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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1908)
ciirsEoiBAn There are times when the spirit of the law Includes the letter ; when Indi vidual Judgment has no place In action. However broiid a principle may be, its practical value Is destroyed unless It Is applied by the 'individual and demon strated by hlui. J. O. Fagan, writing In the Atluntlc Monthly on "The Confes sions of a Railroad Signalman," Illus trates this truth, and speaking as a railroad man, places much of the re sponsibility for railway disaster upon ihe disregard of essential regulations. As far as speed and comfort go, there Is little to be asked for In railroad service. But when we take Into ac count the human lives which have paid tell to the American system, we can n.it avoid the conclusion that something Is wrong fundamentally. The popular discussions In regard to block signals, tried employes and faulty rules are endless and fruitless. Investigations and pennltles are in effect secret, and the world remains In Ignorance. It is the men who know the details of 'all rond life, the men who pull the signals and handle the trains, who must be hoird from. The significant facts In accidents are the personal conduct of employes, and not the nature of signals or the word ing of rules. Most of the trouble can be traced to us railroad men, to our own personal behavior as railroad men. 1 litre Is a rule that a freight train tiTSt not leave a station to follow a pntM'tiger train until five minutes after tl'i departure of the passenger train. TliU seems plain and positive, yet no attention whatever Is paid to It by the engineers, conductors or superintend ents and Its violation Is the cause of ii'iich loss of life. The fault lies not In the rule, but In downright neglect on the part of the men to do as they IN! told. A ftagmnn protects a train to the very Utitr of the rule when It is manifestly necessary, but when, In his opinion, it Is uot, he takes the chances. If an en gineer encounters a single torpedo, the rule calls for a full stop. If he hap pens to have n clear track for a mile or so ahead he keeps on, and some day THE POOR he finds that his Judgment was at fault. ' A green light with semaphore norl Eontal calls for caution. This should not be Interpreted at will. It demands en actual, not a theoretical reduction of speed. It Is not a piece of Informa tion to be stored away In the engineer's brain, to be utilized when a reur end or a broken rati Is In sight. Instead, train after train runs past without re duction, provided the track looks clear. It should not make a particle of differ ence to the engineer whether the track was clear or not ; he simply has to fol low his Instructions. Practically there Is no out-supervl- slon of the American railway. IU-poiti of employes are depended on for infor mation In regard to violations. Un checked negligence can be shown to be the direct cause of nearly all preventa ble accidents In America. It Is "up to" the management to en force rules. It Is "up to" the men to obey rules. No practical system can enforce obe dience at all times. The whole business resolves itself Into a personal matter. It Is up to all to do the square thing. Employes should be educated to appre ciate the fact that successful and safe railroading depends, not on the multi plicity of safety devices, nor the r3on structlon of rules, but on personal ef fort, and the conduct of conscientious, alert and careful men THE UNIVERSE. Man's Plea la Tale Eternity f Spar and Matter. The solar system Is but a fragment of the universe. Every star Is a sun with a solar system. It Is possible that there may be millions of planets In habited by beings higher or lower than ourselves. What we see going on is what we call the process of evolution from broken fragments to coherent masses and to Inhabited worlds, from chaos to cosmos, a struggle upward of the universe from something lower and disorganized to something higher and organized. As to how life originates on these planets science Is Ignorant at present It Is an entire mystery. I would not have you think It will always remain a mystery, nor w ould I have a theologian shaken In his views If science should discover something about the nature and origin of life. I want you to real ize that this process of evolution is not a process which negatives or ex cludes the Idea of divine activity. It Is, I venture to say, a revelation, to us of the manner of divine activity. It Is the way the Deity works. The attempt to show that evolution Is unguided, that it Is the result of ab solute change, falls. What Is pointed ' to Is not unguided random change, but i guided change. The other could not be done In time. What we have to realize In regard to our place In the universe Is that we are intelligent, helplul and unlive pui'ta of the cosmic scheme. We' are among the Agents of the Creator. One of the most helpful Ideas Is co-operation helping one another. Co-operation this In a new and stimulating sense co-operation with the Divinity Himself. Sir Oliver Lodge. The Doctor Habit. One