934 lie RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Things To Think About 
The object of this department Is to give readers a chance to express themselves on farm 
matters. Not long articles can be used—just short, pointed opinions or suggestions. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER does not always endorse what is printed here. You might 
call this a mental safety valve. 
“The Rule of Six” 
From a Rural Carrier 
Serving one route continuously the 
past 11 years induces me to comment on 
the agitation for holiday service on rural 
routes. It seems a greater need exists 
for the improvement of road conditions 
whereby every farmer’s opportunities 
would be greatly widened by the same 
outlay of money. There may be some 
magic way of performing the hard labor 
required to travel 24 to 30 miles a day 
and handle the hundreds of thousands 
of newspapers, letters, circulars, also 
packages and money orders that are han¬ 
dled by the various rural carriers each 
day. But I believe if the average farmer, 
who knows the real need of a holiday, 
were asked to meet the expense, or wait 
for his mail, there would be a big majority 
in favor of the present plan. 
Very few people, in making demands 
on the public purse, stop to consider that 
every dollar expended must first be col¬ 
lected. and represents that amount taken 
from some producer of values. My own 
observation of the real value of rural mail 
service is that if you ask the average 
reader of the daily press for the impor¬ 
tant news items of the papers delivered 
thr»e days previous, or the sentiments 
expressed in its editorials, he would not 
be able to give an intelligent account. 
Many farmers tell me the reading habit 
is of very little practical value, and is 
indulged in something as a cup of tea or 
coffee—simply from pure habit, regard¬ 
less of value. My own reading, which, 
I believe, is enjoyed as much as the ordi¬ 
nary. is done principally from the weekly 
papers, whose summaries of events give 
sufficient mental stimulus to satisfy. It 
is not always a question of knowing 
what to do, as much as to be able to do 
it after we know. If it were possible for 
the ordinary everyday farmer and labor¬ 
ing man to fasten on the lid of self- 
denial of unnecessaries that are continu¬ 
ously indulged in, it would be only a 
short time before those who pander to 
the luxuries of life would be hunting a 
job at some productive labor that would 
contribute actual value to social needs. 
There seems abundant proof to the cor¬ 
rectness of an old adage, “There is an 
easier way to kill a dog than to starve 
him to death on bread and butter.” 
Michigan. terry an person. 
A Vermonter Uses His Head 
I have read with much interest the 
“Confessions of a Profiteer” on page 80:1, 
as he describes what I went through for 
about 15 years, and I sympathize with 
him. “Profiteer” is certainly not getting 
proper returns for the amount of work 
he is putting in, but is he using his labor 
to the best advantage? I certainly did 
not, but I had to have my health break 
down before I learned a better way. 
No one can tell at this distance what 
his weak point is ; hi my case it was try¬ 
ing to do too much hand work, so I was 
in no condition to do head work, and 
planning the work is more than half the 
battle. Under ordinary conditions I doubt 
if a man can work from 4:45 a. m. to 
9:30 p. m. and really accomplish as much 
as he would if he stopped work before he 
was dead tired, and “planned” the rest of 
the time. 
I think “Profiteer’s” neighbor is right 
in advising him to get an engine to run 
separator, pump water, run washing ma¬ 
chine, and a hundred and one other 
things: one suitable for such work would 
only cost around $75, and would soon pay 
for itself in time saved. One of my neigh¬ 
bors spends nearly two hours a day water¬ 
ing his, horses, when the expenditure of 
not more than $200 would put the water 
into his stable and cut the time of water¬ 
ing down to 15 minutes. With labor at 
25c per hour how long would it take for 
the outfit to pay for itself? But my neigh¬ 
bor says he can’t afford it, and as he does 
all liis work on the same principle he is 
not getting rich. 
I wish I could say something to make 
“Profiteer” see a better way. as he is 
surely headed for a breakdown if he, and 
I mean his wife, too, keep on the way 
they are going. Get in touch with the 
Farm Bureau and they can help lots if 
you will let them. 
At the risk of seeming to blow my own 
horn I will tell what we did last year on 
this place, and. remember, my wife does 
no outside work more than to pick the 
garden. She has some boarders, but keeps 
that money as hers. The total income 
was $5,514, with a total labor expense of 
$752; the total running expense was 
$2,362. Before my health failed I but 
little more than came out even. 
Vermont. --— g. m. hazard. 
