430 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 8 ,- 1924 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A National Weekly Journal for Country and Suburban Homes 
Established ISSO 
Published weekly by the Rural Publishing Company. 333 West 30th Street, New Tork 
Herbert W. Colling wood, President and Editor. 
John J. Dillon, Treasurer and General Manager. 
IVm. F. Dillon, Secretary. Mrs. E. T. Hoyle, Associate Editor. 
L. H. Murphy, Circulation Manager. 
SUBSCRIPTION : ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
To foreign countries in the Universal Postal Union, $2.04. 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” 
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 
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 ox 
the transaction, and to identify it, you should mention The Rural New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
On the State highway, in front of our residence, we 
wish to hang a sign to be lighted by electricity, an¬ 
nouncing that we have accommodations for tourists. 
Directly in front of the house, at the fence line, we have 
a low hedge, and beyond that the lawn runs to the road¬ 
side. We wish to place the pole, about 10 ft. tall, in 
line with the row of trees outside the hedge. Has any 
road man the right to interfere with such a sign,on our 
own property, so long as it in no way interferes with 
the sight of drivers of cars passing in the highway? 
New York. J. L. R. 
HIS question has come up several times. Some 
of our people say they have been threatened 
with trouble or arrest if they display such signs. It 
is a fair interpretation of the law to say that so long 
a§ you keep your sign on your own land and it does 
not in any way interfere with traffic, there can be no 
objection on the part of the highway department. 
* 
S OME of our charitably disposed readers want to 
know if second-hand clothing is desired for im¬ 
migrants at Ellis Island. Before the war many 
boxes of such clothing were sent. Our own opinion 
is that first of all the needy people at home should be 
supplied with such clothing. Under the present im¬ 
migration laws we question the wisdom of per¬ 
mitting entrance to people who are hot fairly well 
supplied with clothing, or who begin their “Amer¬ 
icanism 1 ’ with a touch of charity. However, on ap¬ 
peal to the Commissioner of Immigration; we have 
the following: 
There are IT welfare organizations having representa¬ 
tion at Ellis Island to look after such needs of the im¬ 
migrants as do not properly come within the functions 
of the government, and they supply needy immigrants 
with articles of clothing which are sent to them from 
time to time. Any articles sent here should be ad¬ 
dressed to one of the representatives of the welfare or¬ 
ganizations. or to Mr. Charles Carol, who is chairman' 
of the welfare committee. k. r. landis. 
Acting Commissioner. 
* 
W E will ask you to read the constitution of the 
Rural School Improvement Society, adopted 
■at Rochester. You will find it printed on the next 
page. No one can reasonably find fault with this 
document. It is constructive in its aims, simple and 
direct. Who can say that such an organization 
functioning in every school district would not help 
create a better community feeling, and lead to 
greater interest in the school? No one, however able 
or well educated, can ever improve the rural schools 
of New York by trying to force offensive regulations 
upon the people, as one would give medicine to a 
man who did not care for it or need it. Yet that is 
what the backers of the proposed school bill are now 
trying to do. It may not be a pleasant thought for 
them, but if they are honest they must admit that a 
great majority of the rural people do not want this 
bill. In a case of this sort the psychological effect 
upon the human mind must be considered. We 
understand New York farmers well enough to know 
that if this bill is now forced upon them, through 
the city vote in the Legislature, the reaction will be 
so great that the battle over the township law will 
seem like a whisper compared with an ocean storm. 
There is no State organization at this time which 
can do, in the school districts, what this new School 
Improvement Society is capable of doing. It is the 
truth that most of our farmers are not satisfied with 
their present leadership, or with the organizations 
which, in the past, have come forward to speak for 
them. They think these organizations interlock too 
much, and all trace back to institutions which can¬ 
not be entirely free so long as they must beg for 
public appropriations. A new, simple and entirely 
free organization is needed to give fair expression 
to the thought and voice of farmers over this school 
question. We think this Rural School Improve¬ 
ment Society offers the needed opportunity. The It. 
