120 
Tht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
January  27.  1923 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FARMER’S  PAPER 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  lor  Country  and  Suburban  Home* 
Established  ISSO 
Poblbh'd  nteklj  by  th«  Rnral  Publishing  Company,  333  'Test  30th  Street,  .Ten  York 
Herbert  TV.  Colmngwood,  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
Wr  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mrs.  E.  T.  Royle,  Associate  Editor. 
L.  H.  Murphy,  Circulation  Manager. 
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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  '•windier  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 
t  ransactions.  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- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
THE  New  York  Stare  Grange  will  liold  its  fiftieth 
annual  session  at  Syracuse  on  February  0,  7,  8 
and  9.  When  a  man  or  an  organization  reaches  the 
fiftieth  milestone  all  friends  should  turn  out  aud  aid 
the  celebration. 
ONE  of  our  readers  bought  a  farm  and  gave  a 
mortgage  for  about  $2,50>0.  It  was  understood 
that  this  mortgage  could  be  paid  at  any  time.  The 
buyer  got  the  money  together  and  went  to  his  creditor 
and  offered  to  pay.  The  latter  said  he  would  prefer 
to  have  the  mortgage  remain  as  a  long  term  invest¬ 
ment — he  did  not  care  to  handle  the  cash.  No 
signed  agreement  was  made— the  holder  of  the  mort¬ 
gage  merely  said,  “Let  it  go.”  So  the  farmer  spent 
part  of  the  money  improving  the  farm  and  put  the 
balance  into  an  investment  which  could  not  be  real¬ 
ized  on  quickly.  The  holder  of  the  mortgage  waited 
until  the  money  had  been  tied  up  in  this  way  and 
then  he  suddenly  foreclosed  and  demanded  pay¬ 
ment.  But  for  the  help  of  a  good  Samaritan  the 
farmer  would  have  lost  the  farm  aud  all  he  put  into 
it.  There  is  an  old  saying: 
“He  who  will  not  when  he  could, 
Then  he  shall  not  when  lie  would.” 
If  a  man  is  fortunate  enough  to  get  together  the 
money  to  pay  liis  mortgage  ho  would  far  better  pay 
it  than  to  take  tiie  risk  of  losing  it  with  the  farm. 
The  advantage  of  a  Federal  farm  loan  mortgage  is 
that  it  is  amortized — that  is,  a  little  of  the  principal 
is  paid  off  with  each  installment  of  interest. 
* 
IN  a  new  book  entitled  “Better  Schools  for  the 
South,”  the  following  old  story  is  related : 
It  is  said  that  when  Santa  Ana  was  captured  at  San 
Jacinto  he  asked  Houston  how  he  was  able,  with  so 
small  a  force,  to  win  such  a  complete  and  signal  vic¬ 
tory.  Drawing  from  his  pocket  an  ear  of  corn,  Houston 
is  said  to  have  replied:  “When  patriots  fight  on  such 
rations  they  are  unconquerable.” 
San  Jacinto  decided  the  independence  of  Texas. 
Gen.  Houston,  with  700  Texans,  utterly  defeated 
more  than  twice  their  number  of  Mexicans,  and  this 
is  not  the  only  time  that  corn-fed  men  have  demon¬ 
strated  the  value  of  the  ration.  Hog  and  hominy 
provided  the  energy  which  enabled  the  pioneers  to 
change  the  Central  West  from  marsh  and  forest  into 
a  great  empire.  Cornmeal  mush  aud  milk  founded 
a  New  England  prosperity  as  solkl  as  the  granite 
rocks.  We  would  all  be  better  off  today  if  we  would 
eat  more  “spoon  victuals” — mush  and  milk.  It  is 
food  for  men !  Let  Europe  come  to  it  and  cut  out 
her  drink  bill  and  the  trouble  over  “reparations” 
would  soou  be  settled.  Mush  and  milk  may  truly  be 
called  repair  rations.  Fully  adopted  in  Europe,  it 
would  rebuild  that  continent  and  provide  a  market 
which  would  make  American  farmers  independent 
Cornmeal!  With  vita  mines  added  it  is  the  maker  of 
men. 
* 
HERE  is  a  typical  problem  which  is  put  up  to 
us  by  a  good  many  baek-to-the-landers.  A 
man  moves  to  the  country  and  wants  to  buy  a  cow. 
