Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 106, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 September 1904 — Page 3

POLITICAL COMMENT

Dangers that Confront Us. The greatest blunder the Republican leaders could make would be to assume Chat the election of President Roosevelt is a foregone conclusion. The victory eight years ago was made decisive because the perils of Bryanism were made apparent, and voters turned out for self-protection. But when party lines are strictly drawn there is no safe Republican majority, no safe Democratic majority. It Is largely a question of which party can draw the independent vote, which ticket appeals to a third party of uncertain numbers but which wields a potent influence In national affairs. For the past two campaigns the Republicans have won this element, and should win it again. There is nothing in the Democratic platform to reassure the country. It is evasive on every great issue, and even • the tariff plank is constructed in a manner that satisfies no one. It declares that protection is robbery, but instead of promising to stop the “wrong.” plans a “reasonable” revision, a palpable sacrifice of principle in the great game of vote catching. 1 The antics of the St. Louis convention on the money question were so ludicrous that its candidate for President, after agreeing through ills spokesmen to swalllow any kind of pill the delegates might offer, was forced to recant, and its juggling of the Panama canal plank showed plainly the differences that exist within the ranks. There Is a well-defined determination on the part of Democratic leaders' to pay no heed to principle, to let all Issues drift where they may, but to go after the votes. The platform therefore ifi a mere assembly of words.

formed to deceive the unwary. The free trader will be shown that tariff Is robbery. The protectionist will be told that the party is pledged to go no furtber'than “reasonable revision.” The silver Democrat will be appeased by jhe declaration that the money question is merely held in abeyance and that his principle will triumph all the sooner for its present suspended animation, while the sound money Democrat is to be convinced by Parker's telegram that he Is for the gold standard. It is against tills doublebarreled proposition that the Republican party must make its fight, and it will require yeoman effort to bring the truth to light that all may see. The Republicans have plenty of ammunition to use upon this ambiguous structure. There is jyithing evasive in t lie Republican platform. Net an issue Is dodged. Every principle is blazoned on the party standard. And the people have the glories of past performance as pledges for future action. The Republican record speaks forjtself. The administration of President Roosevelt stands out conspicuous for its Americanism. for its courage, for its fidelity to conviction; and it would be remarkable. Indeed, if the masses of the voters can be led astray by tiie lying standards of the opposition.—Toledo Blade.

West la Anti-Pa rker. The game of rainbow (basing has ever been a favorite pastime with Democratic newspaper*. Just now the Eastern organs of the party are publishing predictions that Parker will carry certain Western States which are reliably Republican. In point of fact, had they been in the doubtful column In the last two campaigns, they would be to-day, as they are, absolutely certain for Roosevelt The condition Is this: The President Is enormously popular throughout the West. It Is a personal popularity that would arouse sweeping majorities In his behalf, even were there no other factor making for his success, but the Democrats of that section are Intensely free silver In sentiment, and Parker's telegram has turned them away from him. Like Bryan, they are disaffected, ■nd they will by thousands and tens of thousands vote for Roosevelt. There are a number of Instances which may be given showing the drift of Democratic opinion. The chairman of the Michigan Democratic State Committee has repudiated Parker; the former chairman of the lowa Democratic Htnte < Committee has publicly announced Ids support of Roosevelt In th* Missouri Democratic convention, which named Folk for Governor, Bryan’s name was received with mighty cheers when it was mentioned, but

STILL CHASING HIMSELF.

Parker’s was. received with cries of “Who is Parker?” These are straws showing the direction of the political winds of the West The Democrats detest David B. Hill, and resent the capture of the party by him and the Wall street crowd. They look on Parker as the tool of Hill and the trusts, and on the trust proposition alone they will vote for Roosevelt The nomination of Davis, a West Virginia railroad and mining property promoter, strengthens their view that the party is in the hands of the element the Western Democrats call “the plutocracy.” There is no hope for Parker in the West.—Toledo Blade. The Situation in Ohio. Republicans of Ohio are preparing for a live, aggressive campaign, says the Toledo Blade. The organization is In excellent shape and thoroughly drilled for the work. It has won notable victories before under the splendid managment Of Senator Dick, and it will add another laurel to the wreath in November. There are no dissensions in the ranks, no differences of opinion over the platform, and absolute unanimity as to the ticket. The modern normal plurality in Ohio is very close to a hundred thousand. President Roosevelt may fall short of this a few thousand, and, allowing that many Democrats who keep away from the polls in off years will vote in the national election, he will lose a percentage of the gold Democratic vote that went to McKinley, but he will gain two votes for every one he loses. There was nothing in the work of the St. Louis convention to enthuse the Ohio Democrat. The Buckeye delegates were led to believe that Harmon

