1354 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 19, 1921 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A. National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban lloraeg 
Established i860 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company, 333 West 80th Street, New Fork 
Herbert W. Collingwood, President and Editor. 
John' J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
Wm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Royle, Associate Editor. 
SUBSCRIPTION: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union. 82.04, equal to 8s. 6d., or 
8% marks, or 10l£ francs. Remit in money order, express 
order, personal check or bank draft. 
Entered at New York Post Office as Second Class Matter. 
Advertising rates, 41.00 per agate line—7 words. References required for 
advertisers unknown to us j and cash must accompany transient orders. 
“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 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 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 
r 3ponsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts, 
1 Jtice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
Uie transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
Noise docs not indicate power. The great Mis¬ 
sissippi River, flowing with irresistible power into 
the Gulf of Mexico, makes far less noise than some 
mountain brook that can hardly turn a grist mill. 
* 
I ran an ad. in your paper which appeared October 
15, “Wanted to rent, a farm.” It was amusing to sec 
the number of answers that came in. I got something 
like 70 answers from people who wanted to sell, on all 
kinds of terms one could think of; the radius was all 
the way from Lincoln, Neb., to Newport, Me. I did 
not think it could be possible that a paper could have 
such a wide range of readers. What an influence you 
must have! I should hate to be in your place if I had 
to call on each one once a year; it would be some jaunt. 
II. BURTON GILBERT. 
M R. GILBERT put a small advertisement in the 
paper. It is not only possible but. true that 
The R. N.-Y. has a wider range of readers (among 
all classes and conditions and all localities) than any 
other similar paper in the world. Do not feel sorry 
for us. We visit each of our readers once a week, 
and we all enjoy the visits. 
X 
One of the most dangerous proposals now under dis¬ 
cussion in Washington is that of transferring the Bu¬ 
reau of Markets of the United States Department of 
Agriculture to the Department of Commerce. If this is 
done, it means that the great value of the Bureau of 
Markets will be practically lost to the farmers of Amer¬ 
ica, for if the bureau is put with the Department of 
Commerce it will be dominated by men thinking in 
terms of commerce and not in terms of agriculture. 
E agree fully with that statement by the 
Progressive Fap'ier. It would be far better 
to group all the business activities of the Agricul- 
tural Department into one bureau and develop it as 
a large enterprise. Call it the “Bureau of Farm 
Business.” Keep it away from the Department of 
Commerce. If it ever gets under the wing of that 
department it will dry up and blow away. “As a 
man thinketh so is he.” Thinking about agriculture 
in terms of “commerce” would inoculate it with 
the germs of dry rot. 
* 
HE National Grange meets at Portland, Ore, on 
November 10. A large attendance is expected, 
particularly from the Western States. This meeting 
will give the public a good idea as to the future of 
the Grange as a national organization. It has been 
repeatedly claimed that the Farm Bureau will ab¬ 
sorb the Grange into one great national organiza¬ 
tion. We do not think so. On the other hand, we 
think the Grange will grow stronger in the face of 
competition. It has a special work which no other 
organization could do so well, and even if this were 
not so it would live for another generation on the 
force and momentum of its past 50 years. At this 
Western meeting there is likely to be quite a lively 
clash between the progressive element of the West 
and the conservative policy of the East—the latter 
having long dominated the Grange. 
HE great majority of the people in this world 
are in favor of disarmament. They do not know 
just how it can be brought about, but they are 
weary of the frightful tribute now being paid to 
hatred and national suspicion. They are groaning 
beneath the burden of taxation, most of which re¬ 
sults from payment of war debts, or for preparation 
for future wars. Europe is paralyzed in business 
and numbed in spirit. We are all weary of war, 
and yet every nation is preparing for some vague, 
indefinite conflict. Of all the nations of the earth 
the United States, or. as we say, America, is best 
able to start definitely toward permanent peace. 
This nation is the strongest, richest, youngest and 
most vigorous government on earth. It has also 
suffered less from war than any other nation. As a 
great republic its ideals of life and government 
should be of the highest. It should therefore be the 
great leader among the world’s nations—a leader 
with nobility and sacrifice to stand definitely for 
world peace. We must all remember that the gov¬ 
ernment of America is only the expression of the 
thought of the people. Too often it happens that 
only a limited class of people express themselves, 
and then do it through the politicians. It is true, 
however, that whenever the great mass of the com¬ 
mon people care enough about a thing to demand it 
and give expression to their demand, they can have 
it. And so if the people of this country will demand 
that our representatives at the conference stand 
first and always for an honorable world peace, and 
make that demand known, the first long step toward 
that peace will be taken. 