One  of  the  neighbors  has  a  good-looking  fresh  cow. 
which  he  is  willing  to  sell.  The  buyer  goes  and  sees 
the  cow  milked  at  night.  She  certainly  gives  a  big 
pailful  of  milk,  aud  the  owner  will  “guarantee”  that 
she  gives  10  quarts  a  day.  lie  will  not  sign  any 
paper  to  that  effect,  but  he  “guarantees”  it.  So  the 
man  buys  the  cow  and  takes  her  home,  but  he  cau 
barely  get  seven  quarts  out  of  her,  no  matter  how 
well  he  feeds!  The  seller  will  not  take  the  cow 
back,  and  the  buyer  wants  damages!  The  seller  may 
have  tricked  the  buyer  by  letting  the  cow  go  for  a 
milking  or  two  and  then  milking  it  all  out  as  if  it 
were  the  usual  performance !  IN  e  have  known  that 
t-*  be  done.  If  you  demand  au  explanation  from  him 
lie  will  say  that  the  buyer  does  uot  know  how  to 
milk  and  has  dried  up  the  cow.  We  have  had  more 
than  50  such  cases,  and  are  unable  to  settle  them  at 
a  distance.  In  some  cases  we  feel  sure  that  a  cow 
jockey  has  deceived  the  back-to-tlie-lander,  but  we 
cannot  prove  it.  The  only  safety  is  to  buy  from  an 
honest  man.  When  we  give  this  advice  the  question 
comes  back:  “ Who  is  the  honest  man f” 
* 
What  is  the  law  in  regard  to  scales  weighing  cor¬ 
rectly?  I  have  been  buying  grain  from  a  dealer  and 
weighing  on  bis  scales,  the  same  as  hundreds  of  other 
farmers  around  here,  and  today  I  happened  to  step  onto 
the  scales  and  discovered  that  I  weighed  225  lbs.,  when 
on  several  other  scales  I  only  weight  190  lbs.,  which 
makes  a  difference  of  35  lbs.  What  can  be  done  about 
it?  I  don’t  like  to  pay  for  something  and  then  not 
get  it.  D.  F.  c. 
Washington  Co.,  N.  Y. 
IT  is  not  likely  that  you  have  suddenly  put  on  35 
lbs.  of  fat.  More  likely  you  have  been  handing 
that  dealer  the  price  of  something  over  18  lbs.  of 
grain  whenever  you  bought  a  100-lb.  sack.  Possibly 
the  other  scales  are  wrong,  too,  but  it  looks  as  if  you 
and  your  neighbors  have  been  paying  a  large  price 
for  air.  Write  the  Department  of  Foods  and  Mar¬ 
kets  at  Albany.  Tell  them  about  this,  and  ask  them 
to  come  and  inspect  these  scales.  The  Bible  says: 
“A  false  balance  is  abomination  to  the  Lord,  but  a 
just  weight  is  his  delight” 
5k 
WE  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  treatment  of 
seed  oats  with  formalin  will  insure  a  crop  of 
grain  free  from  smut.  There  might  be  a  small  quan¬ 
tity  of  the  disease,  but  not  enough  to  do  any  dam¬ 
age.  That  has  been  our  own  experience  with  treat¬ 
ing  the  seed,  and  we  think  the  fact  is  established. 
The  continued  use  of  treated  seed  in  any  community 
will  practically  clean  out  the  disease.  Many  farmers 
do  not  like  to  “bother”  with  putting  the  formalin 
on  the  seed.  It  is  now  done  for  them  commercially, 
and  probably  more  completely  than  the  average 
farmer  would  do  it  himself.  It  is  possible  to  buy  the 
treated  seed.  The  extra  cost  is  not  great,  while  the 
freedom  from  smut  will  increase  the  value  of  the 
crop  by  25  per  cent 
s k 
WE  find  it  very  popular  for  people  of  middle 
age  and  over  to  find  fault  with  youth  and 
predict  awful  things  for  the  rising  generation.  It 
is  claimed  that  youth  has  no  respect  for  age  or  ex¬ 
perience.  Well,  how  can  jou  reasonably  expect 
youth  to  be  expert  in  things  it  has  never  known  or 
experienced?  Who  can  tell  the  ambitious  boy  just 
what  age  means?  If  he  knew  and  fully  understood 
the  futility  of  life  as  it  comes  to  most  of  us  it  is 
doubtful  of  the  boy  would  be  worth  raising.  Nature 
has  wisely  provided  that  there  shall  be  a  glowing 
difference  between  youth  and  age.  It  is  the  way  we 
grow  up  through  this  difference  that  makes  for  hope 
and  stability  in  our  national  life.  The  critic  of  ma¬ 
ture  years  may  well  stop  and  ask  himself  if  he  lias 
really  grown  old  hopefully  and  wisely.  He  con¬ 
siders  youth  as  abnormal  in  its  rush  to  expend  vital 
energy  on  what  seems  like  useless  things.  "Why 
cannot  the  boy  sober  down  and  do  as  I  did?”  The 
chances  are  that  youth  regards  age  as  abnormal, 
lie  is  asking  himself,  “How  did  father  get  that  way? 
