I GOO 
7b* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S TAPER 
A National Weekly Journal Cor Country and Suburban Home* 
Established tsso 
Pnbliihrd wrrkly by the Rural Pnljlishlnc Company, 333 Yiett 80th Ktrrrf, Xrw VorV 
Herbert W. COLlJJtowoon, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurin' and General Manager. 
Wm. P. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Rotle. Associate Editor. 
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••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 tlio advertising of 
reliable houses only. Hut to make doubly sure, wo 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 bo publicly exposed. We aro 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 bo confused with dishonest 
transactions. Wo protect subscribers against rogues, but we will not bo 
responsible for the debta of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must lie sent to ns within one month of the time of 
tho transaction, and to Identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
When I was first married my father-in-law asked me 
whether I took The It. N.-Y., and I said no. He said, 
“Boy. you don’t know what is Rood for you. I would 
take Tiie R. N.-Y. anyway.” lie said if he had to give 
up all the rest of his papers and could not take but one, 
it would be Tiik It. N.-Y., so he gave me a paper to read 
and I saw it was just what I wanted in my business, so 
I have always taken it since. I am always pleased with 
the way you try to help farmers, even though we don’t 
always try to help ourselves. c. w. head. 
Madison Co., N. Y. 
W E havo read a book called “Advice to the 
Newly Married.” May we be permitted to 
say that the advice of. this father-in-law, given to a 
farmer, was worth the price of that entire book? 
* 
EVERAL people have written us about what they 
call the conflict of Federal and State laws over 
daylight saving. Their point is contained in the fol¬ 
lowing : 
Chief Justice White of- tho United Stall's Supreme 
Court, in reporting the court’s decision on the Volstead 
prohibition enforcement, says: “Where a State and a 
Federal law conflicts tho Federal law must prevail and 
the State law give Way under our constitutional form of 
government.” 
Thus where the Federal government has repealed 
the daylight saving law, while Now York attempts to 
enforce it, the State must give way. At first thought 
this seems sound, yet lawyers tell us they doubt if a 
true ease could be made out of it- We think it is 
far better to repeal the State law in tho usual way. 
The next Legislature will have a large and strung 
representation from the rural counties. The Repub¬ 
lican party went on record as in favor of repeal. It 
only remains for the farmers and country people to 
bring their influence to bear right upon their repre¬ 
sentatives. If you want to end daylight saving, be¬ 
gin now and keep at it until the law is repealed. The 
campaign will ho much like that for the repea 1 of tho 
school laws. 
* 
Enclosed please find check for renewal to the most val¬ 
uable paper I have ever taken. Wishing you good luck 
and for a Republican Government, and d—u the milk 
dealers. They have closed our plant. A. w. M . 
New York. 
IIIS letter came on Election Day. The first part 
of the wish came promptly. Tf submitted to 
vote the second part would probably carry with even 
greater majority. What appears to us in this letter 
is that a man capable of saying so much in three 
strong short sentences is the superior in ability of 
men, who, because of the accident of position, are able 
to embarrass him in his business. Take the favor of 
government away from the milk dealers and such 
farmers would hold them down with him in trade and 
business. There may be those of our readers who 
think the language used by our friend in relation to 
the milk dealers is rather strong. To them we sug¬ 
gest this old quotation from “Tristram Shandy,” by 
Lawrence Sterne: 
“The accusing spirit, which flew up to heaven’s chan¬ 
cery with the oath, blushed as he gave it. in ; and the 
Recording Angel, as he wrote it down, dropped a tear 
upon the word and blotted it out forever.” 
* 
What would be just wages to pay a hired man, fur¬ 
nishing rooms and hoard to him and wife? A. D. 
