Tit  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
1073 
President  Harding 
“ When  the  prince  to  the  fate 
of  the  peasant  has  yielded!” 
OMETHING  of  the  thought  expressed  in  Scott’s 
poem  passed  through  the  mind  when,  sudden  as 
a  flash  of  lightning,  the  news  of  President  Hard¬ 
ing's  death  reached  us.  As  we  write  this  the  funeral 
train  bearing  his  body  is  making  its  way  across  the 
continent.  The  average  man  still  feels  the  stunning 
force  of  this  blow,  and  cannot  yet  give  full  expres¬ 
sion  to  his  estimate  of  Harding’s  place  in  history. 
The  President  was  greatly  loved  as  a  man.  He  was 
truly  one  of  the  common  people.  He  knew  the  hard 
struggles  of  the  man  who  must  make  his  way  in 
the  world.  He  was  a  devoted  husband.  There  was 
something  which  appealed  directly  to  the  best  of 
the  American  spirit  in  the  wa.  Mrs.  Harding  worked 
with  her  husband  during  their  days  of  trial.  They 
were  a  shining  example  of  that  most  loyal  and  use¬ 
ful  combination  in  American  family  life — a  true 
family  team.  Their  family  life  was  a  model  one — 
greatly  needed  in  this  rapid  period  of  history  when 
what  we  have  called  in  the  past  family  character 
and  high  ideals  of  living  are  being  tested  as  with 
lire.  Thus,  first  of  all,  Harding  will  ever  live  in  the 
memory  of  his  countrymen  as  a  lovable,  tender, 
kindly  man,  carrying  with  him  the  scars  of  labor 
and  trouble  which  most  of  us  know,  and  the  healing 
balm  of  fairly-won  success  and  happy  family  life 
which  all  of  us  desire.  Lincoln  and  Roosevelt  were 
supermen.  They  were  of  us  and  with  us,  but  some¬ 
how  we  feel  that  they  were  more  like  stars — far 
above  us — we  could  not  lead  their  life.  No  one  re¬ 
garded  Harding  as  a  superman.  He  was  just  one  of 
our  own  kind — with  our  faults  and  failures — but  yet 
one  of  us  in  his  love  for  the  strong  fundamentals  of 
common  life.  So  Harding’s  place  in  the  affections  of 
his  fellow  men  will  always  be  secure.  As  a  President 
time  alone  can  mark  his  place  in  history.  He  came  in¬ 
to  office  at  perhaps  the  most  critical  time  in  our  his¬ 
tory.  The  Great  War  had  turned  loose  all  the  great 
elemental  passions  of  the  human  race.  Something 
had  gone  radically  wrong  with  the  theory  that  the 
nations  would  rise  purified  and  true  from  their  great 
war  sacrifices.  The  world  was  filled  with  bitter¬ 
ness,  doubt  and  unrest.  The  psychological  situation 
was  worse  than  that  following  our  Civil  War,  and 
it  was  Harding’s  lot  to  face  conditions  impossible 
of  immediate  settlement.  This  is  a  selfish  age — 
with  dozens  of  political  and  industrial  groups,  each 
striving  selfishly  for  class  advantage.  Harding  has 
been  criticized  as  too  slow  and  cautious  in  handling 
this  complicated  situation.  His  critics  have  said 
that  he  should  have  been  bolder  and  more  aggressive 
— more  radical,  more  openly  progressive.  Time  may 
prove,  however,  that  in  these  troubled  times  the 
President’s  calm,  slow  and  conservative  policy  may 
have  been  best  after  all.  At  least  he  showed  char¬ 
acter'  and  courage  in  holding  to  his  policies  in  the 
face  of  the  storm  within  his  own  party.  His  death 
opens  the  way  to  a  fierce  political  conflict.  P>ut  the 
end  has  come  to  the  President  as  it  must  come  to 
all  of  us.  Death  closes  the  record  with  impartial 
hand.  America  will  go  on  through  the  shining  years 
increasingly  safe  as  men  and  women  realize  more 
fully  the  responsibilities  of  everyday  life,  and 
Harding’s  memory  will  ever  be  safe  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  loved  him  as  a  man.  The  country  lives. 
