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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (July 30, 1914)
*• -h# officer* and the Members of the Xehraska p ate pres* Asto dfHlM: Ladies and Gentlemen —Your cam toi'tee appointed at the last State * 'ctid-.M, held us Omaha June. 5*: to »»esticate and report up m •* Apct of uxitioa in Xebmn ha. bet* rai* t» submit the follow i&C in f'cmpuasce there* -h: la b« :.rr. ins taper, this t mmmee •* * res extend to the editors of this state rs festitftlt thanks for their read ass.* .ac* asked h> the c*a «i"ee In order the better to ascer tain £• tiers! public sen- intent, the e -mm - — drafted a form of ballot •'a .nr «• tun propusittuas in tax reform and asked 'he readers of Ne *'»•»*» paper, to role thereon The emior* .4 he state to she number of aPoat ««t> nuni-red and fifty, kindly insef-ed .a in«*r papers a »tm>ratjrpe ta e -4 the helior and tuau- others ^ * l.sim-n * pafciabin* the same in their papers A copy of the ballot to •hiri;. reference is made is hereto at tached and made a part hereof ' he m -• cot-e-," u-Jti* result of the «-*e ta- s the demon*!ration made * — the present n-iraa* system of Vehrasaa has fee -f any ixre.iiaest defenders anyahere aith-n the state. Oar reset ar Kaiwst, published in a hash of mare than ire paces, are a toon? p> jnmb.e of idiocies, the aTsc nictiptat of nhieh *ooJd e-asfe - = <«f -lanrBf. e*er> vent ice «* eti*-»f JO in the state of X-bras fca except that of the foreciosinc of ■retatt* and the business that *rw»* -• of sheriS s sake Were it P-**».: - strict!y to enf-cca these fe*et:a U*». the people sou d flee * to state as ream a peer . inane. and its prueye-e-. nuM be doomed There - '«•* »tf » gew rally da'.geroa* *■ * i>» pahtlr off *i* any disc-re fMh In te* n*c.uc® of the low. oiill •SO je-ep . of rt>* Mote o«e to -heir t»* a“ - * a eerai# debt of gra’i • ere tbe enforcetnont of those rev •Sac Its poobr Tilers- s today befor* the people Of • -• s**;e as amendment 10 wr cos - !•«’.«. which noeld if aihtpted. eo •* *b» legislature akirg under our a' ki C - '.-till n. lours !» » . -de- th» p~ *p:e to remedy 'he de ■c" » of revenue system Tbe re ►c * • ' ot-rr upon !i# question M ot.»-d »as to record a very large ■hap*"*' of the Seaspapcr readers of • ->» suite .r fasw of that amendment. K et ' -we who voted aha.ust it cri de&r t a so -nro.gh a ®i*apprchea »-0h •' He parpxr- Th e is proved 'h» tort that invariably these ...it' -iVf. lb, rejected hr their i t » thus i mead men: made sugees ’ - ** of Changes its <mr resellue sye • - *.er? otic Of Which woaid he im pose >e .* *t - amendment is • *r* d *» X etai»er Apparently ' - f r •* > t» rt» • i the *mend • **f taoe ' -s to the iegislatane. - r '">** fTfflf im*“ fct '&d* ifi-51* fare of a*f 'l*r*.er power Vet this tear » c.-... undies* eapoeMil in view •dr •' e fact that h Xet.rhsfca 'hanks 19 Tte _t re and retereBdcra. -he «t* a' 1 bat!.) or includes “The peepte ” ' fe» au. t object of the ballot was ‘ •: ".’tee to tlOd OUt if IB • he average render s mud there was *: ’ *rs " • the b*ate ought hot to . al tfc-oo ■ h.fats that ’-he people de s-rsd and ought to have or th.ngs • hot tv 3d tide or run away, or that coaJd iif would rua> into the U'ate. To «hr doertim as to whether the rusher ‘amend ’he taxing of farm im phhf-a. s oca or other products of . farm. th“ . me shooed a hoot an a dfkSst** u( optanm as it ainct sb »ed ah equal 4:use* of opinion as *» the tax at MO of personal property. Vrt ac a® a*, us feaiure of the halloi ng wa* The russuiie M.ar.ira t> of uft'-'* t«Mf certain farmer* ihat t-rw .aretossir and products should si be taxed 'hough the;, toted “yes~ 1, s. ms 1® whether mnnu tprf-amg mart, inery and merchants" * -u» !*• (ixn tn erlooK - t er *r .e di»pu»=is« o tax the el"- nhd t. ws producer while allow in'* »h* far* pr»*d»r«*r to escape these iwuivm failed to woe ’hat when they nf* l» 'ax w manufacturer or the »• -eha»’ they only ’.ate to tax them •» s-*e* the tax is -nvnnably e ••< * • price uf the cuodr pro d-.ed and stirflod «a o the fanner and ail other rott£!iut» of the modi h <t taawe at* oeror paid by the per. »-w spot wham they are ie>wd ’ !• pfwweot «-«?*• ui.jo <4 th» •Sntr » > her .« wr’h 'be idex of eo eeerva rt the planting of trees, coo ta*w» Si* (mwiniK : "The legislature a** asorkde that 'he ;ncrr*#ed value cue* by rwwacio of live fence* feurt »eS fcrest Tree*, grown and ret*:rated tfaeewo*. shall not be taken M« ececunt to ’hr _».-e*»n ni> there Of " » .<*< not •t the unfortunate word !#: 4 fa* sac ion. « ha* not exmtn H 4 as F otherwise might hare dm* toward the cultivation of trees Must Precious Possess on * hrh I see about me in the fields at C’i e* tuai attain toe:.: and culture. !i :r »„>*.* of business and in lam Uy e w nut.' disasters and trap edew kmc drawn oot. of failing health and w apse of nerve, hrsin and mus cle, I teat that health is the only bul wark upon slurs ewuyyt hiug we prize it intellectuai culture and religious perfection caa ever tie reared.