June 19, 1920 
III 10 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homo* 
Established tsso 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 West 30th Street, New fork 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President anil Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F, Dillon, Secretary. Slits. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION ; ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. $2.01, equal to 8s. Gd., or 
marks, or 10W, francs. Remit in money order, express 
order”persona! check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 90 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 advertisement 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. NVe arc 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. Wo protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
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 Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
T HE Legislature of Ontario, Canada, adjourned 
recently after its first session under control of 
the Farmers’ Union. One of our Canadian readers 
says: 
Except for some party discards and political grafters 
who see their finish, the people are almost a unit in 
expressing their admiration at the way the farmers’ 
government carried on the business of the house in the 
session just closed, and their confidence that they are 
going to make good. J. watson m’monies. 
The newspaper reports, even from the opposition 
parties, say much the same thing: 
A group of farmers, inexperienced in government 
affairs and parliamentary procedure, undertook to enact 
and pilot through political highways and byways im¬ 
portant laws affecting the banner province of the Do¬ 
minion. They succeeded to a degree beyond the hopes 
and expectations of the people. 
These farmers of Ontario were elected on a 
straight, clear-cut issue of agricultural needs. They 
did not boast or scream or demand impossible things, 
all to be done in a minute, hut they made up a fair 
and straight program and went out after it. The 
people listened, and elected them. Of course the old 
politicians said the farmers would “slop over” and 
fail, but they have done neither, because the men 
representing farm interests were real farmers, and 
not politicians dressed up in overalls! Ontario has 
shown New York and the rest of America how to 
do it. We are going to do our best to see that New 
York farmers have a chance to “do likewise” this 
year. 
K 
D URING the past six months many readers have 
urged us to discuss the Prohibition amendment. 
We could not see that there was anything to discuss. 
The amendment had, as we believed, been legally 
ratified and was as much a part of the United States 
Constitution as any other line of that great docu¬ 
ment. The liquor men were trying in every way to 
declare this amendment unconstitutional, but we felt 
that the Supreme Court would settle the matter in 
due time. Therefore we gave space to other matters. 
The court lias now decided for Prohibition on every 
count It is a most sweeping decision—clear-cut and 
definite. Hereafter the manuf .cture and sale of 
“intoxicating liquor” is a crime in this country. The 
court leaves it to Congress to decide just what “in¬ 
toxicating” means, and Congress has gone on record 
in placing the limit for beverages at one-lialf of one 
per cent of alcohol. Any future Congress may change 
that standard If the people are willing to elect a ma¬ 
jority of Representatives and Senators who favor 
stronger drink. In this, we think, the law gives the 
“wets” all they can fairly ask for. If the majority 
of Americans desire to sell and drink wines and beer 
they have the power, under this law, to elect a Con¬ 
gress that will provide a more liberal enforcement. 
What more can they ask? The decision was, we 
think, delayed by the “wets” through legal argu¬ 
ments. It is not likely that Elihu Root and the other 
great lawyers expected to nullify the amendment. 
They must have known better, hut they did delay a 
final decision and full enforcement until the whisky 
men got rid of their stuff at an extravagant profit. 
At any rate, so far as law and constitutional practice 
can make it so, this country is now “bone dry.” 
There will be some “wet” spots for years to come, 
but, as we have often stated, the ultimate effect upon 
the morality and business interests of the country 
will he good. 
* 
T HERE seems to *be quite a little misunderstand¬ 
ing about the bonus or extra salary which New 
York has agreed to pay school teachers. A payment 
of .$250 will he made to country teachers who fulfill 
the legal requirements and receive at least $20 per 
week for teaching. A synopsis of the law and its re¬ 
quirements will he found on page 1102. The school 
teacher should he reasonably paid. Teaching, when 
faithfully and properly done, is hard work, requiring 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
special qualities of mind and body and temper which 
many of us do not possess. The profession is useful 
and honorable, and ought to be well paid. But what 
about the good old days when we taught for $25 a 
month and “board around”? Those were the happy 
days when the teacher was a combination of profes¬ 
sor, janitor, policeman, peacemaker and entertainer. 
