The RURAL N E W - Y O R K. L R 
1830 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country mid Suburbnn Home* * 
Established 1850 
Published weekly by the Kurnl Publishing Carnpuny, 3311 Vest 30th Street, New Vorh 
HEr.BKitT W. Colijmowood, Premilont and Editor. 
Jons J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mbs. E. T. Royi.k. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION- ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, 82.01, equal to 8s. (id., or 
81b marks, or 10V. francs. Item-tin money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post OfTico ns Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 13 cents per ngate line—7 words. Iteferences required for 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that every advertisement in this paiier is hacked by a respon¬ 
sible person. We use every jtossiblo 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 bo publicly exposed. Wo are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
responsible bouses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
offices to tills end, but such eases should not bo confused with dishonest, 
trail Mictions. We protect subscribers ngainst rogues, but wo will not bo 
responsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of tile complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention Thk Rubai, New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
T il Is National Grange seemed to take on a new 
lease of life at its annual meeting in Boston last 
week. This fine old organization came to the front 
with a great attendance and renewed interest Other 
organizations may come and go, but the Grange has 
elements of human interest which hold it solidly to¬ 
gether. Its last, meeting attracted general attention, 
and (he daily papers gave good space to its platform. 
City men seem to argue that the Grange expresses the 
desires of the great middle class of farmers. It was 
thought at one time that the Grange might suffer 
from the effect of the organizing of Farm Bureaus 
and other farm movements. The effect seems to have 
been to stimulate the Grange to harder effort, and 
we think it is now starting upon a new era of great 
prosperity. 
* 
GOOD many persons and corporations take ad¬ 
vantage of the law which permits them to pay 
their income tax in installments. The last part of 
this tax is due on December 15, and thousands of 
taxpayers have asked the Secretary of the Treasury 
to let this payment go over. Many of them say they 
face bankruptcy if (hey are forced to pay the tax 
now. They must take the money out of their bus- 
ness or borrow it. The Secretary has refused to 
pass this tax payment. He says the money is needed 
to pay government obligations, and that such exemp ; 
tion would be a special class privilege. If it. were 
granted to one class it should be extended to all, and 
if we once began such extension of time there would 
never lie any end to it. The government lias just 
refused to aid the cotton growers by providing credit 
in their hour of need. Jt could not consistently give 
what amounts to credit to a group of corporations, 
many of whom took chances with capital that was 
needed to pay their taxes. 
* 
(>ME of our people do not read letters or articles 
as carefully as they should. They get the 
meaning twisted, a little, and sometimes blame others 
for the trouble which this leads to. In one case 
a farmer advertised for a manager. One of our 
readers saw the advertisement and answered it 
The farmer replied in a. business-like way, describ¬ 
ing what lie wanlod and what lie would pay to the 
right party. He ended by staling (hat if his cor¬ 
respondent came that way he would he glad to see 
him and discuss the matter. It was a plain letter, 
without any definite promise of a job. The man 
read it, arid at once concluded that the farmer had 
made him a definite offer of a place, so this man 
travelled a considerable distance and when he got 
to the farm lie was told that a man had been engaged 
(lie day before. Now this man writes us stating that 
he had been deceived and he wants to know how he 
can proceed to make this farmer pay (in* cost of his 
railroad fare. In this case the farmer is not respon¬ 
sible in any way. He made a jilaiu statement of 
what he had, and made no definite promise whatever 
of offering the place. The man misunderstood the 
letter, and thus took the trip at his own risk. The 
farmer is not responsible, but this shows the neces¬ 
sity of thoroughly understanding a letter or article 
before acting upon it. We frequently receive bitter 
comments on articles printed in Tiie It. N.-Y. which 
are evidently based on a hasty reading or misunder¬ 
standing. When the real facts are presented those 
correspondents see their error and generally ac¬ 
knowledge it. A good deal of the desired results 
in education are upset by a failure to understand 
plain language. 