IIIS letter was unsigned. It is, of course, impos¬ 
sible to answer such a question without knowing 
the particulars. “Just wages” should consider jus¬ 
tice to the farmer as well as to tho hired man. No 
man can he just to his own family if he pays tho 
hired man more than, the latter brings in through his 
labor. Many a farmer during the past few years has 
lost money on the hired man’s labor. This was not 
always the hired man’s fault. It was partly the re¬ 
sult of poor management, attempting to work with 
poor equipment, or in persisting in growing crops 
which experience has shown are not profitable. In 
mir own case we are paying two or three times as 
much for labor as was necessary 10 years ago. We 
have been obliged- to discard several crops and raise 
only those which careful figuring has shown to be 
profitable. There are thousands of farmers who 
would have been better off to hire no help at all and 
seed their land to grass and grain, and he content 
with such live stock as the family can handle. No 
one likes to do that in these times, but it is often tho 
safest way. Since the beginning of the war the farm 
laborer has had the advantage and has usually 
named the price for which he will work. Good men 
havo obtained $50 per month with hoard—some of 
them going beyond that. In the case here mentioned 
it is not stated whether the wife works or not, or 
what the work is. On a dairy or fruit farm both man 
and woman would doubtless work, and if they -were 
eomjietent, $00 and board would he considered cheap 
in these times. It all depends on the workers and the 
job, and prices are usually decided by the “going 
wages” in any locality. It now looks as if farm 
wages would fall. Factories are closing in some 
places, and we think there will be a movement back 
to farm work before long. 
* 
I am informed that good farms can bo purchased iif 
New York State for $500 or $600. Is this true, and, if 
so, why so, and where can they be found? I am a widow 
with three children, tl to 18. mbs. c. J. 
IIOEVER told you that knew less than nothing 
about, the subject. Possibly a few acres of 
rough land off among the hills, with tumble-down 
buildings, might he bought for that sum. Good farms, 
on which a family can make a living, are not given 
away in New York State. You will have to pay a 
fair price for good farms. It is unfortunate that 
some people in the Middle West seem to believe that 
New York and New England are full of “aban¬ 
doned” farms which may bo bought for less than the 
cost of the fences. There are few if any such “aban¬ 
doned" farms. There are some farms with unoccu¬ 
pied buildings, hut most of tho fields are pastured, 
cut for hay or cultivated by the neighbors'. We be¬ 
lieve that some of these Eastern farms offer finer op¬ 
portunities for the investment of capital by a good, 
practical farmer, than any other security he can find. 
But there is little if anything in these reports of 
“cheap” or abandoned farms. You will have to pay a 
good price for a good farm. 
* 
Date Changed 
T HE Now York Federation of Agriculture has 
changed the date of its annual convention to 
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 14 and 15. This 
will bring it in the week following the first tentative 
announcement. The change was advisable because 
of conflicting dates and appointments. The meeting 
will ho held In Convention Hall, Rochester, N. Y., 
on the above dates. A comprehensive program has 
been arranged, and details will come later. 
I 
* 
T is estimated that in the year just closing at 
least $500,000,000 were spent for “soft drinks.” 
The usual “soft” drink is water sweetened and col¬ 
ored with a chemical flavor and a quantity of car¬ 
bonic acid gas forced into it. In all the money spent 
for food and drink, nothing returns less actual food 
value than this half billion given up for these soft 
drinks. If is-hard to think that the American people 
should be so soft, as to pay this vast sum for gas and 
sweetened water. Only a very small part of this 
money ever gets hack to the farm. It goes to a limit¬ 
ed number of mixers or manufacturers. If this 
money were paid for milk or fruit juices if. would he 
another very much better matter. The consumption 
of milk and pure fruit juice would benefit the people 
and provide markets for legitimate farm products. 
The money, or part of it, would find its way hack to 
the farm, and the dairy and fruit business would be 
stimulated. Milk and fruit are necessities . Water 
and gas, in the form of “soft drinks,” are luxuries. 
There is a great national waste based on habit or 
“fashion.” The dairy and the orchard should havo a 
greater share of that half billion ! 
* 
IIIS discussion of “The Wife's Share,” stated on 
page 1804, is a good Thanksgiving topic. Some 
of our women readers may not regard their present 
share as “something to be thankful for,” hut they 
will And that this discussion, fairly carried out, will 
help them. With the coming of the ballot, woman 
is to grow into larger opportunity and a fairer place 
in the world’s activities. For centuries the great ma¬ 
jority of women have done rather more than their 
share of the bard and unpaid labor of the world! 
