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IftfERANChi IJLJL<w ANDJ^NOE * I A Jtam ft w Wfcw. With which Is consolidated The Washington Farmer, The Paclttc Coast Dairyman, The Farmer and Dairyman, The Farmer and Turfman. Official organ of the State Dairymen's Associa tion and the State -Live Stock Breeders' Associa tion. Published Kvery Thursday by THK RANCH CO. MILLER FREEMAN, - Editor and Manager. Editorial Offices: - - - Seattle. Wash. Tel. Main 342—Long Distance C< line Unit. BUSINESS OFFICKS: Seattle - - 104 W. Washington Ht. Spokane - Alexander <fe Co., 621 First Aye. Subscription (In advance) 1.00 per year. Agents wanted In e\'i-ry town to solicit subscrip tions. Good commlaalqnjand^ialarles paid. The paper Is sent to each subscriber until an or der to discontinue Is received from the subscriber. We must be notified In writing, by letter or postal card, when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped. Returning the paper will not answer, as we cannot find it on our list from the name alone on the pa per. We must have both name and address, and all arrearages or dues must be paid as required by i. Data of expiration of subscription Is shown on your paper by address label contalningyonr name Falling to receive the paper regularly you should notify the Seattle office at once, when mistakes, If any, will be corrected. .^'.c-.u '__ , Address all communications to THE RANCH, 104 W. Washington St., Seattle Washington. The Optimist. Were I weather prophet When the storm began to brew, I'd keep predicting sunshine Till it finally came true. —Washington Star. It is to be hoped that the effort toj pass a national pure food law at the coming session of congress will be suc cessful. From the way that Portland Centen nial fund is growing it looks like they had a few Seattle hustlers on the sub scription committee. The Blade, of Whatcom, in a recent review of the Washington State display at Buffalo, said: "There were several tanks in the exhibit." Which members of the commission were they? The Trade Register deplores the fact that "Kent is liable to get an other of Seattle's factories." We thought Seattle claimed Kent to be in the city limits. That is a graceful compliment paid by Minister Anderson, of British Co lumbia, in his communuication in this issue, to the Washington State Agri cultural College. Printers' InK in its last issue prints a picture of a chick just stepping from the shell to illustrate the now commonly-used advertising catch-line "not made by a trust." Probably hatched by one though—the incubator trust. Our hats off to Portland! She start ed out to raise $300,000 for the Lewis and Clarke Centennial exposition, and already $500,000 has been put in the pot. This makes that $100,000 raised in Seattle last year for the battleship look like a sack of peanuts. A. J. Splawn, the popular Hereford breeder, now wears a handsome gold locket, presented by the live stock ex hibitors at the recent state fair, as an acknowledgement of royal treatment and courtesies extended by Mr. Splawn, as superintendent of the live stock de partment. The locket bears on one side an engraving of a Hereford head and on the other the inscription: "From live stock exhibitors of state fair. 1901, A. J. Splawn." Wanted—A Job. We receive nearly every mail letters about like the following from people, who seem to think we are running an employment bureau: Editor The Ranch: I've been refer red to you by my friend, Prof. W. J. Spillman, of Pullman, with a view to securing information leading to a po sition on your coast. I'm looking for something fair or that will eventually turn into a fair one. I'm only 27 years old, but have had 10 years' experience in figures, book keeping, correspondence, collections and credits. Do you know of any opening that would suit me? I have many gilt edged references. W. E. BRAMEL. St. Louis. Mo. We would like to be able to tell this young man to come right out, that we have ten or fifteen different jobs of which he can take his choice; but in fact Seattle wants no more bookkeep ers. The market here, as every where else, is overstocked with that unambi tious class of young fellows whose highest aim seems to be "good at fig ures." Not that bookkeeping is not as honorable a vocation as any other; but the very nature of the occupation at tracts to it such a large portion of in dividuals who desire some light, gen teel employment, requiring little or no exertion, and in which they become, as it were, a mere machine, with a recompense just sufficient to keep them clothed and fed. But Seattle does want young men of energy, wide-awake, alert, who touch the high places in their hustling; pos sessed of the sturdy qualities of in dustry, sobriety, frugality, and who know how to make the best of their opportunities. Seattle needs such young men more than any other town in the country, and will reward them generously. If they have ability and talent so much the better, but they must have good common sense. The young men of Seattle are more demo cratic in their appearance than in the majority of places of its size. They are too busy to care much about wheth er they are in style or not. A Seattle money lender the other day stated that one of the invariable rules of the bus iness was that under no circumstances would he loan money to a young "so ciety man," because his expenditures are always up to the limit of his in come, and more often in excess. If our correspondent is willing to dig and hustle and fight his way up lie cannot fail to do well in Seattle, and find plenty of support and encour agement, too. But to make his start he will have to depend upon himself and not expect us or anybody else to go out and look up a job for him. He will have to prove himself and show his worth in order to succeed here. Otherwise he would better not come. It is figured that ten thousand tur keys were devoured by Seattle citizens Thanksgiving day. Postmaster General Smith will ask for an increase of the appropriation for the rural free delivery service from the present sum of $3,500,000 to $6, --000,000. He will advocate the exten sion of the service as far as practica ble. He will express the opinion that this branch of the work of the depart ment is of the greatest utility, and will plead for most liberal consideration on the part of congress. THE RANCH. A CREDITABLE INSTITUTION. Editor The Ranch: At the risk of having quoted to me the oft-repeated advice