VOL, XXX.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., FEB. 16,1895.
%fre&e& ^CQislntion.
Thjs remainder of our communications
on Needed Legislation -we shall be compelled to conderse. They have overwhelmed us.
' W. I*. Hall, Rash oounty, wants the
liquor traffic*, legislated clear out of existence. This is the best thing the Leglsla
ture can do for the people.
XJ. Q. R, Fountain county, says his
township owns 4o5 dogs and yet the sheep
funds are |500 behind. A better dog law
is needed.   A tag law will do.
War. Adams, of Clarke county, wants a
law to enoourage fencing along the highways. It is almost impossible to drive a
herd of cattle to market where the farms
are not enclosed.
J. H., Obanqb county, says compel sup
ervisors to grade roads in spring and haul
gravel by the yard.   Revive the tag law
for dogs.   Spare the quails for five j ens.
Reduce salaries.   Amend the bird law.
A Carroll oounty subscriber is opposed
to the attorney fee clause on notes, and
thinks that justices of the peaie and constables should attend to the collecting business. He also demands reduction of salaries.
"Tippecanoe Couuty" says enact a law
to prohibit killing quails at any time. It
is not the extreme oold that is eztermlnat
ing the quails; it is men and idle boys with
gun and dog. We once fed a flack that
sheltered under an old building during
the old weather. Coming ont in spring
in fine condition only to be entirely
"cleaned out" the next fall by men and
boys who watched to sea me leave for a
day in the city.' He also wants a stringent
law against trespassing and one to abolish
the offioe of county assessor.
A Voter at New Amsterdam, says: The
people are expecting this Republican Leg
islature to give them at least a small
crumb in favor of temperance, and also
we need a radical change in our school
laws. Steps should be taken on compulsory education. There are too many boys
and girls too, loafing about town, who
should be in school. Their parents are ignorant and will not make the children attend sohool and as a safeguard to the
future generations, the law should compel
their attendance.
Editobs Indiana Fabiikb:
I would like to hear something on our
free gravel road law. "While most town
ships in this county have a levy of 10
cents on the {100 for road purposes, our
free gravel road levy is 15 >4 cents on the
f 100. I think there is fully four times
more road work done 'with the 10 cent
levy than there i- vs ith the 15)4 cent levy.
I favor putting our free gravel roads under the same supervision that our other
roads are under, and do away with our
free gravel road superintendents^ and relieve our county comnissioners of the
burden (?) of having to meet every fsw
days to do gravel road business.
C. B
Huntington Co.
. Xtotobs Indiana Fabmeb:
I think the road law should be amended
so that the time can be extended until the
1st of November for the spring work, that
the law now requires shall be done during
the months of April, May and June. Most
of the effeotnal work done on the roads is
in hauling gravel This is fully recognized
by farmers generally. If the law was so
amended, the supervisor could order out
men enough to do what grading was necessary during the early part of the season
and let the bulk of the work go in graveling. Ab the law is he must work the men
before the 1st of July or not at all. The law
allows 40 days limit for supervisors to re
ceive pay. This is wrong and should be
oorreoted. In some densely-populated districts, like In this township, I know of supervisors having to work 10 days extra
and receive no pay, so as to complete their
work. How can we expect a man who
has any business c»pabillties tb work for
and take and interest in our road work at
the magnificent sum of f60 per annum.
Most any of us will pay a fine before we
would serve. They should be paid for
time actually put in, and a sworn statement required. It would not be a very
hard matter to "get on to them" if there
were any false returns. Farmer.
Munoie.
Editobs Indiana Fabmeb;
I see quite a number of suggestions for
better legislation, I will also add my mite.
A law to reduce the rate of interest to
five or six per cent would be worth more
to the people of this State than any one
law that I can think of. More than 90 per
cent of all the bnsiness is done on creditor
borrowed capital and as a matter of fact
the consumer (thepoor man) pays it all.
Another: A law to prohibit towns or
oities that have schools and school officers
of their own, from voting for township
trustees. We have no cay in their elections
and they should have none in ours.
