1434 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Working in the Rural Districts 
Kvekyday Housekeepers Take Hold. 
—I'he seventy-year-long campaign for the 
ballot is usually spoken of as a “strug¬ 
gle”; but many New York .State women 
have pleasant and interesting memories of 
it. In the .Summer of ini.l and again in 
a hou.«e-to-hou.se canvass was car¬ 
ried out by volunteer workers all over the 
State. It was. on the wlmle. a very 
thorougli affair and done, not by the paid 
The Workiii;/ Moiher ir«.s Interested 
organizers and workers, the women who 
made speeches and wrote books, but by 
the everyday housekeepers and mothers 
who could si)are a little time. Possibly 
that is the reason they enjoyed it; because 
it was a break in the routine. New 
]»oint.s of view were gained from the di¬ 
verse classes of people interviewed in 
cities and towns, but it is of the work in 
rural communities that I want to tell. 
Welt.-I'ostei) Fabmeus.^ —In the first 
Ijlace the t<uffrage canvasser had to be “on 
her job” because the average farmer is 
better read and posted than the average 
man in the city. Perhaps it is because 
he sees fewer people to talk with, and 
therefore reads more. I’ersonally. I must 
confess 1 often went home to .search my 
stock of literature on suffrage to find 
facts and figures to answer an argument 
put up to me by an “ignorant farmer.” 
and then sometimes found he was only 
having a bit of fun with us. and had long 
been convinced of the justice of our 
cause. There was an element of uncer¬ 
tainty, too. about canvassing in the rural 
ilistricts, in our county at least, and 
probably all over New York State; one 
never knew whether the next farm would 
bring forth a (’ornell graduate or a man 
who could neither read nor write any¬ 
thing but his native Italian. 
A writer in Tite It. N.-Y. some time 
ago said she thought the intssession of the 
ballot Avould affect or interest only club 
women and that class, and not the aver¬ 
age woman at all. If she h.ad heljjed can¬ 
vass the rank and file on suffrage before 
the two referendums in New York .she 
would think differently, for we fouiid al¬ 
most every country woman interested, no 
matter how ignorant .she was. nor how 
to meet some of the people who.se names 
I had been familiar with for years through 
the country correspondence in the village 
papers. One day we haltf^l at a farm¬ 
house and saw a man working in a field 
near. As it was the men we wanted to 
talk to, we walked out to .see how he was 
going to vote on “votes for women.” We 
found him a very old man. past eighty, 
gnarled and bent by the years and hard 
work. When he gave us his name I felt, 
although I had never seen him before, as 
if I had met an old friend, because for 
years I had been reading about him in 
the weekly correspondence from his cor¬ 
ner of the township in our village paper. 
I had read of it when he had “lost a 
cow.’ when his wife entertained the 
('emetery Association, when he painted 
his buildings or built a silo. We found 
he was opi)o.sed to votes for women and 
did not believe it would be a good thing. 
\\ e told him of a new neighbor of his, a 
\\ estern man who had just bought a farm 
near. He had previously lived in a suf¬ 
frage State, and was very much in favor 
of political equality. But the old man 
was sceptical and imsinuated that his 
neighbor’s wife would have licked him if 
he had said otherwise. We assured him 
that .she was not present when we talked 
to the man. “Wal.” said the old farmer, 
quizzically, “he reckoned she’d hear on’t.” 
Young Peopi.e in Opposition. —It 
wag not always, however, the old who 
were opposed. We found a family of 
youngish people one day who were vigor¬ 
ously opposed, and who argued, derided 
and as.serted noisily. An old grandmother 
who had sat quietly and listened without 
a word said, “You may put me down as 
in favor” when the canvasser was filling 
out her “for” and “opposed” slips with 
the names. 
One Man’.s Reason.— I only met one 
man who told me that he was opposed to 
they had done in the West. The three 
were .still silent. At this juncture an¬ 
other of the suffrage canvassers came 
along and exclaimed genially, “Oh, how 
lucky you are to have found three men 
in one place.” “Unfortunately,” said the 
other, “the.v are all deaf and dumb.” This 
broke the ice and the men talked. One 
was for and the other against. The third, 
a young fellow', was silent until the visi¬ 
tor turned directly toward him. “I am 
disfranchised,” he said in a low voice. 
The canva.sser was quick-witted and con¬ 
cluded at once that he had been in a 
State prison. “Y'ou can .sympathize with 
me, then,” she said sweetly, “for I am 
di.sfranchised too.” 
Effective Arguments. — We inter¬ 
viewed men in the barns and in the fields, 
young men and old, but none too bu.sy to 
talk suffrage a minute. We talked to' the 
women at the back door usually, for that 
was where we found them. I shall never 
forget the delicious odors of catsups and 
pickles that floated out of kitchen doors. 
