1094 
7bt  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
THE  BUSINESS  FARMER'S  PAPER 
A  National  Weekly  Journal  lor  Country  and  Suburban  Homos 
Established  1S50 
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Herbkrt  W.  Colling  wood,  President  and  Editor. 
John  J.  Dillon,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager. 
W».  F.  Dillon,  Secretary.  Mrs.  E.  T.  Boyle,  Associate  Editor. 
L.  H.  Murphy,  Circulation  Manager. 
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the  transaction,  and  to  identify  it,  you  should  mention  The  Rural  New- 
Yorker  when  writing  the  advertiser. 
We  all  know  wliat  candidates  stand  for  before  elec¬ 
tion  ;  but  afterwards — well,  they  sometimes  don’t  stand. 
If  I  know  a  good  man  or  think  he  is  straight  I  vote 
for  him.  But  for  the  many  we  do  not  know,  we  may 
have  to  go  it  blind.  a.  o.  s. 
THAT  is  a  lump  of  cold  truth,  and  it  represents 
the  condition  in  which  many  excellent  men  find 
themselves  when  they  come  to  cast  a  ballot.  How 
are  we  to  know  that  our  candidate  will  stand  with¬ 
out  hitching?  One  trouble  is  that  many  of  us  vote, 
elect  a  candidate  and  then  forget  all  about  it  until 
we  find  something  wrong.  We  would  do  better  to 
elect  a  man  and  then  stand  right  by  him,  or  stand 
over  him,  as  the  case  demands. 
‘k 
On  page  1024  I  noticed  a  clipping  from  a  paper 
published  in  the  youth,  aud  like  your  comment  on  same, 
in  which  you  praise  the  judge  who  fined  an  intoxicated 
driver  of  an  auto  $125.  You  speak  of  Judge  Hartman 
moving  to  New  York  and  handing  out  justice.  Why 
so.  when  we  have  a  judge  in  Albany,  N.  Y.  (Judge 
Brady),  who  hands  it  out:  daily  to  all  violators?  I 
am  enclosing  a  clipping  showing  where  he  “soaked” 
a  violator  for  the  same  offense  as  Hartman  had  before 
him  $250.  M.  F.  mc. 
THE  clipping  tells  how  11  traffic  violators  were 
lined  $.“70.  Charles  Warner  paid  the  heaviest 
line — $250  for  driving  his  car  while  intoxicated. 
Others  were  lined  $25  for  speeding.  That  is  good 
work  by  Judge  Brady.  There  are  men,  however,  to 
whom  a  $250  fine  would  be  a  light  punishment.  We 
like  Judge  Hartman’s  plan  of  holding  up  the  license 
for  a  year.  That  is  the  punishment  these  speed 
hounds  fear.  Make  them  walk  or  go  as  a  passenger. 
It  is  reported  that  Judge  Farrell  of  Goshen,  N.  Y., 
collected  $1,275  in  two  days  (including  Sunday)  for 
reckless  driving  of  cars. 
* 
THE  new  President,  Calvin  Coolidge,  suddenly 
pushed  iuto  office,  with  no  real  chance  for 
preparation,  faces  a  great  and  trying  task.  He  de¬ 
serves  the  sympathy  of  the  American  people.  They 
should  withhold  criticism  until  he  has  a  fair  chance 
to  develop  a  policy.  He  faces  a  more  complicated 
situation  even  than  that  which  confronted  Lincoln 
when  he  took  office.  Europe  is  in  a  turmoil.  Ger¬ 
many  is  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy  or  revolution, 
France  angry  and  sullen,  Russia  an  enigma,  and  all 
the  smaller  nations  poverty-stricken  aud  discour¬ 
aged.  Our  foreign  relations  require  the  most  del¬ 
icate  handling,  for  Europe  is  looking  to  us  for  help. 