* 
O you realise how much money is being sent 
out of this country by working people? Here 
is a typical case. We have on the farm a man 
from a Scandinavian country who has been with 
us for slime years. During recent years- lie has 
saved his money, and we have kept it for him. He 
is not married, and has no family ties on this side 
of the water, and has plans to go back to his native 
country to spend his old age. He is sending money 
on ahead. We go to the bank and huy-kroners with 
American money. The price varies, but we bought, 
one lot at 13.50. At par the kroner is about 20 
cents. Thus for each $100 in American money we can 
obtain in round numbers 750 kronors, worth $150 at 
par on the other side of the ocean.. This man 
brought the kronors here and sent the draft to his 
home town. There they were put in a bank to his 
eiedit and he can, if he desires, invest them in 
government bonds at about 00. Suppose this is done, 
and we have about the folllowing result: By spend¬ 
ing $100 here he banks on the other side about 
$150 in foreign money. If this is invested in bonds 
at 00 he receives $1('G at par value. This means a 
final gain of 00 pot* cent on the money lie earns 
as an American hired man. Most foreign-born 
people who have families here keep their money at 
home, but without question thousands of them are 
operating like the man here mentioned, and sending 
their money out of the country. They are able 
in tliis way to make great gains in foreign money 
and so long as they have confidence in their old 
home government they will probably continue to do 
it. If. makes a serious drain upon the financial re¬ 
sources of tliis country and takes millions out of 
circulation, for most of such people buy as little as 
possible in order to save all possible money for their 
foreign remittances. 
* 
IIE Ohio Experiment Station has shown that 
“phospliated manure” is 50 per cent more ef¬ 
fective than manure alone. What is “phosphated” 
manure? Ordinary stable manure with 40 pounds 
of acid phosphate or its equivalent in other phos¬ 
phate added. This addition of phosphate makes the 
manure complete. As it comes from the stable the 
manure contains less of phosphorus than of either 
nitrogen or. potash. Most crops require more phos¬ 
phorus than any of the other plant food elements, 
while most of our Eastern soils have given up much 
of their available phosphorus. That is particularly 
true on grain and dairy farms. It explains why 
“phosphated manure” gives sucli evident results. 
One of the most economical ways for the dairy 
farmer to use fertilizer is to mix phosphate with the 
manure. There is no question about this. It is one 
of tin.* sure things of agricultural science. 
• * 
E will ask our back-to-the-land friends to 
read Mr. Young’s article on the first page. 
Here is a man who knows what he is talking about, 
because he litis lived it all. We know it is true, be¬ 
cause we have been right through the same per¬ 
formance. The real estate agents will not print tliis 
% 
article, but that will not disprove it. Mr. Young 
lias waited 12 years for his farm to come to the 
point where it will support him. That is a long 
wait, but the farm has finally come, and each year 
it will get better. It was well worth waiting and 
working for. Our own experience shows that most 
back-to-the-landers who fail have one or more of 
these reasons: The women find that they cannot 
endure country life, the man has no capital or credit 
for even fair equipment, or he puts too much of his 
capital into expensive buildings or outfit, and thus 
builds up a murderous “overhead” expense. A farm 
must have equipment, the same as a merchant must 
have a stock of goods, but if either one stock up too 
heavily they cannot carry the load. Mr. Young tried 
it out, and had to go hack to his city job. He hung 
on, though, and now he will get his reward—and he 
deserves it. 
X 
“Can you t«*ll me why so many young men educated 
at agricultural colleges and trained for public service 
leave the experiment stations and go to work for big 
corporations?” j. B. 
UESE young men tell us that the chief reason 
is (hat the private concerns offer them more 
money. Most of us are working for a living. The 
few examples of men who have given their lives to 
the public with little thought of pecuniary gain are 
not inspiring to young people who want a homo 
where the girl will he satisfied. Hundreds of bright 
young men graduate at our agricultural colleges 
with high ideals of service. Some of them have 
ability as natural leaders, and if they were willing 
to grow into opportunity would in time fill it out 
well. It would seem that their first obligation was 
t j country and State, which have given them educa¬ 
tion and training. The big business interests are 
constantly watching for such men. They must have 
brains in their organization, and they would rather 
not have brains or organizing skill where interfer- 
ene* with their own businowH would hi* likely. While 
December 4, 1920 
the big corporations will probably deny it, their 
policy evidently is to prevent the rise of strong and 
independent young men in places where strength and 
independence might arouse opposition. The best 
way to prevent this is to offer large salaries to the 
promising men. Wo have no doubt that every man 
in a public agricultural position who has really 
shown independent power has had some sort of an 
offer to go with a private corporation. Of course 
the man who does leave die public service becomes 
merely a cog in a big machine. Looking at it with¬ 
out prejudice, no one will feel inclined to blame 
these young men. It is unhappily true that in these 
days the patriot who will sacrifice his personal in¬ 
terests for the sake of the public does not find the 
people running to crown him with an ivy wreath. 
