davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-12
Modify the Contract Labor Law.

We have NO objection to law pre-
venting the Importation OF large gangs
of miners or Factory hands Ito labor
for soulless corporations which are
ready and willing ITO squeeze their EN-
ployees to THE last gasp, but we do
feel that they should be so modified
that farm laborers could be imported
for the benefit OF the agricultural in
terests of the country. The following
from the American Cu1tivator puts the
case and the need very clearly:
With twenty Thousand immigrants
landing in one day at New York labor
ought to become more plenty and
cheap. But the moment man lands,
his notions seem ito change, and it is
NOT easy ito coax him to- the farm
even although offered board and lodg
ing, and more money beside, THAN HE
received in the old country with no
thing provided. The contract labor
laws Ought to bic changed enough to-
permit hiring farm help in Europe
when desired. A great MANY very de-
sirable citizens could bic i'm this way
induced to come from Great Britain,
Sweden and Germany, THE FARMERS here
could carry on operations unchecked
for lack OF help, and the whole coun-
try world benefit i'm many ways. The
kind of people coming over NOW are
mot, as rule, THE best for American
farm work. and NOT any of them know
how to get TO where they are most
needed There should a plan devised
that would bring together the under
paid English or continental farm hand
and THE overworked American farm
owner The organized labor forces are
largely responsible for the oppressive
Features Of the CONTRACT labor law, and
Iii IT'S final workings cause still greater
scarcity of farm labor and resulting
high prices for food, it will no more
than serve them right.
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-12

supply from the Citrus county oil wells,
and then the county commissioners of
Marion will show something about
road building THAT will bring joy and
g1adress Ito every FARMER and trucker
in the county. Let the good work
of good road construction go on, and
may the glory of good work done his
fel1ow-man be the reward of Col.
Mann, who is never discouraged, never
cast down, MO matter how rough THE
road when lit comes ito arousir1g a
popular sentiment in THE hearts of THE
people of the state for good roads,
the greatest blessing THAT could come
to rs. In this connection, with the
facts $50 pregnant with success before
us, Wouldn't lit be "a capital idea for
the legislature of the state to pass a
law appropriating, say, from twenty
ito twenty-five Thousand dollars for the
making of just such good roads as
Col. MANN suggests, and tl1at the
an1ounlt be divided between the differ
emit counties of the state, say, $1,000
ITO each county, who will supplement-
the said appropriation with another
tflousa1rd dollars lin building several
miles Of sand and OIL roads, so that
all may see and learn their desirable
qualities? Then await developments
until another legislature meets.
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-12
Demand for Farms.

The increasing tendency of city
dwellers to buy homes in the country
is not confined, as is generally be-
lieved, to the very rich. Those of
moderate means are also gravitating
toward the green fields. For number
of years lit has been THE fashion of
THE rich to spend the greater part of
the year i'm the country, and to oc-
cupy the town house but few weeks
at most. Now there is disposition
to make permanent homes i'm the
country, and this desire is not con-
fined wholly to the mi1lionaires. Men
with modest incomes are, buying homes
ais far removed from THE dust, noise
and smoke of 1.-THE CITIES as their busi-
mess will allow. While this exodus to
the country benefits directly only farm
properties contiguous to the cities, the
final effect lis Ito raise the value of
such property over a wide extent of
territory. If what President HILL, THE
great railway magr1ate, says lis TRUE,
namely, that wibhin the NEXT fifty years
MOST of the now hourlsing industries
will have become silent BECAUSE of the
exhaustion of the mines and FORESTS
and wells Upon which THEY depend,
and THAT the population will THEN be
compelled Ito the ti1lage of tf1e soil,
THE appreciation in the va1ue of farm
lands will be enormous I'm amy event
it is THE part of wisdom Ito stick Ito
the farm 1t will feed and clothe ONE
and keep a roof over hrs head what
ever happens. Journal
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-12
Oil and Sand Roads.

