8 
January 5, 192-i 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Conference of Rural Workers 
The old farmers’ institute days are 
past and gone for New York State. The 
College of Agriculture now has its hand 
on the business of carrying messages to 
farmers. This is done through the exten¬ 
sion work of the college and the Farm 
, Bureaus, also largely answerable to the 
(State College. I am not going to discuss 
the advantages and the disadvantages 
from the change, but to report somewhat 
the recent conference at the college which 
was held as the work for the Winter is 
starting. It is a real college group, both 
extension workers and Bureau Agents, 
and makes a meeting different from that 
of the older days. 
Lectures on economic questions were 
prominent for a portion of the time, as 
were matters pertaining to various co¬ 
operations. The leading authority on the 
former topic here, as elsewhere, is, of 
course, Dr. G. F. Warren, and no doubt 
II. E. Babcock speaks rather more au¬ 
thoritatively for New York co-operatives 
than anyone else. He is chairman of 
i the State Co-operative Council. How¬ 
ever, there are others in both lines that 
are called upon. 
We may as well get right down to Prof. 
Warren’s tentative forecast that we are 
liable to reach a pre-war level of prices 
possibly in the course of 10 years. We 
all guess on such questions as. this, and 
I somebody may guess about right; per¬ 
haps it will be Dr. Warren. He is about 
as doubtful of his own accuracy as any¬ 
one, only he is closer to the influences at 
work. It may be that such a message 
carried up and down the State this Win¬ 
ter will be more for our own good than 
for our edification. If, as lie says, we 
should come to practically that point m 
1 10 years, then farthing will be in better 
shape most likely in 15 years than at any 
extended period during the process of re¬ 
adjustment. This does not mean that we 
are going down to the price level or price 
I conditions of 1S96. Pre-war now means 
1910-14 commonly. That was. a period 
of genera] prosperity for American agri¬ 
culture. However, Dr. Warren cautions 
that in the coming readjustment, taxes 
are to remain rather high, and mortgages 
will not shrink except as we economize 
anl pay them off. Hake only such invest¬ 
ments or improvements now as will pay 
for themselves within five years, unless 
they are absolutely necessary or when 
the farmer is practically out of debt and 
situated to feel his independence cl 
changing conditions. About 4 per cent of 
the farms of the country change hands 
each year. Someone buys them, and a 
part of those buyers have to .buy on. time. 
They go in debt. It is a time, said the 
speaker, when one should be careful about 
making engagements to pay considerable 
sums within a few years. If debts mus* 
be incurred, better get a long time in 
which to pav them. It may not be a bad 
idea for some to work for wages some¬ 
what longer if employment' can be had, 
although it is wise to be on the lookout 
for a good bargain in farms. Some 
farms are liable to be sold at a low figuie 
during the coming decade. ^ . , 
In the process of coming down to that 
lower level many farmers are likely to 
find difficulty in making the. readjust¬ 
ments. There will also be periods of un¬ 
employment in cities and violent changes 
at times all around. Wages are likely to 
remain higher than most other prices, and 
freight rates will lag behind the general 
average in the decline. New York farm¬ 
ers may suffer less than Western, and 
those who can sell direct to consumers or 
wholesalers will suffer least, or may do 
vor- well. There is a liability that farm¬ 
ers may rush from one commodity to an¬ 
other in the hope of striking something 
better, and losses from this action may 
be heavier than usual. Economies wdl 
be needed for some time, and great care 
needs to be exercised in buying. It may 
be a good time to repair old tools and 
implements, and to grow foods and feeds 
on the farm. Clovers and Alfalfa are 
needed where they can be grown without 
too much expense. 
The rural school bill came up tor. dis¬ 
cussion, and those present were for it m 
its present form. In talking about # it 
with people there I got the impression 
that it is not likely to be passed this 
Winter. One State man said to me that 
he could go into any meeting, no mat¬ 
ter how much opposed they may be to. the 
bill, and convince them that it is right. 
He is sure that it is misunderstanding 
that causes objection to it. The financial 
benefit is what seems to be the talking 
point for many. While there seems to be 
nothing in the bill of itself that warrants 
if, it is claimed that the whole plan in¬ 
cludes an increase of some $10,000,000 or 
$12,000,000 for the support of the schools 
involved from State aid. and that.87 per 
cent of that is to be raised in cities and 
territory outside the area benefited. It is 
claimed'that such is just, for the cities de¬ 
pend on the country for their worth-while 
men to a considerable extent. Opposition 
to the bill was not voiced. I think, at all. 
