T 
1889 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
98 
THE BOHEMIAN OAT SWINDLE. 
“ I think that something about the Bohemi¬ 
an oat business has been published in some 
back number of the Rural/’ writes a corres¬ 
pondent, “ What is the character of the comp¬ 
any?” The writer is evidently a new sub¬ 
scriber, otherwise he would know all about 
this swindle; for during the last seven or 
eight years, the Eye-Opener has vigorously 
denounced it and similar frauds at least two 
or three times a year, on an average. During 
that time upwards of a dozen “companies," 
with as many different names, have started in 
the Bohemian Oat “ business ” alone, in vari¬ 
ous parts of the country, and at least as many 
more in the Red Line Wheat and similar 
swindles. They flourished rankly in Penn¬ 
sylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, 
Iowa, and Missouri, and to a less harmful ex¬ 
tent in Western New York, Wisconsin, 
Minnesota, and several other States, 
while the Ontario Grain & Land Com¬ 
pany represented the swindle in Canada. 
A considerable number of really honest men 
were induced to take an interest in the 
various concerns at first by the plausible 
arguments of their promoters; but, as a rule, 
they were mere figure-heads, whose names 
among the directors, etc., were used to allay 
the suspicions of outsiders and to act as bait 
for gudgeons. The “agents” have always 
been the important factors in the swindles. 
Of late years, the fraudulent nature of the 
concerns has been so thoroughly exposed, and 
the losses they have inflicted on the public 
aave been so outrageous, that no really honest 
man can nowadays lend his name to the 
frauds; though connected with them may 
still be found the names of some humbugs 
whose innate unscrupulous greed is hidden 
beneath a hypocritical garb of respectability. 
The modus operandi of all the concerns 
was substantially the same. A circular glow¬ 
ingly set forth the extraordinary merits of 
the particular variety of grain handled by 
the company, while a list of its officers, often 
with bogus business ratings, bespoke confi¬ 
dence in the representations made and the 
promises offered. The agent, or a director 
acting as agent, sold the oats or wheat usually 
at $10 per bushel, though the figures varied 
from $5 to $15. Notes were taken in pay¬ 
ment of the dent, and it was commonly agreed 
that they should not be transferred, and should 
be payable out of the proceeds of the crop 
from the grain sold. As an inducement to 
purchase, the company gave a bond to the 
purchaser, in which it agreed to sell for him 
the following year double the quantity he 
bought, and at the same price. As a rule, it 
was not difficult to sell on these terms, 
and hundreds of farmers, in various parts of 
the country, gave notes for $200 to $400 or 
more for the grain at, say, $10 a bushel. 
Sometimes the grain was sold only as a favor, 
on the ground that only a few could be 
selected in each neighborhood. Before 
the next harvest, the farmers' notes usu¬ 
ally got into the hands of “ innocent 
holders,” to whom payment must be made. 
As a rule, the agent failed to call round at 
harvest time to sell double the quantity of 
grain as guaranteed, and in such cases the 
company’s bond was always found to be 
worthless. To effect this a number of subter¬ 
fuges were resorted to. In several cases, for 
instance, the company’s constitution provided 
for an annual change of members, the old ones 
who had sold thegrain going ou t at the end of the 
year,and the new ones—those who had bought 
it—taking their places, and assuming their 
responsibilities. Thus those who purchased 
the grain, ipso facto and without their know¬ 
ledge, became, at the close of the year, the 
only members of the company aud the only 
persons who were responsible to themselves 
for the performance of the promises the con¬ 
cern had made to them. In other cases, the 
contract or bond was so worded that the 
whole liability for damages came upon the 
agent, and he either disappeared, or was 
found to be entirely irresponsible, having no 
tangible property. 
In some cases the agent appeared and sold 
the grain, on the same terms, to other farmers 
jn the neighborhood, who were all the more 
easily gulled on witnessing the good fortune 
of those who had previously invested. The 
new buyers then became the losers next har¬ 
vest, for it was very rarely indeed that the 
same game was played for three successive 
years in the same neighborhood. Frequently, 
however, the first purchasers really lost, even 
when their grain was sold for double what 
they had paid for it. In such cases, the 
agent nearly always retaiued fc 33%'.»per cent 
for his share of the profits, and in many cases 
gave notes to the farmer for the balance, 
and, of course, these notes turned out to be 
worthless. Hundreds of thousands, yes, mill¬ 
ions of dollars have been lost by farmers in 
various parts of the country by this swindle 
during the last eight or nine years. Ohio, 
Michigan and Iowa have passed stringent 
laws punishing all who may engage in such 
frauds by fine and imprisonment, and several 
of the other States either have alroady fol¬ 
lowed or are going to follow their example. 
