BT JOHN M. STAHL.
I must confess that I did not know until an hour ago that Dr. Robinson is a hu:
morist. But his letter in the Farmer of
July 20tli shows him to be a very funny
man. I do not begrudge your readers
their quiet smiles as they seo the Dr. with
coat and collar off, bathed in perspiration
setting up straw men of his own making
and then throwing big chunks of rhetoric
at them, and when he has knocked them
over exclaiming, "Stahl made those things
and I havo laid them out with the voice of
the people, for I am the apostle of popular
opinion!"
When one of my sentences gets in his
way the Dr. proceeds to throw around it.
I did say that salaries too small may be an
evil and that insufficient compensation
will bring poor service. The Dr. does not
disprove these propositions, he does not
even deny them; will he deny and dis
prove them ?
If, as the Dr. says, tho tax payer can not
imagine a salary too small, the tax payer's
imagination is certainly as poor as the
Dr.'s is great. But I fear this assertion of
the Dr. is an exaggeration, something to
which he is prone.
. The Dr. admits that my proposition that
often the best man cannot take an oflice is
true. I said often; the Dr. Bays in many
instances.   What is he lighting about?
He goes on to say that it is his observation that the poorest men fill county offices best. I am not certain that this will
bo true in all cases; but I am of the opin
ion that the average of the honesty of poor
men is above that of rich men. In my ar-
ticles I said nothing against the honesty
of poor men. In fact, I argued that salaries should be so large that poor and honest
men could take offices, in preference to
their going to the rich or to the dishonest
who would misuse the offices for financial
gain. Hence I would like to know what
the Dr. Is throwing at. It can be only one
of his straw men.
The Dr. asserts the honesty of farmers
elected to office. Good. But I wrote nothing against the honesty of farmers. Again,
what can the Dr. be throwing at? Only
one of the straw men he has set up. Great
fun, isn't it. Dr? Straw men are knocked
over so easily.
Because I said the best lawyers easily
have an income of §50,000 per year, the Dr.
puts a threat on his handsome countenance
and asks severely if he is to understand
that I mean all lawyers that make §50,000
per year do it because they possess a greater
amount of legal talent than the judges of
the Supreme Court? Why, no, Dr; you
are not to understand any such thing. I
said nothing of the sort and nothing of the
sort can be logically deduced from what I
did say.   Another of your straw men.
In answer to your question, Dr., who
the lawyers are going to serve best, those
that pay them a high salary and watch
them closely, or those who pay them a
low salary and don't watch |them at all, I
say they will serve the first named best,
and I say that in my articles, and because
they would serve best those that paid best,
I wanted the people to pay them better.
Are you prepared to maintain that they
will serve best those that pay them the
least. If you are not prepared to maintain
this, what are you throwing at? Not
even a straw man.
I say that the corporations pay for the
best legal talent and get it; you dispute
this point blankj and seek to give the impression that corporations employ mediocre attorneys. I am perfectly willing to
leave this to be decided by the records of
suits in which corporations appear on one
side and the people on the other, and by
the good sense, general intelligence and
special knowledge of fees or salaries paid
rporation attorneys, possessed by our
readers.
You say the people ask high salaried officials to take less money, unless the services rendered are equivalent to the salary
received. Well, that agrees perfectly with
what I said. What are you throwing at,
Dr., another straw man?
But it is needless for me to go farther
with this, and space forbids. Let me say
to the Dr., however, that he may be right
in his assertion that what I have written
does not accord with public sentiment at
this time. I did not write to please the
clamor in certain quarters, nor to win applause. I wrote sincerely and honestly,
and wrote what I believed to be true, and
I did not hesitate to put it into print.
Quite often what I have said has been denounced at the time, but time has vindicated me in every case. I do not hesitate
to assert, what I asserted in my articles,
that nearly all ofthe multitudinous minor
offices carry salaries too largo, while some
of the comparatively very few high official
positions carry salaries too small; and
that the people lose in both cases.
