i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
TIMELY TOPICS. 
A Check to Swindlers.— The Banking 
Department of this State has begun a war 
of extermination against the multitudi¬ 
nous horde of so-called loan, trust, savings 
and investment companies and similar 
swindling concerns that have sprang up 
all over this State within the last year or 
two. It is reported that over 300 of them 
are now doing business in the Empire 
State, while the number operating in other 
States is proportionately as great. More¬ 
over, some of the octopus swindles here 
are stretching their fraudulent tentacles 
beyond the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi 
and the Ohio, and doubtless those in other 
States also are equally “enterprising.” 
They all appear to be doing a flourishing 
business, although, without hardly an ex¬ 
ception, their business methods are ob 
trusively branded, to ordinary intelligence, 
with failure and fraud. They are all or¬ 
ganized under the law of 1851, whose 
provisions notoriously open the door to 
knavery and rascality; but not one of 
these obnoxious affairs has complied, 
during its rank, mushroom growth, 
with the inadequate requirements even 
of that piece of faulty legislation. They 
all promise bewildering returns for small 
investments; they are all based on the 
idea that the early investors will gain at 
the expense of the later; and they are all 
of the blind-pool character—irresponsible 
nobodies have complete control of the con¬ 
tributions of their dupes. The United States 
Loan and Investment Company, of this 
city, for example, organized last January 
with an authorized capital of $100,000,000, 
promises on “small monthly payments,” 
“ a profit ranging from 500 to 800 per cent.” 
The International Loan and Saving Asso¬ 
ciation, also of this city, according to its 
own official report, has “ forfeited” 7,057 of 
the 8,060 $100 shares of stock it has issued 
during its twelve months’ existence, with 
all payments made on them by the mem¬ 
bers ! It is difficult to feel much sympathy 
with the dupes of these associations be¬ 
cause each must have gone into them 
expecting to get some other person’s money. 
Still all must approve the energetic action 
of the Superintendent of Banking, who has 
ordered all to stop business before March 
30, under penalty of prosecution by the 
Attorney-General of the State. The most 
prominent concerns that have been warned 
in this city are the Maturity Loan and 
Savings Fund Association, 822 and 824 
Broadway; the National Bank Associa¬ 
tion, Fifth Avenue and Fourteenth Street; 
the United States Bond Loan and Invest¬ 
ment Company, 135 Broadway; the Inter¬ 
national Loan and Savings Association, 
Union Square. 
Alliance Notes.— The national organ¬ 
izer of the Farmers’ Alliance, now in Ore¬ 
gon, reports that the farmers there are 
flocking to the Alliance standard. 
One of the Alliance leaders in Kansas 
lately hoisted the name of ex-Senator In¬ 
galls as the Alliance candidate for President 
in 1892, but the nomination excites little 
enthusiasm. 
The business managers of the Southern 
Farmers’ Alliance Exchanges held a con¬ 
vention at Birmingham, Ala., last week. 
Measures were adopted regarding the han¬ 
dling of this year’s cotton crop, and the es¬ 
tablishment of a cotton factory. 
Several branches of the Farmers’Alliance 
have recently been established in New 
Hampshire, where Congressman Jerry 
Simpson, of Kansas, and his two colleagues 
have been “ stumping ” in its favor. It is 
reported that Senator Chandler has been 
coquetting with the Alliance, and his con¬ 
duct has been the cause of a good deal of 
speculation by both parties in the Granite 
State. 
According to the secretary of the Minne¬ 
sota Alliance, there are over 50,000 mem¬ 
bers of the organization in that State; and 
both of the political parties are afraid of 
its power. 
The leaders of the Kansas Alliance are 
preparing for the local elections next 
month. The women are even more active 
in the political field than they were last 
year. 
Hitherto the Illinois State Board of Agri¬ 
culture has had the management of the 
proposed State exhibit for the great Col¬ 
umbian Exposition; but an effort is now 
being made to take it out of their hands 
and entrust it to a commission consisting 
of 21 members of the legislature, one from 
each Congress district and one from the 
State at large. The Board is “ kicking.” 
