Uhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1103 
Business 
“  Farming”  for  the  Government 
Does  the  government  employ  farmers 
as  hinted  in  the  enclosed  advertisement, 
or  is  this  just  another  money  grabbing 
scheme? 
“THOUSANDS  U.  S.  GOVERNMENT 
jobs  now  open  to  farmers — meu  and 
women  ;  $05  to  $150  month ;  vacations : 
pleasant  work;  steady  employment;  pay 
sure  ;  common  education  sufficient.  Write 
immediately  for  free  list  of  positions  now 
obtainable." 
We  have  worked  over  a  year  on  this 
farm  for  less  than  $00  per  month.  The 
farmer  vTe  work  for  brings  his  city 
friends  and  shows  them  the  improve¬ 
ments  we  have  made,  drives  out  and 
works  himself  in  the  busiest,  seasons, 
keeps  purebred  stock  and  sa.vs  they  never 
did  so  well  or  looked  so  well  before.  But 
when  we  ask  for  higher  wages  he  says 
the  farm  won’t  pay  it.  lie  brags  about 
his  farmer,  saying  he  is  the.  best  man  he 
ever  had,  and  seems  to  think  we  wil1  stay 
here  indefinitely.  This  Spring  we  could 
not  raise  money  enough  to  move  w  here  we 
could  make  better  wages.  He  has  no 
other  income  but  this  farm.  Wo  spend 
nothing  for  luxuries;  hardly  ever  leave 
the  farm  and  are  ridiculously  healthy.  I 
wonder  how  many  others  are  situated 
just  as  we  are.  We  have  Only  two  chil¬ 
dren.  No  work  around  here  for  a  woman 
to  do.  They  seem  to  be  prosperous  and 
are  very  pleasant,  but  I  don’t  like  them 
to  offer  the  children  their  cast-off 
clothes.  I  think  there  should  be  a  law 
about  farm  wages  and  time  as  well  as  in 
mills  and  factories.  My  husband  works 
from  half-past  four  A.  M.  until  seven  at 
night,  and  does  chores  at  least  six  hours 
ou  Sundays.  It  is  a  busy  life. 
A  FARM  WOMAN'. 
Quite  a  number  of  our  people  have 
Seen  this  advertising  and  want  to  know 
more  about  it.  We  wrrote  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Agriculture  and  received  this 
reply : 
Replying  to  yours  inquiring  whether 
the  Government  is  to  employ  thousands 
of  farmers  at  $75  per  month  as  stated  in 
an  advertisement  which  you  enclosed,  I 
regret  to  advise  that  this  Department  has 
no  information  that  would  justify  the 
statements  made.  Some  farmers  are  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  Indian  Service  in  the  De¬ 
partment  of  the  In te_rior.  appointments  to 
that  position  being  made  from  lists  of 
eligibles  resulting  from  examinations  held 
by  the  Civil  Service  Commission.  The 
Manual  of  Civil  Service  Examinations, 
copy  of  which  is  mailed  you  under  sep¬ 
arate  cover,  gives  information  regarding 
the  scope  and  character  of  the  examina¬ 
tion,  and  the  manner  of  marking  papers 
and  mode  of  appointment.  No  examina¬ 
tion  is  held  for  the  Department  of  Agri¬ 
culture  for  a  position  having  the  specific 
title  of  “farmer.” 
We  wrote  the  Interior  Department  and 
find  that  a  few  farmers  are  needed  in  this 
Indian  Service.  The  work  seems  to  be 
managing  a  farm  and  teaching  ac  an  In¬ 
dian  agency.  Such  a  "farmer”  must 
pass  a  strong  civil  service  examination 
before  he  can  he.  appointed.  He  must  be 
between  £1  and  50  years  old  and  must 
have  a  medical  certificate.  His  examina¬ 
tion  will  be  graded  as  follows:  Pen¬ 
manship  ti,  spoiling  and  copying  5,  farm 
economy  20,  practical  questions  30.  keep¬ 
ing  accounts  •’>.  training  and  experience  35. 
There  does  not  seem  to  be  enough  in  it  to 
justify  the  advertisements. 
Doctors’  Fees 
A  correspondent  in  Orland,  Cal.,  who 
has  evidently  suffered  much  at  the  hands 
of  physicians,  sends  us  the  local  fee  bill, 
with  the  suggestion  that  we  compare  it 
with  the  charges  ordinarily  made  by 
Eastern  physicians,  and  proffer  a  word  of 
warning  to  those  who  may  lie  lured  by 
deceptive  advertising  of  the  advantages 
of  the  Golden  West. 
The  rates  given  are  as  follows:  Office 
consultations,  $2  to  $3,  often  50c.  to  $1 
extra  for  prescriptions  which  must  he 
filled  at  drug  stores  at  prices  double 
those  of  Eastern  druggists;  $3  for  near¬ 
by  day  calls,  $4  to  $5  for  night  visits ; 
proportionately  more  for  distant  visits; 
$25  to  $35  for  reducing  fractures  of  tlv» 
arm;  $25  for  attending  confinement 
cases,  subsequent  visits  included.  $10 
extra  when  instrumental  interference  is 
required. 