In conclusion the Dr. says my plan of
beginning the work of reform at home,
working from the bottom toward the top,
is impracticable. He believes in beginning at the top. On this point of difference I am content to rest upon the experience of mankind. The readers of history
will decide in my favor.
A discussion of taxes and salaries will
do much good, while a personal passage of
arms can hardly be of interest or value if
continued. Hence, while holding myself
free to discuss taxes and salaries, in the
matter of a personal controversy the Dr.
may now have the field all to himself.
Quincy, 111.
a   m   ■	
Willammette Valley, Oregon.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Thinking that a few lines from the
Willammette Valley, Oregon, might be
appreciated by your readers, with your
permission I will try and give them a few
items.
The Willammette Valley is the longest
and most productive valley on the Pacific
coast between Mexico and British Columbia. The products are various, including wheat, oats, barley and rye. All these
grow to perfection; nowhere have we ever
seen the berry so large and plump. A
shrunken or uneven grain is never found.
That is accounted for upon the fact that
we have cool damp weather for our grain
to fully mature and ripen; about the time
harvest commences rains cease and we
never have any wheat become bleached
or damaged. All our wheat is graded No.
1. No No. 2 wheat is ever raised in this valley. The average yield is about 20 bushels
while many good farmers get 30 to 40
bushels per acre.
As a fruit growing country the Willammette Valley is nowhere equaled. This is
attested by many of our large grain farms
being cut up and sold to fruit growers,
many men who have been engaged in
fruit growing in California are now coming to this valley where a superior fruit,
both in size and quality can be produced.
. Oregon's natural resources are unbounded. The coal, iron and lumber of themselves will make of Oregon one of the foremost States in the union. The mountains
abound in the precious metals and new
mines are constantly being opened*.
This valley is a good stock country.
Our mild winters require but little extra
feed and almost every"farm is well watered
with fine mountain streams and stock is
usually freo from disease.
We have insects of no kind to destroy
crops, and they never fail in this valley to
grow a crop every year.
Men who are seeking a mild, healthful
climate will find any port of the Willammette Valley a good place to come to. Yet
men in the East who are doing well had
better be slow in making a change  as this
is not a paradise altogether, as some would
have you believe.      .        E. C. Minton.
Salem, Oregon, July 3rd.
Keep an Account.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Everybody should keep an accountbook,
and note down important events, especially money paid on notes, or otherwise.
Keep a handy day book to note down
minor payments, and one especially for
larger sums. It would often save much
trouble. I know of a rather distressing
case happening lately. There was a settlement of heirs a few years ago. All seemed
to be settled satisfactorily. Lately, for
some cause, one of the heirs is accused of
owing a note of $100, and it was hinted
that he made away with the note, though
he is sure the note was paid fifteen or
more years ago, and can prove it by one
witness. Still, how consoling it would
be if the accused could produce a neat account book, with a plain and complete
statement of facts. He would feel compensated for the time spent in putting
down accounts for a score of years. Farmers, keep an account of important transactions with everybooy, especially with relations; it will often save much trouble.
Ripley Co. J. B.
—We want to add our endorsement to
friend Rennet's plea. It is an easy thing
to jot down items of expense, agreements,
appointments, etc., in a pocket memorandum, and any one who has kept such a
book from year to year will testify to the
fact that it pays many times over for the
little time and trouble. We have kept
one for many years, and it has been a
great satisfaction to us in many ways.—
[J. G. K.]
Abolish the Lottery Business.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
In his message of July 29th, 1890, to
Congress, the President says: "Severe
and effective legislation should be promptly enacted to enable the post office department to purge the mails of all letters,
newspapers and circulars relating to the
business of lotteries.
But how could the department, or rather
the various postmasters, learn just what
letters related to the lottery business?
Would the law have to allow the opening
of letters? If so, a vast number not
relating to the business would necessarily be opened. But people would not
submit to this—Letters addressed to lottery companies as such could easijy
be known of course and be sent to
the dead letter office, but the companies could have their letters addressed to
persons connected with the business, but
not known to the public as being thus
connected. Still, a part of the President's
recommendations could, doubtless be
made effective. But why recommend
only statue law, why not especially make
an amendment to the National Constitution, forbidding the lottery business
wherever the United States has jurisdiction.