He probably con id not get a certificate in these days, 
yet the generation that was taught in those little 
schoolhouses has shaken up the world. Without 
doubt the modern teacher is more up-to-date—includ¬ 
ing the salary question. 
* 
T HE members of the Agricultural Conference 
Board, which is composed of the executive com¬ 
mittees of the leading farm organizations of the 
State, at a meeting in Syracuse, .Tune 4. declared for 
an open and aboveboard policy in settling the agri¬ 
cultural problems of the State. The situation which 
precipitated this most commendable act upon tlio 
part of the board was the resignation of Charles S. 
Wilson as Commissioner of Agriculture, and the 
action of the Council of Farms and Markets, to 
whom it was tendered, in keeping it quiet, while 
various members of the council attempted to sound 
out sentiment in regard to his successor. Some of 
the farm organization leaders fell for this method 
of procedure, but the others declared that it was 
important enough for the responsible leaders to con¬ 
sult together on and to ascertain the wishes of their 
members before they, as individuals, committed 
themselves to one candidate or another. In fairness 
to the farmers they could take no other course. The 
meeting at Syracuse was the result, and with it came 
the first information that the farming public had had 
that a new Commissioner of Agriculture is to he 
selected. The responsibility of the selection of this 
Commissioner lies with the Council of Farms and 
Markets. The president of the council is Charles E. 
Dana of Avon. The moral right to advise the council 
lies with the leaders of the farm organizations—the 
Grange, the Dairymen’s League, the Federation of 
Farm Bureau Associations, the State Horticultural 
Society and other groups, who are working on the 
problem through their Conference Board. The final 
people to be pleased and to decide this big question 
are the farmers of the State, whose interest will he 
served by an efficient Commissioner. 
* 
Today in one of the A. & P. stores I asked for flour. 
The manager informed me that flour is very high in 
price and very scarce, and would continue to be so as 
long as the farmers are holding their wheat for higher 
prices. Will you kindly tell us just where these offend¬ 
ing farmers reside who are holding up the wheat? 
New Jersey. reader. 
IIESE “farmers” live in town and city. Their 
occupation is to “farm” the consumers, and they 
do it well. They know how to run a harrow right 
over the feelings (and pocket book) of the housewife, 
and there is plenty of nitrogen and sulphur in tlie 
stories they tell about those robber farmers. There 
is a flood of wheat in the country, available for mill¬ 
ing. The greater part of it passed out of the hands 
of farmers into the possession of dealers and specu¬ 
lators. The farmers were paid a price decided for 
them by the government. The speculators and mill¬ 
ers will hold the wheat off the market until they get 
a price which will give them a fearful profit. They 
hold up the public and make the public believe that 
the farmers are the robbers! 
* 
T HE story of the vast sums of money paid to ob¬ 
tain delegates to the National Conventions is 
enough to stir up the fighting blood of any decent 
American. Every candidate in both parties appar¬ 
ently spent all he could get, or at least his managers 
spent it for him. And of course the people want to 
know who arc his managers, for no servant is greater 
than his manager. We doubt if the situation is any 
worse now than in former years. There has always 
been more or less bribery au<l purchase in politics. 
We think the scandal was worse during the first 
McKinley campaign than now, but several things 
have happened to force such tilings out into the open. 
In spite of what the cynics and the “managers” say, 
I he public is clean-minded about such things. Twen¬ 
ty years ago such publicity as we are now getting 
would not have been possible. The business of buy¬ 
ing nomination or election has been forced more into 
the open. It is harder to buy and sell as was done 
in the old caucus and convention. The present dis¬ 
closures do not prove that primary elections have 
failed. They do show that the system or plan must 
be changed. As it stands, the primary gives a tre¬ 
mendous advantage to the candidate with the cam¬ 
paign jfund. Formerly money was spent secretly. 