These  fees  would  scorn  high,  and  I  fear 
attractive,  to  most  country  physicians  in 
New  York  State.  Physicians  in  large 
town;?  would  not  consider  them  exces¬ 
sive.  however.  Office  consultations  are 
usually  50  cents  to  $1.  with  medicine 
usually  included.  This  practice  will  have 
to  be  changed  now,  as  “war  prices” 
of  commonly  used  drugs  have  soared 
until  the  medicine  usually  given  may 
easily  cost  a  half  dollar  or  more. 
Physicians  who  formerly  bought  many 
drugs  by  the  pound  are  now  buying  them 
by  the  ounce,  and  using  just  as  little  of 
them  as  possible,  Potassium  bromide,  a 
much  used  drug,  formerly  sold  at  about 
80ci  per  pound,  to  physicians;  it  is  now 
over  $7  per  pound.  Many  other  drugs 
have  increased  in  price  in  nearly  the 
same  proportion.  Visits  within  walking 
distance  are  ordinarily  $1  ;  distant  visits 
from  $2  to  $4.  An  extra  charge  may  he 
made  for  night  visits,  but  more  frequently 
it  is  not ;  $25  to  $50  for  caring  for  sim¬ 
ple  fraetur  s  would  be  considered  a  rea¬ 
sonable  charge,  and  confinement  cases 
usually  cost  the  family  from  $10  to  $25. 
With  the  possible  exception  of  office 
consultations.  Western  fees  do  not  seem 
proportionately  much  higher  than  are 
other  prices  in  the  Western  States,  where 
they  do  things  on  a  much  larger  scale 
than  in  the  effete  East.  With  the  cost  of 
living  considered,  it  is  doubtful  if  the 
Western  physician  is  acquiring  wealth 
much  faster  than  his  Eastern  brother,  and 
that  is  at  a  rate  which  permits  the  fam¬ 
ilies  of  the  vast  majority  of  them  to  work 
for  their  support  after  the  physician's 
death.  M.  b.  D. 
Who  Owns  Church  Sheds 
On  page  S09  is  an  article  entitled. 
“Who  Owns  the  Church  Sheds?"  This 
subject  is  one  in  which  I  have  had  ex¬ 
perience  at  two  churches.  In  one  case 
the  users  of  the  horse  sheds  believed 
that  they  held  legal  title  to  the  ground 
on  which  they  stood,  but  no  one  could 
produce  a  deed,  and  there  were  no  deeds 
on  record.  The  matter  was  finally  set¬ 
tled  by  the  claimants  of  the  sheds  then 
standing,  which  were  in  a  dilapidated  con¬ 
dition,  releasing  all  their  real  and  fan¬ 
cied  rights,  and  the  trustees  of  the 
church  passed  the  hat  and  built  new 
sheds  ,  which  were  church  property. 
Sheds  were  then  assigned  to  the  use  of 
regular  attendants  the  same  as  the  seats 
in  the  church.  Of  course,  a  number  were 
kept  for  transients. 
In  the  other  case,  small  lots  about 
10x30  feet  had  actually  been  deeded  by 
the  trustees  of  the  church  to  various  in¬ 
dividuals  with  permission  to  erect  there¬ 
on  sheds  for  the  protection  of  horses  and 
wagons  when  the  owners  wore  ar  church. 
Out  of  about  40  deeds,  presumably  made, 
only  three  were  found  ou  record,  one  of 
which  was  my  own.  In  one  case  I  found 
an  owner  who  claimed  title  under  a  deed 
made  about  40  years  previously,  but  he 
did  not  know  either  the  grantor  or 
grantee  named  iu  the  deed.  lie  thought 
that  the  mere  possession  of  the  docu¬ 
ment  was  all  he  needed.  I  traced 
the  transfer  of  this  church  shed  back 
through  eight  different  owners,  finally  lo¬ 
cating  the  person  who  had  given  the  deed 
and  had  him  make  a  new  deed  to  the 
present  owner. 
In  my  opinion,  the  only  way  to  solve 
the  problem  is  for  the  church  to  own  the 
ground,  and  the  buildings  thereon,  and  to 
rent  the  sheds  the  same  as  pews  are 
rented,  or  to  throw  them  open  free  to  all 
comers,  along  with  free  seats  in  the 
church.  In  these  days  when  business 
men  are  taking  active  interest  in  church 
management,  the  latter  seems  to  me  the 
better  way,  and  iu  line  with  other  ef¬ 
forts  to  make  the  church  a  center  of  com¬ 
munity  life.  CttUUCIl  MEMBER. 
The  Sweeper  and  the  Agent 
During  each  year  we  have  at  least 
1.000  cases  where  some  man  or  woman 
signs  an  iron-clad  contract — thinking  it 
is  merely  a  memorandum  without  any 
money  obligation.  In  return  they  re¬ 
ceive  some  merchandise  which  they  do 
not  really  need,  and  in  due  course  of  time 
the  paper  which  was  signed  turns  up  as 
a  legal  obligation  at  some  bank.  Here 
follows  the  statement  of  a  typical  case 
of  this  sort.  We  hope  our  women  read¬ 
ers  will  get  the  truth  of  it  and  let  it  be 
a  warning. 