A  new  hand  is  at  the  helm.  Tuttle  is  really  known 
of  President  Coolidge.  While  evidently  a  silent,  un¬ 
demonstrative  character,  we  believe  he  will  surprise 
his  critics,  and  in  case  of  crisis  or  trial  rise  to  the 
occasion  and  stand  like  a  rock  for  what  he  believes 
to  be  right. 
The  Solid  South  and  a  “Wet”  Candidate 
THE  American  people  have  already  begun  to  line 
up  for  the  next  Presidential  campaign.  It  is 
going  to  be  different  from  anything  we  have  had  be¬ 
fore.  There  will  be  more  “issues”  and  newer  ones. 
Old  party  ties  are  slacking  up  or  breaking.  The 
leaven  of  independent  thinking  is  working  out. 
Henry  Ford  has  introduced  a  new  personal  issue, 
lie  seems  to  be  the  only  man  since  Roosevelt  who  is 
able  to  rally  a  party  around  a  name.  This  is  a 
curious  outcome,  for  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  man 
more  widely  different  from  Roosevelt  than  Ford. 
The  Farmer-Labor  party  in  the  Northwest  is  just 
now  stirring  up  great  interest.  The  question  of 
Prohibition  enforcement  promises  to  enter  politics 
next  year  as  a  leading  issue.  At  the  time  Governor 
Smith  of  New  York  was  considering  the  bill  which 
repealed  the  State  enforcement  law  there  was  great 
interest  over  the  effect  any  action  on  his  part  would 
have  upon  his  nomination  for  president.  Governor 
Smith  was  considered  a  “wet”  candidate,  and  his 
action  in  signing  the  bill  confirmed  him  as  such. 
No  Democrat  can  hope  for  election  without  the  vote 
of  the  Southern  States  and  it  is  hardly  likely  that 
any  man  could  be  nominated  with  the  support  of 
the  Southern  delegates  against  him.  Prohibition 
really  came  to  us  Horn  the  South.  The  Southern 
people  regard  it  as  an  industrial  necessity  in  the 
handling  of  the  negroes,  and  one  of  the  most  curious 
of  political  questions  just  now  is  the  way  the  South¬ 
ern  people  would  regard  a  “wet”  candidate  on  their 
ticket.  In  order  to  get  a  fair  line  on  this  we  have 
made  a  canvass  of  our  readers  in  the  Southern 
States.  The  question  asked  was  whether  the  South¬ 
ern  people  would  support  a  “wet”  candidate  in  case 
the  Democratic  party  see  fit  to  nominate  such  a  man 
on  a  “wet”  platform.  A  few  typical  replies  are 
given  below.  Opinion  is  divided.  Our  estimate  is 
that  SO  per  cent  of  Southern  voters  will  demand  a 
candidate  who  stands  for  Prohibition.  In  case  a 
“wet”  man  is  nominated  the  chances  favor  a  third 
party.  In  such  an  event  Ford  would  poll  an  im¬ 
mense  vote  in  the  South.  We  find  many  young  peo¬ 
ple  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  women  so  desper¬ 
ately  opposed  to  any  interference  with  the  Eigh¬ 
teenth  Amendment  that  they  actually  say  they  will 
vote  the  Republican  ticket  rather  then  vote  “wet.” 
This  is  pai’ticularly  true  of  the  so-called  border 
States,  and  thei-e  can  be  no  possible  doubt  about 
what  will  happen  if  the  Prohibition  question  is 
made  a  straight  and  square  issue  between  the  two 
gi-eat  parties.  There  are  in  the  South,  as  well  as  in 
the  Noi*tli,  people  who  believe  Prohibition  is  a  fail¬ 
ure,  but  according  to  our  canvass  they  are  but  a 
small  minority  except  in  a  few  certain  localities. 
Our  figures  indicate  that  the  South  will  support  Pro¬ 
hibition  ovei'whelmingly. 
Emphatically  I  say  now,  that  this  State  will  not  vote 
a  “wet”  Democi-atic  ticket  for  President.  Thei-e  would 
be  a  bolt  that  would  stagger  “Al”  Smith  or  Norman 
Mack.  I  am  a  Democrat  of  the  freethinking  kind,  and 
know  what  I  am  talking  about.  The  politicians  down 
here  will  do  anything  to  preserve  harmo?iy ,  or  the 
“solid  South,”  but  they  haven’t  the  grip  on  the  people 
right  now.  We  have  seen  more,  lately,  what  the  “wet” 
business  is  doing  than  we  ever  saw  before,  and  some 
of  the  Democrats  are  thinking.  The  women  are  going 
to  cut  a  big  figure  in  the  protest.  I  wish  to  see  the 
Prohibition  laws  carried  out  more  severely  than  ever. 