It would be more like poison ivy from the politi¬ 
cians if he hit the evil hard enough to draw blood. 
X 
.So many of her friends wrote the name of Miss Ethel 
Robinson on their ballot election day that sin* was 
elected county treasurer of Rawlins County, Kansas, 
although she did not seek the' office. Miss Robinson 
had refused to permit her friends to place her in nomi¬ 
nation for the office, because she wished to take work 
in home economics at the Kansas State Agricultural 
College this year. But last week she was obliged to 
drop her college work and attend to her civic duties. 
Miss Robinson had previously served as deputy county 
treasurer of Rawlins County. 
HAT canio as a news note from the Kansas 
Agricultural College. There are a few sour 
spirits who say Ihe American farmer never will 
“split a ticket.” One of them recently said that a 
farmer would vote for a dead cow rather than oppose 
his party ticket. There have been times in American 
history when a dead cow would have proved more 
useful than a live politician, but tills experience of 
electing Miss Robinson by writing her name on the 
ticket brings that dead cow to life. There are many 
more of such cases. 
* 
IIE following note has been going about through 
the papers: 
Roanoke, Va., October 20. —“T ate a bushel of apples 
for my breakfast this morning,” said a guest at the 
Bonce do Leon Hotel today. Then lie explained that he 
had sold 2.000 bushels of apples on his orchard in Bed¬ 
ford County for 30 cents per bushel on the trees, and 
had paid the proceeds of one bushel for a baked apple 
on a Norfolk & Western dining car. Of course he got 
a small pitcher of alleged cream. But the apple was a 
small one. 
We had the same experience in Raleigh, N. C. Wo 
ordered a baked apple without looking at the price. 
The waiter brought a small apple, with a bill for 30 
cents. Of course the “alleged cream” came with it, 
but it ran true to name. We have frequently been 
obliged to exchange a peck of potatoes for one baked 
tuber. At present prices the cotton grower must give 
up about 10 pounds of raw cotton for one pound of 
cotton cloth. What we all want to know is, who 
gets the money? Why do not the teachers of politi¬ 
cal economy tear themselves away from abstract 
principles and get down to concrete facts about this 
consumer’s dollar? 
X 
L ET the name of Peter G. Pousopoulos of Massa¬ 
chusetts stand out as a linger post in history! 
From his name you would not imagine that his an¬ 
cestors came over in the Mayflower. Still, he points 
a moral and adorns a tale. Mr. Pousopoulos was 
convicted of stealing apples from a roadside orchard, 
and as a result his automobile license was sus¬ 
pended. This is the first case of the sort, and that 
is why we give public attention to this auto hog and 
thief! Farmers and fruit growers have long been 
at the mercy of these highway robbers. They rush 
through the country at high speed, and whenever 
they see u choice orchard or garden they raid it 
before the farmer can rally to its defense and are 
off with the spoils. Now and then we catch them 
and make them disgorge, but they simply drive on 
to some less frequented place and load up again. 
The way to shut, off’ their power is to stop their 
car. Massachusetts has started doing tliis by sus¬ 
pending the license of every thief that can he con¬ 
victed. Now the farmers of every State must start 
a movement to take such, licenses permanently 
away from all thieves and trespassers. Shut them 
out of the rural districts. They are a pest. 
Brevities 
You cannot kill off the big profiteers by becoming a 
small one yourself. 
There never lias been such a demand for cider mills 
as this year. Dealers are sold out. 
No doubt about it. —some farmers are hurting the 
roadside market business by charging too much for the 
goods. 
Treat the other fellow rough and you help to make 
a tough. Treat the other fellow right and he’ll soon 
forget to fight. 
Some of our folks will plant peach pits for seedling 
trees. Put the rows (hree feet apart and plan for trees 
one foot apart in the row. 