• * 
ILLED” milk carried through to the end would 
empty the dairy business. The manufacturers 
blandly state that the sale of these “filled” com¬ 
pounds creates a market for skim-milk. What they 
mean is that the skim-milk creates a market for 
cocoanut oil. They do not want to say what they 
mean, for you cau deceive people with the word milk 
far more easily than with oil. It is a great scheme 
to skim off the part of milk which contains most of 
its vitamines, and substitute a substance which car¬ 
ries no vitamines at all. 
In a recent article in The R. N.-Y. you tell husbands 
that legally they are lord and master of their own homes, 
and I happen to know of one home where the husband 
read that article and cut it out to show the family and 
lorded it over a long-suffering wife. Do you know that 
statistics prove that more women are kind and true 
than men? When a husband has been untrue and 
tyrannical and the wife tries to hold the family together, 
can’t you see what a lot of harm such articles do? I 
only got a glimpse of the article, but I think it was 
about a woman who wanted to have her husband 
arrested for having a “still” on the place, and the court 
ruled that husbands had a right to have anyone on the 
place to visit them, and a few more things about the 
“rights of husbands.” jurs. m. o. 
Illinois. 
ERE is a good illustration of the careless habit 
of reading which some people fall into. The 
case mentioned was where a woman ran a still and 
sold liquor illegally. Her husband was arrested and 
convicted of being a “bootlegger.” The Supreme 
Court of Michigan upheld his conviction on the 
theory that the husband is master of the household, 
and therefore responsible for what occurs in his 
house. Thus it would hardly be possible for anyone 
•to twist the facts more completely than Mrs. M. O. 
has done. The husband was punished for the sins 
of the wife. We are not told that he accepted the 
punishment as cheerfully as Adam did when Eve 
brought him to trouble, but he had to take the re¬ 
sponsibility which belongs to the “master of the 
household.” His share seems to have been penalty 
rather than pleasure, and in any event, what does 
this lady expect us to do? Are we to state the truth 
and give the law as it is laid down by the highest 
courts, or are we to give a false interpretation of it? 
NE of our readers challenges the recent state¬ 
ment about tax-exempt securities. On applica¬ 
tion to the United States Treasury for information 
we received a statement from Secretary Mellon in 
which the following occurs: 
I suggest for the consideration of Congress that it 
may also be advisable to take action by statute or by 
constitutional amendment, where necessary, to restrict 
further issues of tax-exempt securities. It is now the 
policy of the Federal Government not to issue its own 
obligations with exemptions from Federal surtaxes and 
profits taxes, but States and municipalities are issuing 
fully tax-exempt securities in great volume. It is esti¬ 
mated that there are outstanding perhaps $10,000,000,- 
000 of fully tax-exempt securities. The existence of 
this mass of exempt securities constitutes an economic 
evil of the first magnitude. The continued issue of tax- 
exempt securities encourages the growth of public in¬ 
debtedness and tends to divert capital from productive 
enterprise. Even though the exemptions of outstanding 
securities cannot be disturbed, it is important that 
future issues be controlled or prohibited by mutual con¬ 
sent of the State and Federal governments. 
In addition to these State and municipal securities 
bonds of the Federal Land Banks and Liberty bonds 
are also partly exempt. It is estimated that there 
is a loss of at least $600,000,000 in taxation returns 
through the failure of this exempted property to pay 
its share of public expenses. The total amount varies 
considerably from time to time, but there is no ques¬ 
tion about the facts, and they have come to be a 
public menace. These securities enable wealthy per. 
sons to dodge their duty in carrying their share of 
public burdens. They also encourage extravagance 
in public spending, and they create a class of people 
who thus obtain a valuable special privilege. We 
favor an amendment to stop the issue o£ tax-exempt 
securities. 