The Knights of Reciprocity is a secret 
society lately started in Kansas which has 
already spread considerably beyond the 
Mississippi, and has just made a lodgment 
on this side of the river in several places in 
Illinois. Here are the questions asked 
candidates for admission to the organiza¬ 
tion : “Are you in favor of the perpetuity 
of our Union ?” “ Are you in favor of just 
and liberal pensions to all honorably dis¬ 
charged soldiers and sailors of the Repub¬ 
lic?” “Are you in favor of the protection 
of American industries?” “Are you in 
favor of fair and equitable reciprocity be¬ 
tween all nations on the American conti¬ 
nent?” “Are you in favor of fair and 
equitable reciprocity between all interests 
in our nation ?” “ Are you in favor of an 
intelligent ballot honestly cast and 
counted ?” “ Are you in favor of dis¬ 
franchising every citizen who offers or ac¬ 
cepts a bribe to influence a ballot ?” 
The Grippe is raging with varying de¬ 
grees of fatality in different parts of the 
country. On Sunday, March 29, 275 bodies 
which ought to have been buried in Chi¬ 
cago remained above ground because the 
undertakers were too busy to bury them. 
There were 200 funerals and every 
hearse in the city was pressed into ser¬ 
vice. In the previous 24 hours there had 
been 180 deaths and the rate was in¬ 
creasing. Nine-tenths of the deaths 
were due to the grippe and pneumonia, 
chiefly the former. In Pittsburg and across 
the river in Allegheny City the fatalities 
from the disease are so heavy that the un¬ 
dertakers of both places are kept busy from 
before sunrise till after sunset. The death 
rate is reported to be “ appalling ” and the 
doctors say it is increasing. In New York 
and Brooklyn it is quite prevalent and 
troublesome and has markedly increased 
the deith rate for the last few weeks, but 
the type is much milder than elsewhere. 
A Heavily Mortgaged People — 
“Should farmers ’hove others their calling regret 
Because above others in life tbe’re In debt ? ” 
Although the statistics of mortgage in¬ 
debtedness are incomplete, a rough esti¬ 
mate places the number of mortgages of 
record for the past ten years at 8,572,965. 
In round numbers the population of the 
country is 62,000,000, and on the basis of 
five persons to every household, there are 
about 12,000,000 families. The proportion 
of eight mortgages to every twelve families 
is, of course, inexact, because a person may 
mortgage in succession his farm, house¬ 
hold effects, stocks and crops ; but taking 
into consideration the amount of interest- 
bearing indebtedness of the entire country, 
including that of the railroad and other 
corporations, the sum reaches a figure so 
vast that it is almost incomprehensible. 
The figures in detail, so far as they go, indi¬ 
cate that the farms of the country are not 
so heavily mortgaged as generally be¬ 
lieved, except within circumscribed areas ; 
while other kinds of property are more 
deeply incumbered. The meaning to be 
drawn from the foregoing facts is that our 
people have passed from a cash to a credit 
basis; from a period of thrift to one of un¬ 
limited speculation. Hence the cry for 
more currency, the private currency of the 
credit system and that which is represented 
by checks and notes being immensely in ex¬ 
cess of the cash. The total payments 
through the banks of the United States 
this year will not be far short of sixty thou¬ 
sand million dollars, and investigation by 
the Comptroller of the Currency has shown 
that less that nine per cent of such an 
amount is represented by all kinds of cash 
and currency. 
Deductions for Debt Supported.— By 
a vote of 52 to 41, on Thursday, the New 
York Assembly voted down a Personal 
Property Tax Bill. It provided for the as¬ 
sessment of personality at full value, with¬ 
out allowing any deduction for indebted¬ 
ness. There was a heated debate, one side 
insisting that deduction for debt would 
open the way to unlimited perjury; and 
the other side declaring that such a law 
would paralyze all forms of Industry, and 
that it could not be equitably enforced. 
The result of debate was defeat. The main 
objection to the measure was that it would 
tax a man for what he didn’t have as well 
as for what he did. A merchant buys a 
stock of goods worth $i00,000 on which he 
pays $5,000 in cash, giving his notes for the 
rest. He is to be assessed under this pro¬ 
posed bill for the whole stock and would 
pay a duty on $95,000 more than he is 
worth. And so of all other holders of per¬ 
sonal property who are now permitted to 
deduct their obligations from the value 
thus remaining in their hands. The law, 
however, should apply to farm indebted¬ 
ness as well as to any other. 