An  agent  of  the  Livingston  Company 
came  to  a  woman  and  offered  to  sell  her 
a  sweeper.  lie  was  a  plausible  talker, 
full  of  promises,  and  finally  induced  the 
woman  to  buy,  after  exchanging  an  old 
sweeper.  She  paid  him  $3  in  casli  and 
signed  what  she  thought  was  an  agree¬ 
ment  to  pay  the  balance  later,  provided 
the  sweeper  proved  satisfactory.  What 
she  really  signed,  without  reading,  was 
a  direct,  promise  to  pay  with  the  follow¬ 
ing  note  added  : 
Value  received,  with  interest  at  the 
rate  of  six  per  emit,  per  annum  from 
date,  and  attorney's  fees.  The  makers, 
drawers  and  endorsers  severally  waive 
presentment  for  payment,  protest  and  no¬ 
tice  of  protest  and  uon-pnympnt  of  this 
note  and  waive  prosecution  of  the  mak¬ 
ers  to  insolvency. 
And  to  secure  the  payment  of  said 
amount,  u  r  merchandise  received  in  good 
condition,  1  hereby  authorize,  irrevocably, 
any  attorney  of  any  court  of  record  to 
appear  for  me  in  such  court,  in  term, 
time  or  vacation,  or  at  any  time  here¬ 
after  and  confess  a  judgment  without 
process,  in  favor  of  the  holder  of  this 
note  for  such  amount  as  may  appear  to 
be  unpaid  thereon,  together  with  costs 
and  ten  dollars  attorney’s  fees  and  to 
waive  and  release  all  errors  that  may  in¬ 
tervene  in  such  proceedings,  and  consent 
to  immediate  execution  upon  such  judg¬ 
ment,  hereby  ratifying  and  confirming  all 
that  my  said  attorney  may  do  by  virtue 
hereof. 
When  her  husband  came  home  they 
talked  it  over  and  found  that  they  could 
not  afford  the  sweeper  at  that  time.  So 
he  wrote  at  once,  to  the  agent  explain¬ 
ing  their  situation  and  asking  him  to  re¬ 
turn  her  money  and  take  the  sweeper. 
Though  he  was  Tight  in  the  town  he 
waited  n  while.  and  then  said  the  matter 
had  passed  out  of  his  hands,  as  he  had 
turned  it  over  to  his  ‘‘manager.”  lie 
promised  to  bring  this  manager  around 
that  night,  but  he  has  not  h>'ou  seen  yet. 
In  due  time  the  note  turned  up  at  the 
local  bank.  The  agent  hr  1  used  it  to 
buy  a  suit  of  clothes  and  the  storekeeper 
passed  it  on  to  the  wholesaler.  Thus  it 
had  to  be  paid.  The  sweeper  proved  un¬ 
satisfactory  and  no  way  came  up  to  the 
agent's  claims.  The  woman  wrote  the 
Livingston  Manufacturing  Co.,  but  they 
paid  no  attention  to  her  letter.  Then 
her  husband  wrote  a  hot  letter  denouncing 
the  agent  (Kelley)  and  his  methods,  and 
demanding  that  the  company  take  back 
the  sweeper  and  return  the  purchase  price. 
This  they  refused  to  do.  They  claim  they 
merely  sell  sweepers  to  agents  and  the 
agents  sell  again — therefore  the  manu¬ 
facturers  are  not  responsible  for  any 
claims  the  agents  may  make!  They  will 
make  good  defective  parts,  but  that  is 
all.  It  is  the  old  trick  of  verbal  prom¬ 
ises,  and  the  old  evasion  of  responsibility 
when  the  goods  are  sold. 
Now  this  woman  had  no  business  to 
sign  any  such  paper.  She  cut  off  any 
chance  to  get  out  of  this  bad  bargain 
when  she  signed  that  note.  Again,  she 
did  not  really  need  the  sweeper  at  that 
time,  and  would  not  have  bought  it  but 
for  this  oily-tongued  agent's  guff.  It  is 
the  old,  old  story,  which  has  proved  the 
undoing  of  many  a  man  and  woman. 
Oh.  that  they  might  have  the  power  to 
refuse  to  sign  any  contract  whatever 
when  presented  by  a  stranger!  The  Liv¬ 
ingston  company  is  within  its  legal  rights 
in  refusing  to  refund  this  money,  but  it 
has  no  business  to  employ  such  lying 
agents  and  then  refuse  to  hack  up  what 
they  promise-  You  might  just  ns  well 
sweep  your  money  out  doors  'as  to  sign 
such  contracts  for  this  sweeper.  Remem¬ 
ber  the  agent’s  name — D.  L.  Kelley — 
though  most  likely  he  has  had  half  a 
dozen  new  ones  since  this  happened. 
Prompt  Delivery  of  Farm  Produce 