of Ne tutor ultra crepidam, or, in other words, of being told to mind my own business, I feel that perhaps an outside opinion, by a disinterested spectator, except in so far as having the cause of agriculture generally at heart, may be of some use in the con troversy which is going on in your ex cellent paper regarding the Washington State Agricultural College at Pullman. I had the pleasure during the early part of the present year of visiting the several agricultural colleges In the states of Washington, Oregon and Ida ho with the object of ascertaining the terms on which the youth of this prov ince would be admitted at the colleges named, and incidentally of studying their methods and observing the class of education given. It is needless to say, and I presume many of the readers of your paper have had personal experience of the matter, that I was received with the greatest courtesy by the president and officers of the college, and I was given every opportunity at, I feel certain, great per sonal inconvenience to the staff, to in vestigate the methods pursued. Now, whilst I had no knowledge of the pro visions of the act of the legislature un der which the college was created, I could not help being struck with the thoroughness of the system of educa tion, the interest evinced by the var ious officers in their work, respect shown by the pupils to their superiors and the deference with which they treated one another; all going to show that the utmost confidence existed be tween all, a condition which is surely indicative of an efficient and popular management, conducive to the best re sults, educationally. As regards the agricultural phase of the question, it cannot be contended, I suppose, that it is unnecessary for the tiller of soil to be able to even read and write, or that reading and writing is a sufficient education. On the con trary, the trend of public opinion both in the older countries and in America, and more particularly ir. the United States and Canada, is that the agricul turist, if he is to be a master of his profession, must know much more of the sciences, and the other branches which are taught, than those follow ingany other calling, even those know as the learned professions; and there fore, even if it is (as seems to be con tended) that other branches of educa tion have precedence over what are generally known as agricultural sub jects, it does not appear to me that the college should be condemned and the president and officers under him held up for censure. Far, however, from the agricultural education being rele gated to obscurity it appeared to me that it is made the main object aimed at, the other branches being made sub servient to it, or at any rate used as accessories, with the object of turning out the young people as finished agri culturists in the highest sense. I trust 1 may be pardoned for thus intruding my opinion in a matter with which I have no concern, my only ex cuse being the wish to see justice done to an institution of which the highest consideration is entertained on this side, and of which I consider the state of Washington may well be proud and which her citizens should be very chary, without very good and sufficient reasons, of criticizing adversely. J. R. ANDERSON, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mr. Case Has the Courage of Hit Convictions. Editor The Ranch: We note what Mrs. Keister says in your columns as to the great advantages of the State College at Pullman, and as to the press ing needs of the state in the way of the higher educational facilities; yet we cannot but still maintain, what we be lieve to be the manifest fact, that this young and practically undeveloped state has gone already too far, and be yond any reasonable proper demand, in its founding and support of two uni versities, not to mention the three nor mal schools; when it is remembered that in addition every town worthy the name within its borders has its graded common school, and also high school facilities. This we claim to be the taxpayers' sentiment generally. We admit that the "needs of citizens" are manifold and always pressing in that and other lines; and the truth would not be strained overmuch were it added that the predatory instiiu\s of a large body of that same class of the genus homo were also at times in the history of this state very much in evi dence; too much so, real estate taxa tion now in many localities being at the confiscation limit. All that we ad mit and submit without argument. J. F. CASS. Skagit, Wash. Country Educational Facilities. There are 190 students at the Illi nois College of Agriculture and but 40 met the university entrance require ments. This is not strange, but unfor tunate and is due to lack of education al facilities in rural districts of the state. President Draper, of the University of Illinois, who is a champion of the agricultural college, declares that the institution will not stand on the same plane as the other branches of the uni versity until it has a legal right in a high school. He positively affirms the right of the people to secondary edu cation. He's Down in Old Missoury. The St. Louis Coleman's Rural World in its issue of Nov. 20, says: Prof. W. J. Spillman of the Washing ton State Agricultural College and Ex periment Station called at the Rural World office, in company with Mrs. Spillman, on Tuesday last, to renew his acquaintance with the editor, the two having been students together at the Missouri Agricultural College. Prof. Jspillman was returning from the meet ing of Agricultural Experiment Sta tion workers lately held at Washing ton, D. C, where he read a paper giv ing the results of his investigations in connection with the cross-fertilization and hybridizing of wheat. The last issue of the Scientific Amer ican contains an excellent article with illustrations by Lieut. A. B. Wyckoff, on the Puget Sound Navy Yard. Lieut. Wyckoff has probably done more to advance this navy yard and bring the navy department to a realization of the importance of Puget Sound than any one other individual. E. J. Ross, who has met with re markably good success in dairying and general agriculture at oßthel, has just installed a model little creamery plant, from the Merz Dairy Supply Company, as good as can be found in the state, on his place. He is also Planning to establish a branch in Se attle, where the dairy products of his section can be distributeu direct to the consumer. 3