From the position of family slave, which she orig¬ 
inally occupied, woman has come to Is; the trie' pnrt- 
November 27, 192o 
ner and companion of man. She has worked her way 
toward social freedom largely by her own efforts and 
influence. She is entitled to a fair share of the in¬ 
come or profit in the business of the home. We all 
now clearly understand that one reason why farming 
fell behind in the industrial race was because the 
woman and her children did a full man’s work but 
received no payment for it. Ip figuring the cost of 
the farm’s product, the labor of the woman was not 
counted in, and this cut down the price to ruinous 
figures. Yet in the cost of manipulating or handling 
this product the labor of women has always been 
added, or the man has been allowed extra wages for 
the support of his family. The farm woman now un¬ 
derstands that, and her demand for fair wages will be 
one of the most powerful forces in the battle for a 
larger share of the consumer’s dollar. We like to be¬ 
lieve that in the great majority of R. N.-Y. homes 
mother’s position as an equal partner is recognized. 
* 
H UMANITY und public interest unite In every 
argument for keeping the dairy business pros 
porous and growing. Of all the animals that walk 
the earth and consume its products, the cow will pro 
duee from 100 lbs. of digestible matter more human 
food in. her milk than any other. The pig, the hen, 
the sheep and the steer all rank below her in food 
production. From 100 lbs. of food the cow produces 
18 lbs. of edible solids to about 15 for the pig, five for 
the hen and three for the steer. Such a food-making 
machine will become of greater importance each year 
as the world grows in population. In addition to 
that, milk is the only perfect food, and an essential 
food as well. Youth cannot thrive and age and ill¬ 
ness cannot endure without milk. It is a national 
essential, ranking but little below fire and water. 
Tho cow Is the great foster mother of mankind. We 
can imagine a world enduring without money, but the 
race would die out if deprived of milk. These things 
being so, it becomes a national duty to insure a full 
milk supply. That can only be done by making the 
business of dairying profitable. 
* 
T HIS question of “oloo” ami dairymen has come 
to be a vital one. Everyone knows our own 
stand in the matter—we practice what we preach 
at home. It. is evident that farmers do not agree on 
this subject, and when that is the case we invite a 
full and thorough discussion. That is what has been 
started on page 1812. Wo Avnnt opinions from farm¬ 
ers and dairymen, no matter whether they agree with 
us or not. We do not particularly care for the views 
of town people, as avo have not criticized their use -if 
the butter substitutes. We do feel that the man who 
makes his living by producing milk or its products 
cannot justify his. use of butter substitutes either 
morally or as a business proposition. The arguments 
advanced by those who sell milk and buy oleo seem 
to us narrow and selfish. Such arguments, if curried 
out to their logical conclusion, would ruin any buri- 
ness we can think of. 
* 
T HE annual meeting of the Dairymen’s League 
will be held in the Armory in the city of Utica, 
N. Y., on Wednesday, December 8, 1920, at 10 a. m. 
The League is organized under the New Jersey cor¬ 
poration law, and, to comply with the law, a meeting 
of the stockholders must also he held in the State of 
Now Jersey to confirm and make legal the proceed¬ 
ings at Utica. The New Jersey meeting may be held 
by the directors authorized,to vote proxies of other 
members, though of course any stockholder is quali¬ 
fied to attend the meeting, which Avill be held in tho 
Corporation Trust Company Building, No. 15 Ex¬ 
change Place, Jersey City, on December 14, 1920, at 
10 a. m. 
Utica is eon venlent for a large number of dairymen 
in Central New York, and it is safe to predict a largo 
attendance 
Brevities 
What hooks are you planning to read this Winter? 
No wise man puts fertilizer, manure or labor into n 
water-soaked soil. 
Very few except tin? .Summer boarders find the farm 
a lazy place in Summer. 
Tt’s tine to be “up-to-date,” but do not. trample the 
good old things under foot in order to get there! 
OUB reports show that the silos through the dairy dis- 
triets are generally well filled—with hay a little short. 
Some people seem to go through the fire of affliction 
and remain as sweet, as pasteurized eider. Others go 
sour and pass through “hard” eider to vinegar. 
Now that the eggs are coming out of water glasn. how 
do they act? Are they good? We have some reports of 
failure. The ooafity of the "gins* *” seems to be poor in 
some eases. What have you to say? 