of the tendencies of 111 health Is to make one morbid. People who are constantly thinking about their ail ments, worrying about their troubles, suffering pain, often develop a morbid passion for sympathy. They want to tell everybody of their aches and pains, lo describe their symptoms. Have you ever known a woman who has acquired the doctor habit, a worn tin who loves nothing In the world quite so well as an opportunity to tell the doctor of her ailments! She has WIDOW HAT. poured them out to unwelcome ears, to forced listeners, till she longs for some one who can really appreciate It all, who sympathizes with her In her trou bles; so she sends for the doctor, or goes to see htm. This becomes almost a mania with some women, who have few outside ac tivities to divert them. Their minds naturally revert to themselves and they think of their unfortunate condi tion until they become saturated with the poisoned thought. Success Maga y.lne. Practice Make Perfect. At the appointed time Edwin Jones had called at his best girl's home, but somehow Miss Wrinkle was not there to greet him. He seated himself In the drawing room and anxiously awaited her ar rival. . Presently the door opened ; but, alas . it was only her elght-ycar-old brother. "Hello!" exclaimed Edwin. "Is your sister busy?" "She seems so," replied the young ster, "but I don't know Just what she thinks she's doing. She's standing In front of the mirror, blushing Just awful and whispering- to It, "Oh, Mr. Jones, this Is so sudden !" The average woman feels proud of her housekeeping every time a bug, seen crawling on the bedroom wall, turna out Not to be a bedbug. GROWING HOGS IN IDAHO. Industry Is Receixing Greater Atten tion Than Ever Before. Prof. H. T. French, D rsctor Idaho Experiment Station. The hog industry in Idaho is re ceiving more attention now than ever before in the history of the state. The tendency to diversify farm op erations is stronger now than in the past. All alfalfa, or all sheep or all of any other one thing, unless it should be fruit, is out of date for the majority of farmers of Idaho, both in the northern part of the state, where irrigation is not practiced, and in the irrigated sections of southern Idaho. The most succesful farmer, here as elsewhere, is the one who is making livestock on the farm one of the im portant factors. As the dairy indus try increases in interest the raising of hogs will receive more attention. A farmer who is not adverse to milk ing cows will, as a rule, be a success in handling pigs, because no one can succeed in either line, to the fullest extent, unless he looks carefully after details. In Idaho the dairy industry is grow ing, therefore I expect a more rapid development of the hog industry. In fact, there is a strong indication that this is the case just now in several sections of the state. In holding far mers' institutes in southern Idaho much interest was noticed in the sub ject of feeding and breeding hogs. Several shipments of pure bred stock have recently been made into south ern Idaho. Pure bred Poland China, Duroc Jersey, Chester White and Berkshire pigs are found in increas ing numbers in every farming seUiuii ot the state. .Poland Chinas predomi nate, no doubt; but the Duroc is be coming a close competitor in many sections. Alfalfa pasture, with a small ration of shorts, ground wheat or finely ground barley, will grow pigs very rapidly. This, supplemented with sep crator milk, will produce a growth equal to that secured in the corn belt, and in quality we flatter ourselves that it is superior. In growth, our pigs can be made to compare quite favorably with those fed on corn. Numerous reports were made last winter at farmers' meetings that it was not difficult to produce a pig that would weigh two hundred pounds at eight months old. Some sugar beets and other roots can be fed, and are being used in feeding hogs in Idaho. Potatoes boiled and mixed with one and a half to two pounds of grain per hundredweight of pig, will produce good gains in live weight. Alfalfa, cut up with feed cut ter, and softened by steaming or even a sprinkling of cold water, with a lit tle grain, makes a good ration for brood sows during winter. A gre.it many hogs are wintered largely on dry alfalfa hay, and they do very well. In a state where so much cheap for age can be grown for hogs, there is great encouragement for the industry. Large yields of wheat and barley can be secured on irrigated lands, and often the wheat is of low mil'irg quality, making it much more profit able to feed it than to sell it in the sack. A bushel of wheat will make from 12 to 15 pounds of gain in live weight when fed to thrifty young hogs weighing from 75 to 175 pounds. In young pigs even greater gains can be secured. Field peasare grown in some sec tions for hog pasture, and serve an important purpose in providing good pasturage during the summer before the stubble fields are ready to glean. There is a period in summer when there is a lack of good pasture in the grain-growing sections of the state. Little alfalfa or clover is grown on many of the farms, and often pigs make