Where  did  lie  lose  the  joy  of  life,  and  when  did  that 
hopeful  color  on  the  sky  pass  out  of  his  vision?” 
Have  you  thought  that  one  reason  why  you  are  los¬ 
ing  control  of  this  rising  generation  is  because  you 
have  given  up  trying  to  keep  step  with  it,  and  now 
stand  marking  time  with  the  past?  That’s  a  good 
thought  to  turn  over  in  your  mind. 
OUR  readers  will  be  interested  in  tlie  conversa¬ 
tion  printed  on  the  first  page.  It  clearly  re¬ 
veals  the  feeling  now  being  held  by  what  one  may 
call  the  moneyed  interests.  They  feel  that  the  income 
tax,  railroad  legislation,  and  other  restrictive  meas¬ 
ures,  are  slowly  but  surely  gnawing  the  profits  away 
from  wealth  by  compelling  capital  to  pay  more  and 
more  of  public  expenses.  And  they  seem  to  feel  that 
this  quiet  revolution  lias  only  begun.  There  is  no 
attempt  to  argue  the  justice  of  this  revolution  here. 
We  just  want  to  make  it  clear  that  such  a  revolution 
is  going  on.  In  his  new  book,  “All  in  a  Lifetime,” 
Henry  Morgentliau  describes  the  tremendous  riot  of 
finance  during  the  10  years  just  before  1906,  and 
says : 
No  wonder,  then,  that  the  financiers  of  Wall  Street 
leaped  to  a  power  greater  for  the  time  than  the  power 
of  presidents  and  kings.  No  wonder  that  heads  were 
turned,  that  power  was  abused,  that  tyranny  developed, 
aud  that  finally  the  nation,  sensing  a  life-and-death 
struggle  between  capitalism  and  organized  government 
itself,  arose  in  fear  and  anger  and  put  shackles  on  the 
money  power  that  made  it  again  the  servant  and  no 
longer  the  master  of  the  people. 
It  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  “money  power”  has 
really  become  the  servant  of  the  people.  We  are  still 
a  long  distance  from  that,  but  it  is  evident  to  all  ex¬ 
cept  those  who  stand  with  heads  in  the  sand,  like 
the  ostrich,  that  a  financial  revolution  has  started. 
There  is  now  some  danger  that  it  may  be  driven  too 
fast  and  too  far.  The  money  power  may  be  a  suc¬ 
cessful  servant,  but  a  failure  as  a  slave. 
Jk 
IT  is  reported  from  Washington  that  Congress  lias 
finally  killed  the  free  seed  distribution.  We  hope 
this  is  true,  but  we  realize  that  this  graft  and  fraud 
has  more  lives  than  a  stray  cat.  It  has  been  report¬ 
ed  “killed”  many  times  before.  We  cau  only  hope 
that  this  time  the  report  is  true.  There  was  a  fierce 
fight  over  it  in  the  Senate.  As  the  New  York  Times 
says,  referring  to  a  speech  by  Senator  Ilefflin : 
He  invoked  free  seeds  “for  the  people  who  work  in 
the  factories.”  The  people  who  work  in  the  factories 
would  probably  prefer  packages  of  cigarettes.  Gov¬ 
ernment  cigarettes  might  at  least  end  in  smoke.  Gov¬ 
ernment  free  seeds  result  in  nothing.  So  good-by — we 
hope  forever — to  this  hoary  humbug! 
Amen !  There  has  never  been  any  more  reason  for 
free  seeds  than  for  free  cigars,  free  sewing  ma¬ 
chines  or  free  potatoes.  It  has  been  just  a  petty 
graft,  acting  like  bacteria  to  keep  the  big  grafters 
at  their  job.  For  years  it  has  been  one  of  the  great¬ 
est  mysteries  to  us  why  farmers  and  country  people 
were  willing  to  accept  this  little  graft  and  continue 
to  rail  at  the  big  grafters.  The  principle  has  ever 
been  the  same.  We  claim  that  no  man  can  consist¬ 
ently  accept  his  handful  of  graft  and  then  condemn 
the  large  grafter  who  fills  his  pockets. 