would be chosen as candidate for Vice President, but his barrel didn’t measure up to the standard. In turning him down, Parker's managers virtually served notice on the Ohioans this State was to be considered hopeless territory. No part of the Davis millions is to be distributed among the faithful here. They must work out their own salvation. Bryan’s friends —and he has a host of them in the Buckeye State—are indignant over tiie treatment accorded him. Every effort to humiliate him struck deep in the Buckeye heart. No matter how earnestly he may urge them to be regular, they will have their revenge. The Democrats who opposed him in '96 and 1900 furnished a precedent and Dave Hill gave the provocation.

Decreasing Failures. In the matter of recent failures there is evidence of our general prosperity, and the fact that our protection la panic-proof. The liabilities for the past six months were as follows: January $18,183,573 February 15,812,553 March 13,770,595 April 13.136.d88 May" 9,817,998 June 8,469,502 The above shows an improvement every month since .January. The liabilities for May and June. 1904, as compared with the same months of 1903 and 1902, were as follows: 1904, $lB,287.500; 1903, $20,640,860; 1902, $19,303.751.' Democratic spellbinders should cut out the above figures nnd paste them in their hats for use this summer. They fit in well with the savings bank statistics ami all other general evidences of a substantial prosperity, unaffected by midsummer dullness or the business lull of a campaign year.

Attacking the Tariff. The Democratic party, including Bryan, admits defeat until the next campaign on tiie issue of honest money. So It is proposed to fight this year on the Issue of the tariff. For eight years the Democratic party has fought the honesty of the laborer's wages. Now the fight is against the sufficiency of the laborer's work. The people resisted successfully In 1890 and in 1900 the fifty-eent dollar in the pay envelope, and will resist as successfully half-time in the works of industryThe Republican [>arty and its candidates represent steady employment at American wages. That pnrty and Its candidates will be victorious over the tariff tinkers aa over the dolilar pluggers.—Troy Times.

INDIANA INCIDENTS.

RECORD OF EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK. Woman Held Bedfast for 25 Years by Suggestion—Mayor of Richmond Presented with Infant - Disappointed Woman Drowns Herself. . - Held bedfast for twenty-live years, apparently by the power Ttjrf suggestion. Miss Ella Conklin of Fort Wayne, 30 years old, is learning to walk. At the age of 5 her back was injured by a fall, and the physician in attendance said" she never could walk again. She went to bed, and has stayed there since, eating no solid food and ’ hardly moving. Recently, having been taken to a hospital because her stepmother became ill and could care for her no longer, she was examined by a physician, and he could find no reason why the patient should not walk. She now; moves about, takes solid food and is gaining strength. Leaves Waif for Mayor. Late on a recent night a man and a woman in a buggy drove up to the residence of Dr. W. W. Zimmerman, Mayor of Richmond, and the man, who wore a mask, left the buggy, carrying a basket, which he deposited on the floor of the office whore several persons were waiting to see the doctor. The man quickly withdrew. Mayor Zimmerman was called from the consultation room and told of the circumstances. He inspected the basket and found a baby boy with a note pinned to its clothing, asking the Mayor to give the baby a good home. The Mayor announced that he will respect the wishes of the mother, who evidently penned the note. He will legallj’ adopt the baby. The waif is about two weeks old and is a beautiful baby. Young Woman Drowns Self. The body of Miss Julia Allenberg, 27 years old, who had been missing for two days, was found in Fall creek, near Indianapolis. Her hat, shoes and pocketbook, together with two notes saying that she had committed suicide" because she was losing her mind, were found on the bank. For eight years —until six ropths ago, when she was rescued from nu attempt to commit suicide by drowning in Lake Michigan after an estrangement from the son of a Chicago millionaire whom she was engaged to marry —she was employed as chief saleswoman in one of Chicago’s largest department stores. Banker Must Face Charge. A sensation has been caused in northern Indiana by the arrest at Petersburg of Charles B. Thompson, a former banker at Walkerton, on the charge of obtaining $20,000 under false pretenses .and on an indictment for perjury. Thompson is a Chicago man. He opened a bank at Walkerton and after operating it a short time disappeared. The State's Attorney of Pike county promises that the trial will unfold a number of interesting chapters. The connection of Thompson with the Walkerton bank will be used as evidence against him. Double Tragedy at Band Concert. In Sullivan Brinton Creager shot and distantly killed his wife and tiien comaiitted suicide. The double tragedy occurred in the public square during a ’band concert. Domestic troubles are said to have caused a separation and the wife’s refusal to return home is given as the cause for the shooting.