Five  voters,  all  of  them  of  our  family,  will  never  vote 
for  “Al”  Smith  for  President.  .tor  p.  wirson. 
Mississippi. 
As  long  as  the  South  is  as  thickly  populated  with 
negi-oes  as  it  is,  the  race  issue  will  come  first,  and  as 
long  as  the  Republican  party  insists  on  placing  negroes 
in  office^  “wet”  or  “dry,”  will  take  a  back  seat,  as  our 
security  lies  in  the  domination  of  the  white  race,  and  no 
bunch  of  politicians  can  change  the  situation,  o.  a.  k. 
Georgia. 
Judging  from  past  records  anything  can  carry  the 
South  if  his  first  name  is  Democrat.  This  State  is 
strictly  dry  in  State  elections,  but  Senator  Underwood 
is  very  “wet,”  and  he  has  never  been  defeated  for  any¬ 
thing  he  ran  for  yet.  I  don’t  believe  the  Democrats 
will  put  out  a  “wet”  man,  but  if  they  do  it  is  my 
opinion  he  will  carry  the  South,  but.  I  shall  vote  for 
the  dry  man  regardless  of  pax-ty  lines.  b.  c.  g. 
Alabama. 
The  South  will  continue  to  support  the  Democratic 
party  no  matter  what  the  platform  may  be.  It  is  true 
the  South  wants  Prohibition,  but  will  never  support  a 
Republican  candidate.  A  third  party  in  that  case  may 
split  the  South.  My  section  has  never  been  in  favor 
of  Prohibition.  “Wet”  or  “dry” — may  the  people  never 
forget  that  protection  is  essential  to  the  prosperity  of 
this  country.  j.  j.  c. 
Louisiana. 
The  party  platforms  and  pledges  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it  at  all.  Any  questions  that  come  up  are  sifted 
down  to  white  and  black,  and  the  whites  will  vote  the 
Democratic  ticket  through  thick  and  thin.  One  of  the 
big  pecan  men  here  in  a  speech  to  the  pecan  growers’ 
meeting,  advocated  a  tariff  on  Mexican  pecans  so  that 
we  could  get  a  better  price  for  ours,  but  I  have  no  doubt 
he  will  vote  Democratic.  The  Southern  people  seem 
to  be  strong  for  px-otecting  local  business  and  entei-prise, 
but  on  account  of  the  negroes,  vote  Democratic.  In 
fact  as  I  have  said  before,  it  is  between  the  white 
party  and  the  black  party.  h.  b.  p. 
Georgia. 
In  my  opinion  you  may  safely  judge  the  future  by 
the  past,  regardless  of  the  issue.  The  Southern  Com- 
mei-cial  Congress  has  pi-eac-hed  protection  here,  and 
kept  standing  committees  at  the  seat  of  government  all 
the  while  sending  delegations  of  bankers  and  manu¬ 
facturers  and  farmers  to  go  before  the  tariff  com¬ 
mittees  of  Congress,  but  when  the  “solid  South”  casts 
her  vote  the  result  reminds  a  thinking  person  of  the 
animal  convention  —  “the  goat  has  done  voted.”  I 
hardly  think  that  the  majoi-ities  in  some  of  the  States 
would  be  so  overwhelming  as  at  times  during  the  past, 
but  the  electoral  votes  would  be  safely  delivered. 
North  Carolina.  ,t.  m.  f. 
Viewing  it  fi-om  this  section  of  our  country  I  do  not 
believe  the  Democrats  will  nominate  a  “wet”  ticket. 
There  ax-e  a  few  “wet”  spots  throughout  the  nation,  but 
not  enough  to  influence  the  nomination  of  a  candidate 
for  President.  There  would  not  be  any  hope  of  eleet- 
'  ing  a  “wet”  candidate  without  the  vote  of  the  “solid 
South,”  and  in  my  opinion  the  South  will  always  vote 
for  .  Prohibition,,  though  they  should  have  to  nominate 
their  own  candidate.  Such  action  would  produce  just 
such  a  campaign  as  the  campaign  of  Roosevelt  and 
Taft.  I  do  not  believe  the  Democratic  party  of  the 
South  would  oppose  Prohibition  for  the  sake  of  carry¬ 
ing  the  national  election.  j.  xr.  p. 