In  this  country  a  great  coal  strike  now  seems  im¬ 
minent,  the  enforcement  of  the  Prohibition  law  has 
raised  a  serious  problem,  and  low  prices  for  wheat 
and  hogs  have  caused  an  industrial  crisis  among 
Western  farmers,  so  that  Coolidge  receives  as  an 
undesirable  inheritance  a  legacy  of  trouble  and  dis¬ 
content  both  in  tlie  nation  and  in  liis  own  party.  It 
i* *  a  hard  situation — one  that  would  test  the  char¬ 
acter  and  patience  of  the  strongest  man.  The  Vice- 
president  is  usually  like  a  man  hidden  in  some  deep 
pit.  He  has  no  chance  to  show  his  quality — he  is 
usually  regarded  as  a  necessary  ornament,  and  lie 
usually  lives  up  to  the  title.  Thus  little  is  known 
of  the  new  President  outside  of  his  record  as  State 
Senator  and  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  That  rec¬ 
ord  is  clean  and  strong.  One  thing  greatly  in  his 
favor  is  that  Coolidge  is  a  farm-raised  boy  who  has 
been  compelled  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world. 
Anyone  who  was  “brought  up”  on  a  rough  New 
England  farm  will  realize  that  the  schooling  re¬ 
ceived  there  will  lit  a  man  to  enter  the  academy  of 
hard  knocks,  and  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  Coolidge 
will  have  a  full  course  in  that  academy.  We  believe 
he  will  rise  to  the  occasion  and  show  a  character 
and  strength  which  will  surprise  the  country.  In 
any  event  he  deserves  a  fair  chance  to  make  good. 
THE  other  day  we  tried  to  secure  a  supply  of 
coal.  There  was  a  limited  amount  for  sale  at 
$12.25  per  ton.  Considering  the  nature  and  loca¬ 
tion  of  the  coal  mines,  the  necessity  of  coal  as  a 
natural  fuel  and  the  relation  it  bears  to  human 
needs  we  regard  such  a  price  and  the  difficulty  in 
gettiug  the  fuel  as  little  better  than  the  exaction  of 
highway  robbery.  It  should  not  cost  any  such  money 
to  mine,  handle  and  sell  a  ton  of  coal.  Yet  here  we 
are  threatened  with  even  higher  prices  and  a  harder 
pinch  through  a  new  quarrel  over  wages  between 
miners  aud  operators!  The  late  Joseph  Pulitzer 
was  said  to  have  an  effective  way  of  settling  dis¬ 
putes  among  his  workers.  When  two  heads  of  de¬ 
partments  could  not  agree,  and  came  to  him  with 
their  quarrel,  he  discharged  them  both.  His  theory 
was  that  they  could  not  properly  serve  their  larger 
interests  while  they  quarreled  over  personal  ad¬ 
vantage.  We  have  come  to  the  point  where  we 
would  like  to  see  about  tlie  same  plan  applied  in 
the  case  of  a  coal  strike.  The  national  duty  of  both 
sides  is  to  attend  to  the  needs  of  the  public.  That 
is  their  larger  interest.  If  they  drop  that  to  serve 
their  personal  ends,  after  a  fair  offer  of  settlement 
fire  them  both !  Let  the  public  interest  come  first. 
* 
T  F  New  England  is  to  maintain  her  place  in  in- 
*  dustrial  life  her  people  must  produce  more  of 
their  own  bread  and  meat.  When  the  Great  War 
broke  out  the  New  England  iStates  were  producing 
less  than  20  per  cent  of  the  meat  their  people  con¬ 
sumed.  The  balance  was  being  transported  at  high 
cost  over  1,000  miles.  The  proportion  of  the  home 
■supply  is  but  little  greater  now,  while  the  cost  of 
bringing  in  meat  is  larger  than  ever.  The  future 
of  New  England  manufacturing  will  not  depend 
alone  on  water  power,  workmen,  skill  or  location. 
The  question  of  cheap  food  for  workmen  must  be 
considered.  The  section  lias  already  lost  several 
great  lines  of  manufacturing  because  the  West,  be¬ 
ing  nearer  the  farms  where  wheat  is  grown  and 
meat  is  produced,  can  offer  cheaper  bread  and  meat. 
The  ham  or  'beef  sandwich  will  be  the  deciding  fac¬ 
tor  in  determining  the  future  of  New  England.  Her 
farmers  are  the  men  to  save  the  section  rather  than 
the  bankers  and  manufacturers.  There  are  millions 
of  acres,  now  practically  abandoned,  where  beef  cat¬ 
tle,  hogs  and  sheep  can  be  fattened  at  a  profit-.  It 
would  mean  a  change  in  methods  and  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  new  crops  like  Sweet  clover,  rape  and  Soy 
beans,  but  that  would  be  all  to  the  advantage  of 
New  England  farming.  A  few  men  are  working  out 
the  plan  in  a  small  way  and  others  will  follow. 