—G. ftaniey idaf Prams. Frame is of wo use as a mainspring. tut' W*ts«f» Good Gardeners. C’jwweltsetUe. Ftton. -Togetabies to the value at M *»• are ma'wrag in 1C gardens at homes of workmen in tbs Is wearing plant of the 1^ C. Trick Coke Co_ according to the esti t>a'- of judge*. who iespeted the pints wad awarded the prize* for the host The winners were George Orr. asm miners. Mr lx .an. road man. aad Andy CiUks. eoke drawer. Twesuy persons were given honor Okie awn’if*, and so well was the gar tir-rr earned on that the commit toe rvoommeaded additional prizes of a'l kinds in this state, if it was; the tret t .on of the framers of the ctt.s . m.on to encourage tree plant-! ■i-~. this cction should have enabled' sue legislature directly to exempt ron tiis' on all trees, and not mere »tat« it mat the increased value of and c ue to that fact should not be assessed This, for the simple reason tha' the exac" amount of in tr. i»e in the value of the iand due j to the |. anting c-r cultivation of trees' could ucier be use rained with any; degree of accuracy. However, the \ »ct. showed about S5 per cent, of the' r<acctt> voting to he in favor of the; exemption from taxation of all trees. This srow s ilia: in the minds of j th- sc readers there is a eouiprehen iob ot he iuea tha' to tax trees will! ••tin to the c im i nat ion of them, either L> t ut ing d )\» n or neglecting! hem end ois'ourxging their plant fg and cultivation in the first in »'a...e The '.in-.erse of this is also per • ice b> these readers in recog nt/tig the fact that to exempt from taxut r all ir-.*s would encourage the plan im. or cu.tua ion of trees in this former! - treeless state It is a fac deserving of notice that th'-.gh the Constitution directs thar tn - value of land by reason of trees may he exempted, the law passed by the legislature presuming to carry out this |.-"V!sion. exempts only foresl tree- Why this apparent di.-crimina t.oo iu fa\or of timtier lands, which lar.-ly require no attention, as a gut nit the fru-t orchards, which re :tre Lirge e»pt- .ditures and the con stant attention of the fruit growers, .iitj the ;. rot*nets of which come more c ■ i:>u, icLCb wi:i. the consumers of the State? 1.- il be i ;»-rved here that if to • \*-it r.- Tree- from taxation will tend • pm-duce orchards and timber lands. will t et Mic exemption of in d .rtry of ail kinds from -axation en i rave the iblishment of mdus r « .- . t at: kinds in this State" T**re was also about S5 per cent. • ’ <- w t- can n favor of Stale in ct-iie ard li lifftance taxes. Th" question of taxing the market -alu- •; ri.ncmset secured the high er gftirt ta ne vote of any question c the ballot It was almost unanim ur There might be rome of the r; . ■ to ' r.iak the corporations'' in t' ■ *on- and yet tb- re is some con siderable degree of justice in the idea mi' the tranchises of public service ■ 'porations should be taxed. For fe franchise usually constitutes the most valuable part of the assists of be*e i hlic utility corporations The ranchise is p-actically never taxed t pr r**ur The justice of taxing these ;ranch.se* is in the fact that they constitute a natural monopoly vat t -d by the people to the corpora i >n and ar not in any sense the re .- ..t <4 ’he effors of the corporation ’self. If the state were to exempt il- laneible property of these cor* :»*-v -ns and -ax only the land val ue* tnd the franchises, it would at *i *-e be seen tha- these properties would lie greatly improved and in creased, while the rates for their rer • -ces would be reduced " r q • r-;.tn of taxation, like most public questions, proves how the peo ple in genera may be opposed, and ■ -ore..- y opposed. to the present -• stem, and yet utterly unable to sug -c*’ a remedy. It is because of this general ignorance of the question of uxation that Privilege is able to :-jt across' so many unfair jobs up on the people And the pitiable hing of it is that the people them *• ves are misled into the support of 'fcese oppressive measures. NsturaHy, ben. it billowed that in •• .p*yn.-e to the question upon the bal* it as to the source from which rev • : ie should be derived, only about half of those voting suggested any r* :r-dies at all. However, of the total who did make suggestions of a • Tiled* about 7r. I>er cen-. either sole • - tn cinnection wi*h other ideas, mentioned the value of land as the •roper source from which revenue should be derived. \'i overwhelming number of those voting supported he dea that the matter of local taxation should be left 3 tae hards of the counties or cities directly interested Local control of 'axt'ion is one of the progressive >** of our time, and soon or late u in lie t needed to every commun ity of the state. Y»ur < remittee is disposed to pro i> t— to ’he editors of the Sta'e some >ug*estion* in the line of progressive refirm m roarers of axation 1 "si. Tner si: mid be every stip por given to the amendment to our . .. ()p kolp<j ypjjjj jjj vemher allowing mo-e discretion in :na legs of taxation upon the part of be legislative body whether that1 • •tv be the legislature or the people direct. Second There should be establish »a a State Tax commission, with power to appoint a State Assessor to bold "Wee for several years continu-! out!