436 
March 12, 1021 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal l'or Country and Suburban llomea 
Established <850 
I’ublUhed ntelilj by the Rural Pnbliablne Company. 838 Wrat 80th Slrrrt. X>n Vork 
HERBERT w. COLLINGWOOD, President and Editor, 
joits- J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. K. T. Hoyle. Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, §2.01. equal to 8s. 6d., or 
Sir, marks, or 10 1 * francs. Remit in money order, express 
order j personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 11.00 per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisei-s unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We believe that evcrv 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 
mch swindler will be publicly exposed. We are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our subscribers and honest, 
i esponsiblo houses, whether advertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
offices to this end, but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We 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- 
Yorkf.r when writing the advertiser. 
I cannot help telling you how much we like The II. 
N.-Y.. and how eagerly we anticipate its weekly coming. 
We have two feelings in the matter: First, that there is 
not nearly enough of it, and second, that there is alto¬ 
gether too much of it. The paper should 'be preserved 
and indexed and again cross-indexed, for all past num¬ 
bers are as good as the new ones. 
Maine. j. K - chamberlain. 
HAT may seem like a paradox, but we can sel¬ 
dom have too much of what we enjoy, while we 
somet imes get greater value than we pay "for. 
* 
HE Supreme Court has decided that the Lever 
law to punish profiteering is unconstitutional. 
We have doubted from the first if this law would 
ever do any good. It was passed as a permanent war 
measure at a tinf-e when manufacturers and dealers 
were robbing the people in all necessities, and some 
convictions were obtained under it. They are now 
all void, and the profiteer may continue to rob with 
impunity. Chief Justice White, in giving his de¬ 
cision, says: 
The sole remaining inquiry, therefore, is the certainty 
or uncertainty of the text in question, that whether the 
words : “That it is hereby made unlawful for any person 
wilfully to make any unjust or unreasonable rate or 
charge in handling or dealing in or with any necessaries/’ 
constituted a fixing by Congress of an ascertainable 
standard of guilt and are adequate to inform persons 
accused of violation thereof of the nature and cause of 
the accusation against them. That they are not. we are 
of opinion, so clearly results from the mere statement 
as to render elaboration on the subject wholly unnec¬ 
essary. 
Those who drew up and passed this hill through 
Congress must have known that it was mere “bunk." 
IIow the smart attorneys of the profiteers must have 
chuckled when they permitted this windy sop of a 
law to he thrown to the public. But there is no use 
crying over spilt milk or trying to scoop it up. Now 
lei us compel Congress to make a law with real teeth 
in it. 
* 
A ND now we are to have a definite name for the 
new annual white Sweet clover. It is to be 
named httbam. This combines the name of the dis¬ 
coverer. Prof. H. D. Hughes, and Alabama, the State 
in which the new clover first appeared. You prob¬ 
ably think you could suggest a better name. Well, 
from the beginning of time the parent or discoiciei 
has reserved the right to name his offspring or ward. 
Some of us may think that we have been tagged with 
the wrong card through this old liahit. hut like good 
soldiers we seldom rebel. Unborn it is! Whatever 
you see fit to call it. this annual clover is a wonder, 
and within 10 years, when the seed becomes as cheap 
as other clover seed, it w r ill revolutionize fanning 
on the upper Atlantic slope by furnishing the lies! 
mammal crop yet introduced. 
W E wish that every reader of The R. N.-Y. 
could have looked into our building at noon 
on Saturday, February 26. This business lias ever 
been conducted like a big family affair. V e take 
pride in gathering about us men and women who 
are absolutely trustworthy and who take such pride 
in their work that they may he fully trusted to de¬ 
velop it Such a man is William F. Wade, who for 
more than 20 years has had charge of the subscrip¬ 
tion department. A new enterprise in the West 
came to his attention, and lie found it necessary 
to accept it. The employees of this business decided 
to show their fellow member what they thought of 
him. The owners and officers were not permitted 
to have a hand in it. hut at noon nearly 100 of his 
fellow workers gathered about ML Wade and pre¬ 
sented him with a gold watch. We wish you could 
have seen that gathering of earnest, kindly men and 
women, as one of their number, Mr. P. F. Brennan, 
in an excellent short speech, gave expression to the 
feeling that was in all their hearts. It was a fine 
ceremony—one long to he remembered by all who 
•P* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
were there. And we were all there, from the pub¬ 
lisher to the printer’s devil, and all of us will carry 
forever the pleasant memories of this kindly act. 