Alabama. 
The  possibilities  of  Texas  going  “wet”  are  a  di-eaxn. 
Texas  is  known  as  a  Democratic  State,  but  when  it 
comes  to  vote  for  “wet”  we  here  are  not  going  to  vote 
for  such  a  measure.  We  are  for  keeping  Texas  out  of 
such  element.  Texas  will  show  up  when  the  occasion 
demands  that  we  will  stand  for  Prohibition.  It  is  a 
fact  that  the  South  really  started  the  Prohibition 
movement.  As  to  my  section  we  will  stand  in  the 
map  for  Prohibition  regai-dless  of  the  national  election. 
Thank  God  our  women,  though  from  the  long-horn 
section,  are  Christians,  and  it  gives  me  pride  to  see 
them  pull  for  good  moral  government  when  the  oc¬ 
casion  arises.  If  the  other  Southern  States  have  Gov¬ 
ernors  as  our  present,  P.  M.  Neff,  and  her  people  would 
follow  as  we  follow  ours,  the  Southern  States  would  be 
better  in  all  respects.  Texas  will  go  strong  for  Pro¬ 
hibition  regardless  of  the  national  election. 
Texas.  geo.  champion. 
I  think  our  section  will  never  oppose  Prohibition 
for  the  sake  of  cari-ying  a  national  election.  This  coun¬ 
ty  would  go  three  to  one  for  Prohibition.  I  think  both 
parties  will  have  a  Prohibition  plank  in  their  platform. 
Kentucky.  m.  h. 
If  it  were  not  for  one  factor  in  the  next  election  I  would 
say  “Florida  is  Democratic,”  “wet”  or  “dry.”  It  is 
just  as  hopelessly  Democratic  as  Pennsylvania  is  Pc', 
publican.  The  one  factor  that  I  mentioned  above  is 
the  female  vote.  The  women  are  not  as  yet  so  posi¬ 
tively  wedded  to  party  as  to  vote  “my  party  right  or 
wrong.”  They  are  not  just  asking  candidates  how  they 
stand  on  such  matters  as  national  Prohibition ;  they 
are  demanding  a  positive  statement  from  them  as  to 
what  they  will  do  in  the  way  of  voting  in  Congress  if 
elected,  and  woe  be  to  him  who  fails  to  keep  his  promise. 
The  observance  of  the  law  in  this  locality  is,  I  im¬ 
agine,  very  much  as  elsewhere..  Officers  make  arrests, 
but  convictions  are  hard  to  get  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  prosecuting  attorney  is  undoubtedly  earnest 
in  his  effoi-ts  to  convict.  The  writer  has  been  on  jury 
in  some  cases,  and  finds  that  there  is  almost  always  at 
least  one  juryman  so  much  in  sympathy  with  the  moon¬ 
shine  business  that  he  will  hold  out  against  a  convic¬ 
tion.  regardless  of  evidence,  and  at  least  cause  a  mis¬ 
trial. 
This  county  has  never  had  a  licensed  saloon  and  I  feel 
quite  sure  will  support  Prohibition,  but  not  through  the 
Prohibtion  party.  Minority  parties  do  not  fare  we'l 
here.  In  conclusion,  I  believe  that  there  are  enough 
male  voters  in  favor  of  a  continuation  of  the  “dry” 
law  so  that  when  supported  by  the  female  vote,  which 
is  overwelnxingly  “dry,”  they  will  carry  this  section. 
Florida.  B.  G.  A. 
Are  Dairymen  Going  Crazy? 
It  is  time  for  plain  speaking  about  one  of  the  largest 
branches  of  farming  carried  on  in  this  locality.  I  re¬ 
fer  to  the  dairy  industry.  There  are  those  who  seriously 
declare  that  in  pursuing  the  course  they  have  for  the 
past  few  years  'farmers  show  every  sign  of  losing  then- 
reason.  Is  this  true? 