}, and whose conduct should be IVwer lies oiiL. de. of it. and entirely ndepend-mt of it. in ail truly valuable ives. Tennyson, the poet, was also the practical man when he remarked. 1 think ;t is w-i«est in a man to do tiis work in the world as quietly and a well as he can. wit.iout much beed n« prai'e or aispraise.—Selected. Could Stand It Longer. i lecturer one torrential night ad dressed an audience w hich might have b*eu much larger without taxing the •ating capacity of the hall. Natu ! rally, he was willing to curtail his ad < for next year. The awards were ffiFt under the geueral plan of the steel corporation. Snowball in Streets of Denver. Denver. Colo.—Snow hail battles in front of the Albany hotel nearly resulted in serious injury to thr“e Nebraska men. when B. F. Whitman and \V. I. Whi'e of Chadron land Henry Simmons of Fine Ridge Agency were knocked to the pave ment by an automobile. ! "It * asn't because of the snow,'■ but snow balls to the right, snow! subject to revision by the commission. There should be elected in every county an assessor for such county, with power to appoint his own depu ties. He should be ex-officio a mem ber of the State Tax commission. There should also be chosen in each community a local assessor whose jurisdiction should be within such com munity only. The County Assessors should constitute a county tax com mission. which should sit as a board of equalization in all matters concern ing assessments of property in such county. The action of such county tax commission should, however, be subject to review and further adjust ment, whereever necessary, bv the State Tax commission. Third. When the law makes cer tain exemptions from taxation, as of churches, schools and the like, it should not leave such matters in the hands of local assessors. Assessors are not the proper persons to decide matters of law. Such should be for the courts to determine. Therefore all assessors should be required to make assessment of all property of any class taxable under the-law Church property, schools not owned by the state or municipality, hospitals and all similar institutions possessing kinds of property taxable under the law. should be listed for taxation by the assessor. After such listing, the parties directly concerned, feeling the\ might be exempt from taxation under the law, should apply to the courts of proper jurisdiction for an order far such exemptions. (Parenthetically, it might be re marked that it is the judgment of your committee that the constitution al provision allowing exemptions of such properties, has been grossly abused when exemptions have been allowed to commercial schools and hospitals privately owned for private profit. There are many thousands of doliars of such properties in this State that have escaped taxation, not withstanding the fact that these in stitutions are privately owned and controlled and conducted for the pri vate profit of the owners.) Fourth. Though the Constitution directs that the value of all property shall “be ascertained in such manner as the legislature may direct," it would appear that the courts have ar bitrarily ruled to inhibit the legislat ure from using any discretion. If this general property tax which, largely, the courts have forced upon the peo ple. was intended to effect an equal ization of the burden of taxation, it has miserably failed. For instance, household goods used in a private dwelling cannot be said to be of equal value for purposes of taxation as such goods used for hotel purposes, out of which a profit is gained. The same is true of all other things privately used. such as personal effects of every nature. Under the law. the clothing upon your backs is supposed to be taxed on the same basis as the clothes in the stores. The one has reached its final consumer, while the other is for sale at a profit. There fore. even under the present anti quated and clumsy Constitution, in spite of the judgment of courts, the legislature ought to be empowered, and it is so empowered, to use some discrimination in this matter. Fifth. The statute providing that lands should be assessed every- four years, while osher properties are as sessed every year, should be repeal ed. If our Constitution intends what it says about equality of taxation, this statute is clearly in violation thereof. It is an unjust discrimination in favor of large land holders and against en terprising citizens To illustrate this, consider this single instance in the city of Omaha. There is at the cor ner of Sixteenth and Farnam streets a single lot. valued by its owners at $600,000. At the assessment of 1908 this