THE  “truth  ill  fabrics  bill”  is  included  in  the  pro¬ 
gram  worked  out  by  the  “farm  bloc”  in  Con¬ 
gress.  This  bill,  if  enacted  into  law,  would  compel 
manufacturers  and  dealers  to  state  publicly  how 
much  shoddy  or  filling  material  their  cloth  contains. 
Many  a  garment  is  now  sold  as  “all  wool”  when  it 
contains  a  large  proportion  of  rags  and  remnants 
ground  up,  twisted  and  woven  in  with  virgin  wool. 
The  proposed  law,  properly  enforced,  would  compel 
such  dealers  to  state  just  what  they  are  selling. 
They  now  claim  that  such  goods  arc  “all  wool,”  since 
the  rags  and  remnants  come  from  so-called  woolen 
cloth.  One  might  as  well  say  that  “roast  beef  hash,” 
made  by  chopping  up  remnants  from  a  roast,  is  pure 
roast  beef !  This  law  would  enable  us  to  buy  such 
cloth  as  we  now  use  for  just  what  it  is.  That  would 
mean  a  cheaper  price  as  compared  with  virgin  wool 
goods.  Every  man  who  wants  to  buy  good  clothes 
should  help  push  this  bill  through  Congress. 
sk 
ON  page  IS  we  gave  some  figures  estimating  the 
net  annual  income  of  a  farm  family  at  a  little 
over  $400.  Now  comes  the  Christian  Herald  with 
another  estimate: 
According  to  reliable  figures  gathered  by  the  Treasury 
Department,  the  annual  net  income  of  the  farmers  of 
the  United  States  is  $1,202,000,000.  Dividing  this 
amount  by  the  six  and  a  half  million  farm  families  in 
this  country  gives  a  little  less  than  $185  per  farm  fam¬ 
ily  as  an  average  annual  income,  out  of  which  the 
farmer  has  to  pay  for  the  education  of  his  children,  his 
hospital  and  church  bills,  his  amusements,  repairs  on  his 
buildings,  and  interest  on  his  mortgage  or  bank  indebt¬ 
edness. 
If  those  various  authorities  keep  oil  they  will,  in 
time,  have  the  farmers  all  losing  money  each  year 
and  living  on  air  and  faith.  It  is  true  that  for  many 
years  some  of  our  farmers  have  accepted  “hot  air”  as 
mental  food,  and  have  kept  a  childlike  faith  in  the 
political  promises  of  their  party.  They  are  getting 
over  that  now.  We  regard  all  these  various  figures 
as  guesses  at  the  truth.  Some  farmers  are  still 
fairly  prosperous,  while  others  are  steadily  losing 
money.  The  difference  is  due  to  various  causes — 
locality,  markets,  natural  ability  or  energy,  inherit¬ 
ed  capital,  and  various  other  things.  While  it  is 
never  fair  to  accept  an  average  in  such  cases,  it 
remains  true  that  the  great  majority  of  our  farmers 
are  not  prosperous.  They  are  steadily  losing  money 
on  any  system  of  accurate  bookkeeping.  And  they 
will  continue  to  lose  money  just  so  long  as  they 
permit  the  middlemen  and  the  politicians  to  run 
the  public  business.  lTe  have  got  to  do  it  ourselves.' 
Brevities 
Shoveling  snow  will  make  the  appetite  grow. 
Better  make  the  foundation  broad  before  you  try  to 
enlarge  the  top. 
The  rabbit  will  usually  gnaw  a  pruned  limb  on  the 
ground  before  he  will  tackle  the  tree. 
Now  it  is  reported  that  “science”  has  discovered  a 
new  remedy  or  cure  for  ivy  poisoning.  Use  gasoline  at 
once.  Our  readers  have  told  about  this  “new  cure”  for 
years. 
Wind  power  for  generating  electricity.  We  have 
spent  some  time  investigating  this  matter,  and  conclude 
that  there  are  windmill  fixtures  that  can  do  the  trick, 
hut  that  rbe  cost  is  suc-h  that  in  most  eases  a  gas  engine 
would  be  cheaper. 