All the reputable men who have figured prom¬ 
inently in connection with these swindles, 
have, without exception, lost in reputation 
what they gained in money. No man de¬ 
sirous of public confidence or of a reputation 
for common honesty should have any sort of 
connection with these concerns. 
TO SEVERAL INQUIRERS. 
The Eye-Opener has received several letters 
speaking in unfavorable terms of the Econo¬ 
my Shirt Company, of Pleasantville, N. Y. 
The gist of the complaints is that when money 
is forwarded to the concern, even in registered 
letters, the only acknowledgment returned 
is the official receipt for the money, and fre¬ 
quent letters to the “ company” elicit neither 
the goods paid for nor any reason why they 
are not sent.From all information the 
Eye-Opener can gather, the California & 
Southern Land Trust Company, of Red Bluff, 
California, and Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of 
those speculative land concerns with which no 
sensible man will have any dealings. The 
reputation of Southern California for such 
“ enterprises ” has of late years been fully as 
bad as that of Florida was a few years ago. 
No one should invest in land anywhere with, 
out having personally inspected it on the spot 
soiled linen. Cleanliness is the first’virtue of 
a good housewife, in our eyes. 
* * Me 
The “one small maid” is indeed an unat¬ 
tainable luxury in many country households; 
in fact as Mrs. Wager-Fisher noted, the lack 
of adequate help is one of the greatest trials a 
farm housekeeper suffers. In many country 
places it is impossible to get a woman even to 
do a half-day’s washing; many a farmer’s 
wife goes without help, not because she cannot 
or will not pay for it, but because it is im¬ 
possible to find any such assistance. We 
personally know places within an hour’s ride 
of New York, where there is only one woman 
who goes out by the day in each entire place, 
and she is apt to be excessively disobliging, 
because she knows her employers cannot get 
any one else. 
♦ * * 
The childish treasures mentioned by our 
correspondent “B. H. G.,” recall our own 
childish days, when we were encouraged to 
bring home any plant, flower, stone, moss, or 
wood, anything that would interest us, with 
the prospect of hearing all its history as soon 
as our mother found leisure. This leisure 
usually came on Sunday afternoon; after our 
regular religious instructions, we had a sort of 
object-lesson on anything we might have 
selected in this way. First, we were all asked 
to give our impressions of its appearance, 
which encouraged us to observe closely. We 
were told its uses, properties, etc., and as 
such discussions often called forth reference 
to foreign countries, we learned a good deal 
of geography, as soon as we were old enough 
to read for ourselves. We children would al¬ 
ways hunt up in dictionaries and encyclo¬ 
pedias all the information possible relative to 
any subject we expected to discuss, the lesser 
ones being encouraged to ask all the questions 
of how the little heart must be aching at the 
prospect of disclosure which he supposed 
would follow. Waiting until he had finished 
his supper, and gone into the sitting-room, I 
related the catastrophe. Without a word, my 
husband, in the brighest and cheeriest of 
voices, called Bertie to him, and taking him 
on his knee, praised him for having at once 
and unasked, told the truth about the acci¬ 
dent, and in his gentle way drew from the 
broken-hearted child the story of how he 
“wanted to help Bridget” by beating the dust 
out of the parlor furniture, and of how he had 
“axindentally” hit the shade with the broom- 
handle; nor did his father let him relinquish 
his seat until smiles had chased away the 
grief from his poor little face. Had I lost my 
little boy that night, before I had had time to 
assure him of my full forgiveness, and to 
make him feel in some way that it was the 
headache, and not mamma that had spoken, I 
should never have forgiven myself. Bridget 
told me the next day, that after the accident 
he sat with folded hands, unable to play, or 
followed her from room to room to ask if she 
was quite sure that the four dollars from his 
bank would be enough to pay for it. “I was 
that sorry for him, mem,” said the kind-heart¬ 
ed girl, “that I could have cried.” 