lot was assessed at $132,000. At the next quadrennial in 1912. the as sessor raised this figure to double that amount, or $264,000. which was said to be the increase in value dur ing the four years. The Board of Equalization afterward raised it to $400,000. Let us be conservative. Let us con sider the figures of the assessor only. In 1908 the value of this lot, not counting the improvements, was 1132.000. In the following four years it had increased to $264,000. This shows an average increase during the quadrennial period of $33,000 per year. Add these figures, aud you get the following result: In 1910. $33, 000 land values on this lot escaped taxation entirely: in 1911, $66,000: in 1912. $99,000. Added together this showing is that $198,000 of land val ues on that lot alone were not taxed, and never can be taxed, because the quadrennial-assessmen'-oMand law exempted these land values from taxation during that period. Now sup pose a merchant or manufacturer or farmer, through the individual skill and thrift of either of them, had add ed to his property in goods produced by human toil that or any other sum each year. Would the law have ex empted him from taxation upon that amount0 And yet the increase that he might add to his property could - - . -___ dress, and. having reached what he considered the psychological moment, said: "I'm afraid I've kept you too long." Whereupon a voice replied. "Go on. it’s still raining." , Ota Coats ana Ola Friend*. My coat and 1 live comfortably to gether. It has assumed all my wrink les. does not hurt me anywhere, has molded itself on my deformities, and is complacent to all my movements, and I only feel its presence because it keeps me warm. Old coats and old friends are the same thing.—Hugo. balls to the ieft." explained White. “We were crossing the street to the Albany when a whole shower of snow balls hit us. We had to dodge so fast that we could not see where we were going.” General Strike No Remedy. Paris—A general strike for the pur pose of preventing war, in the opinion of Gustave Herve, the anti military agitator. M. Guezde. socialist deputy and other speakers at the French socialist congress would be absolutely impracticable. The only [result only from his individual entet* prise, while this increased value comes to this lane not only independ ent. but in spite of what the owaer* have done. That is the manner .n which the present revenue laws of this State reward those who are in dolent and punish those who are thrifty. Sixth. There should be a provi sion of law requiring each owner of iland to make his own assessment, [fixing its value for purposes of taxa tion. As a penalty for false estimates. |any person or the State itself should he empowered to purchase such lands at the value so fixed by the owner. By this means them would be a more equitable assessment of lands throughout the State, most especially uearest to the centres of population. The nearer we go to the centres of our cities the more inequitable do we find the assessment of lands. In the City of Omaha it will be found that ithe highest valued tots average for assessment about fifty per cent of !their market value, while the average home owner's land is assessed nearer to 75 per cent, of such value. Seventh. Many people do not realize the absurdity of the law re quiring that taxes shall be levied up on only one-fifth of the assessed val uation. This law was framed and passed at the behest of the railroads, and the only honest excuse, if such can be considered honest, was that by this process the taxing authorities ; would be limited in the amount of taxes raised. In actual practice tne taxing authorities can raise only suf ficient revenue to administer econo mic government, and if they dare go beyond this the people will check them. The result of this law is to show high levies for taxation, which give the state an unfair standing in the other sections of the country, [where it is not understood that the levy is only upon one-tifth of the as sessed valuation. Your committee would, therefore, recommend that this law be repealed and that levies be made upon the actual assessed valua tion, cutting down the levy. Eighth. All persona! property taxes should be repealed. They are unjust in their very nature. They compel people to commit perjury, and they punish those who attempt to be hon est. Furthermore they are utterly impracticable. Xo assessor can come any way near estimating the value of personal effects of the rich, while he may approximaie the value of the personal effects of the average person. This operates to compel those who are least able, to pay a higher percentage of taxes than do [those who are better able. Further more. if the cost of assessing and collecting such taxes were carefully considered, it would be found that the cost about equals the amount of taxes from this source. One of our leading county assessors recently stated that j if he were to attempt a strict en i forcemeat