27 I 
THE 
LARGEST 
CROPS 
in the Great Potato Contests con¬ 
ducted by the “American Agri- 
c^dt^Lrist” were raised on 
STOCKBRIDGE 
potato ii nur 
MANURE ALUNt. 
at f t ii rirxwT.r-c'-o FERTILIZER Boston and 
Manufactured by BOWKER COMPANY. New York. 
Catalogue Free. 
WABAN. 
The stock of this Magnificent NEW ROSE (red Mermet) for 
April 15 delivery, is now sold, but we are prepared to book orders for 
a limited number to be delivered May 15. 
PRICES ON APPLICATION TO THE FOLLOWING AGENTS: 
W. J. STEWART. 67 Bromfleld St., Boston, Mass., 
for New England States (except Connecticut) and 
Quebec. 
llOIIEKT CRAIG. 49th and Market Sts., Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa., for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and all 
Southern States east of the Mississippi River, and 
District of Columbia. 
JOHN N MAY, Summit, N J., for Connecticut 
New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Indiana and 
Ontario. 
J. C. VAUGHAN, P. O. Box 688, Chicago, Ill., for 
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and all States and 
Territories west of the Mississippi River, and 
Canadian territory west of Ontario. 
SEEDS 
FOR ALL 
CLIMATES 
Oar climate aud hcasodh are suitable for growing and maturing all leeda. 
M vrino CYDCDICyPC on the Seed Farm taught us thin. 
I LAmO LAiCiiI LllULHostH of letters from patrons verifjit. 
Our CATALOGUE is a well arranged, instructive Garden Guide 
full of pi 
applicatic 
full of present day eominou sense ideas, and is sent FKKK on FREE 
on. Tells the new and cawy way to firow Onions, 
1500 ItuMhclft on an acre. Describes our new Stone Tomato, 
packet 15 eta.; Kver^reen Cucumber, packet 10 eta,; Market 
Melon, packet 10 eta.; or the K post-paid for 80 eenta. Address 
A. W. LIVINGSTON’S SONS,»ox KOO, Columbua, Ohio. 
PEERLESS CREAMERY 
Absolute Perfection 
for Best Quality Butter. 
W ORKER 
HURNS.POWER BUTTER WORK- 
PRINTERS, SHIPPING BOXES. 
Our New Milk Cooler and Aerator is the best. 
Send for my Hlus. Catalogue of CREAM lilt V 
PLAN & valuable information for Creamery men, 
CREAMERY SUPPLIES. 
i aoth and Market Streets, PHILADELPHIA. PA. 
MADE OF EXPANDED METAL. 
F«r RESIDENCES, CHURCHES, CEMETERIES, FARMS GARDENS, Gates, Arbors, Window Guards, Trellises, 
Write for Illustrated Catalogue. No. io. CENTRAL EXPANDED METAL CO. 
Hardware Men keep it. Give name of this paper. 11G Water St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
ASHES 
CANADA 
UNLEACHED 
HARD WOOD 
ASHES 
HEADQUARTERS FOR THE PURE ARTICLE. 
Gathered and shipped under our personal supervision and every car In good mechanical condition ; guar 
anteed analysis. Send for sample prices and illustrated pamphlet free. Address THE FOREST CITY 
WOOD ASH CO., London, Ont., Canada, or our New England branch office. So. Sudbury, Mass. 
Agents wanted in every farming town. E. W. McGARVE Y, Manager. 
Please mention Thk Rural Nkw-Yorkkr when writing. 
Make Your Own Wire Stretcher. 
For $1.00 I will send MODEL of a cheap, practical 
Stretcher used on my farm to make fence. HOLDS 
ANY WIRE. AUGER AND SAW all the tools needed. 
Address G. C. ROSE, Troy, N. Y. 
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Window Gardening. 
A Lot of Delightful and Prac¬ 
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lustrations — All on Window 
Gardening—make up this pretty 
little work. Written by expert 
flower and plant growers. Covers 
every phase of plant culture in the 
house. Price, 10 cents. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
Times Building, New York. 