I enclose a clipping which I cut from 
the local paper. I am working a dairy 
farm on the hills of Southern New York, 
which I purchased 10 years ago, after 
leaving the machine shops on account of 
ill health. The farmers’ slogan at present 
is “A good living and 10 per cent.” So 
far I have been able to make good so far 
as a good living is concerned, for myself 
and family, but have not been able to 
come across with the 10 per cent. After 
reading the enclosed article it seemed to 
me that if the rule of six was applied to 
the dairyman’s and farmer’s products 
after deducting the cost of production, it 
would solve all his financial troubles. I 
have been an interested reader of your 
paper for the last dozen or more years, 
and if you care to print this article it 
might throw more light on the 35-eent 
dollar as far as raw hides are concerned. 
ADAM II. FRICHTEL. 
Chemung Co., N. Y. 
“A. II. Geuting, executive secretary of 
the National Shoe Retailer’s Association, 
and proprietor of a large shoe store in 
Philadelphia, has worked out what he 
calls the “rule of six” for use in his store. 
Strict adherence to this plan has proved 
so successful that he advises its adoption 
in all retail stores who desire to keep 
their profit curve slanting upward. 
“ ‘This rule,’ says Mr. Geuting, ‘is not 
at all complex, nor does it require book¬ 
keeping of any kind. 
“ ‘Take the cost of every shoe that 
comes into the bouse, add a cipher and 
divide it by six—the result will be the 
proper price for your merchandise. That’s 
all there is to it! 
“ ‘This, in other words, is a simple 
method of figuring a profit of 40 per cent 
on the selling price of your shoes. If you 
feel that 40 per cent is more than you 
need to get because your overhead is 
small, take 10 or 15 per cent off the final 
figure—but always find out what the 40 
per cent price is, because that’s the way a 
number of the largest stores price their 
goods, and. if you sell for less than that, 
you are selling closer than the big mer¬ 
chants of the country can afford to. 
“ ‘Suppose you have a pair of women’s 
shoes costing you $5.25—add a cipher 
and you have $52.50. Divide this by six 
and you have a selling price of $8.75. 
On a pair of slippers or children’s shoes 
costing 00 cents, the same rule will show 
that you ought to charge $1.50 for these. 
“ ‘You will find that, in a number of 
cases, this method will give you odd prices 
for your goods, and, from my experience, 
I believe that this is the best thing that 
could happen to a price list—not to be 
too hidebound. Don’t get it into your 
head that you must sell shoes at fixed 
prices. This is a plan which is unscien¬ 
tific, inelastic and fatal to business suc¬ 
cess. Stick to the rule of six, come what 
may, except in the case of shoes that are 
decided novelties or short-lived styles. 
These may be marked even higher.’ ” 
Economic Injustices 
We farmers feel keenly some of the 
injustices that are being imposed on us 
by or on the authority of Government 
control. We see all restrictions removed 
from everything except what we produce. 
Wages are being boosted under Govern¬ 
ment authority. Prices of food are ad¬ 
mittedly being forced down in every way 
possible. We may well ask where are we 
coming to? The farmer cannot and will 
not compete with the Government in the 
labor market. lie will quit. Then what 
will be the result? It is surely time 
June 7, 1919 
someone in authority woke up. I am for 
an American government for and by the 
American people, with the seat of that 
Government in America. 
n. S. FULLAGEB. 
City “Fresh” Eggs 
An issue of the Atlanta Journal con¬ 
tained the following: 
“Fulton. Mo.—Callaway County eggs 
as so good that they stay fresh for nine 
months, according to Ollie Tyson, a Ful¬ 
ton man. The dope on the longevity of 
one particular bit of hen fruit comes all 
the way from New York. On July 16, 
1918, Tyson, while packing eggs, wrote 
his name and address and date on one. 
Just a few days ago a man in New York 
bought some eggs guaranteed to be ‘strict¬ 
ly fresh’ and the one that Tyson had 
written on was among them. The man 
then wrote Tyson as follows: 
“ ‘No doubt you will be surprised when 
you get this letter and will wonder how I 
came by your mame and address. Well. 
I went to the store for eggs yesterday and 
received an egg with your name and ad¬ 
dress and date on it. I bought the eggs 
for strictly fresh, so you can see how they 
fool us people in New York.’ ” 
This reads like one of Priebe’s press 
agent stunts, worked up in the interests 
of the biggest dealers in storage eggs, in 
order to persuade the consumers that 
storage eggs are as good as newly laid 
eggs. Assuming that it is bona fide news, 
the perusal of this item brings to mind 
the fact that once upon a time New York 
had a Commissioner of Foods and Mar¬ 
kets who devised and put into operation 
a plan which would effectually prevent 
such impositions. Was he appreciated? 
Ask the men and the housewives who 
elected a Governor and Legislature who 
were pledged to the cold storage interests 
to legislate the Commissioner out of office. 
w. II. WISNER. 
North Bergen Co.. N. .T.. Poultry Assn. 
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