No definite action further than discus¬ 
sion seemed to be taken. 
information in relation to seed situa¬ 
tion was given out. and warning in re¬ 
spect to foreign seed came from the col¬ 
lege. They have tests going, and in all 
cases foreign seed has fallen down. Much 
seed sold is blended, and it is expected 
that this will be especially true this year 
because of the shortage of native seed. It 
is said that the G. L. F. Exchange hasn’t 
enough to go through the season at the 
present demand for seed, and when their 
supply of homegrown Northern seed be¬ 
comes exhausted they will be obliged to 
return orders. The fertilizer situation is 
practically the same as last year, and 
care will be needed to select the best fer¬ 
tilizers. 
Bovine tuberculosis is being handled in 
a large way in the State, and progress is 
being made in its eradication. The ap¬ 
propriation of $5,000,000 that was made 
last year for debts incurred and for work 
of the year has been used up and testing 
stopped. There was such an avalanche at 
the last moment that came in that the 
appropriation has been exceeded, and it is 
understood that $1,200,000 will be needed 
to catch up, although Commissioner 
Pyrke had aimed not to exceed the 
amount appropriated. Then $4,000,000 
more is to be asked for new work to be 
widespx-ead destruction of property, ended 
Dec. 21. Frank F. Mulholland of 
Cleveland vested witli authority to act 
for the 13 railroad unions involved, ap¬ 
peared before Judge J. M. Shinn, in Cir¬ 
cuit Court, and in return for dismissal of 
criminal charges against 18 strikers grow¬ 
ing out of alleged depredations and agree¬ 
ment by Judge Shinn to recommend that 
L. D. Wise and Red Orr, strikers serving 
sentences in the Arkansas penitentiary 
for burning a railroad bridge, be par¬ 
doned, called off the strike. The unions 
are to pay bonds aggregating $20,000 
put up for the appearance in court of 
the 18 strikers and since forfeited. J. C. 
Murray, general manager of the railroad, 
said the road would retain its present 
working force intact and continue its 
open shop policy. 
John Theodore Fill, his wife, their 14- 
year old son and their 12-year-old daugh¬ 
ter, were killed by carbon monoxide gas 
Dec. 23 in their apartment at 92 Frank¬ 
lin Place, Paterson, N. .T. The bodies 
U, ixm. 
m 
- V .. . 
Mr. F. F. Dobbins of Orange Co., N. Y. sends us the picture shown above. He 
calls it "Dad’s Hired Man” as it shows the picture of his daughter and her large 
bull. The bull is four years old and “Dad’s Hired Man” is 17. She is the only 
farm help her father has and evidently take a personal interest in the farm stock. 
It is a good thing to have such a daughter but we do not like the idea of permitting 
a young woman of this kind to handle a four-year-old bull, as she is evidently doing. 
We never saw a bull that was not treacherous and likely at almost any time to 
turn on his keeper and we think it a mistake ever to attempt to handle a bull 
without a staff connected with the nose ring. We have had people say that the 
bull they u%j*hP-“as gentle as a kitten” and perfectly safe. With all respect to 
them, we doubt it and we would hardly care to permit any of our own people to 
try to lead a large bull as shown in the picture. Far better be safe and sane in 
handling such an animal. It is a great thing, however, to have a daughter who 
takes this personal interest in farm work. 
undertaken during the year. Two coun¬ 
ties are now rounded up in area work, 
and a third is well along. Essex and 
Steuben are first, with Cattaraugus fol¬ 
lowing. Hereafter area work is to be en¬ 
couraged, even if in towns or neighbor¬ 
hoods. 
Credit questions are considerably to the 
front these days, and Dr. Myers thinks 
that there is need of credit facilities. He 
seems to favor the credit bank plan. It 
cannot be used directly by farmers, but 
it can be used by co-operatives when they 
have set up proper working machinery. 
Those warehouses that have non-perish- 
albe products can use them on ware¬ 
house receipts. However, he thinks that 
the banks already formed can be of much 
greater usefulness to farmers if they will 
use their abilities to make credits worth 
while to farmers. Both the bankers and 
farmers will need to use their abilities to 
come to proper understanding. H. 