State New* in Brief. Knightstown is oil crazy. Anderson is having a typhoid scare. The new Paragon band is now ‘■blowing” in public. H. M. Baker caught a 63-pouud catfish near Martinsville. Goshen and Warsaw have voted subsidies for a new railroad. A carnival will be run in connection with the Knox county fair. A rock pile has just been established by the city officers of Washington. Rev. Erastus Conner, Los Angeles, Cal., has been called to the Knightstown Christian church. While filing near Chesterton Will McHendree, aged 15, fell out of the boat and was drowned. Gypsies camping near Kokomo tried to abduct a child of one of the prominent Kokomo families. William Matherly, employed on the new Wabash river bridge at Terre Haute, was killed by touching a live wire While trying to repair a motor. General store of R. A. Leavitt, Sharpsville, 'was robbed of SSOO worth of mer--chandise and money. Misses Frances Cook and Blanche Stone, Kokomo, will teach in the university of Porto Rico. Patrick T. O’Brian, once one of the wealthiest men of Elwood, has made a voluntary assignment. The first rain fell in eastern Indiana since July 19. The greater part of the com crop will be saved. Richmond Furniture Company has consolidated with the Albin Manufacturing Company, Tremont City, Ohio. Jephtha Whitman, well-known farmer near Sullivan, suddenly dropped dead after working hard in a wheat field. While going to milk a cow at his farm near Blue Ridge, Michael Kney, prominent German, fell dead of heart disease. While riding on a country road near Muncie, Harry Banister was pitched off his bicycle by the breaking of the forks nnd seriously hurt. John H. Kreisher, Frankfort, has filed Milt for $20,000 damages from the Clover Leaf. He was hurt in the company's shops at Frankfort. H. A. Schnellbough, general manager of the Macbeth-Evans glass factories, has announced at Elwood that the plant there will be an open shop after this. Charles 8. Sherer, John Moore nnd Miss Mamie Hall were instantly killed *nd Miss Bertha Hili was seriously injured near Richmond by a train Which struck a carriage in which they were riding. William Cheshire, 78 years old, while alone and asleep on the floor in Nashville, was aroused by a snake crawling over his face. He sprang to his feet and found himself confronted by a rattlesnake of unusual else. The snake coiled and •prang at him and he clambered on to the bed. The snake was killed and measured four feet

FARM AND GARDEN

Buff Plymouth Rocks. This picture represents a beautiful type of the Buff Plymouth Rock female, a breed of buffs that has come rapidly to the front since their introduction only a few years ago. In geh eral conformation and size they are identical with the Barred Rocks, and as useful fowls they have few equals and doubtless no superiors. Almost everyone is familiar with the Barred Plymouth Rocks, and as this branch possesses all the merit of their ancestors, we hardly think a detailed description necessary. Suffice it to say that we think the buff branch of this

BUFF PLYMOUTH ROCKS.

family is destined to rank among the favorite breeds for those who combine beauty and the profitable side of poul-try-keeping.—St. Louis Republic. Utilizing' a Few Acres. There are many peeple in farming districts possessed of a few acres of land in fairly good tilth who do not know how to utilize them to advantage. Surrounded as they are by large farms, they hare an idea that there is not land enough to make anything out of It. While it is true that local conditions have much to do with what this small area can best be used for, in a general way itds safe to say that If the owner will do some intelligent studying he can find a way of making even a few acres profitable. Of course, much depends upon the man and his resources. If one is naturally inclined to fruit-growing, knows something about the business, and Is near a fair1/ good market, he ought to make the few- acres bring him golden returns. The same with poultry raising. In other sections it might be the best plan to turn the small area Into meadow, particularly if it was suited to grass and labor was high and hay brought a good price. All things must be considered In atempting to mal<e a small area profitable with crops, but it can be done if one will work out the problem with intelligence. Trough for Young Stock. One of the troubles in feeding stock is the waste of food, and there should be some plan on every farm where mere is a number of heads of sheep or calves so that the feeding could be done at the smallest possible expense and at the greatest possible saving. *A trough built in the following manner will be found a saver of feed.

FEEDING TROUGH FOR STOCK.