For at the last analysis, such simple, kindly hits of 
human nature are what hold the world together. 
This is what The R. N.-Y. stands for. 
* 
E have known for some time that President 
Harding had slated Henry C. Wallace of 
Iowa as Secretary of Agriculture. We think it is 
a good selection. Mr. Wallace has long been a per¬ 
sonal friend of the new President, and has been liiti 
adviser in agricultural matters. We think it is the 
full privilege of a President to select trusted friends 
of reasonable ability as his advisers, rather than to 
hunt for so-called “big” men, who may never he 
able to meet others on confidential terms. A collec¬ 
tion of “stars” or supermen never can play the gam: 
like a group of able men who are close enough to¬ 
gether to make “team work” possible. For “team 
work” is what wins—with a baseball club or in a 
President’s Cabinet. We think Mr. Wallace’s equip¬ 
ment of youth, common sense and experience will 
make him the equal of any of the former agricultural 
secretaries. We have heard only two general criti¬ 
cisms. One is the following from the Burlington, 
Vt., Free Press.- 
The only barrier to the success of Henry Wallace of 
Iowa as Secretary of Agriculture is that he is a farmer 
turned editor. Those who called for a real “dirt” 
farmer should be reassured, however. If there is any 
dirt that will stick it is printer’s ink. and with farm 
dirt and printing ink united, Wallace ought to have 
something that will really stick. We expect Wallace 
to be even more of a success in the farm department 
than was the lovable and lamented James Wilson. 
Well, now, we may he prejudiced, hut it seems to 
us that a combination of farm dirt and printer’s ink 
is about the most useful equipment that Uncle Sam’s 
hired man can have. We are told that the packers 
object to Mr. Wallace. To most of us that seems 
more like a recommendation. We are also told that 
he understands Western agriculture, hut knows little 
of the East or South. This is a pretty large country, 
and any man who undertook to know all about it 
would find his knowledge rather thin in most places. 
We shall believe that Henry C. Wallace will give us 
all a square deal until we have clear evidence to the 
contrary. We think he will make good, and we 
favor giving him a fair chance without criticism, 
until there is something to criticize. 
* 
AST week we mentioned the new ruling on 
“centralized” butter. Under it butter made 
from rancid cream, which must he treated with 
chemicals or lime water before churning will he 
classed as “adulterated.” and probably taxed 10 
cents a pound. The time limit has been extended to 
April 1. and it is now stated that the ruling will not 
affect butter made from sour cream that is not ran¬ 
cid. There is no doubt that much poor butter has 
been made from rotten cream which has been chem¬ 
ically treated. Some cream is held too long and 
shipped too far under the present centralized sys¬ 
tem. In some parts of the country the smaller 
creamery lias been driven out of business by the big 
central factory. The effect of this new ruling will 
he to bring hack the smaller creamery. 
* 
HE United States Supreme Court has finally de¬ 
cided that the Farm Loan bonds are exempt 
from taxation, thus ending a long and hitter fight. 
The Federal farm loan hanking system was based 
upon the sale of farm loan bonds. The capital needed 
to finance the Land Banks was to he obtained from 
the sale of these' land-bank bonds, and in order to 
make them readily salable, they were exempted from 
taxation. A five per cent bond, free from taxes, 
and hacked by the Government, makes a popular 
investment, and it was expected that needed capital 
would he obtained from their sale. The Land Banks 
proceeded to loan money on farm mortgages. A 
large share of these loans were used to substitute 
a Land Bank mortgage for paper held by hanks or 
money-lenders. In many sections farmers were pay¬ 
ing 10 per cent or more on mortgages which might 
be foreclosed at almost any time. Through the Land 
Banks they were able to borrow money at about 
six per cent under a system of amortization which- 
permitted them slowly to pay off the principle. The 
hanks and money-lenders naturally opposed such a 
system. It cut into their business, and started the 
farmers toward financial independence. After at¬ 
tacking the system in various way the “money 
sharks” combined their efforts in an attempt to 
show that the tax-exemption clause in the Land 
Banks was unconstitutional. If that could he proved, 
of course the entire system would fall. 1 his tax ex¬ 
emption gives the chief value to these bonds as an 
investment, and if the public refused to buy them, of 
course the hanks could not raise proper capital for 
their work. These “money sharks” succeeded in 
frightening the public regarding these bonds, so that 
it was not possible to sell them, and the hank’s busi¬ 
ness practically stood still. The court has now de¬ 
cided that the law is constitutional. It holds that 
Congress has the right to create such hanks and 
then: 
Deciding, as we do, that these institutions have been 
created by Congress within the exercise of its legitimate 
authority, we think the power to make the securities 
here involved tax exempt necessarily follows. 
