112« 
THE; RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 18, 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
The volume of work in this depart¬ 
ment has become so large it is not pos¬ 
sible to report any representative per¬ 
centage of the inquiries, but as many 
readers are interested in the work, we 
give at times summaries of a month’s 
work. For the month of October we 
received 45 claims, amounting to 
$3,811.50. In October, 1910, the com¬ 
plaints. amounted to $2,680.32. In Oc¬ 
tober, 1911, we collected or settled 39 
claims, amounting to $2,022.69, against 
$470.70 for the corresponding month 
last year. The inquiries for rating were 
142 for October, 1911; and 141 last year. 
It may be interesting to note that the 
increase of subscription returns for Oc¬ 
tober, 1911, over October, 1910, was 
$1,940.67, or $388.68 more than the in¬ 
crease of collections on these claims 
for the same month. It will be evident 
from this that while we accept no pay 
for the service, the work is appreciated 
not only by those immediately con¬ 
cerned, but by every farmer who be¬ 
lieves that a farm paper should be used 
in every legitimate way for the benefit 
and protection of those whom it is de¬ 
signed to serve. 
I wrote some months ago an item In 
my poultry account book “Stung! .$1.50.” 
To-day I wrote “Unstung!” (through It. 
N.-Y.) credit $1.50.” With best wishes 
to your success. G. E. c. 
Connecticut. 
This was in acknowledgment of a 
little work we were able to do for him, 
in the adjustment of a complaint, which 
grew out of a misunderstanding. 
We have received a number of complaints 
against Alfred Post & Company, 31 East 
Fourth street, regarding marked difference 
between quotations and returns, and ship¬ 
ments for which payments have not been 
made—last season’s business.—Financial 
News. 
We have complaints on file also from 
subscribers who have been unable to 
get their money for goods shipped to 
this concern. 
Please show up this Doctor Rand fake 
and tell “our folks” to send the dollar to 
The R. N.-Y. It will bring them better luck. 
New York. k. m. n. 
We showed up this fake some time 
back. Mr. Rand has a “lucky” stone 
which he secured while traveling in 
India, so he says, and he wants you 
to have one very badly. Incidentally 
he wants your dollar equally badly. The 
literature comes from Boston, Mass. 
The wonder is that anyone would bite 
on such a transparent fake. 
George F. Colo, engaged as a commission 
merchant in the egg. poultry and farm 
produce business at 141 Atlantic avenue, 
Brooklyn, was arrested last week for using 
the mails in a scheme to defraud. Cole 
was held in $54)0 bonds. The claim of the 
postoflice officials is that Cole, by the use 
of the mails, offered very good prices for 
farm produce, eggs, poultry and dairying 
commodities to farmers in various places 
throughout Hew England, and failed to pay 
for the goods which he received. They 
assert that he frequently effected a settle¬ 
ment for about one-third of the amount 
originally stipulated, and that only after 
a long delay. A number of people, they 
say, who made inquiries of him regarding 
their transactions with him failed to re¬ 
ceive any reply at all, while others, after 
the lapse of a considerable time, received 
letters with a death notice of one “George 
C. Cole” enclosed, and written underneath 
the declaration “died of heart failure, didn’t 
leave one dollar.” 
Our people have heard of Mr. Cole 
before. We induced him to make some 
settlements -with our people, and at one 
time lie was threatening libel suits. We 
were never able to find any basis for 
credits to him, and his records with 
shippers were, to say the least, not en¬ 
couraging. 
I enclose you an advertisement of some 
land that was sold by this man John E. 
Strayer of Johnstown. Pa. Thousands of 
dollars are being sent for this kind of land 
by people of Cambria and Somerset coun¬ 
ties. If you know anything of this Florida 
Fruit Land Co. please let me know. 
Pennsylvania. E. E. F. 
If Mr. Strayer knows nothing about 
the Florida Everglades he ought to in¬ 
form himself before alluring his neigh¬ 
bors into such a trap. If he is already 
acquainted with conditions there, he 
ought to be ashamed of himself for his 
part in the deception of his neighbors. 