While it may be made any length desired, ten feet Is a good length, and it should be fifteen inches wide and, the trough proper, ten Inches deep. Strong end pieces are placed in position so that the trough may be raised from the ground to the desired height, the trough proper being placed about a foot from the top of the side pieces, and on the very top of the side pieces a strip of wood is placed, thus preventing the animal from getting its feet into the trough or Jumping over it. A strong board Is placed at the end of each upright side, close to the ground, and these boards are held in place by stakes driven on either side. This plan holds the entire structure firm, so that the frisky youngsters cannot tip It over.

'' The Honey Crop. California is the leading honey-pro-ducing State, with over fifty-five thousand swarms, producing about one and a quarter million pounds of honey and over* sixty thousand pounds of wax. In San Diego County alone are about twenty thousand swarms, valued at $50,000. Texas stands next to California as a producer, followed by Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee. The total product of the L'nited States Is about sixty-two million pounds of honey and nearly two million pounds of wax. Retting Stand of Clover. Many failures to secure a qatch of clover are wholly due to the attempt being made on soil that contains too much acid, sour soil, as we call it. The remedy is, of course, lime, and this may be applied after testing the soil with IltmuA paper, as advised hi this department many times. That there ought to be more clover grown on farms than there Is no one will Any. and If this is admitted why not get the soil in the necessary condition

to make the ci’op. Vt Is true that the soil acidity may not be the only reason for falling to make a catch of clover, but it can do no harm to lime the soil if it needs it and then look for the other reasons why clover will not grow on it. Rotating Wheat and Potatoes. There have been all sorts of results with wheat following potatoes, and such results have 1 argely —followed closely in accordance with the fertilizers used. Naturally, as wheat docs best on a soil which has been well worked and prepared, following the potato crop with wheat offers every chance for a good crop of the cereal, but always provided the proper fertilizers are applied and in considerable quantity, for it must be remembered that the potato crop has not left much of the applied fertilizer for any following crop, and second, that the action of the fertilizer will necessarily be slower during the season in which the wheat gets its start. In following potatoes with wheat-try this plan. Rake off the potato tops, and with the harrow- level the soil and loosen it to the depth of two or three inches; then roll the ground and drill In the seed with 200 pounds to the acre of some commercial fertilizer rich in phosphoric acid. The potato tops may be spread over the seed bed as a mulch, and will materially help the wheat. Rather a radical way of doing this work, perhaps, but It has paid well with many farmers, hence is Worth a trial.

Decoying the Hensian Fly. Wheat growers of long experience are familiar with the plan of sowing a decoy strip of wheat early in the season to entice the hessian fly. It is • a good plan to do this, even if there is no certainty that the enemy may be waiting for you. A narrow’ strip is sown entirely around the field intended for wheat, and this is turned under at the time the main crop is to be sown. This turning the decoy strip of wheat under is a better plan than plowing a number of dead furrow’s between this strip and the main field. The main crop should be sown as late as it can be with safety, whether the decoy strip is used or not, for the.later the sowing, the less danger from the hessian fly. Bear in mind also that aside from the battle with the hessian fly, success In wheat-growing comes from the thorough preparation of the seed bed. The man who works on the plan that the seed bed fpr wheat cannot be made too good is the one who gets the profitable crop. At least this is the result on farms that have been tilled for a number of years. Work is Being Lightened. To hear the steam thresher whistle in the morning sends a thrill through the heart of the old farmer who has spent so many years working around the thresher. To the average small boy it has nothing but delight. To the housewife it brings remembrances of hot times over the kitchen cook stove. In the past few years all the work has been lightened more or less. Selffeeders, self-measures and wind-stack-ers have taken away a great deal of the hard work, and now’ the gasoline stove removes a great deal of the burdensome heat In the kitchen.

Poultry Pickings. Clean out the nests and whitewash thoroughly. It is better to darken the place selected for the nests. As a rule, hens learn to eat eggs by having them broken in the nest. Stale bread soaked in milk makes a good feed for newly hatched chickens. Fowls will eat a large amount of clover, whether fed green or dried as hay. Fowls that fatten easily should have plenty of exercise, unless being fed for market. Once chickens are stunted they never regain their vigor, even with the most careful feeding. A mixture of two parts lard and one part kerosene oil will remove the scabby formation on the legs. Charred corn on cot* Is a good way to feed charcoal to fowls, and nothing is better for bowel troubles. Make the hens scratch for a living, but put grain* here, scratching will get It, or the be'ns will not thrive. On a farm good facilities, good management and good markets are more valuable than the breed of fowls. If the most prolific bens are retained and the worthless ones marketed, a great improvement would soon result. Agricultural Atoms. Good feeding is the forerunner of prosperity. Failure Is the usual result of thinking a business can run Itself. The farmer's team should be one well adapted to bls requirements. Liver Is a good food for milk production because it is rich in fats. Even in summer sufficient bedding should be provided to keep the stock clean. Desirable qualities are fixed in a herd by a long line of careful selections and breeding. The dwarfing of a tree occurs by the slight disagreement between the scion and the stock. Thrift In sheep is generally secured when the farmer thinks enough of them to care for them. Moss-covered trees will be much benefited by scraping and then whitewashing with lime and wood ashes. No one business has any assurance of always proving a profitable one, because changes so frequently occur to disturb all branches of farming.