Now the political managers are able to use all the 
arts of advertising and all the games for “accelerat¬ 
ing” public opinion by buying the newspapers. These 
things are possible only to the men with a barrel of 
money. The poor man is shut out. lie cannot com¬ 
pete in this political game of matching dollars. Yet 
the primary election system is essentially superior to 
the old caucus and convention plan. The people will 
not go back to the old plan,.but will find a way to 
improve the new one. And “ivc have got to do it our¬ 
selves No use in sitting down and growling at cor¬ 
ruption and bribery and then expecting those who 
benefit by such things to reform them ! Doing it our¬ 
selves means making a personal and patriotic sacri¬ 
fice if need be to control the party primary and nom¬ 
inate clean men of our own stamp. The It. N.-Y. will 
waste no time in general shouting or cursing at polit¬ 
ical conditions. We shall offer the voters of New 
York State a chance to show their power for clean 
government. First there will he a referendum vote 
for a proper candidate for Governor. Then as a 
result of that we hope to secure a solid backing by 
farmers in the primary for a party candidate who 
will stand for what we need. We ask all men and 
women who believe in true political reform to help in 
showing the possibilities of our present elective sys¬ 
tem. 
* 
T HIS year thousands of farmers have been un¬ 
able to obtain proper supplies of limestone. 
There is an abundance of lime in the earth’s surface, 
but it must be taken out at one point, crushed or 
burned and carried to another point, where it is 
needed. Thus transportation plays an all-important 
part in the use of lime. This past season transpor¬ 
tation broke down, and it was impossible to carry 
the lime to farmers. Many of the latter waited too 
long in sending their orders, and thus could not get 
supplies in time. This shortage of lime will be felt 
in farm production for several years, because it will 
cut down the clover crop and thus affect every other 
crop on farms where a rotation is followed. There 
seems no use expecting any great improvement in 
railroad service. That, service seems to have broken 
down under so-called government control. The most 
practical plan is for the lime dealers to gather big 
supplies of lime at central points during the Sum¬ 
mer, before crops are to be shipped. Such supplies 
can he distributed later with a shorter haul. Farm¬ 
ers can help in this, too, by ordering their supplies 
now. This season’s experience must show us all that 
we must order all our supplies of fertilizer, packages 
or machinery, far ahead of time if we expect to get 
them in season. 
* 
O N June 1G, 1920, our old friend Prof. W. A. 
Henry reached the age of 70 years. We cannot 
let this birthday pass without attempting to express 
something of the affection and appreciation which 
our people have for this useful man. It is a sad fact 
that most of us wait too long to say the things which 
we feel about our friends. One kindly word of appre¬ 
ciation spoken in the ear of the living is worth more 
than an entire oration spoken above the dead. We 
make no attempt to write a biography of Prof. 
Henry or to catalogue his list of achievements. IJis 
life has been a long round of service to his fellow 
men, and particularly to fannex's, lie was one of 
Ihe pioneers in agricultural education, and he wrote 
chapters into the history of Wisconsin and the Mid¬ 
dle West which will ever stand as monuments to a 
modest yet great and strong career. The great work 
of this useful mail is not proclaimed from the house¬ 
tops or forced into public attention by a brass hand. 
There Is no need of that, for the work which Prof. 
Henry did so quietly and so well has grown into the 
memory and thought of grateful country people as 
naturally as the grass and the cattle and the t rees 
have become a part of the farms and the farm homes 
which he has helped to improve and inspire. And 
therefore, without parade or any attempt at fine 
writing, we greet Prof. Henry at three score and ten 
and offer him the love and good wishes of half a 
million readers. 
Brevities 
I.\ parts of Arizona grafting the English walnut on 
black walnut lias become u large proposition. 
Every report indicates a wheat crop about 20 per cent 
less than last year. That crop, however, was above the 
average. 
We cannot think of a place on any Eastern h"’ 11 
where the addition of some phosphate to manure would 
not pay. 
Some reports from New York State say farmers an 
“getting up by new time and working late at night . 
the Lord’s time !” 
Killing woodchucks! The surest way is to H iivi 
some good shot with a rifle wait for them at about da - 
break or late afternoon and shoot them. If you can pms 
up all but one hole, bisulphide of carbon put down mio 
the run will get them. 
