1404 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Things To Think About 
The object of this department is to give readers a ohance 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 
cail this a mental safety valve. 
Change in the Immigration Problem 
Judging from reports that come from 
Europe, there is to ue a great change in 
immigration to this country. Years ago 
Europe was full of talk of America as a 
political or religious refuge. It is evident 
now that the idea of America as a coun¬ 
try of liberty and opportunity has 
changed. Immigration hereafter will be 
governed by economic and family motives. 
There are a number of reasons for this, 
the principal one being that the Great 
W "ar has more or less improved conditions, 
giving the laboring class a better chance 
than they ever had before. The Euro¬ 
pean governments are taking control c f 
immigration. For instance, w T e are told 
that Italy has a commissioner who is ad¬ 
vising Italian miners to go to France 
rather than to America. The European 
nations are also beginning to handle this 
question, as there is a steady movement 
of laborers from one country to another. 
It is said that France has offered to Italy 
six tons of coal per month in return for 
each Italian miner who is influenced to 
go to France. Some of the European 
governments are also working to make 
home conditions more attractive, so as 
to keep laborers at home. Every country 
in Europe is short of labor, and wages 
are high. There is work for all. The 
problem is also being made easier in 
Greece. A law has just been passed 
under which owners of land may sell or 
surrender two-thirds of their property to 
peasants. In other Eui’opeau countries 
the land problem is being worked out so 
as to make it easier for the peasants and 
small proprietors to buy land. This is 
having its effect in holding the people 
who would otherwise cross the ocean. 
The governments abroad are also trying 
to keep in closer touch with their people 
in this country. There will be a deter¬ 
mined effort to influence people of foreign 
blood in this land to send their savings to 
the other side. We know of several cases 
where formerly foreigners were well con¬ 
tent to have their money invested in this 
country. They arc now selling their se¬ 
curities or drawing their money from the 
banks and sending it to Europe. Italy 
has gone so far as to consider the plan 
to give what is called its nationals 
throughout the world representation in 
the home government. Under this plan 
it would be possible for the Italian in this 
country who has never been Americanized 
to vote at his home here, and to have that 
vote recorded at his old home in Italy. 
Many of these things are working out, 
and there will be many more changes. 
The whole plan is based on the fact that 
Europe needs men and capital, and in or¬ 
der to secure the former steps will be 
taken to prevent emigration while the 
latter will be obtained by inducing for¬ 
eigners here to send their money back to 
the old country. 
Getting Back to Supply and Demand 
The small-town men in this part of the 
country are taking the position that two 
great problems must he solved. Greater 
production from the farm, with adequate 
return to the farmer to make that produc¬ 
tion profitable, and the elimination of the 
labor union “closed shop” to get from 
high-priced labor an adequate return for 
the money expended. We’ll see what will 
come out of the matter before many 
months have passed, o. w. passavant. 
Georgia. 
Right or wrong, that is the view which 
most thoughtful people are taking— 
North, South, East and West. This coun¬ 
try has been for some years now, forced 
through arbitrary and unjust laws, fur¬ 
ther and further away from the law of 
supply and demand. We must all get 
back to it. The efforts to maintain arti¬ 
ficial prices for labor or its products can¬ 
not result in any permanent good. 
Renting a Church 
Can you tell me if a church can be 
legally rented in New Yoi-k State? If 
a church was rented for entertainments 
and door receipts taken, would we be 
liable to taxation? w. n.T. 
A church may be legally rented, but 
is liable for taxation if rented for that 
purpose. A mere entertainment given by 
the church would not. make it liable to 
taxation, but the rental of the edifice fox- 
secular purposes does make it liable. 
An Honest Back-to-the-Lander 
I have a small-sized dairy of 15 cows. 
My wife and I do the milking, and she 
also helps to do the planting and get in 
the hay. We are both city-bred, bxit 
enjoy farming. We have to do the work 
ourselves, as we ai-e just starting in, and 
our capital is very limited. I want to 
say to anyone who lives in the city and 
thinks of going on a farm to make a liv¬ 
ing. to consider the matter well fi-onx 
both sides befox-e giving up a city job. 
In the first place, if both husband and 
wife do not like the country there is very 
little chance of making a success. They 
must remember the long hours and hard 
work that a farmer has to do. Then 
again, they will have to deny themselves 
many of the little things they get in the 
city. 
A man who works in the city knows 
just what his week’s salary is. but the 
farmer has little or no idea of what he 
is going to get for his labor. Of course 
the farmer has the advantage of the city 
fellow in the high rents, and also the 
clothing expenses, and if he isn't afraid 
to work he can raise enough stuff to 
keep his family all Winter. I have three 
children, two gix-ls, eight years and three 
years, and a boy of six, and when we see 
their rosy cheeks and healthy little 
bodies we feel well repaid for giving up 
the city luxuries. Here's wishing lots of 
success to The R. N.-Y. Keep up the 
good work ; we enjoy reading the articles 
in the different departments. 
Orange Co., N. Y. claud iioward. 
What Good Farm Credit Will Do 
Nero or some other fiddled while Rome 
burned. Looks as though the Supreme 
Court will keep fiddling or vacationing, 
instead of deciding the Farm Loan Bond 
question, until untold injury has been 
done the backbone of the country. Seems 
that the cities, with their babyish crying 
for daylight saving, coupled with strikes, 
and still more strikes for shorter hours 
and higher wages, the latter drawing the 
boys and hired men from the farms to 
the region of bright lights and poor eyes, 
were all working toward the destruction 
of our agx-icultux-al supremacy. 