N.-Y. is prepared to put its entire force back of this 
new movement, and during the coming year we shall 
try to help organize in every school district in the 
State. We promised to make the school bill a live 
issue in every district, and we have done so. We 
now promise to do our best to carry this idea of free 
organization for upbuilding the rural school into 
every community where education is considered. We 
want volunteers everywhere. 
* 
OU might not think it possible, but we have 
dozens of cases presented to us regarding the 
liability of men and women to take care of their 
aged parents. In some cases people actually try to 
find some legal way of avoiding such duty. In 
others, neighbors or friends want to know if they 
can compel such service. The following question 
from an overseer of the poor in New York brings it 
to a head: 
Does the law compel the son or daughter to care and 
provide, in case their father or mother become destitute 
or disabled so they are not able to care for themselves, 
or would they have right to put them on the town or as 
county charge? Some think they have the right to put 
them on the town, and some think not. I am the over¬ 
seer of the poor in this town, and I have already such 
a case on my hands to see about. I don’t want to make 
a mistake, doing a wrong thing. I suppose if that is 
the law it applies to those who have property to bear 
the expense. j. a. d. 
New York. 
Section 914 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 
provides as follows: “The father, mother and child, 
if of sufficient ability, of a poor person who is insane, 
blind, old. lame, impotent or decrepit, so as to be 
unable to work, must, at their own charge, relieve 
and maintain him in a manner to be approved by the 
overseers of the poor of his town. If the above- 
named relatives of a poor person fail to relieve and 
maintain him as provided therein, the overseer of 
the poor of the town may apply to the county court 
where the person resides for an order compelling 
such relief, upon at least five days’ notice. At the 
time appointed in the notice the court or judge must 
proceed to hear the proof, and must order such of 
the relatives of the poor person described above as 
are served with the notice and are of sufficient abil¬ 
ity to relieve and maintain the poor person. 
* 
It is surprising what a hold Lincoln retains on the 
minds of the rank and file of people. I was at a popu¬ 
lar price picture house recently. In the review of news 
a statue of Lincoln was shown, and there was spon¬ 
taneous and prolonged applause. I have noticed the 
same many times. When that gaunt face and figure are 
shown, applause of the same heartiness given the flag 
occurs. Pictures of Washington. Coolidge and various 
prominent men brought some applause, but nothing of 
the quality given Lincoln. It seems to me quite remark¬ 
able that a crowd of boys and young men, so far from 
Lincoln’s time, should think of him in this way. H. 
T is indeed remarkable, and hard to understand. 
The years that have passed since the Civil War 
have wiped out the pictures of most of the great men 
of that time, but the memory of Lincoln endures, and 
his picture in the mind of youth grows brighter as 
time goes on. It is indeed strange that of all the 
millions of great men this nation has produced, this 
man, without education, without great pride of pedi¬ 
gree. without striking beauty of face, form or man¬ 
ner, should rise like a mountain above them all. in 
the thought and love of the people. There must be 
some inherent quality of honesty and sincerity in 
the character of Lincoln which has the power to 
reach out and touch the heart of the millions of 
plain folks who are puzzled and disgusted by the 
present “graft” and snobbery in public life. These 
people have lost confidence in most of the .men in 
public life, and when they see a picture of “Honest 
Abe” they unconsciously compare their vision of the 
life he led with what they see and know of public 
men today. Lincoln is their ideal of the man who 
gave much to his country, and they compare him 
with public men whose chief aim seems to be to see 
how much they can make their country give them! 
* 
T HE Hope Farm man s remarks about education 
and the rural school nave called out quite a 
discussion. Most of the writers commend the state¬ 
ments, a few condemn them. One man says: 
“I have just re-read your notes on education. 
This is, by far, the best statement of the case that I 
have seen.” 
We know him to be an elderly man of good judg¬ 
ment and wide experience. He has taught school 
and seen much of lifb. And then comes another man 
with the following: 
“It was the silliest statement I ever saw.” 