I have had my lesson, and I think I shall 
never again allow myself to speak even the 
slightest word of reproof'until I have taken 
time to think. A wise man when asked his 
secret in educating his children, replied: “I 
have always found it desirable to be a little 
deaf, a little dumb, and a little blind.” If 
you are given to hasty speeches, it is well to 
be a great deal dumb. palmetto. 
or got a trustworthy friend to do so. they desired, not only relative to the object 
The Rural New-Yorker has refused to pub¬ 
lish a lengthy advertisement for “The 
American Family” of this city. The 
concern advertises extensively that it will 
give away 50,000 genuine “solid gold” 
watches. Is it necessary .to say any thing 
more about it, to induce sensible people to 
leave it severely alone? Even people who are 
not sensible may do so on learning that on 
visiting the address it gives in Fulton Street, 
this city, everybody there professed to know 
nothing about it.The German Electric 
Belt Agency, of Brooklyn, New York, is one 
of those concerns which are better known at 
a distance than at what they claim to be their 
own homes. It is difficult, if not impossible, to 
find any one who will acknowledge he repre¬ 
sents such concerns. The only address this 
“ Agency ” gives in its occasional advertise¬ 
ments in papers and frequent circulars 
through the mails, is a post-office box. Who 
ever heard uf a reputable business concern 
giving a post-office box as its only business 
address? The only people who do so are those 
whose offices and ware-houses are in their hats; 
whose banks are distinguished by three gild¬ 
ed balls,and whose business is seldom properly 
stigmatized by those who fear the remote pos¬ 
sibility of annoyance from a law-suit brought 
by people who never intend to prosecute it. 
IDommt’s Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUI8E TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
under discussion, but also concerning any 
other matter brought up during the talk. Our 
mother prepared for the subject as much as 
possible; when the matter was beyond her 
knowledge she hunted up authorities to give 
the needed information. A large amount of 
miscellaneous knowledge was thus obtained, 
relative to the scienceof common things, and 
we children always felt that our mother was 
interested in our treasures. 
* * * 
See how many things there are that 
children “want to know.” Like James Watt, 
our first knowledge of the s^eam-engine was 
derived from the tea-kettle; one of our object 
lessons was on this subject. Then we learned 
something about insect wonders; about the 
caddis-worm, building his wonderful little 
house in ♦ he water; the beautiful dragonfly, 
which, before its gauzy wings came into 
being, was an ugly little -water monster. We 
watched the tad-poles change from little tailed 
dots like commas, into portly and aldermanic 
frogs, and we were told all about frogs and 
toads, and all their relations. And no fairy 
tale could be more fascinating than the story 
of a lump of coal, from the time it was part 
of an old-world forest until it found a place 
in our coal-bin. 
COUNT TEN. 
A GOOD MANY of us will heartily in¬ 
dorse the remarks of our correspondent 
“ Sweet Fern.” Elaboration in serving is an 
impossibility where one woman has every¬ 
thing to do with the exception of such trifling 
aid as her children are able to give her. 
There should be a decent table cloth, if not a 
very fine one, and the table should be neatly 
set, for it is just as easy to put the dishes on in 
an orderly manner as to slam them on any¬ 
how; further than this, a busy housewife 
cannot go. We like to see a growing plant or 
a bunch of flowers on the center of the table; 
but we never attempt this^w hen setting for a lot 
of hungry men just in from work. It is rather 
apt to get in the way, and somehow it does 
not seem harmonious, though we have no 
doubt some clever writer could get up and 
prove that the rough men would not be so 
rough if they had the refining influence of 
flowers at meal-time. 
# M< 
Of course, every woman would like fine and 
spotless table linen at each meal. But when 
one woman has to do everything for a house¬ 
hold containing several working-men aud a 
number of children, she cannot keep clean 
table-cloths without extravagant labor. In 
such case it is certainly advisable to use white 
oil-cloth for every day; it may be kept clean 
and neat, and is in every .way preferable, ,to 
A BIT OF A PROTEST. 
N 
OW, please don’t all of you put' me down 
as a grumbler, for my feelings are not 
(6 /^OUNT TEN, Tatty, count ten.” 