All  over  a  large  portion  of  the  country,  Broome  and 
adjacent  counties  included,  two  distinct  classes  of  men 
are  trying  to  maintain  a  separate  organization,  the  one 
known  as  the  non-poolers’  association,  the  other  the 
poolers.  The  points  over  which  these  two  organiza¬ 
tions  differ  are  not  in  and  of  themselves  vital.  The 
prices  each  is  able  to  command  for  milk  are  now  and 
have  been  so  low  that  in  many  if  not  most  instances 
the  cost  expenses  eat  xxp,  and  more  than  desti-oy  all 
profits,  so  that  a  great  percentage  of  our  farmers  who 
depend  almost  entirely  upon  the  production  of  milk 
for  their  income  are  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy. 
Although  there  are  few  men  who  do  not  realize  that 
this  effort  to  maintain  separate  organizations  is  dis¬ 
astrous  to  the  best  interests  of  all  who  are  concerned  in 
dairy  farming,  still  we  have  the  strange  situation  that 
neither  side  will  yield  its  position.  It  is  true,  some 
steps  have  been  taken  to  get  together,  but  they  have 
not  proven  effective  so  far,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
an  uncompromising  spirit  seems  to  have  dominated 
those  that  have  been  at  the  foi-efront  of  the  movement. 
So  the  suicidal  policy  continues  to  prevail.  Neither 
side  is  making  a  living  today  as  a  class.  All  are  suffer¬ 
ing  serious  loss  every  day  the  fight  is  carried  on. 
It  does  not  matter  now  just  how  much  truth  there 
is  in  the  oft-repeated  assertion  that  there  are  certain 
interests  which  are  working  all  the  time  to  keep  the 
poolers  and  the  non-poolers  apart.  Any  man  that  is 
not  'blind  can  see  that  it  would  be  for  the  best  good  of 
the  large  dealers  in  milk  to  buy  milk  as  low  as  pos¬ 
sible  and  that  by  taking  advantage  of  the  divergence  * 
of  opinion  betwen  the  classes  mentioned  and  the  re¬ 
sulting  weakness,  they  have  been  able  to  make  large 
sums  of  money  that  should  have  gone  into  the  pockets 
of  the  farmers,  and  would  have  been  theirs  if  they  had 
not  been  so  persistent  in  carrying  their  own  point. 
No  house  which  is  divided  against  itself  can  ever 
stand  very  lone-.  The  dairy  business  all  through  this 
section  certainly  is  languishing.  Men  are  going  out 
of  it  and  taking  up  other  lines  of  farming.  Others 
are  being  forced  to  the  wall.  As  I  said  in  the  begin¬ 
ning,  it  is  time  to  do  some  plain  thinking  and  to  uso 
sound  sense.  If  we  do  not  do  this,  dairy  farming  will 
soon  take  a  grand  tumble  all  through  League  territory, 
for  the  foundation  of  things  is  being  unsettled.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  we  do  put  aside  our  wilfulness  and  act 
together  we  can  control  the  price  of  milk  in  less  than 
six  months,  so  that  new  life  will  be  restored  to  the  dairy 
interests. 
The  beginning,  as  it  seems  to  me,  would  be  for  rep¬ 
resentative  men  on  both  sides  to  meet  in  a  friendlv.  un¬ 
selfish  spirit,  allowing  no  outside  interest  to  dominate 
their  action,  and  thrash  the  matter  out  from  stai't  to 
finish.  I  know  some  plan  can  be  devised  to  slop 
further  wrangling.  We  are  all  brethren.  Our  inter¬ 
ests  are  common.  We  have  all  suffered  together.  Now 
why  not  take  the  manly,  sensible  view  of  the  situa¬ 
tion  and  not  stop  working  until  we  have  accomplished 
such  a  degree  of  co-operation  that  we  shall  once  more 
be  doing  a  living  business? 
Every  man  has  some  influence  in  the  direction  of 
united  action.  Let  us  all  use  such  voice  as  we  have, 
and  keep  on  using  it  for  harmony  and  the  exercise  <  f 
a  true  brotherly  spirit.  At  every  meeting  of  the  local 
bx-anches.  there  should  be  the  freest  possible  discus¬ 
sion  of  this  matter,  and  all  directors  and  county  presi¬ 
dents  and  other  officers  ought*  to  be  instructed  to  work 
for  unity  in  the  larger  meetings  to  which  they  are 
delegates  This  is  the  only  way  to  prove  that  we  are 
no*  all  gone  crazy.  E.  I-  VINCENT. 
Broome  Co  .  N.  Y. 