Our readers will remember that,
some time ago, we published an &C
COUNT of THE process of making oil
roads in California. Since then we
have several times urged THAT test
be made in this state of the oil and
sand method of road ma1ding The
following editoria1, from the Oca1a
STAIR, we endorse, and URGE tllat
thorough test bic made. If the legfs-
lature does not make an appropriation
for the purpose, we hope THAT the
county commissioners will go ahead
and do the work independents of a
state appropriation. We hope that the
method will be SO thoroughly Tested
by the time that the NEXT legislature
meets that there will be no doubt about
what can bic dome, and that the peo-
pile will have spoken $50 decidedly THAT
tllere will be NO EXCUSE for FARTHER
delay. The Star Says:
The special committee appointed by
the board of county commissioners of
Duval county ito investigate the good
roads problem and how Ito construct
them inexpensively, yet we'll, of which
the irrepressib1e A. S. MANN, the fore
MOST champion of good roads in the
'sltate and president of THE National
Good Roads Association, has made it's
report, and is full of suggestiveness
AMID possible benefit Ito tle state. Their
report clearly shows that oil and sand
properly mixed makes one of THE. moist
economical roads THAT has yet been
1s-1,4 II Mo- IL. L.
urlsolved problem, because it lis new
proposition to them, butt in California
lit is no longer an experiment., but an
assured fact, as lit has been tested
during the past twelve years and now
general, and thOse who have seen t11leGr
roads and traveled over them speak
of them i'm 1.-THE highest terms of adj
miration and approval A citizen of
California who visited Ocala several
months ago and with whom we dis
cussed this hard road proposition, was
surprised Ito think THAT the experiment.
mad NEVER been applied to the streets
of Ocala, for ut certainly said he,
would solve ot1r horrible dust expert
ence in dry weather. The cost of
maccadem and other hard surface
roads throughout THE country ranges
from six to twelve Thousand dollars
mile, while 1.-THE oil and sand pro-
POSITION will cost butt from a quarte'r
to one-ffth of that amount per mile.
The report lis very interesting and
suggestive one and MO doubt will lead
ito experiments that will be the be-
ginning of good road building in
THE various counties i'm the static. Tit
is THE PURPOSE of THE committee to
contract with am experienced oil and
sand road builder from California to
construct in or near the city of Jack
sonvi1e a mile Of this, kind of road,
so that dt may be an object lesson to
the progressive people of Jacksonville
and ITO the en1terprising people OF other
sections of the state. One element of
this road building material we have
in abundance sand; the other essen
tia1 component part OIL, we hope Our
friend, john w. Pearson, will soon
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-12

in hope that folks of small means in
cities and colder climates, reading
this, may improve their conditions by
the simple process of settling in Flor
ida, where nature has been so lavish
with her gifts"
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22

1555-Bishop Hooper and DR.. Taylor
burnt at the stake.
15S7-Mary Queen of Scots beheaded.
1592-James Stuart, Earl Of Moray, as
sassinated.
1763-France ceded Canada to Great
Britain.
1S14-George w. Campbell of Tennessee
became Secretary of the United
States Treasury.
1S32-Great fast on account of the
cholera in England.
1S41-Sir George Arthur, last lieutenant
governor of upper Canada, retired
from Office.
1S49-Pope Plus IN. deposed as tenn
poral sovereign.
1S56-Oude annexed to the British terri
tories in India.
1S63-Ship Orpheus wrecked off New
Zealand coast 100 lives lost.
1S64-Jacksonville, Florida, taken by the
Federals.
1S65-Gen. Lee made c~ommander-in-
chief of the Confederate forces.
1S67-Nebraska admitted to statehood.
1S72-Lord Mayo, governor general of
India, assassinated at Port Blair.
1S73-King Amedeus of Spain abdicated.
1S75-Edinburgh Theater Royal de-
stroyed by fire.
1SSO-"Lohengrin" first performed in
England. Two hundred lives lost
in Llanerch colliery explosion in
Wales....D Duke of Orleans visited
Paris, arrested and imprisoned.
1S92-Hotel Royal, New York, burned.
with great loss of life. -. job A.
Mccall elected president of the New
York Life Insurance Company.
1S93-United States Senate confirmed
the Russian e~xtradition treaty 49,.
. New York and Boston connected by
long-distance telephone. -. Count de
Lesseps and others found guilty of
swindling in the Panama scandal
trials.
1S95-President Cleveland decided
boundary dispute between Argentine
and Brazil in favor of Brazil.
1S97-Union of Greece and Crete pro-
claimed.
1S9S-Roman Catholic cathedral at
Savannah, Ca, destroyed by fire..
President Barrios of Guatemala as
s~assinated.
19OO-Gen. Roberts reached the Modder
river.
19o1-Queen W%ilheInina of Holland
welded Prince Henry of Mecklen-
urg-Schwerin.
19O2-Eight million dollar fire in Pater-
son, N. J.
19O4-Main Japanese fleet engaged the
Russian ships and batteries at Port
Arthur. . . japan severed diplomatic
relations with Russia.
1905-Soisalon Soinineau, procurator
general of Finland, assassinated. -.
Machen and the GroHfs convicted of
postal frauds in Washington.
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22
The Helion Filnment Lamp.