Unfortunately we do not know whether this man 
is young or old. whether he has children of his own, 
or just what his view of life is. It only shows the 
wide difference of opinion regarding this matter of 
education, and the folly of trying to lay down any 
fixed and constant rule for raising a child. We are 
told of a case where a boy refused to go to high 
school unless he was paid for doing it. His parents 
pay him $5 a week as an inducement to attend 
school. To most of us that will seem an absurd 
waste of money, yet we find people who say “That is 
right; it will pay to keep the boy in school, even if he 
doesn’t want to go !” We cannot see it that way. We 
should put the boy at work if possible. We cannot 
see how such an “education” can help him, and his 
example must be a direct injury to other boys. And 
yet, what sort of work can you find for such a boy 
in the modern town? Those of us who can look back 
over a few years can realize what has dropped out of 
society since the civilizing influence of the old-time 
“chores” passed out of life. 
* 
O NE of our readers asks us to tell him the ma- 
nurial value of the waste from a licorice fac¬ 
tory. He can get a large quantity of it for nothing. 
We think this might have considerable fertilizing 
value, but we have been unable to find anyone who 
has sampled it, either by analysis or by practical 
use. Such wastes are often to be obtained, and 
where there is a considerable quantity the only safe 
plan is to take out a fair sample, a mixture from dif¬ 
ferent parts of the heap, and have it analyzed by 
some good chemist. That will cost a few dollars, 
but it is the only safe way to buy such fertilizing 
materials. 
* 
M ANY of our readers will have some cover crop 
like rye or vetch to plow under this Spring. 
In most cases they will put a chain on the plow, drag 
down the rye and throw a furrow over it. This is 
good, as far as it goes, but unless the rye is fully 
covered and then packed down with a roller or heavy 
drag, there will be trouble. Too much air will work 
in, dry out the soil and start too much of a ferment. 
The best job at such work is done by running a sharp 
disk or cutaway harrow over the cover crop before 
it is turned under. This chops the green crop up 
more or less fine, and then when it is plowed the 
whole thing goes under, well mixed with the soil. 
The disk must be sharp in order to do a good job, 
but the extra work will pay. 
T seems true that California and some Southern 
States have started a sort of propaganda to in¬ 
terest white farmers and gardeners who want a 
change. The Japanese laborers are reported as leav¬ 
ing California, while thousands of negroes have left 
the South. Under our immigration laws these losses 
cannot be supplied from Europe. The North and 
East must provide the needed labor. Where is it to 
come from? There is a great shortage of farm help, 
as it is, and the drain away to the cities is still going 
on. Can a farmer or farm laborer in New York 
hope to better his condition permanentl 3 T by going 
to the Pacific coast or to the Gulf States? That is 
going to be the question, and we advise our readers 
to study it out carefully before deciding. The prop¬ 
aganda now being started gives but one side of the 
question. Wait! Do not make any snap judgment 
until 3 ’ou know it all. 
Brevities 
Charity begins at home, but should not stay there 
for life. 
An administrator in New York has IS months in 
which to settle an estate. 
No man can grow strong by hiring another man to 
swing an ax or a pair of dumb-bells. You may make 
money that way, but not muscle. 
A statement about treating boils was recently made 
in The R. N.-Y. There have been at least 25 “cures” 
suggested by readers. Some of them are justified in get¬ 
ting warmed up over a “boil.” 
A scientific joker in Iowa promised to give a starch 
factory to his friend, and then took him out and pre¬ 
sented him with a hill of cornstalks. Then he showed 
that the stalks were making starch .as fast as their 
green leaves could work. 
A friend who lives in Persia sends us the following 
exact wording of a telegram which he received on the 
occasion of a New Year’s party. An American would 
have kept inside the 10-word limit and sent “Congratu¬ 
lations, long life and happy days,” but the Persians will¬ 
ingly pay for all this, including the address: “To the 
highest presence of General Director of Finances, His 
Glory to be extended: Owing to the arrival of the New 
Year, I beg to submit my purest congratulations to the 
bright presence of Provincial Director and Her High¬ 
ness Honorable Kbanim (Madam). And desire with 
sincere heart the success of that noble and honorable 
family.” 