of the personal property tax lew of this State, he would be as sassinated within two weeks. What can be said in defense of a law t hat is utterly impossible of enforcement, and if it could be enforced would about destroy the enterprise of the State? The fact is. severe as the [statement may seem, that much of ! the prosperity of tl*is State is due to the fact that, judged by the standard of honesty enforced by our tax laws, nine out of every ten of our people I are liars and willful perjurors. I Xinth. As a step in the iine of progressive legislation, the State should provide for the assessment of i all franchises in the State according to their market value. It should also j provide for the assessment of the land of the State under the supervi sion of the State Tax commission, eliminating as far as possible taxes upon improvements. This is the only means by which a just assessment can be made—an assessment that would not discriminate in favor of one county as against another. It should then be provided by the Stare that all State revenues be derived from a levy upon such values. This would effect a jnst distribution of the burden of taxation among the several counties of the State in exact. pro portion to tite value of the lands and franchises located in each county of the State. Since the value of these franchises and lands is a perfect barometer of the general wealth con ditions of the communities where lo cated, this system would effect a con dition which would soon make of this State one of the most prosperous and thrifty of the Union. Enterprise and capital and population would be at tracted to our State from all the sur rounding states. Naturally. Nebraska is the garden spot of the land, and such a progressive move toward re form of our tax laws would make it ■cononiically and in every other re spect the most attractive place in tha nation in which to live, in which to produce wealth and in which to rear the generations yet to come. Respectively Submitted. LAURIE J QUINBY. Chairman. BON C. VANDEUSEN, HORACE M. DAVIS. A. W LADD. To Stop a Hole. If using plaster of paris to fill i wall crack moisten with vinegar in stead of water, which will make it more like putty. Work it in ibe gap and smooth with an old knife. It will not then harden before you have time to apply it as when water is used. Character. Character is made up of small du ties faithfully performed, of self de nials. of sacrifices, of kindly acts of love and ditty.—Emerson. way to avoid war. they declared, was to improve France-German relations, the principal obstacle to which was Alsace-Lorriane. It is believed to be accomplished by the granting of au tonomy. Sport Before Schedules. “What time will this train reach Perkins Junction?" asked a traveler on a short line railroad. “There nint no telling.” said the conductor affa bly. “Me and the engineer are goin* ter get off down the road a piece an* hunt rabbits for a speiL” FLORENCE IS ACT! Business in Italian City AgainI Has Full Sway. All Activities Interrupted by Church Ceremonials Are Again Taken Up —Festa of Beata Giovanna Ends Religious Features. Florence*—Florence is settling down ; to business again. All the activities interrupted by church ceremonials are resumed, the bells are ringing at > regular and frequent intervals and ev- j j erything is lively and bustling, says ' a correspondent. Out at Signa, a lit j tie walled town about seven miles on J the road to Pisa, a unique proceeding incident to the season is in progress —the festa of the Beata Giovanna— and when this is over the local pro gram of religious spectacles and signi ficant services will have been finished. We were strongly tempted to go there, but on inquiry found that to appreci ate it fully it was necessary' to make an all-day trip, and concluded to do our sightseeing at shorter range. This ceremonial consists of a series of processions from ali the villages around the town whose chapels are de pendent upon the pieve or parish church of Signa. St. Giovanna was a peasant maiden of the thirteenth cen- i ttiry, noted from childhood- for her piety and virtues. While young she vowed herself to a religious life and passed many years, walled up in a little cell, in meditation and prayer. Her neighbors, venerating her as a saint before her formal recognition as such, went to her for help and ad vice. She performed many miracles of healing, especially on children. She died alone in her cell in 1837, and it | is a local tradition that her death was announced by the mysterious ringing of all the church bells in Signa and the adjacent villages. A chapel was built to serve as a shrine and her relics were kept for use on extraor- ! dinary occasions, being taken to Flor- ♦ ence and Prato and elsewhere to stay public calamities. Easter Monday is the special festi val of St. Giovanna. when from the va rious villages of the district offerings of oil for the lamps of her shrine are sent in processions, borne by Email