Prof. II. G. Parker of the physics de-
partment of Columbia and Walter G..
Clark, an electrical engineer, have an
nounced the success of their experiments
to find a better medium than carbon for
electrical lamps. They say they have a
substance which they have named heIion,
composed largely of silicon, but contain
ing some other ingredients not mentioned.
The mixture is deposited from gas on q
thread of carbon. To prove it's superior
ity they turned an electric currept into
two bulbs attached to the same wire.
One was the ordinary 16 candle-power
carbon flament and the other of the same
size. but supplied with the helion fila
ment. A slight flow of electricity that
made the carbon lamp appear as a dull
red wire produced in the new bulb a white
light that you could real by. AS the cur
rent was increased the old light changed
from red to yellow and increased in bril-
liancy until it reached 16 candle-power,
while the hslion light went to 40 candis>
power. The latter uould stand mucn
more Overlooking thar the former, and
is expected to last twice as long. besides
operating with much less current. He
lion is not a metal. n can be manufac-
tured in unlimited quantities, but is more
expensive to make than carbon flament
. at present.
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22
JAP MIDDLE ENDS.
Cnitod states, Japan and California
Unite in Agreement.

unite In AREeSiheht- #.
According to Washington advices a
final settlement has been reached Of
the vexatious Japanese question. 1t is
e~ntirc,y satisfactory. to the President.
to the Japanese, and to the California
representatives, a correspondent as
serts. Action already has been taken
by Congress, an amendment has been
made to the immigration bill, and the
Japanese representatives in Washing
ton have notified the President that it
is entirely satisfactory to them.
1t provides for the exclusion of Jap
anese coolies from the mainland Of the
United States. but allows them to be
admitted as at present to the Hawaiian
Islands. This is all the Ca%lifornians
have ever asked. In return for the
actual exclusion of Orientals they will
rescind their resolution segregating the
Japanese schoo children.
In settling the difficulties which
have required the consent and advice
OF the Pres mt, Congress, and the
municipal authorities of San Francisco.
the rarest and most delicate diplomacy
has been manifested. The wording OF
the amendment leaves the execu-
ton of the decree of exclusion In the
hands of the President exclusively. In
this way, if the California people fail
to carry oat their part Of the agree
ment. the President will allow the
Japanese to come into the United
States until Congress takes positive "a
ton.
The amendment as adopted makes II
possible for the President to wait for
the School Board Of San Francisco to
admit the Japanese pupils to the schools
on equal terms with other children
once more before barring out adult pu-
pills, of whom the people Of California
are particularly afraid. Mayor Schmitz
ard his colleagues from San Francisco
would not agree to restore the children
until they had some guarantee tina
Japan would agree to a treaty OF eX-
clusion.
The amendment agreed upon by the
Conference Committee is automatic In
It's action, and gives the President the
necessary power without regard to
Japan. On the other hand, the Japanese
| would not sign a treaty as a matter OF
national pride until after their children
had been given the same status as 9TH
or aliens on the Pacific slope.
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22
pkIICS%eak