A good local option liquor law; or better
a State dispensary law and have the profits
all go into tha State treasury.  -
We do not want our State militia increased. We are not quite ready for Germany and Russia's plan yet. Even if we
have got the foreign money power system
this is curse enough for this century.
Abolish county assessors.
Reduce salaries from governor down to
trustee. An officer should have no more
than his services would demand in other
vocations.-
Our court expenses need trimming down
largely.
Reduce railroad passenger fares to two
cents per mile and freight rates in proportion.
Prohibit quail kiUing for at least five
years.;
A greater limit to the power of county
commissioners and township trustees.
Our road law will do very well if we will
elect good supervisors. W. Cory.
Anderson.
Editobs Indiana Fabmeb:
We read eaoh week with interest the
many communications concerning needed
legislation, which we all should feel interested in, and if any of us can give a point
to our legislators through the press that
will be a marked benefit to not only farm-
eis but to those of every occupation within
our limits, let us be improving the time
while our editor invites suoh communications to the columns of the best paper of
its kind published.
I am opposed to levying any higher
taxes on the people for we hear them
everywhere crying for reduction. How
can the poor indebted farmers pay higher
taxes, when they have to scrimp to pay
interes:? Let us compare a few occupations: Does any officer work for half
price? Will the president and all others
down to township officers reduce 50 per
cent, as did the farraei? Will onr doctor
likewise reduce 50 per cent? Will lawyers,
railroads and many others reduce to 50
cents on Jl? No, they won't drop from
100 cents to 50. There is nothing to compel them to do so, but the poor fanner
had to reduce to £0 per cent. I think officers, doctors, lawyers acd all others
Bhould be willing to equalize with farmers
by a liberal reduction. A double tax on
the high salary men would not be unreasonable or much out of proportion.
Lawmakers are to blame for not equalizing things. Why do these men receive
such salaries? Because the laws so provides.
Farmers want quails protected as hunters are invading farmers lands endangering the lives of the occupants while they
are trying to crib their corn before winter
comes on. There is no use of talking
gravel roads when there is no gravel in 40
miles so we have to be content with clay
roads. To ship gravel would cost each
man a good sized farm and a great amount
of labor.
As to taxing people for the purpose of
curing drunkards by the Keeley cure I
would say if you tax any on e tax the saloon
keeper for the cure of those who they have
made sick. Equalization and justice to all
is what we want on taxes my friends.
A Farmer Citizbn.
hauler gets on lt with his heavy weight,
cuts it to pieces, and calls on the men
who made him a gift of it to repair it.
Don't be ungrateful? They say to these
men who built it, you must repair it, and
the law says that too. Is it just? I say
no. Let those that dance pay the fiddler.
Clinton Co. S Kyqer.
Editobs Indiana Farmer:
As this question appears to be up at this
special time, I will give you my views
with the rest ef the road men. I think
the mud roads a thing of the past. It is
only a matter of a little time until 8.1
roads will be gravel, our present law as to
building and keeping in repair of gravel
roads makes them too expensive. A better and cheaper law is what we want. I
would endorse the gravel road Jaw as it
now is up to the letting of the road to be
built. I would pull up stakes right the. e.
Take it out of the hands of the oounty
commissioners and engineer and put it
under the management or the stock holders of the road to built. Let them mset
and agree or elect a suitable number of
stockholders to superintend the building
of said road, fix a pric9 for their services
not to exceed two dollars per day. By so
doing we can cons'aruot a better road and
save quite a margin cf cost. First we
save cost of advertising. "We also cut olf
the f3 50 a day of eaoh commissioner and
engineer fees; quite a nice little sum of
cost. We save also all profits of contractor,
a great amount of trouble, in calling on the
commissioners about the quantity and
quality of gravel to be put on the road; as
under this plan of building a road it is
nobody's business but the men that have
their money in the road. If there should
be dissatisfaotion in quality of gravel or
anything else call the stockholders together aud let the majority decide the
question. It they decide to get gravel
some place away it is no contractors' business, because their are none, the stockholders under this law would have all the
say. Xamsa'i.fied we would gat a great
deal cheaper and better road than under
the present law.
