1058 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S TAPER 
A National Weekly Journal lor Country and Suburban llomex 
Established isso 
I'lihll.hrd weekly by the Kuril I’nblishine Compnny, 33S West 30th Street, New fork 
Hkbbkkt W. Coi.i.ikgwood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
W». F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Rovle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
81$ marks, or 10fs francs. Remit in money order, express 
order,* 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 
advertisers unknown to us ; and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“A SQUARE DEAL” 
tVe 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- 
sibli advertisers or misleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. We are 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. 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 oI the time of 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
T ill-] Rhode Island State Grange held a good out¬ 
door meeting at the State College on August 
11. The day was well-nigh perfect, and there was a 
line attendance. Speaking of the size of Rhode 
I slant!, some one has said that the New York American 
League baseball team could not successfully play 
in the State since “Babe Ruth” would knock a home 
run outside the State and make it an interstate 
trouble. But there were several hundred men and 
women at this meeting who were fully capable of 
making the right sort of home runs. And right in 
front of the speakers as they got up to talk was a 
big sign carrying in large letters a very appropriate 
statement: 
"Cackling hens lag or lie!” 
That was a very significant suggestion to put 
before a cackling Jerseyman or New Yorker. It is 
suggested that all speakers at farm meetings carry 
the idea in mind. The last census states that, there 
.•ire about 880,000 people in Rhode Island who live in 
towns and cities larger than 2.500. There are but a 
few over 15.000 who live in rural communities. 
There are proportionately fewer farmers in Rhode 
Island than in any other State. In one way at least 
this is not as had as it seems. There will always be 
certain food products consumed in Rhode Island 
which can he grown to better advantage in that 
State than in any other. The fewer the farmers the 
better opportunity they will have, provided they 
learn to produce the right crops and do not attempt 
t» compete with farmers who can grow staple crops 
to better advantage. That same thing is true of 
many other Eastern localities. While the drain away 
from the farms is to he deplored for many reasons, 
i f does make opportunity by reducing the local crop 
and the competition among local workers. 
* 
E hope you will read the article on the next 
page from our friend in Alabama. This 
strikes us as a fair, calm statement of the farm 
situation in many parts of the South. That section 
is going through a great industrial revolution forced 
upon it by the disasters to. the cotton crop, both 
from insects and tlie paralyzing slump in prices. 
There was a similar revolution, though not so vio¬ 
lent and destructive, when New England and New 
York were forced to change from grain-growing and 
beef-making to dairying, vegetables and fruit. It is 
harder for-the South, because that section lacks the 
local markets which absorb so much produce at the 
North. Then again, the very ease with which men 
can make a living at the South has naturally devel¬ 
oped an improvident, easy-going class that will 
always suffer in time of trouble. While we regret 
the startling stories of disease, we think that in the 
end they will result in a better understanding of the 
South’s great problem. 
* 
T is now about 25 years since The R. N.-Y. first 
stated that sooner or later American wool growers 
would he forced to manufacture and sell woolen 
goods direct if sheep were to remain upon our 
Eastern farms. At that, time most people scouted at 
the idea, just as they did at one old suggestion that 
the way to prevent the beef monopoly was to keep 
alive the old local slaughter-house at any cost. 
These slaughter-houses have now gone—perhaps 
forever—but the plan for direct manufacture and 
sale of wool is developing. Already there are sev¬ 
eral places where woolen yarn is made and sold at 
a reduction of at least 25 per cent as compared with 
the usual price. People are now ready for direct 
trade in wool goods. The readers of The R. N.-Y. 
alone can and will take care of the product from 
several good-sized mills. New York farmers through 
their organizations are now manufacturing over 
'Cht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
.‘.o.OOO pounds of wool into robes, blankets and men’s 
suiting. More will follow. It will be part of the 
job for all of us to help this direct trade along. 