That the Federal Government can, if it sees fit to do 
so, exempt such securities from taxation seems obvious 
upon the clearest principles.’ 
This decision will have a far-reaching effect upon 
the future of the Land Banks. These bonds are now 
one of the best collateral securities, and should 
find a ready sale. They seem like a peculiarly good 
investment for farmers. With increased capital the 
hanks will do a large business, and the new Adminis¬ 
tration has promised to improve the law and make 
the system more useful. 
* 
E never know just what an issue of The 
Rural New-Yorker will look like until we 
see it in the finished book. It seldom satisfies us in 
every respect, hut the issue last week. March 5, came 
as near to our ideal of what a farm paper ought to 
be as any we have ever prepared or seen. We think 
our friends will indulge our vanity in that number 
and many of them will share our pride in it. Tt is 
well so. New York is a great agricultural State. 
To the outside world the agricultural importance of 
a State is often estimated by the character of the 
farm paper that represents it. Every farmer of the 
Empire State therefore, whether a subscriber to (lie 
paper or not, has a personal interest in its appear¬ 
ance and character, just as he lias in the State Capi¬ 
tol and public institutions, and those especially who 
have worked with us for many years, and contri¬ 
buted to its growth and development will, we feel 
sure, share our pride in the best we have yet pro¬ 
duced. 
T WENTY-FIVE years ago Mr. Geor-"' A. Cos¬ 
grove of Connecticut began writing for The 
R. N.-Y. At that time Mr. Cosgrove was qualifying 
as a back-to-the-lander. At r>7 lie left the city and 
started life la new on a rough New England farm, 
and the story lie told our readers of his adventures 
will he long remembered. Mr. Cosgrove was not. 
a man of rugged health, capable of doing the work 
usually assigned, in imagination, to the pioneer, 
hut by using good judgment and conserving his re¬ 
sources he succeeded far beyond the ordinary meas¬ 
ure of such success. It was the wing of a hen that 
helped sweep clean the path which led to the Legis¬ 
lature, important State offices, home and the deep 
respect of all who knew him. Mr. Cosgrove, now 
S'5 years old. is still writing for The R. N.-Y., and 
as we gladly tell him, is giving us, out of his ripe 
experience, better articles than those he wrote 25 
years ago. May lie continue for 25 years more! 
P RESIDENT HARDING lias named the following 
as members of his Cabinet: Secretary of State, 
Charles E. Hughes; Secretary of the Treasury. An¬ 
drew E. Mellon; Secretary of War. John W. Weeks; 
Secretary of the Navy. Charles N. Denby; Secretary 
of Agriculture. Henry C. Wallace; Attorney-General, 
Harry M. Daugherty: Postmaster General, Will II. 
Hayes: Secretary of Commerce, Herbert C. Hoover; 
Secretary of Labor. John .T. Davis. 
Brevities 
The Governor <>f Colorado has joined the Farm 
Bureau. 
A properly made joint deed cannot bo unjointed by 
outside heirs. 
The gift corn given to starving people in Europe 
by the Farm Bureau began moving on Washington’s 
Birthday. 
There is some little controversy over feeding apples 
to poultry. What do you say? Should the hens be en¬ 
couraged to join the Apple Consumers’ League? 
We have many letters about this question of what 
elderly people shall do when they come to retire from 
active work. There is no cast-iron rule about it. 
Tobacco stems make a good substitute for manure 
when they can be obtained. Pound for pound they are 
worth about four times as much as ordinary manure. 
Tiie mule is considered the nost efficient “kicker” 
because he waits imtil he has something real to kick 
about, then takes aim. and puts his entire power into 
the blow. The ealf is also a kicker, but seldom gets 
anywhere with its kicks. 