The young, single men cannot be blamed 
for going to the cities where wages are 
high and the working hours short; but 
should he marry and meet Mr. II. C. L. 
face to face he will soon be busy trying 
to make the pay envelope reach from pay 
day to pay day and to wonder why he 
left the farm. Hundreds of farm-raised 
married men in the cities would buy 
farms if the buying of them were made 
as easy as the way to buying city homes 
is, namely, through the building and loan 
associations. 
If a worker hei-e wishes to buy a homo 
he finds the place, within his means, he 
desires and makes application to the 
building and loan association for a loan. 
They will advance him up to 70 per cent 
of the price, and if lie has not all of the 
balance the owner will usually take back 
a second mortgage, knowing his money is 
safe. In this way the worker becomes a 
property owner and an asset to the town 
or city. 
It would seem that our Government 
(through the Federal Farm Loan) or 
our bankers (who seem to object to the 
farm loans) could devise ways making it 
as easy for us who desii-e to own and 
operate farms to do so as it is for the city 
worker to own his own home. If this 
carf be done, scores of farm-raised men 
would leave the cities and get back to 
God’s country and become producers in¬ 
stead of just wage-earnei-s. 
It is now an understood fact that for 
some time back production has hardly 
been within shouting dstance of demand, 
and indications point to its not being on 
speaking terms at all by the next Winter, 
and these conditions will continue until 
some inducement is given men who so de¬ 
sii-e to go farming. Not very long ago 
I saw carrots (small ones at that) 
selling at 15 cents a bunch of four; green 
peas 20 cents a quart (enough when 
shelled for one good appetite probably) ; 
potatoes so small that my father, now 
dead, would have used them for pig feed, 
selling at 15 cents per pound. What 
share of these prices did the producer 
get? Did the farmer who grew those 
carrots get even one cent each for them? 
He did not. Is there a producer in any 
other line who works and keeps his busi¬ 
ness going on so small a return as the 
farmer? The woi-m must surely turn, 
and the day will come when every indus¬ 
trious farmer will demand and receive a 
good living and at least 10 per cent. 
New Jersey. jo tin t. Baxter. 
September 4, 1920 
pealed to the Supreme Court. But I 
should like to give the correct list of facts 
that led up to the case, as I know The 
R. N.-Y". to be one of the few really hon¬ 
est papers. 
In the first place, the atheist question 
was not an issue during the campaign • 
in fact, the people knew nothing about it 
till after the primaries. I heard two of 
the opponent’s campaign speeches, and 
the atheist question was never mentioned, 
but facts that very much more concerned 
the voters of the district, namely, that 
A. J. Volstead has helped the profiteer 
whenever he could without the people 
finding it out. But in a pamphlet sent 
out by Volstead he says: “Anyone who 
can make two small fishes and five loaves 
of bread feed a large multitude can settl<> 
the profiteering question.” And this his 
opponent. Rev. Mr. Ivvale, referred to in 
one of his campaign speeches as being a 
sarcasm aimed at him as a minister 
Then he went on to say that if Volstead 
were an atheist he would not attack him 
on that point, but on how he worked for 
the voters of his district. And that he 
d'd in an earnest and able way, pi-oving 
whatever he said, and that was what won 
him his nomination. Congi-essman Vol¬ 
stead was not a game losei-, and could not 
disprove any of the facts at issue, but 
he did see a chance to get his opponent 
out of the way in this manner. I will 
also add that the district judge of our 
district refused to hear the case, and a 
judge was appointed by our Governor, and 
was a disappointed office-seeker for the 
candidacy for State Attorney, and of the 
same politics as Volstead. 
Minnesota. mrs. c. j. stene. 
Controlling Flies 
That Minnesota Primary Nomination 
On page 3270 there is an article stat¬ 
ing the case between A. J. Volstead (Min¬ 
nesota Congressman) and his opponent, 
a Lutheran minister, backed by the Non- 
Partisan League. The case has been 
tried and the judge has decided the min¬ 
ister to be “unqualified” to go on the 
ticket in the Fall. It has also been ap¬ 
What can I use to kill the flies or keep 
them away from the toilet, in the back 
yard? I am using lime and disinfectant, 
but that does not help. g. a. 
New Jersey. 
Heavy applications of chloi-ide of lime, 
borax or a solution of iron sulphate in 
water, 2 lbs. to the gallon, are more or 
less efficient for the purpose you mention, 
but the best plan is to keep the contents 
of privy vaults dry by frequent sprink¬ 
lings of loam or road dust, and screened 
from flies by tight vaults, tight doors, 
tight-fitting covers, and screened venti¬ 
lators. It is not at all difficult to make 
ordinary outdoor closets fly-tight, and 
much of the typhoid fever now prevalent 
is country districts would disappear if 
this were generally done. M. b. d. 
Golden Rule Service 
in Town or Country 
T HE USL Battery Man is picked because he knows batteries 
and how to repair and keep them in order—no matter what 
their brand. 
But the main thing we pick him out for is that he is trustworthy 
and can be counted on to give courteous, efficient service—Golden 
Rule Service. 
If your battery is getting a little lame you ought to get the USL 
man’s advice. It may be a case where, if nothing is done, the battery 
will soon go to pieces inside, but where a repair will make it as 
lively as a colt. The USL man guarantees on an adjustment 
basis all repairs, no matter what the brand of the battery. 
U. S. Light & Heat Corporation 
Niagara Falls, N. Y. 
Likely there’- ine of our fifteen hundred service stations in your town. If there isn’t, for 
the address of the handiest, just drop a post card to the nearest of the following distributors : 
The Battery <& Starter Co., Inc., Buffalo, N. Y. 
’Syracuse Electric Service, Inc., Syracuse, N. Y. 
Gander Automotive & Electric Co., Albany, N. Y. 
The USL 
Farm Lighting 
Storage Battery 