Reports credit w. J. Bryan with
eighty-six lecture engagements for the
present season at $500 each.
Congressman Butler Ames of Massa-
chusetts is said to be already in training
as an aspirant for the seat of Senator
Lodge, whose term has still four years
to run,
In a recent statement w. J. Bryan de-
MED that he had announced his candi-
dacy for the Democratic nomination. but
said that such a high honor was some
thing that no American citizen should
decline"
Ernst Vollmer, n University of Cali.
fornia student of the class of OF, has
been appointed American vice consul at
Tsingchao. China, the sixth university
man to be honored with an appointment
to a consulate position.
Speaker Cannon has announced him
self in favor of a maximum and minimum
tariff. He believes in making the mini
mum tariff protective and to utilize the
maximum tariff as a big stick against
nations who discriminate against the
United States.
1t is generally agreed that the most
significant idea in Secretary Taft's recent
declaration of his attitude towards the
Republican nomination for President is
the implied purpose of not accepting a
place on the bench of the Supreme Court
until after the next Republican conven-
ton.
With the converting of the Indiana
Legislature, the Republican majority has
started a food of BILLS directed against
the trusts and corporations. One makes
it a misdemeanor to belong to any trust
or for railroads to carry the products of
trusts. Another gives the State railroad
commission the power to fix freight rates
and a third demands a 2-cent-a-mile fare
on all railroads.
Rev. DR.. Henry A. Buchtel, chancellor
of the Denver university, was inaugural
ed as Governor of Colorado and for the
first time in the history OF the State the
ceremony took place in a church. Trim
ity Methodist Episcopal church, which he
aided largely in building while he was its
J,astor. was chosen by him. The Gov
ernor concluded his address with prayer,
in which many of the audience joined.
The Nebraska Legislature has passed a
bill making it a misdemeanor, punishable
by heavy fine, for any corporation to en-
ploy a professional lobbyist. and restrict
ing all companies and individuals to argu-
ments before committees. To this end
any person sr%equenting the capitol, with
out apparent occupation, may be arrest
ed. questioned and elected from the build
ing. and if they return may be confined
in Jail until the session closes. The Leg
islatures of Kansss and South Dakota
are also considering similar measures.
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22
of the Larchmont is blown up it viii
not be known how many Of the passen-
gers and crew persisted below decks.
T~e1egraphic Brevities.

The Paris Pasteur institute is made So
100000 richer by a beguest of Daniel
Osiris, the philanthropist.
All grades of fine writing paper are to
be increased 10 per cent in price, accord
ing to advices from Holyoke, Mass.
A newspaper fight which has been wag-
ed between the Daily Herald and Daily
Courier at Bristol, Tenn, was ended
with the purchase of the Courier by the
Herald.
A dinner was given in honor OF Daniel
H. Burnham of Chicago by the Civic
League of st. Louis. Mr.. Burnham made
a brief speech on art and designing for a
great city.
Gov. Magoon of Cuba surprised the ma
tives of Havana by fighting a small fire
on the roof of the palace, caused by cross
ed electric wires.
Sixteen States west of the Missouri
river were represented in the transmits
sissippi dry farming congress which con-
yened at Denver.
The national board for the promotion
OF rifle practice has decided to hold its
annual shoot at Camp Perry, Ohio, be-
ginning Aug. &c.
The Toledo Ice and Coal Company filed
with accepting rebates on shipments of
ice from Michigan.
The six-story brick building owned by
the Troy Waste Manufacturing Company
at Troy, N. Y. was destroyed by fire. The
less is about $4,000. The building stood
in the collar district.
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22
CAPTAIN WENT FIRST.
Master of IlI-Fated Steamer Larch-
mont Accused of Co'vardfce.

Master of Il1-FateI Steamer Larcn-
mont Accused of C~ovvardfce.
A new element was injected into the
horror attending the loss of the steam
err Larchmont in Block Island sound
through a collision with the schooner
Harry Knowleton, when Captain Nc
Vey of the steamer admitted tina his
lifeboat was one of the first, If not the
first. to leave the sinking ship.
This statement was made in reply 10
charges by Fred Hiergsell, an lS-yeaf-
old lad Of Brooklyn, II OF the sur
vivors, that the passengers e left to
shift for themselves; that the ships
crew crowded the boats without at
tempting to provide for the passengers,
and that Captain McVey was the first
to desert the ship The statement OF
young Hiergsell caused a sensation, in
view of the fact that ten Of the nine
teen survivors were employees on the
ship, or, in other words, thai While ap-
proXimately 20 per cent of the vessels
crew was saved, only s per cent of the
passengers survived.
Captain McVey explained that while
his boat may have been the first in the
water it was because he had a good
crew and that he remained by his ship
until she went down. At least 157 per-
sons we're known to be on the steamer,
and there is every indication that the
number was nearer 200. Until the hull
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22
PLAN OF THAW DEFENSE.
Contend that Defendant Was Tenn
p~orarily Ir~resPOnsible.