I would also change the law on repairing gravel roads. I think tbis the worst
part of it, or most expensive, I would put
this fully under the control of the stock
holder. Let them select some of their
members, to superintend keeping tbe
road in order, give him a fair price for his
service and pay so much a load or yard
for hauling and giving the stock holders
the preference of hauling. By this plan
you take this power out of the commissioners hands of appointing a superintendent of the road. I think this the best
move made yet in economy.
I come now to a point where my views
are not popular with the masses of people.
I would make all roads, built under this
new law we are making, toll roads. I believe the land owners on the line of road
should build theroad.but I don't think they
should keep it in order for other persons
to tear up and wear out, at no cost to them.
Now, Mr. Editor, what would you think
of me or of a law that would force or compel you, if you made a gift of yonr office
all in good running order to me and in six
months I would call on you for a new
press and type? "Would you not think It
an unjust law and me an ungrateful man?
I think this is parallel with the gravel
road law of to day. The stockholder builds
the road, pays for it, gives It to the public
free of cost in good running order; the log
Institutes,
Wr have received the program  of the
Farmers'  Institute to be held at the court
house at Wabash on Friday and Saturday,
Feb. 22 and 23.
Marion county institute will be held at
Bridgeport Friday and Saturday, the 15th
and 16th inst. An attractive program has
been prepared and a good time is expected.
Wr are indebted to Louisa Deist, of
Nashville, fora report of the Brown county
institute. There is so much of instruction
to be gained by those attending these institutes that no farmer can fcff.rd to miss.
KOSCIUSKO COUNTY.
We had a very successful three days'
Farmers' Institute, with an c instant average attendance of 500, plus a few hundred
more transients, owing to lack of even
standing room. We were highly entertained and instructed by Mrs. Meredith
and Hon J. A. Mount, who I fear were
taxed to the extreme limit of endurance,
and by Messrs. Bartholomew and Mehl, of
Elkhart county.
Mrs. Eph. Wells, of this county, in a
well prepared and highly appreciated
paper, showed the duties and influence of
the wife and mother in the farmers' families and demonstrated the fact that there
is a work in every Farmers' Institute that
woman only can fill, and no program is
complete without that place supplied by a
farmer's wife or daughter.
The general trend of the thought of the
institute was along the three lines essential to agricultural progress, viz: Observation, scientific Investigation and common
sense. By observation efidots are discovered and noted. By scientific research,the
facta of observation are traced back to
their true cause and the true relation of
effect to its remotest cause that can be
modified or influenced by man's efforts is
made known. By common sense the best
use is made of the knowledge revealed by
observation and science to improve and
lessen the cost of all kinds of crops and
farm animals. Without a knowledge of
immediate and remote causes, and without
the power to modify any of those causes,
improvement would be impossible. A
study of the effects upon animals by a
change in food, care and protection; and
upon plants by croplng, cultivation and
fertilization Is absolutely necessary for the
farmer of the present.
A resolution asking our Legislature to
increase the State appropriation for Farmers' Institutes from f 5,000 to f 10,000 was
passed. Also one that provision be made
to teach the effects of alcoholic liquors
upon the human system in our public
schools. And that our Legislature be petitioned to establish a State Normal Sohool
in the north paat of the State. Warsaw
would be a good place.
Kosciusko Co. e F. Diehl.
Editobs Indiana Fabmkb:
How many bushels of the following
seeds does it take to sow one aore: Corn,
oats, wheat and potatoes. Kindly answer
ln your next paper and oblige.
A SUBSCRIBER.
Of corn about one and one-half to two
bushels, oats from two to five pecks, wheat
from three to five pecks, potatoes, plant
about eight bushels.
"Grandpa," said a small boy to his
grandfather, who possessed a complete Bet
of false teeth, "do you put your teeth outside your bedroom door with your boots
to be cleaned?''