children dressed as angels, riding richly decked donkeys, and accompa- I nied by priests, acolytes and the peo ple in their holiday attire. These of ferings are carried one by one into the church and transferred with sol Public Fountain at Florence. emu rites to the priest The entire morning is occupied thus, as the re- ' ception of each procession takes con- ! siderabie time Meanwhile in the public square a fair is held, and a j great crowd gathers. In the after noon the relics of St. Giovanna are exposed to the populace. These local ceremonies fill a large j place in the lives of the Tuscan peas ants, who, despite the differences be tween the church and the state, cling ! to their religious observances tena ciously The dispossession of the or- j ders by the present government due ! ing the latter part of the past century gave offense to a great number of the people, but this feeling is passing and a readjustment is in progress. HAS 25.875 CHILD TOILERS Young Workers in Philadelphia Stores and Mills Are Listed by Education Bureau. Philadelphia, Pa.—Approximately 25.875 children under sixteen years of age are at work in stores, factories and other commercial establishments here. This is shown by the report of I a statistical investigation conducted ! by the bureau of compulsory educa tion. Of the 25,875 little workers, 11,- ! 71S are girls. The report shows that ! these children left school in various j grades, but that the greater number terminated their education in the ! sixth grade. Under the compulsory ; education law, children cannot obtain 1 employment in Pennsylvania until they have attained the fourteenth birthday, but street trades, such as selling newspapers and shining shoes, are excepted. BILLION INCOME IN DISTRICT — Tax Payments Indicate Wall Street j Region the Richest in th* United States. _ I New York—Estimates made here i -based upon the total income assess- j meats. paid into the office of Charles W. Anderson, internal thx collector, j Indicate that in this one district, which I includes the Wall, street financial houses. 13,000 persons have a total annual income exceeding $1,000,000, 000. The section in which all thiB money is received is about two miles square. Adjoining this district, which it is said the income tax figure will show to be the richest in the United States, lies the territory east of the Bowery and below Fourteenth street, that is, the most populous, filled by 60,000 per sons. few of whom pay an income tax. HORSE GAINS IN NUMBERS AND DEMAND The Most Profitable Type. The horse's place In the life of the country' has been threatened many times, but be has shown that he was never really in danger, and he Is in more request now than ever before. When the first railroad was built in New England it was opposed on the ground that it would take the value out of horses. In 183ft a committee from the .Massachusetts legislature concluded, after investigation, that the steam locomotive could not be ac cepted in the United States as a sub stitute for the horse, as motive power, writes Joseph A. Rickart of Missouri in National Stockman and Farmer. Later the bicycle was counted upon to weaken the position of the horse drawn vehicle for pleasure, and to some degree for business. The trolley car displaced a certain number of horses and mules, but did not take much from the prestige of the equine race. The motor car and the motor truck were considered the certain doom of the horse, but he remains, gaining in numbers and demand. The reduction in the average size of farms in the United States, as shown in the 1910 census, makes more farm horses necessary. Experiments have proven that it requires propor tionately more horses to work a small farm than it does a larger one, for there are more Idle days during the year for horses on a small farm than on a large farm. But it is the demand for good horses from the cities that is responsible for the advancing price. The motor truck has taken the place of draft horses to some extent, and figures are given by interested parties that show the great economy in using motor trucks over horse power. Various influences, pro and con, are affecting the horse market at this time. On one hand there is an excep tionally good demand from the cities for large expressers and truckers. The government is buying horses, and may buy many more. On the other hand, the open winter permitted farmers to do much plowing, particularly in the central and western states. When spring came, instead of having to work all their horses, and perhaps buy more, some farmers were in a position to sell one or mo're of their teams. During the Boer war England bought a large number of horses in this coun try for service In South Africa. Kan sas City dealers secured most of the contracts for these horses, and horse and mule receipts at Kansas City jumped from 33.000 head in 1899 to 103.000 head in 1900, and almost as many were received in 1901. a volume of horse and mule business