very small gains during this oeriod. Some farmers sow grain, such as wheat or barley, for hog pas ture, but even this does not produce as good results as 'vould a pasture of alfalfa, peas or clover. Bluegrass and white clover will make a good pasture in some locali ties where there is olenty of moist ure and good soil. This does not. in our opinion, give as good results, however, as the crops mentioned above. Idaho farmers are much en couraged in raising hogs from th fact that large packing plants are be ing established on the coast, thus in suring a steady demand for live hogs, and while the price may not be any more satisfactory than in the past, with a limited supply, there will be a permanency to the demand even though the number of hogs produced increases several times. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Valuable Information to Pacific North wast Inquirers By J. L. Ashlock, Waahlnsrton Experiment Sta tion, Pullman. Elma "I have a tract of land near Quiney, Wash., that I wish to irrigate, lr order to do this 1 will have to uo well water, and possibly do the pump ing with a gAsoline engine, or some other mechanical device. Will you please give me any information that bears on this subject!" A. L. (J. "I am quite familiar with the con ditions around Quincy, and believe that irrigation in that region would bring very good results, providing the cost was not too much. In that locality the depth to water is quite considerable and the cost of operating a pump would therefore be heavy. The farmers there use windmills quite exclusively, using gasoline engines only when the wind I fails. However, the water is quite abundant when It is reached. I do not 1 believe that' it would be profitable for you to irrigate as many as ten acres I unless you have a system of pipes to conserve the water. The soli around Quincy is so light that the water will seep away and be lost, unless you put in such pipes. A ten horse-power en gine would be sufficient to raUe water for ten acres, but it might be necessary to sink more than one well. I am be ginning to believe that irrigation will be necessary in the Quincy section to obtain the best results." Baird. "I have been quite success ful with corn in this locality, except that the corn matures rather small. Can you advise me of varieties of corn that I might try!" FAKMEB. "I advise that you experiment with Kaffir corn, since it seems that it will do well in your region.' Try a good, early maturing Dent variety. This should be preferable to the Flint, and it certainly makes better feed. The conditions of your region require that you cultivate to retain moisture, as well as to destroy toe weeds." Chewelah. "Is wood as desirable as cement for building a silo f Is silage apt to freeze in this country! What forage plants should be grown in the Chewelah region!" STOCKMAN. "RrnmA araaa tnirrlif An wall it 'uu ... ' .' U J TTW1, .1. ,ua j auu is not too gravelly, nut it stiouM not be grown in rocky soil. Vetches will be desirable in such soil as you have, as these plants reseed themselves. If you can get lumber at a reasonable price in your vicinity, it would be jnoro costly to build of cement than of wood. Silage stays warm, and it is not apt to x'reeze in this country; but if it sticks to the sides of the silo from any cause, it should be tramped down in order to prevent it from settling unevenly." Leahy "I would like to know if it would be advisable to plant the Aus tralian salt bush in this region! Has the plant any desirable qualities! J. S. "I advise you to let the Australian salt bush alone. The plant has a few desirable qualities, but we have heard tnat in the Walla Walla country it has developed into a pest. It resembles tumble weed in its manner of erowth. and in windy weather will break off and roll for a great distance, scattering seed as it goes. Except when young and tender, it is undesirable for stock." Washtucna "I hav a whitn lnvcr lawn, and would like to know what sort ui uuub iernuzer is nest to use on it." W. A. P. "I question the advisability of using bone fertiliznr nn vnnr lnurn Pr. niercial fertilizers arn o-nnprallv nnnrlv adapted to the soils in semi-arid re gions, weu-rottea manure placed on the land late in the fall and raked off in the spring would, I believe, be far more preferable. Th unit in vnn m. gion needs humus rather than fertiliz incr elements. Mannm ! wall nmni; with phosphates and nitrogen, and Bu...u ,i uuuiu mereiora give your sou the needed stimulation." Sunnvside "Would vise me to feed grain hay with alfalfa! I am a dairvman. and hava Kon only alfalfa." p. w. I am sura that them nnnM V.. .. omy in combining- alfalfa mitt, -,;.. From four to ten pounds of grain per day should be sufficient, using rolled V. 1 . 1 . i . . . vaiiejr raiuur man wneat or bran. The bran would practically be wasted. You would net stood result T v,Ho u feeding about one-half a pound' per uay or. nnseea meal. Alfalfa is entire ly nitrogenous in eomnnaifinn and should be balanced by a more concea- . . 