EVENTS OF THE WEEK 
DOMESTIC.—Reno divorce decrees 
are invalid in Quebec in cases where the 
parties are domiciled in the Province, 
Justice Brunneau of the Supreme Court 
ruled Dec. 20 in annulling for Sydney 
Robert Carter of Montreal his marriage 
to Marie Lucille Lemoine at Mount Ver¬ 
non, N. Y.. in 1922. The woman had ob¬ 
tained a Reno divorce the previous year 
from Rosario Rolland Gervais after both 
had resided in Montreal. Declaring the 
decree invalid. Justice Bruneau dis¬ 
missed the argument that the Province 
did not provide a divorce tribunal, de¬ 
claring suit could have been filed in 
Canadian Federal Court. 
The Missouri and North Arkansas 
Railroad strike in progress since Febru¬ 
ary, 1921, and marked by rioting and 
were found by Frank Glorianda, another 
tenant, who called a plumber when he 
discovered that the water pipes in the 
cellar had been. overheated and the wa¬ 
ter meter burst by the heat. Fill was 
found dead on the kitchen floor and his 
wife was in the bedroom. The boy, 
John, Jr., was dead in bed and the 
daughter, Mary, was lying unconscious in 
the bathroom. She died an hour later 
in the Paterson General Hospital. County 
Physician Armstrong said death was due 
to gas generated by the overheated water 
pipes, connected with a water heater in 
the bathroom. 
A family of four persons was killed as 
the result of an automobile accident at 
Ilartsdale, Ind., Dec. 23. Those killed 
are Michael Somolov. 35; Josephine, his 
wife, 25; Theresa, a daughter, 4, and 
Albert, 6. a son. The Somolovs, resi¬ 
dents of Ilartsdale. were driving to Oak 
Glenn, Ill., to visit Mrs. Somolov’s 
brother for Christmas. Somolov. accord¬ 
ing to witnesses, drove the machine on 
the tracks directly in the path of an ap¬ 
proaching train. His machine stalled 
and was struck by the train. 
Three persons were killed and five in¬ 
jured seriously Dec. 25 at Deer Creek, 
Ill., when a Nickel Plate engine hit an 
automobile owned and driven by Frank 
Newell. The dead are: Mrs. Millison 
Roves, 70 ; Mrs. Sadie Rossman, 40. and 
Robert Newell. 5. The injured are Frank 
Newell, his wife and three children. 
Three armed bandits held up 20 men 
in the Sheridan Lunch, an armchair res¬ 
taurant at 225 West Fourth St.. New 
York, early Christmas morning, and stole 
all their jewelry and money. They car¬ 
ried away the cash register and threw it 
in the street after emptying it. This is 
the third time the restaurant has been 
the scene of a holdup in 18 months. 
John W. Grimes, a dairyman, was 
killed at a railroaod crossing at New 
Castle, Pa., Dec. 25. Grime’s birthday, 
that of a daughter and the anniversary 
of his marriage all came on Christmas. 
Hurrying with the milk deliveries, 
Grimes’s truck was struck by a Penn¬ 
sylvania work train at the Newport 
crossing. He was killed instantly. The 
family had gathered for the triple cele¬ 
bration when the body was taken home. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—Legislation 
aimed to aid wheat growers has been 
drawn up by Representatives from the 
Northwestern States who heard a pro¬ 
gram presented Dec. 16 by Dr. Coulter, 
president of the North Dakota Agricul¬ 
ture College, advocating a Federal loan 
of $50,000,000 to farmers, which would 
permit them to purchase live stock and 
diversify their farming. Representative 
Anderson (Rep., Minn.) will meet with 
Representatives from North Dakota, 
South Dakota and Montana to consider 
the proposal and plan a legislative pro¬ 
gram. 
State-wide meeting of members of 
Maple Producers’ Co-operative Associa¬ 
tion was held at the Court House, Syra¬ 
cuse, N. Y T ., January 4, 1924, at 11 A. M. 
Annual meeting Maple Producers Co¬ 
operative Association will be held at 
Syracuse. N. Y., Feb. 7, 1924. 
Efforts to formulate a policy for “or¬ 
derly marketing and co-operative produc¬ 
tion” by the farmer as represented by 
the National Grange are to be made in 
Washington. Jan. 15-19 by a marketing 
committee of that organization, National 
Master L. J. Taber announced Dec. 21. 