Earnest efforts should also be made to
secure the co-operation of other governments against the lottery evil, especially
those of lands adjoining ours and of lands
near our own. E. I. F.
Bates of Interest on  Mortgage Loans.
Edltora Indiana Farmer:
I have been watching the discussion in
the newspapers with a good deal of interest as to rates of interest now charged on
time_ans secured by mortgages on farm
and residence property, to ascertain
whether we borrowers were getting money
more cheaply than we were 10 years ago.
I have made some investigations of the records, and I find the rates charged by the
foreign corporations are about the same
for the past 10 years; but to secure a loan
from these foreign companies we are compelled to pay their agent a commission or
fee to get it, equal to fully one per cent
per annum, for the length of time the
loan has to run, say three to five years.
Their fee is taken out of the amount for
which the mortgage is drawn, and we pay
interest on this amount annually for the
three or five years, which increases our
expense nearly one half in getting the
loan from them, or makes the rates one
and one-half per cent more than the rates
written in the mortgage, or if the mortgage is written with privilege of prepayment, and is paid in one or two years, the
rate and commissionaddedtogether makes
the actual cost from 10 tol2 per cent, for
the short time; and one must keop the
loan the full five years to get it at seven
per cent or eight per cent.
I find that as yet the foreign companies
hold but a small per cent of the loans of
less than §2000, and I will give you the
benefit of my investigations as to private
loans at some future time.
A Borrower for the past 20 years.
A Specimen of Extraordinary Aori-
culture.—Soil making, hot water pipes
in the soil, and culture under glass at a
certain period of the life of the plant, will
be essential features of the gardening of
the future. They will finally dissipate
the childish fears as to the impossibility
of satisfying the needs of a rapidly-increasing population; and they will permit
man always to have fresh from the soil,
the bush, or the tree, most of them what
is necessary for his life. That is not a '
dream of futurity; it is becoming a fact of
modern life. Indeed, nothing can be
more instructive on this account than a
visit to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, such as I recently made. It gives one
a concrete idea of what the world is rapidly coming to in the way of culture
under glass.
The island of Guernsey has to nourish
1,300 souls on each square mile, and has a
good deal of unproductive soil. Guernsey,
like the suburbs of Paris, is a land of
market gardening, which has developed
of late into greenhouse culture. All over
the island, especially in the north, where-
ever you look, you see greenhouses. They
rise amid the fields and from behind the
trees; they are piled upon one another on
the steep slopes of the hills facing the
harbor. The origin of this new departure
was the raising of grapes, which was
started some thirty years ago, by a few
enterprising men. At present, Guernsey,
exports every year about 500 tons of
grapes, which represent a money value of
§215,000, at the low average price of 18
cents a pound. However—that is the
chief point—grapes are no longer the most
important crop of the Guernsey aud
Jersey greenhouses. And when I walked
through these glass-roofed kitchen gardens, which do not know what failure
means, and which yield crop after crop
thoroughout the spring, summer, and
Autumn, I could not but admire the
recent conquests of man. I saw three-
fourths of an acre, covered with glass and
heated for three months in the spring,
yielding about 8 tons of tomatoes and
about 200 pounds of beans as a first crop
in April and May, to be followed by two
crops more during the summer and autumn. As to the results, I cannot better
characterize them than quoting what Mr.
W. Bear, the well-known writer upon
English agriculture, wrote after a visit to
the same establishment: namely, that the
money returns from these thirteen acres
"greatly exceed those of an ordinary
English farm of 1,300 acres." The last
year's crops were: 25 tons of grapes (which
are cut from the first of May till October), 80 tons of tomatoes, 30 tons of pot- *§)
atoes, 0 tons of peas, and two tons of beans
(the last three in April), to say nothing of
other subsidiary crops.—Prince Kropotkin
in the August Forum.
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