He tells you in effect that when the 
State canal is completed the lands will 
be fit for cultivation. Such is not the 
fact. The State digs some large ditches 
to drain the Everglades, but before they 
are fit for cultivation lateral ditches 
must be cut, leading into the main 
canal in order to drain the land. The 
Everglades -are overgrown with saw- 
weed grass and the land must be 
drained and cleared before cultivation 
is possible. When the water is removed 
the surface is not always fertile. In 
places it is; but generally, it is sandy 
and infertile, or covered with vegetable 
growth, wet and sour. Mr. Strayer’s 
open letter indicates that many people 
have bought these lands on his recom¬ 
mendation. If this is so many people 
have done a foolish thing. No one 
should buy a foot of land in Florida 
or anywhere else for that matter with¬ 
out first inspecting it, and learning from 
old inhabitants the conditions that must 
be met theiThe land agents tell very 
glowing stories. Some of what they 
tell may be true, but the drawbacks 
which they do not tell are often more 
important. Florida has a fine climate, 
and some good land, but you do not get 
the good land when you buy without 
seeing it. Any State official or reliable 
resident of the State will caution you 
not to put your faith in land promoters, 
nor your money into their schemes. One. 
trip to the Everglades will probably 
cure your investment fever for that 
Proposition. I was on the banks of the 
great ditch myself, and a more forlorn 
looking prospect for cultivation I never 
did see. They will probably be devel¬ 
oped sometime, but it is little short of 
a crime to induce Northern men ad¬ 
vanced in years to sell their comfortable 
Northern homes and invest the savings 
of a lifetime in that forlorn prospect. 
This morning I got my money from the 
Kansas City Southern R. R. Company. I 
got it without getting an order from the 
owner of the land on which the hay 
burned. I was in their office the other 
day and told them it was my hay and 
none of their business whose land it was 
on at the time it was fired, as the hay 
was in the bale and not standing. Many 
thanks for your kindness and help which 
I appreciate very much. ir. h. 
Missouri. 
The railroad company acknowledged 
their responsibility but withheld pay¬ 
ment because the subscriber was not the 
owner of the land and were insisting 
on a statement from the owner to show 
the hay was not his. The owner lived 
in another State and had no interest 
in the hay whatever, and it was only 
after repeated efforts on our part and j 
that of the subscriber that we got them 
to a point where they settled with the 
owner of the hay. This was another 
one of the tiring-out processes, which 
did not tire. 
Your letter is at hand with enclosure of 
remittance to cover the settlement which 
you effected for me with the United States 
Express Company. Permit me to thank you 
very kindly for this favor. While the 
amount involved was small, yet the element 
of Justice was upon our side, so it was 
clearly a source of satisfaction to feel that 
our position in this matter was justified 
in the view taken by the express company 
and refund made accordingly. It is an¬ 
other one to add to the many preceding It 
where your “Publisher’s Desk” department 
has been of use to your subscribers. Once 
again I thank you. E. C. H. 
New York. 
This was for a shipment of bantams 
on which an overcharge was made by 
the express company. It was paid under 
protest, as our subscriber was anxious 
to get the bantams unpacked. No dis¬ 
position was shown to settle direct, and 
we took the matter up with the above 
result. Whether large or small, the 
principle is the same, and where ship¬ 
ments are accepted under protest the ex¬ 
press company should not seek to shift 
the responsibility. Of course, this sys¬ 
tem of overcharge amounts to large 
sums in the aggregate to the express 
companies, because many people do not 
know that they are overcharged, and 
others do not demand redress. 
On March 10 I sent to J. A. Bennett & 
Rons’ Co., Gouverneur, N. Y., $10 for two 
of their champion brooders. Before send¬ 
ing the order I inquired how soon they 
would be able to ship goods, as I needed 
them April 1. They replied promptly they 
could send one or more the same day they 
were ordered. After waiting 10 days with¬ 
out getting any acknowledgment of my or¬ 
der, or hearing from them in any way, I 
wrote for an explanation, calling their at¬ 
tention to the fact that I needed the brood¬ 
ers by April 1. They paid no attention. I 
wrote again the last of March, telling them 
to -send brooders at once or return my 
money. I have not heard a word from 
them. If you can do anything for me I 
Would certainly appreciate it. If they 
would explain matters to me I would have 
been willing to wait, although I have 200 
baby chicks on hand now and no brooders. 
Flease rouse them up if you can. j. f. 
Pennsylvania. 
A later letter acknowledges receipt 
of brooders April 18—three weeks after 
the subscriber was ready for them. We 
have in our files two similar complaints 
from subscribers, and Bennett & Sons 
do not respond to our letters, nor had 
they sent the goods when last reported. 
A farmer orders goods to meet certain 
conditions, and if lie does not have the 
cooperation of a dealer his whole plan 
is disarranged and he meets with loss. 
When, as in this case, a definite agree¬ 
ment is made for shipment at a definite 
time, it is a breach of contract to delay 
the shipment. We have had complaints 
from farmers against this concern for 
years, and other purchasers are en¬ 
titled to know the experience of the 
complainants. j. j. d. 
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