WASHINGTON GOSSIP

Rear Admiral Manney, acting In behalf of the government, signed a contract last month for the equipment of wireless telegraph stations to provide communication between Key West and Panama, Porto Rico and Key West, the southern coast of Cuba and Panama, Pensacola and Key West, and southern Cuba and Porto Rico. The shortest distance Is four hundred and fifty miles from Pensacola to Key West, and It is a thousand miles from Key West to Porto Rico and to Panama. It will soon be possible to communicate with Alaska by the wireless system; and, when the stations are established on the Aleutian Islands and In Kamchatka, It will be easy to talk with Japan. Great progress has been made In the perfection of this new system within the past year or so. The steamer Campania, on its voyage to this country early in June, on one day received messages from Poldhu In Wales, Cape Breton In Canada and Cape Cod In Massachusetts.

The government has failed to prevent the Immigration of the undesirables from Europe with all the restrictions force to keep them out In consequence there are 20,000 Insane and criminal persons In our prisons who are supported by our taxpayers. The Insane are three-fourths of the whole. Of the 15,000 mentally afflicted by far the largest portion are from Ireland, although the proportion of criminal Irish Is very small. Of the 5,000 In prisons and reformatories a large proportion comes from Italy. The startling fact has been developed that no less than 90 per cent of all the murderers now confined In jails and prisons In New York State are Italians. Most of the Italians who reach this country stop in New York City or the Immediate neighborhood. In Pennsylvania, where the proportion of Italians received Is not so large, It was found that Italians constituted 50 per cent of the murderers awaiting trial or under sentences of death or imprisonment. These facts would make It appear that Italy Is now sending to this country the dregs of her society. Records of the public land office for the fiscal year ended June 80, 1904, show that 16,258,892 acres of public lands were disposed of during the year, as compared with 22*650,928 acres last year. The total cash received for these lands was $8,795,893, as compared with $10,557,618 last year. The number of entries was 172,857. These figures Indicate, according to officials of the land office, that the public land boom of last year Is subsiding somewhat. Last year was the record year for twenty years and the present is next highest In the number/of acres disposed of by the government Lands were taken up in twenty-four States and four Territories. North Dakota led In the number of acres and Oregon in the amount of cash received. In North Dakota 1,798,551 acres were disposed of, the money received for the same being $1,234,218. In Oregon 1,170,655 acres were taken up and $1,442,576 received for ths same.

Just now there Is considerable agitation among professional guides in Washington on account of the spread of the ‘seeing Washington” idea in street cars and automobiles. These gentry formerly had a good thing of it with tourists, whom they would take in hand when they first reached town and conduct them al) around and through tiie various government buildings and to see the other sights. A few years ago some of the departments shut down on the professional guides. The treasury forbade them to steer parties through its buildings. The National Museum and other places followed suit When they take parties to any of these buildings the guides have to wait at the entrance while the visitors find their way around as.. best they can or secure the services of a government messenger. There are government guides in the treasury, capltol, bureau of engraving and printing nnd other buildings. The annual report of the Pension Commissioner for the year ending June 30, 1904, shows that 47,374 persons were added to the rolls and 49,157 dropped, a net decrease for the first time in the history of the department. The appropriation for the year was $140,419,296 and the expenditures only $144,712,787, leaving a balance of sl.706.508. Of the 47,374 persons added to the pension rolls. 326 were by special act of Congress, and of the 40,157 pensioners who were dropped death claimed 43,820, of whom 81,728 were soldiers.. 30.071 being volunteers of ths civil war. The total number of pensioners on the rolls as covered by the report is 720,315 soldiers, 273,841 widows and dependents, and 606 army nurses. Hint sudden cabinet changes an* sometimes confusing to United States officials in other parts of the world Is shown by a message received recently at the Navy Department from Admiral Stirling, In command of the Asiatic squadron. It read: “Instructions received; will be carried out Who Is MortonT’ The admiral had not been Informed of the appointment of Paol Morton, of Chicago, as Secretary ot the Navy.