* 
A 1 V ashington the political leaders seem to have 
agreed upon the chief features of the new tax 
hill. They will cut out the excess profits income tax 
and most of the surtaxes. The tax exemption for 
Eastern corporations and for family men will be 
raised, and probably the sum of exemption for each 
minor child will he raised from $200 to $400. The 
so-called “nuisance” taxes on tickets, soft drinks, 
etc., will he abolished, and also the transportation 
taxes. The eommon argument against the excess 
profits tax is stated by the Boston Herald: 
Its removal will give men of capacity and capital 
some courage to go into business. Under the present 
law they put their money into tax-exempts, of the Gov¬ 
ernment and of municipalities, and play golf. They 
realize that this is a safer procedure than to attempt 
any enterprise in which they would boar all the loss 
while the Government, in the event of its success, would 
get most of the profits. \Y e have in this way been 
killing business. 
Whether true or not, that is a fair statement of 
popular belief among business men. It is very true 
that vast sums of money are being taken out of 
regular business and invested in tax-exempt securi¬ 
ties. A favorite form is a municipal bond for im¬ 
provement of some town or city. This often means 
a six per cent tax-free security, and to some extent 
builds up town and city at the expense of the coun¬ 
try. There are nearly twenty billions of these ex¬ 
empt securities now held in this country. It is a 
great refuge for income tax dodgers, and sooner or 
later, in very self-defence, this Government must by 
constitutional change prohibit the issuing of these 
tax-free securities. Unless this is done owners of 
less than half the property in this country will lie 
paying all its expenses. 
* 
Wjth the completion of State road through our town 
in W ayne County, several of our enterprising boys built 
booths for huckstering along the line of the road on 
their own premises, back from the line of the old road 
fence. The State mounted police warned them that they 
had no right to do business from these booths unless 
they were at least 30 feet back from the road line, and 
ordered them to move their booths, which were on their 
own lands. Were these boys within their rights in 
building these places on their own lands and outside the 
line of the highway? c. l. w. 
I N order to make sure about this important matter 
we wrote the State Highway Commission. The 
following letter from the secretary is authoritative. 
From it we conclude that those boys were within 
their rights when they erected stands on their own 
premises or on property controlled by parent or 
guardian. Of course they cannot legally attract a 
crowd which would interfere with ordinary traffic, 
but according to the secretary's statement they have 
a right to build their stands on their own property 
I call your attention to Section 146 of the highway 
law which prohibits the erection of any structure within 
the bounds of a State or county highway except under 
a permit issued by the State’ Highway Commission, 
under which permit the department is able to prescribe 
whatever conditions or restrictions are deemed neces¬ 
sary. hut it is against the policy of the department to 
grant a permit for any structure, such as a refreshment 
booth, within the highway limits. In this connection I 
desire to state that anyone who places a structure 
within the bounds of a highway improved by the State 
without a permit from this department is liable to a 
fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each 
day such structure exists. 
You will see therefore that it is not the selling of 
produce on a State highway which is prohibited, but 
the erection of a booth for such selling within the 
bounds of the highway. The logical procedure for any 
farmer is to erect his booth upon his own property 
adjacent to the right-of-way line of the highway, and so 
long as the selling is conducted in a manner which does 
not make a congestion of traffic due to the parking of 
vehicles within the roadway there will be no interfer¬ 
ence by this department. . j. c. finch, 
Secretary, State Highway Commission. 
* 
T HE Fordney hill now before Congress provides 
for a tariff of $25 per ton on all foreign 
muriate and sulphate of potash received in this 
country. We presume this tariff is for the benefit of 
a few promoters of American potash; it surely can¬ 
not he of any benefit to the thousands of farmers 
who must use potash in fertilizers. During the war 
various sources of American potash were developed. 
There were the alkali lakes in Nebraska and Cali¬ 
fornia, seaweed or kelp along the California coast, 
concrete dust and the green sand of New Jersey. 
There are also various rock formations which give 
a reasonable amount of potash when crushed and 
treated chemically. As we understand it. the pro¬ 
posed tariff is designed to hold up imports or directly 
increase the price of the imported article until the 
American promoters can establish their industry. 