T HE egg-laying contests seem to be bringing the 
fanciers and the utility men together. Some 
years ago there was bitter feeling between the two 
classes of poultry breeders. The utility men accused 
the fanciers of breeding only for comb and tail 
feathers, while the fanciers came back with “mongrel” 
and “scrub.” There was only one way for the two 
factions to get together, and that was to produce a 
record layer which actually shows beauty in form 
and plumage. It was said at first that this was im¬ 
possible, but it is being done, and both parties to the 
contrary are better for it. In the Connecticut con¬ 
test, just ended, there were several entries made by 
men who are prominent fanciers. They entered pul¬ 
let which rank well up to the standard, and as a 
rule they have made very creditable egg records. 
As one poultry expert puts it: 
“It looked as if heretofore the utility poultryman has 
been too lazy to breed good-looking hens, and* that the 
fancier had likewise been too lazy to breed egg produc¬ 
tion ino his exhibition stock. I guess it can be done all 
right, only it is a longer trail.” 
In these days the demand for birds or for humans 
whose sole job in life is to “look pretty” is very 
limited. Eggs and action are needed. There seems 
no good reason why beauty should not walk with 
utility. Neither the drone nor the digging drudge 
can be called superior members of society. A good- 
looking worker should be the ideal—in hens or 
humans. 
sk 
Could you toll me what rights a child of 10 years has? 
Our boy had an Airedale pup given to him a year ago, 
and this Summer he saved his pennies to get a license 
for his dog, and had it made out in his own name. I 
sold my personal property a month ago, and now the 
parties also claim the dog. I asked the lawyer who 
drew up the papers, and he said the boy could take his 
dog when he got ready to go, but he told the other party 
they could hold the dog. so I do not know what to do 
about it. The boy is attached to the dog and hates to 
part with it. A. G. P. 
New York. 
T HE dog belongs to the boy, who has as much 
right to hold property as an adult. We advise 
him to hold on to the dog, for thousands of us know 
just what such a dog means to a boy. If you, in 
selling your personal property, included the dog, the 
purchaser might bring an action against you if you 
are unable to deliver. You of course know whether 
or not you included the dog in the sale of the per¬ 
sonal property. If you did you evidently exceeded 
your rights, and you should now do everything to 
protect the rights of this boy. 
* 
T WO meetings of the New York Educational Com¬ 
mittee of Twenty-one are now scheduled. One 
is at Oneonta, November 10, the other at Poughkeep¬ 
sie, November 20. There ought to be a large local 
attendance at each place. This committee is earnestly 
and honestly trying to obtain the views of farmers 
and country people regarding school matters. Strange 
to say. it is not always easy to obtain a definite, 
-concrete statement about the most important mat¬ 
ters. People will usually talk in general terms about 
such things, but it is hard to get down to vital de¬ 
tails. We hope that all of our readers who can pos¬ 
sibly do so will attend these meetings, and come pre¬ 
pared to say something. Of course, at. a meeting of 
this sort, where many things are up for discussion, 
a long and complicated speech will be out of place. 
Think over what you consider wrong with the pres¬ 
ent rural school, and boil your complaint down to 
five minutes. You will get a hearing and respectful 
consideration, for the committee desires, more than 
anything else, just that sort of thing. The only 
criticism we have heard about these meetings is that 
the patrons and supporters of the present rural 
school are put, in a way, on the defensive. That is, 
the school officials outline the plan, and thus have 
the advantage in the debate. We have suggested 
that in at least one meeting this program be reversed. 
Let the friends of the present rural school start the 
meeting and outline its purpose. Then let the of¬ 
ficials appear as critics. To use a sporting term, let 
the “practical” men and women have the “ball” and 
see how far they can carry it. We think such a plan, 
well organized, would bring out such a discussion 
as never was known before. 
Brevities 
Nature has tucked away tons of nitrogen in the 
muck of that swamp. 
The biggest bore to the peach grower is the peach 
borer. 
Tiie latest report from Mr. and Mrs. Berrang shows 
them at Columbus, Ohio, still moving West. 
Blood will tell. The stronger the blood the higher 
the blood pressure toward the habits of old ancestors. > 
What objection, if any. to keeping strawberries fruit¬ 
ing year after year on the same piece of ground, pro¬ 
vided you can keep them clean? Insects, borers, lice and 
worms accumulate with long culture. 