that has never been equaled at that market since. But only a fraction of the number of horses In the country are handled each year through the big markets. The horse business is entirely differ ent in this respect from the business in meat-bearing animals. In 1913 of the 21,000,000 horses in the country, only 350.000 were handled at the prin cipal bcrse markets, namely, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Ft. Worth, St. Joseph and Omaha, the relative impor tance of these markets for the year standing in the order named. St. Louis, Kansas City and St. Joseph are the only markets named that receive mules In any considerable numbers. They received 100,000 mules in 1913, in addition to the horses received. At lanta and Memphis handle a great many mules. The horse business at these leading markets last year was greater than it ever was before. In 1908, five years ago, total receipts of horses and mules at these markets was 333,000 head; in 1903, ten years ago, 369,000; and in 1898, fifteen years ago, the total was 317.00C head. So far this year these markets have received practically the same number of horses as they re ceived during the same period last year. Horses at the markets are sold by the head, at auction to the highest bid der. either singly or in pairs, except that unbroken range horses are /Sold in car-lots, by the head. Auction sales are held one or two days each week at each of the big markets, the differ ent markets having a mutual arrange ment as to the days of the week, which are fixed so that buyers may travel from one market to another and attend sales at several of the mar kets each week, if they so desire. Doubtless a vast number of horses change hands in the country privately, but country prices are governed large ly by prices ruling at the horse auc tions at the various markets. Horse dealers travel about the country and gather up horses, and ship them to the central markets, and in this manner the market price is established in the country. Prices for work animals cover a wide range. $75 to $100 for light weight, serviceable animals for street driving and light expressing, medium weight chunks for city service at $125 to $175, farm geldings, $140 to $200, farm mares $150, to $225, well-shaped i horses weighing 1,160 to 1,350 pounds at $185 to $275, and $300 to $350 for horses weighing around a ton. Fancy I drivers and saddlers are not as much used as they were ten or fifteen years ago, and fewer of them are produced, but prices on them remain at substan tial figures. Mare and Her Two Colts. EXPANSION OF OUR FARMING METHODS Farmer Must Raise Some Highly Organized Crop That Is Adapted to Rotation. (By R. G WEATHERSTONE) In a measure the use of chemical plant foods is the basis of expansive , arming. The profits from using these plant foods will depend upon their right purchase and use. Rightly used they enable a man to piace more of his land under a remunerative system of crop growing. We have been farming along too narrow lines. The fertility supply from our farm stock as compared with the size of our farms, never gets far from our barns and feed lots, so that while , Good for the Pigs. On farms where potatoes are grown something has to be done with the dis eased ones, and also the small tubers. Pigs are obviously the best kind of animals to utilize such produce, but •i fed in a raw style they seem to give very poor results, while the pigs them selves are not very' fend of them. But if boiled, mashed up, and mixed with j meal or sharps, they form a very good i food for either fat or store pigs, the meal, of course, being added for fat tening animals. a few acres “hold their own” the many suffer for the few. To expand our farming we must widen our methods and raise some highly organized crop that is adapted to our rotation of crops and our farm and that will pay a profit when grown under Intense conditions. Intense tillage makes the soil more friable, easier to cultivate and teem ing with bacterial life, a condition brought about by opening up the pores and giving the air and its decompos ing agents an opportunity to start bacterial action. The plant food that is insoluble, thus becomes available. Poor Setting of Fruit The poor setting of fruit, which often follows a long rain, is due more to a loss in vitality of the pollen or to some mechanical injury to the pistils; also, in a large measure, to the fact that bees and other insects which pro mote the beneficial cross pollination between varieties are absent Care of the Chick. Young chicks should not be allowed to roost too early. Let them seek the rcost of their own free will. Care should be taken, however, that they do not crowd in the pens or brood coops. They will sometimes persist in piling up and the under ones suf fer accordingly. The extra warmth producing perspiration is weakening and stunts them beyond point of re covery. They are also liable to “catch cold" with a si^lden change of the temperature.