Local  packing  houses  will  be  part  of  the  plan  and 
leading  men  of  New  England  cannot  do  more  for 
their  section  than  by  helping  on  the  idea  of  increased 
meat  production. 
* 
When  I  used  to  read  your  articles  about  commuters 
I  took  for  granted  that  the  species  belonged  to  the 
environs  of  New  YTork  or  other  large  cities.  I  believe 
this  could  have  been  a  fair  statement  a  short  time  back, 
but  it  no  longer  holds,  for  today,  we  are  getting  them 
thick  and  plenty  right  here  in  the  open  country.  Every 
macadam  road  and  some  dirt  roads  have  become  avenues 
over  which  we  see  farmers  in  increasing  numbers  who 
motor  to  town  in  search  of  employment  which  yields 
higher  returns.  j.  b.  d. 
Montgomery  Co.,  N  Y. 
S  readers  will  testify,  we  have  for  years  pictured 
this  shifting  of  population  through  the  growth 
of  a  commuter  class.  It  is  growing  rapidly.  The 
old  theory  was  that  improved  roads  and  transporta¬ 
tion  would  draw  the  country  into  the  town  and  city. 
Few  seemed  to  realize  that  the  improved  roads  might 
draw  the  city  into  the  open  country.  Yet  that  is 
what  is  now  likely  to  happen.  The  cheap  car  and 
the  smooth  road  will  enable  the  workman  to  live 
in  the  open  country  and  travel  to  and  fro  from  his 
work.  That  began  years  ago  in  New  England,  and 
the  habit  is  spreading.  We  think  the  towns  will 
become  more  and  more  places  for  business  and  manu¬ 
facturing  with  a  large  share  of  the  workers  living 
outside.  This  is  the  first  step  toward  the  breaking 
up  of  the  big  cities.  It  will  mean  a  greater  oc¬ 
cupation  of  the  country,  for  as  transportation  is 
developed  people  will  go  farther  and  farther  back 
for  homes.  On  the  whole  it  is  a  good  move.  It 
means  that  more  and  more  of  city  earnings  will  be 
distributed  in  the  country. 
% 
A  DRIVE  along  Lake  Erie  through  the  New 
York  grape  belt  last  week  revealed  a  disas¬ 
trous  drought.  We  thought  it  was  dry  in  Northern 
New  Jersey,  but  we  seem  fairly  well  watered  com¬ 
pared  with  the  dusty  Sahara  which  stretches  for 
miles  back  from  the  lake  shore.  The  dust  lay  thickly 
over  everything.  To  ,an  outsider  it  seemed  impossible 
August  25,  1923 
that  grapes  can  grow  in  such  a  drought,  yet  many 
vineyards,  well  cared  for,  looked  green  and  thrifty, 
and  will  yield  fair  crops.  There  are  of  course 
neglected  vineyards  which  are  barren  and  desolate. 
The  people  show  surprisingly  good  temper  and  hope¬ 
ful  spirit  in  the  face  of  these  drought  afflictions. 
This  .is  a  great  section  for  automobile  parties — cars 
run  along  these  dusty  roads  in  a  stream,  and  they 
affect  the  water  supply.  We  saw  several  signs  like 
the  following:  “Please  don’t  ask  us  for  water,” 
or  “Water  10  cents  a  bucket!”  It  hurts  these  hos¬ 
pitable  people  to  realize  that  the  well  has  run  dry. 
On  the  western  side  of  the  divide  at  the  top 
of  which  Mayville  is  planted  the  evidences  of  drought 
were  everywhere.  Yet  as  we  passed  down  the  East¬ 
ern  side  the  situation  was  better,  and  the  soil  and 
the  crops  showed  that  rain  had  fallen.  There  was 
not  enought  of  it  to  satisfy  the  thirsty  earth,  but 
it  had  a  fair  drink  at  least. 
* 
AN  English  report  shows  that  British  farmers 
are  having  about  the  same  trouble  as  our  own. 
The  difference  between  the  price  of  apples  at  the 
orchard  and  in  the  retail  store  was  344  per  cent. 