Tn former tariff discussions we heard much about 
“infant industries.” The potash industry seems to 
be such an infant, and the farmers are expected to 
pay for its nursing and feeding, so that its pa rents 
August 27, 1021 
may have a fine, lusty worker—raised with little 
cost to them. TV e can see no good reason for this 
tariff. It is against the good old principle that any¬ 
thing which promotes agriculture or food production 
should be made as free and accessible as possible. 
We can see nothing about such a tariff that would 
he of any general benefit to the people, while the 
income from it would not be large. The price of 
chemical fertilizers has long been extortionately 
high, and this tariff would make them still higher 
without any benefit to the people. 
❖ 
S INCE we printed that statement about benefit 
from a milk diet, on page 980, we have received 
reports of several cases where remarkable results 
followed such treatment. In several of these cases 
diseases which seemed hopeless were making definite 
progress. The use of pure milk as the only food has 
certainly wrought some marvelous cures. The last 
tiling that we should think of would he any attempt 
to induce our people to use the poor old human body 
as an experiment station. We have declined to give 
general medical advice or to encourage people to dose 
themselves with drugs or liquors, because we well 
know how impossible it is to cure people of their ail¬ 
ments at long range. When it comes to this milk diet, 
however, we have another story. There is nothing 
about milk that can possibly injure the ordinary per¬ 
son. We all know that it is the ideal human food. It is 
a necessity in youth and old age. and we have come 
tc think it quite as necessary to a proper enjoyment 
of our adult years. It will not injure any man or 
woman to drop the ordinary food and use nothing 
hut milk for a month: while on the other hand, the 
chances are that the change will greatly benefit 
them. 
* 
HE other day we witnessed a scene which ought 
to interest our women readers—and make the 
men rather thoughtful. It was at a farmers’ meet¬ 
ing with several hundred people gathered in a little 
grove. A big brown rat. evidently caught out of his 
hole, ran through the crowd. Women jumped away 
and men hesitated. At the outskirts of the crowd 
stood a woman, evidently a farmer’s wife. She was 
browned by the sun, and looked strong and healthy. 
The rat ran directly at her. evidently seeking to 
hide under her long skirts. The woman did not 
faint or scream. As the rat neared her she merely 
lifted her foot and stamped him into the ground— 
held him there until lie was dead. Then she took 
the dead rat by the tail and in the most matter-of- 
fact way threw him to one side. It was about the 
greatest exhibition of cold, solid nerve we ever saw. 
We have no doubt this woman’s ancestors in pioneer 
times were quite capable of using the rifle or ax 
against Indians or wild creatures. Only the week 
before we had seen an apparently healthy woman 
nearly faint as a small mouse ran across the floor! 
Various questions naturally rise in mind at such a 
performance. Is there any good reason why women 
should be so desperately afraid of rats and mice? 
Would society, on the whole, he stronger and hotter 
if all women possessed this ability and desire to 
hill? How would you like to lie the husband of a 
lady with such a dominating heel and the ability to 
use it so effectively? Tf there were more such, would 
mank’nd in general he more inclined to walk a 
straight line? 
HE Oregon Agricultural College describes what 
it calls an “automatic tamper” for packing 
silage into the silo: 
It works as a small steam roller which runs around 
on top of the silage as it is fed into the silo. The 
operator handles the tamper and the feeder at the same 
time, therefore cost of operation is not increased. 
The object is to crush the silage down solidly, 
thus keeping out the air and increasing the capacity 
of the silo. It is said that by means of this “tamper” 
about one-third more silage was packed into the silo. 
Brevities 
The hothouse, heated by anger, produces no flowers. 
East. West, North, South, man’s worst enemy is his 
mouth. 
The best mixture to cure pellagra—a cow and a 
garden. 
The ordinary “crank” cannot, turn himself away from 
his hobby. 
A little sand usually helps the clay—not only the 
soil, but the ordinary “human clay.” 
I.x Massachusetts we find a good scheme for prevent¬ 
ing accidents at a sharp curve in the road. A broad 
strip of white paint is put at the center of the road 
around the curve. This marks the track for cars, and 
if al! keep to the right, as they should, there is little 
da nger. 
