The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-06-05
Voice OF THE PRESS.
Extracts From Editorial Expression Of
Journals
OF the State and the Coast on SUBJ
iects of Living and News
Interest.

Riverside Reflex: We believe it will be
q mistake TO hang Durrant. We belleve
he is guilty but we do not know It, 1t
has not been proved beyond reason
able doubt His execution might be JUS
titled in a moral sense, just as v1Vlsectlon
is in a physical way, but in a purely
legal light it seems like a questionable
proceeding.
FARMERS AND SUGAR BETS.
San Jose Mercury: The HOLSTER
''Bee," in Directing to an industry which
is certain to prove a blessing to this
State and to the very section upon
which the "Bee" depends for its own
support, evidently does not voice the
sentiment of the people Of HOLSTER and
the surrounding country. The farmers
of San Benito County have justly COM
planned during several years past that
they could make nothing growing hay or
grain There are large acres of land in
that country that are admirably
adapted to the successful growing OF
sugar beets, and in the expansion OF the
beet sugar industry would seem to lie
their hope of the future profitable Guilt
walton of their farms.
The growing of sugar beets is no ex-
pertinent in that county. 1T is esti-
mated" says the San Benito "Ad-
vance, that during the season of 1879
thirty thousand tons of sugar beets were
shipped from this county to the sugar
beet factory at jacksonville. The
freight alone upon this product amount
ed TO $4,000. This year the product
will be equally large, and yet begin
ming has scarcely been made. The acre
age devoted to beets is about 3,113,
while the acreage that can raise beets to
perfection runs up as high as twenty
thousand. The San Juan and HOLSTER
Valleys can produce in ordinary years
a hundred thousand tons of sugar beets,
and this would be sufficient to keep a
large factory busy
MICROBES.
Los Angeles Times: From time to time
q great outcry is raised in the press, by
health officers and others, in regard to
the danger of infection from drinking
impure milk and water, and other arti-
cles of consumption, so that timid per-
sons are scared half to death, and al
most afraid to partake of anything that
has not been boiled or filtered, or sterll-
lied, or otherwise manipulated. There
are some good people in Los Angeles
who would just about as soon take a
drink Of carbolic acid as of raw Los
Angeles water. It is, of course, i'm
portant that all food and drink should
be as pure as possible, but one may
overdo this sort of thing. Science has
told US that everything, even the air we
breathe, swarms with minute bacteria,
some of which are injurious, while
others are necessary in the human econ
omy. We inhale thousands or millions
of them with every breath, and it is evil
dent that we can't get away from them
without we stop eating and drinking and
breathing. AS the human race has been
doing this sort of thing for a good many
thousand years, it is evident that the
bacteria are not quite so dangerous as
some nervous people suppose.
RURAL NAIL DELIVERY.
San Jose Herald: The discussion
started by the LOS Gatos Mall re-
garding the effect Of rural mail de-
livery in small county towns is still
in active progress. The Herald has
already briefly stated its opinion that
the farmer who gets his mail at his
door, and consequently pays more at
tention to his farm and less to the at
fractions of the nearest post town, will
be most likely to prosper, and the
neighboring town will prosper with
him, provided it is well located for
business purposes and its business men
offer proper inducements to their rural
neighbors.
We believe that this argument is
sound, but even admitting that rural
mail delivery would tend to more or
less deprive business in such towns
would that be any valid argument
against it? OF course the country
towns will argue the question from
what they consider their own interest,
but that is a limited view.
A true sociology works for the good
of the greatest number. The welfare
of our farming community is the key
to the prosperity of the Santa Clara
Valley. If this population viii not
spend its money in small country
towns if it has rural mail delivery
why? Because it can do better other
wise. To say that rural mail delivery
will destroy the business of such towns
is practically to admit that they have
no valid business claims on the sur
rounding country, except 1OE pOStd1
purposes. Consequently if postal pur-
poses can be facilitated by rural de-
livery they have no reason for being.
In other words, they have been using
the Postoffice as a handle to give them
a hold on the neighboring farmers.
If this be SO it is clearly for the
greater good of the greater number
that the farmers should be accommo-
dated in the matter of postal facilities,
and so enabled to distribute their COM
7nercial dealings according to their
best interests, unaffected by other con-
siderations
This we conceive to be the logic and
also the true policy of the matter. But
we still adhere to the opinion that a
well-loeated country town in which the
business men are actuated by a proper
sense of business dealings with their
rural nighbors, viii profit by the pros
perity of those neighbors with or with
out rural mail delivery. If there is any
town that does not correspond with this
description and has no real claim upon
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