0 : I . . Littmu iurm oi me carDo-nyarates." QUERIES BY FARMERS. Experiment Station Called Upon for Advice on Various Subjects. From the Washington State College. Pullman. A Seattle correspondent asks for a' statement of the experience the sta-1 non nas nad with the novelty veg etables." He was informed as fol lows: "The station has experimented with all of them, and finds that they will grow successfully in eastern Wash ington. The tomato and egg plant should be started early in the season in hotbeds, or cold frames. With this care a creditable crop will be ma tured. The egg plant is a native of warm climates, and, likehe tomato, should be given a high, warm eleva tion. The okra and artichoke have each done very well with us, requiring only the ordinary garden culture." A farmer of Arden wishes to know what apples would do well where he lives. Professor Thornber advised him as follows: "For the soil and general climatic conditions you have, I advise the use in equal quantities of the Jonathan, Rome Beauty and Wegener. It is possible that you might make use of a great many other varieties, but these are apples' that the all doing well, and sell for very good market prices in the annual markets. "Vary the number of tree, accord ing to whether you are going to irri gate or not. If you are going to irri gate, plant your trees from twenty five to twenty-seven feet apart, in alternate rows. If you are not going to irrigate, you had better plant them on the hexagonal plan, placing the trees in the rows thirty-three feet apart, with the rows themselves about twenty-seven feet apart. It will not injure the trees to grow vegetables between them for the first three to five years, but, of course, you should plant nothing that will take the moisture or plant food from close to the young trees." Mild Punishment. Stranger In your town they close ths front doors of the saloons on Sunday, and open the side doors, do they? Isn't that whipping 'the devil around the stump? Natlrs Tes, and the whipping doeen'f hurt him a bit, either. CZAB'S LITTLE SOU. Uraly Russian Youngster Wht Ii Constantly Guarded. Despite early prophecies that hi would grow up a sickly child or pos sibly die before attaining manhood, tb Czarowltz Alexis, son and heir to thi Czar of all the Russlas. Is to-day ai bright and hearty a little lad as could be found In any American household. Hedged In though he Is with court ceremonial and constantly guarded against possible kidnaping by Nihilists, Alexis manages to get as much fun out of life as the average boy of his age. He is never happier than when romping around the staid and sombre corridort In a game of tag with his sisters, and the silent guards stationed at regulai and frequent intervals fall to attract his notice at all, except when one In- ,4 KAXSVlTClf ALEXIA advertently stations himself in soui favorite corner of the baby prince. Alexis finds little enjoyment In th supposedly favorite game of king's son's, playing at soldiers. He finds the tin men and tiny fortresses too tedious. He wants to romp with other children and, If allowed his own way, would spend the day playing with boys In the garden, . street, or anywhere, ai long as he could have fun, active fun, and lots of It. Alexis' happiest mo ments are probably spent on his fath er's yacht, where, free from danger ol death at the hands of revolutionists, h can romp with the loyal sailors at will PUSS TO THE BESCUE. UrotiKht a Rabbit to If a nary Phil adclphla Cave Dwellers. When the first settlers enme to Phil adelphia, of ourse there were nc houses ready for them, says Sel in th Cat Journal, so a good many of the men dug small caves In the bank ol the river. They would dig several feet Into the bank, then build walls ol sod In front of the little caves. Thej made the roof by laying branches ol trees on top, covering these with rush from the river and putting pieces sod on the riiHhes. The chimney w made of stones plastered with clay. These caves were used only until the men had time to cut timber and build the houses they wished. , One of the old families of Philadel phia owns a quaint silver tureen on which Is engraved a cat seizing a rab bit In the early days at Philadelphia Elizabeth Hard was living with hei husband In one of these dug-out cavei while be was building their house. Th work went very slowly, and Elizabeth often helped her husband. She brought the water' to make the mortar for th chimney, and even helped at one end of the saw. One day she was very tired, for sh had helped all the morning. Her hus band told her to rest a while and then think about dinner. Mrs. Hard walked sadly away. The food was nearly gone. Only n few biscuits nnd a littl cheese were left. Just theu Bhe saw her cat coming toward her with a larg rabbit In its mouth. Mrs. Hard cooked the rabbit nnd had a nice dinner ready for Mr. Hard when he came for hit noon rest. Ro kitty helped, although she did not know It. We Are Fortunate. "Bach day brings some new worry," declnred the pessimist "Which enables us to forget the wor ry of yesterday," was the optimist's re ply. Washington Herald. We have an Idea that the women pay a good deal of attention to the hats worn by the milliners. 111