We had not begun to talk conservation 
then, or you can imagine how w'e would 
have lingered exchanging views on sub¬ 
stitutes and recipes for war bread and 
cake. We learnt, as we became more 
experienced, which arguments to use in 
the country and which not. The average 
farmer and his wife were absolutely in¬ 
different to the labor laws applying to 
W'omen workers and_ the conditions under 
w'hich they w'orked in cities, or what had 
been done along these lines where women 
voted. But the argument of all others 
that held their attention and interest was 
this: that foreigners with no ideas of 
what a democracy means come here and 
help make our laws, while women whose 
ancestors actually founded this nation, 
whose families go back to Plymouth Rock 
it.self, are not considered fit to receive and 
enjoy citizenship. “Where is the .sen.se 
in that idea'?” said one woman indig¬ 
nantly. 
Fe.\iinine Victory. One afternoon 
we interviewed a woman whose husband 
had just come in to supper and was wash¬ 
ing in the kitchen. She readily signed 
December 2S, 101S 
dined to thank Mr. Hoover t\)r starting 
them on this enforced economy. They 
have learned to like the wheat meal, and 
they know that their health is better for 
eating it. The home grinders are sure 
to become a regular part of the hou.sehold 
economy. 
A Pennsylvania Spinning Wheel 
The I eteran Farmer Disagrees 
humble her circumstances, and especially 
so if she had children. One of my friend's 
tells of a typical home of this sort that 
she visited where there was a grist of 
little ones “about two mouths apart.” as 
she described them, whose work-worn 
mother asked .the most pathetic and ear¬ 
nest questions as to what benefits and 
oi)i)ortunities the ballot in the hands of 
women might offer her girls and boys in 
the years to come. 
Meeting Old Friend.s. —There were 
always volunteers to do suffrage canvass¬ 
ing in the .country, because it meant an 
automobile ride and a picnic lunch. One 
of the pleasantest recollections I have of 
this work wa.s the opportunity it gave me 
equal suffrage because women did not 
know' enough to vote. He was a nice, 
clean-cut young fellow too, and hated 
awfully to tell us his re.al opinion. We 
always tried to be diplomatic and not 
argue with a person of decided views, so 
I said, “Well, there is no use trying to 
convert you, as you seem to have read 
and thought seriou.sl.v on this subject, but 
would you mind telling me why you are 
an anti'?” He hef>itated, and I suggested, 
“You don’t think they know enough'?” 
He answered frankly that that was his 
reason, and went on to say that no 
Avoman was competent to discuss or un¬ 
derstand, for example, the tariff' or direct 
primaries; that their minds for too many 
generations had been trained in other di¬ 
rections. I thought seriously of this 
later, and had to confe.ss that both mat¬ 
ters Avere very vague to me. and I w'as 
probably a tyjfical Avonian. Was I ever 
going to be able to grasp these Aveighty 
questions? I said as much later to a 
friend Avho was considerable of a politi¬ 
cian, but he laughed and .said not to 
Avorry, as there were only three men in 
the United States Avho could disciuss the 
tariff intelligently, and none of them lived 
in our county. 
A Silent Trio.—O ne day the canyas.s- 
ers came upon three men doing some car¬ 
penter work. One of the Avomen ap¬ 
proached and courteously told them her 
errand to get their support of the suf¬ 
frage amendment. They Avere .silent as 
oysters; not one ansAvered. She contin¬ 
ued discussing the subject dispassionately, 
telling of the things women could do 
Avith the ballot in Ncaa' Y'ork. and what 
the “I believe” card and called to her 
husband to do the same. He answered 
AA'ith a mighty growl and roar from the 
depth of the Avash ba.sin. from which Ave 
gathered that his intention Avas to “sign 
nothing.” “Give me that card and pen¬ 
cil,” said the Avife Avith determination, 
and .she disappeared into the kitchen, 
closing the door after her. She was but 
a tiny Avoman and her husband, judging 
from his A’oice, must haA’e been a husky 
giant. We edged nearer the front door, 
ready to fly for assistance if necessary. 
but greatly to our surprise the roaring 
ceased at once and in a minute she re¬ 
turned calmly with the signed card. I 
have ahvays Avondered Avhat means she 
used to secure such a SAvift victory. 
Whatever it aauls I Avish a lot of other 
Avomeu could learn the secret. 
MRS. ELA'A YARNALL. 
Development in Home Grinders 
I got a mill and ground rye, buckwheat 
and corn very satisfactorily. A friend of 
mine, an inventor with an electric com¬ 
pany, .saAv it, and has since made and sent 
me a little portable grinding outfit Avhich 
may interest you. It consists of a %-h.p. 
motor, a reducing gear, a hopper and the 
grinding plates. l"ou simply screw in the 
plug to any lamp socket, turn the switch 
A Home Grinder 
and grind as long as you like. The meal 
IS barely Avarm, not heated. I use the mill 
both for fine meal and also for cracked 
corn. The electricity consumed is almost 
negligible. So much is Avritten today of 
the advantages of eating the entire grain, 
whole Avheat, etc., and this Avill enable 
people to get such products at a minimum 
cost and have them fresh. f. av. p. 
