 
of old wheat on liand. which i-aanot he marketed for 
lack of sliiiis. 
.Mil. Hoover reports (he following from a country 
woinan : “Ont at our idace i-gg money is used to buy 
sliells for the .shotgun, and that supplies rabbit meat at 
a very .small outlay.” 'I'hat gunner would be Avelcome 
at our place, where'rabbits are eating the trees badly. 