These words came to my mind the 
other evening,but they were just too late to be 
of service. I knew quite well at the moment 
that I had spoken too hastily, and-that in all 
probability I had been unjust, while if I had 
followed the rule given to “Tattycoram,” and 
always counted ten before speaking when I 
felt irritated, poor little Bertie would have 
been saved a heartache, which I can never 
recall without a pang. 
I had returned mentally and physically 
tired from a hard day’s shopping for Christ¬ 
mas in the city. The tedious waiting at the 
ferry, and the over-heated and over-crowded 
cars had left me with a nervous headache, a 
trouble which I seldom plead guilty to, and 
to which I was trying not to succumb. 
Bertie met me at the door with the cleanest 
of faces, with his bright curls so smoothly 
brushed, and with such an unusually sub¬ 
dued manner that but for my aching head I 
would have suspected mischief. There was 
none of the usual curiosity regarding my 
packages, but such a gentleness of demeanor 
that I stroked his sunny curls, and asked 
“How is mamma’s little Lord Fauntleroy*” 
“Please come in the parlor, I have some¬ 
thing to show you,” said Bertie, and follow¬ 
ing him there, I saw my favorite lamp shade, 
the costly gift of a friend, in fragments. 
“ What a naughty, careless little boy 1” I be¬ 
gan, and without trusting myself to say 
another word I returned to the dining-room. 
A few moments later my husband, all un¬ 
conscious of the tragedy, entered, made much 
of Bertie, asked him if he had been lonely, 
and if he was glad we were again at home, 
j I saw the little chin quiver under his papa’s 
caresses, and I began to appreciate something 
those of one. I have no doubt Palmetto is 
sincere in implying that meals should always 
be served in courses. “ ’Tis a consummation 
most devoutly to be wished,” but how it is to 
be accomplished by any except a very few of 
your readers, is more than I can tell. Judg¬ 
ing from the prevailing style followed by 
writers in agricultural papers, it might be 
supposed that nea r ly every farmer’s wife had 
an abundance of help at her command: when 
it is a tact tnat even the proverbial “one 
small maid” that we hear so much about is 
almost unheard of. The other day I read in 
a farm journal that, as a useful present, the 
children might make a fire-screen for mother, 
to stand before the fire when she went to the 
kitchen to superintend the cooking! 
I live in no uncivilized region, but where 
people have plenty of books and papers and 
many luxuries—some of their children enjoy¬ 
ing a college education, but “really and 
truly" 1 know of only one or two farmers 
who keep a hired girl, unless in case of sick¬ 
ness. A very few hire their washing done 
and a few days’ work a year. I have no ref¬ 
erence to “gentlemen farmers’” but to “ye 
who till the stubborn soil and labor all day 
through.” You don’t see anything in all this 
about serving meals in courses and hired girls 
and “superintending the cooking?” "When 
one woman does the work for from three to 
seven persons, keeps the house, bakes and 
cooks, washes and irons, makes the butter, 
takes care of the poultry, washes the dishes, 
and, in the odd minutes, mends and sews (and 
is a faithful mother many times beside,) how, 
in the name of common sense, is she to serve 
her meals and do many other things as she 
could, (and no doubt would,) if she had plenty 
of well-trained help at her command? Mis¬ 
used are these women, drudges, overworked 
illustrations of “the dark side of farming?’ 
I think most of them would smile if they 
heard you say so. They would tell you that 
they work no harder in proportion to their 
strength than do ‘heir husbands. 
I think l could suggest a method by which 
that well-bred gentleman who refused aspara¬ 
gus unless served alone, could tolerate it, viz: 
if he arose at four o’clock or soon after, did 
chores till breakfast was ready, got in the 
field as soon as it was light, and then worked 
till noon. I guess after such a course he could 
eat anything that was well prepared,especially 
with the prospect of going back to his work in 
an hour or less and continuing to toil till sup¬ 
per-time and then do chores till after dark. 
This steady hard work we farmers and 
farmers’ wives enjoy is a glorious thing for 
an appetite. 
Now, dear sisters, keep the house clean, 
prepare food in as acceptable a manner as 
possible; but remember this is only the founda¬ 
tion of a happy home, and all the rest de¬ 
pends greatly on you. It is a duty you owe 
to your family to be pleasing and interesting; 
how can you be so, if you are tired out body 
and mind, troubled with much serving?” I 
know that if one lives on a farm, there is 
much hard work; but with proper manage- 