R. N.-Y.—No doubt about it! Thou¬ 
sands of families Avill ncA^er go back en¬ 
tirely to white, bolted flour. At first 
there AA'as great complaint over the neces¬ 
sity of using entire AA'heat flour. Now, 
after a year’s trial, many men are in- 
Canaries; Treatment of Wax Plant 
The R. N.-Y*. is so helpful to all of us 
that Ave are prone to go to it for advice in 
all matters concerning home comforts or 
betterments. Birds and flowers may be 
side issues, but contribute their part. 
My 40 canary birds are in perfect health, 
and the sickness or fatality Avhich a year 
ago .seemed to affect the younglings passed 
like an epidemic. I kept right on the 
usual care and feed, bread and milk, 
canary .seed, fresh Avater. cuttle bone, let- 
'r.fe, chickAveed, red pepper, catnip, apple, 
celery in sea.son, sand from our sand pit. 
sunshine and VA-armth of the sitting room. 
This bay AvindoAV is built out from it. I 
am Avriting this explanation so that those 
AA'ho are experts and give advice as to 
^ measured and particular foods may know 
‘ that my birds have unlimited quantities 
of all the aforesaid food.s, as I am a 
very busy Avomau, having only time to put 
in in quantities, so that if I happen to 
be obliged to neglect them a dav or so, 
there is plenty always of the food (seed, 
etc., that does not spoil) to keep them 
comfortable. 
I would a.sk if anyone can tell me how 
to manage Avax plants, the old-fashioned 
AA'ax plants that graced the parlor and 
Avas trained over the looking glass some¬ 
times, years and year.s ago. I had tAA'O 
from slips which flourished finely and 
spread all above my entrance to a' small 
plant conservatory, but one died recently 
and the other is not flourishing. The 
florists seem not to recognize the plant, 
so old-fashioned is it. and not adapted 
for sale; but maybe someone of your old- 
fashioned readers may help me'to make 
this la.st one thrive. They have beautiful 
waxy floAvers and very thick, wax-like 
leaves. s. r. taher avillet.s. 
The wax plant, Hoya carnosa. is a 
beautiful twining plant belonging to the 
milkweed family, a native of Southern 
China and Australia. It is of very sim¬ 
ple culture, but requires rest in Winter, 
starting into active growth and bloom in 
spring. Alter bloom is OA'er in the Sum¬ 
mer, ki-ep the plant in a cool, dry place— 
about 50°—and give only water enough 
to prevent drying out, .so that it may re¬ 
main half dormant. In late Winter or 
Spring put- in a Avarmer place and give 
more water to encourage growth. Do not 
cut off the spur Avhich remains after the 
floAvers are gone, as it Avill bear again. 
During the blooming jieriod giA’e iilontv 
of sun and air. The plant really ini- 
proA'e.s' AA’ith age, for old specimens .are 
more liberal Avith bloom, but lack of .suc¬ 
cess often results from the attempt to 
keep the jilant in active growth, without 
any resting period. The plant may be 
propagated by layering in .Spring, or bv 
cuttings from the tips. Sometimes it is 
badly infested with mealy bugs, Avhich 
look like little puffs of Avhite cotton. 
Sponge off carefully with a sAvah dipped 
in soapsuds. 
A Group of Orphan Children 
I have read the book. “The Child.” 
and your many allusions to taking chil¬ 
dren during the last 10 years. I have a 
large, old-fashioned farnihou.se. set back 
from the road, Avith running Avater and 
e ectric light conveniences, near schools 
churches, etc. Farm is devoted to fruit' 
iKM-nes and inirebred young stock. I am 
dl .A-ears old. a Harvard man and Am¬ 
herst agricultural short cour.se; unma:.- 
iied, and fond of children. Do you think 
It would be a feasible plan to fill this 
grand old house Avith 10 or more children 
from some charitable in.stitution which 
Avould furnish a house mother and pay 
part of the expenses? I have quite a good 
deal of fruit and berry picking all Sum- 
iner and am acemstomed to Avorking with 
children. jj 
. The above from a New England man 
IS like several other letters received dur- 
iiig the past year. The .State Board of 
Chanty of IM.assachusetts is niuch in¬ 
terested in placing children in permanent 
homes. In di.scussing the above men¬ 
tioned proposition .Mr. Robert W. Kilso 
director of this board, savs 
Ihe .State Board of Charity of Ma.s- 
sachiKsetts places children out in foster 
homes; almost invariably, however Avith 
married couples, and seldom more than 
tAvo children in a home, unlese they hap'- 
pen to be brothers and sisters. 'l am 
afraid the chance of early difficulties and 
ultimate failure in the gathering of sev¬ 
eral small children in one place Avithout 
the oversight of anyone more closely re¬ 
lated to the children than that of a paid 
niatron would be thought too great by our 
child-placing division. Our method of 
placement seeks the foster home for the 
individual child, and not a mere place in 
which to keep children.” 
From our oavu experience we consider 
this very sound. Our New England friend 
needs most of all a good wife, in order to 
put his plan in operation. M^e have not 
considered it wise to try to bring up 
children in groups except where an entire 
family can be secured. The 'best work is 
done, in finding individual homes for little 
children, or perhaps tAvo in a familv. The 
proposition outlined above shows a fine 
.spirit, but is not the most effective way to 
do It. 
