The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-03-01

president of the Western Apple Grow
ers' Association"
This case may be appealed, but the
final result can scarcely be said to be
in doubt. Railroads are protected by
law; they often keep rival roads out,
and they must do the business or pay
damages for loss from their failure.
Mr.. Gilbert deserves the thanks OF all
fruit growers and fruit shippers for the
fight he has made and the victory he
has won.
A farm paper must stand for the
good of farmers. I am glad to make
the following clipping from the Rural
New Yorker, for 1t speaks in no un-
certain terms on a question that Is
vital to the welfare OF farming com
munities:
Tennessee is the latest state to pro-
bihit the sale of intoxicating liquor.
Here, as in every other pronipltion
state. the movement started In the
country and was carried through by
country people. The present demand
for temperance legislation comes from
the farm home. 1t is sure to grow
stronger. because of the very fact that
farmers are conservative. They are
slow to start, and only decide to act
after careful deliberation. After they
once start. however, there Is no head
ing them off. We therefore expect to
see other agricultural states ADOPT
state prohibition. In other states we
believe that the legal sale OF liquor
will be finally limited to the larger
towns and cities. Country people have
for a long time realized that liquor
selling and saloons were hurting them.
Not only is the saloon a curse morally,
but it is business evil as well. Moth
ing will do more to demoralize farm,
help, while a great share OF the vast
sums paid for liquor are taken out of
legitimate markets for food and other
things which farmers produce and Of
fer for sale. The question has now
gone past sentiment and has become
a business proposition, with peculiar
significance to farmers. That Is why
prohibition is spreading"
This is one view of this matter; an
other one is given by Louis Erb, of
Cedar Gap, Mo-, in communication
to the Fruit Trade Journal and Pro-
duce Record of New York:
with Tennessee, four of the South
ern states, Mississippi, Alabama and
Georgia, have gone dry within the last
two years. and while do not approve
of this un-American way Of trying to
make people good, can see no special
harm in it for the growers or the deal
ers in fruit 1t is a well established
fact that when people can't get booze,
they will eat more fruit, and l have
been informed that the fruit stands in
several of the Southern cities have
largely increased their sales since pro-
hibition went into force. An eminent
physician recently said: Let any
man afflicted with the love of drink
eat three or more apples daily and the
craving will gradually leave him. A
woman not long ago cured a drunken
husband without his knowledge, by
keeping always plentiful supply OF
Ben Davis apples on the dining table.
The man ate these delicious apples and
finally stopped drinking altogether. 1t
is wonderful what Ben Davis apples
will do
Inquiries are coming in about the
Porter bill and the size of the apple
box I have been waiting to get some
facts about the conference at Wash
ington, D. c., January 81. Some things
are not clear to my mind, but think
can give a pretty fair resume of what
was considered and what was agreed
to. The Porter bill as it was intro
duced in Congress about a year ago
required an apple box to contain 1854
cubic inches, which is more inches
than the Winchester bushel that has
always been the standard bushel in
the United States. The state Of New
York has the Imperial bushel which
is somewhat larger. The standard box
used in the Pacific Northwest con-