That  seems  to  mean  that  where  the  farmer  received 
one  dollar  the  consumer  paid  $4.40.  On  the  average 
there  were  six  “intermedians”  between  the  farmer 
and  the  consumer.  This  means  middlemen,  large 
and  small,  each  with  a  hand  in  the  bag.  In  some 
cases  there  were  16  to  20  “links”  in  this  chain ! 
About  all  the  report  suggests  is  co-operat’ve  market¬ 
ing  and  increased  credits  to  farmers.  Probably  on 
the  other  side  of  the  water,  as  here,  the  general 
theory  is  that  paid  government  agents  must  do  this 
work  for  farmers — thus  creating  more  expensive 
jobs.  “Do  it  yourself  /”  Thousands  of  farmers  are 
doing  it  already  at  roadside  markets  and  retail 
stores.  They  must  apply  the  same  principles  to 
larger  enterprises. 
* 
ALL  through  Eastern  New  York  and  Northern 
New  Jersey  this  season  has  witnessed  the 
worst  drought  known  in  years.  We  have  had  some¬ 
thing  of  a  “run”  of  wet  seasons  for  several  years, 
and  many  farmers  expected  another  this  year.  There 
have  been  a  few  scattered  showers,  but  in  our  own 
section  no  satisfactory  rain  for  nearly  three  months. 
On  the  lighter  soils  the  effect  is  disastrous.  There 
has  been  a  fair  hay  crop,  for  tlie  May  rains  started 
the  grass  well,  but  potatoes,  vegetables  and  fruit 
have  been  badly  cut  Pastures  are  poor,  and  tlie 
milk  supply  is  failing.  Thus  far,  with  us  prices 
for  farm  products  have  ruled  a  little  better  than 
last  year,  -but  not  enough  higher  thus  far  to  com¬ 
pensate  for  lower  yields  of  crops.  The  smaller 
growers  who  control  irrigating  plants  are  having  a 
harvest  this  year.  In  New  England  we  find  the 
situation  much  better.  There  has  been  more  rain 
generally  in  that  section,  with  crops  and  prices 
both  good. 
Us 
EY.  GEORGE  B.  GILBERT  (the  Pastoral  Par¬ 
son)  known  to  all  readers  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  is 
considering  a  trip  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.  in  November. 
He  wants  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  National  Coun¬ 
try  Life  Commission.  It  would  be  good  if  he  could 
talk  his  way  there  and  back.  We  have  no  doubt 
there  are  dozens  of  places  along  the  way  where  the 
people  would  like  to  see  and  bear  Mr.  Gilbert.  He 
has  a  real  message  to  deliver.  He  can  bring  the 
problem  of  the  rural  church  right  home  to  people 
who  need  to  study  it.  The  R.  N.-Y.  is  interested  in 
this  because  it  will  be  quite  like  sending  one  of  the 
family  out  to  talk  to  our  friends  in  distant  places. 
If  any  of  our  people  care  to  make  arrangements  to 
have  Mr.  Gilbert  visit  their  town  we  shall  be  very 
glad  to  hear  from  them. 
Brevities 
Now  we  are  told  of  the  stingless  bee.  Is  a  bee 
safe  without  a  weapon? 
People  in  Maine  write  that  they  found  a  good  fire 
very  comfortable  through  July !  The  only  fire  some 
of  us  wanted  during  that  month  was  what  went  into  a 
fireless  cooker. 
The  Iowa  Experiment  Station  shows  that  when  an 
acre  of  green  corn  is  put  into  the  silo  it  has  more  than 
twice  the  feeding  value  of  that  some  corn  cured  and 
fed  as  dry  fodder.  Also — with  Alfalfa  hay  at  $15  per 
ton.  Timothy  hay  is  worth  only  86  cents  for  feeding 
milk  cows! 
There  have  been  two  months  of  dry  weather.  Not 
even  a  shower.  The  crops  are  burning  up.  Just  as  you 
go  to  bed  you  look  out  the  kitchen  door  and  find  the 
rain  falling  like  a  fine  gentle  spray.  The  sky  is  dark. 
You  go  to  bed  feeling  that  after  all  this  is  a  pretty  good 
world.  In  the  morning  the  sun  comes  blazing  once 
more.  You  go  out  to  find  it  was  only  a  passing  shower. 
You  would  hardly  know  there  had  been  a  drop  of  rain. 
Well,  it  requires  some  philosophy  to  smile  and  refrain 
from  scolding  the  children. 