Contend that Defendant Was Tenn
~porarily irresponsible.
Harry X. Thaw is fighting against
the plea Of insanity his attorneys are
trying to establish with the aid of such
carefully prepared expert testimony.
Thaw fears that District Attorney
Jerome is planning to send him to the
madhouse in the event of his acquittal,
and this fact makes him fear the plea
his lawyers have set up. They are at
tempting to prove that he was insane
at the time Of the murder of Stanford
White, June %, 1906, but that he has
been constantly improving since then.
and is now entirely sane. Thaw fears
that his attorneys are putting too much
emphasis on this feature of the case
and believes that a stronger attempt
should be made to impress the jury
with the self-defense plea. and to win
ITS sympathy by unspoken appeals to
the unwritten law.
The trial was brought to a sudden
halt Thursday by the death of Mrs.
Joseph 3. Bolton, wife Of juror No. II.
Mrs. Bolton had been suffering from
double pneumonia, and its fatal ter
mination caused alarm among those
directly interested in the Thaw case.
The testimony of DR.. Evans in the
Thaw case revealed the nature Of the
defense. The doctor. who is not an i'm
provised expert, but the head of Il large
insane asylum and a physician of many
years experience in mentaI diseases.
testified that on the occasion Of his
first three visits to Thaw in Jail. Thaw
was undoubtedly insane. He was suf-
fering the after effects of Il mental ex-
plosion." During the period covering
the later visits of the physician Thaw
showed a steady Improvement, so that
1t would appear that at present he is
nearly, if not quite, sane. In other
words, he defendant was not response
BILE for his deed at the time it was com
mitted. and, therefore. should not be
punished On the other hand. he is not
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22

now insane, and, therefore, should not
be committed to an asylum.
The rest Of the testimony since the
first day las been an attempt to cor
roborate the opinion of the expert that
Thaw was insane and to show the TX
istence of a condition of affairs acute
enough to drive to temporary insanity
q man who had a predisposition to it.
When insanity is due to the effect Of
bone pressure on the brain an operation
upon the skull often causes the recov-
cry of the patient. In this case it is
alleged that The irritant was not a
piece of zone but the man White. With
the removal of White, in this case not
by the hand of q surgeon but by the
patient himself, it is assumed that
Thaw's brain ceased to be irritated and
returned to its normal condition.
1t remains to be seen whether the
district attorney can discredit this med
ical witness as thoroughly as he did the
responsibility of the slayer. 1t remains
also to be seen whether the jury will
approve this return to the plea of tenn
porary insanity, which has been in dis
credit for some ear because badly
overworked.
Unless something spectacular has
been reserved the nature Of the de
tense is now clear. The character of
the counter testimony for the prosecu-
ton and the cross examination Of the
witnesses for the defense will try Sc
verely the professional skill of Mr.. Je-
rome. The public Is interested in the
battle OF able lawyers over a human
life such as Is being waged.
Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22
RAISE FREIGHT RATES.
Roads All Over Country Preparing to
Make Increases.

Make I~Dcreases.
Railroads of the entire country are
preparing to make general increases in
freight rates which will bring them
severai hundred millions added revc-
Il annually. In Chicago conferences
have been held between the highest
traffic men Of both Eastern and West
ern roads, with a view to eliminating
hundreds of rates which are known as
commodity rates" and to compel ship
pers to submit to the classification
rates, which are substantially higher.
The preliminary work is being done
by committees representing both sec
lions of the country, and the exact
magnitude of the increases and Of the
general move for more revenue will not
be known until these committees make
their report, which may not come be-
fore June.
The excuse put forward for. "A gem
eral increase in rates is the alleged
alarm felt in Wall street and among
the stockholders and directors of all
railroads over the increasing difficulty
III ooiailiihS uioheg Will WINCH "
make needed improvements, built ex-
tensions and provide equipment and
facilities for carrying the traffic Of the
country. 1t was stated that more than
81, 500. 600. 900 had been appropriated
by the railroads for these purposes, but
that it was impossible to foat the Sc
curities in any Of the money markets
of the world.
Accordingly the railway presidents
and the men who control the transpor-
tation facilities have come to the con-
clusion that the only way to raise the
necessary money is to join the process
sion and increase the price Of what
they have to sell, which is tr%ansporta-