Members of the committee appointed by 
Mr. Taber are A. W. Goss, Seattle, 
Wash.; Robert McMullen. Hutchinson, 
Kan.; John McSparran. Furness, Pa.; 
Robert P. Robinson, Wilmington, Del.; 
O. L. Martin, Montpelier; Albert Man¬ 
ning, Pottsville. Pa., and David Agans, 
Three Bridges. N. ,T. Mr. Tabor will be 
chairman exofficio of the committee. 
The annual meeting of the New York 
State Agricultural Society will be held 
in Albany, N. Y., Jan. 15-16. 
The ninth annual meeting of the New 
Jersey State Agricultural Convention at 
Trenton, Jan. 15-18 includes annual or 
adjourned meetings of the following so¬ 
cieties: New Jersey Federation of 
County Boards of Agriculture; New Jer¬ 
sey State Horticultural Society; New 
Jersey State Poultry Association; IIol- 
stein-Friesian Co-operative Association; 
New Jersey Guernsey Breeders’ Asso¬ 
ciation ; Jersey Breeders’ Association of 
New’ Jersey; New Jersey State Potato 
Association; New Jersey Alfalfa Asso¬ 
ciation ; New Jersey Beekeepers’ Asso¬ 
ciation : Home Economics Conference; 
New’ Jersey Swine Growers; Veterin¬ 
arians’ Conference; Country Church Con¬ 
ference. 
A larger percentage of farmers use 
automobiles and motor vehicles than any 
other class of the population, according 
to a survey by the Department of Agri¬ 
culture. With the farmer the automo¬ 
bile is becoming a necessity and is viewed 
in the same light as other farm equip¬ 
ment. In the Atlantic coast section it 
w r as found 5S per cent of the farmers in¬ 
terviewed owned automobiles. In the 
Middlewestern section which covers the 
Mississippi Valley and the plains w T est of 
Colorado, 75 to 85 per cent owned ma¬ 
chines. In Washington and Idaho 86 
percent owned machines. The only sec¬ 
tion where less than half of the farmers 
interviewed owned automobiles was in 
the dry farming wheat areas. 
Coming Farmers’ Meetings 
Nov. 7-Feb. 24—Short Winter courses 
in floriculture and ornamental horticul¬ 
ture, New Y T ork State College of Agri¬ 
culture, Ithaca. N. Y. 
Jan. 1-12, 1924 — Virginia Breeders’ 
and Fanciers’ Association, Inc., seven¬ 
teenth annual show. Richmond. Va. Sec¬ 
retary. .T. I). Halliban, 2914 East Broad 
St., Richmond, Va. 
Jan 4—Maple Producers’ Co-operative 
Association. State-wide meeting, Court 
House, Syracuse, N. Y. 
Jan. 8-11—Vermont State Poultry As¬ 
sociation, Inc. Tw 7 enty-seventh annual 
exhibition. St. Albans, Vt. B. P. Greene, 
secretary. St. Albans. Vt. 
Jan. S-12—Morristown Poultry Show, 
Armory, Morristown, N- J. Secretary, 
Frank E. Frambes, Greystone Park, 
N. J. 
Jan. S-12—Mohawk Valley Poultry 
Club, annual poultry show. Red Men’s 
Hall. Schenectady, N. Y. Secretary, A. 
A. Van Wie, 14 Van Zandt St., Schenec¬ 
tady. N. Y. 
Jan. 9-11—Wisconsin Cheese Makers’ 
Association, thirty-second annual conven¬ 
tion, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Jan. 15-16—New York State Agricul¬ 
tural Society. Albany. N. Y. 
Jan. 15-iS—New York State Horti¬ 
cultural Societv, annual meeting. Roches¬ 
ter, N. Y. 
Jan. 15-18 — Trenton Winter Poultry 
Show, Mercer County Poultry Show, 
State Armory. Trenton. Le Roy Sked, 
secretary. Pennington. N. ,T. 
Jan. 15-18 — Agricultural Week, Tren¬ 
ton. N. J. 
Jan. 22-26—Pennsylvania State Farm 
Products Show. Harrisburg, Pa. 
Jan. 23-27 — Poultry Show, Madison 
Square Garden. New York. 
Feb. 4-6 — Ohio State Horticultural 
Society. Winter meeting, Columbus, O. 
Feb. 7—Maple Producers’ Co-operative 
Association, annual meeting, Syracuse, 
N. Y. 
Feb. 20-22 — Eastern meeting New 
York State Horticultural Society, Pough¬ 
keepsie. N. Y. Roy P. McPherson, sec¬ 
retary, Le Roy, N. Y. 
