54 
January 13, 
THE RURAE NEW-YORKER 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
Thank you. Our first mail for the 
new year was most encouraging. For 
the first time in 12 years it was not an 
advance over the corresponding mail for 
State will be so pronounced that the 
authorities at Cornell will wake up to 
their responsibilities. Women living 
within the shadow of Cornell buildings 
have lost their money through tliese 
schemers, and one of them has been 
relieved of the last dollar she had 
the previous year, but the difference in the world. The professors of our 
was less than two per cent and it was agricultural colleges ought to be in better 
not only generous in itself, but the business than lending their names to the 
greetings and good wishes that accom- promotion of get-rich-quick schemes 
panied it left no room for doubt of the but if they persist in doing so it is the 
sentiment and loyalty of our friends. It privilege and the duty of farm’papers to 
all bespeaks another year of generous warn the people of their danger Is 
encouragement, and we propose to try Cornell to be used as the sponsor for 
to make you feel that we are doing our suc h schemers? 
part. 
My father has received a check for $8.70 
Because of a technical error in draw- f ™ m the Diamond Dairy Co. for the case 
ino- the snecial prand inrv last Tnlv of eggs shipped July 26. Me thank you 
m & tne special . grand jury last Juiy very , nuc jj j had niade a g00( i e ff ort t0 
which returned indictments against ex- get this myself, but it took the good old 
Congressman Coudrey, E. G. Lewis and 
others, at St. Louis, the indictments 
were quashed on motion of the de¬ 
fendants. The regular December grand 
jury, however, took up the inquiry and 
new indictments were promptly returned 
on the same allegations. 
I take the present opportunity to tell 
Rural New-Yorker to do the trick. Words 
do not express our appreciation and re¬ 
spect for you and your paper but as we go 
along we never let an opportunity pass 
without a good word for you. Enclosed 
please find check for $1 for renewal. 
H. P. 
Some publishers call that yellow jour¬ 
nalism and think a service of that kind 
is not the proper function of a farm 
you that I looked up the 'Wholesale Optical paper, but we are frank to say that a 
Co... that you wrote up^./ew weeks^since. letter of that kind is in itself all the 
reward we ask for the service, and all 
the inspiration we need to influence us 
to continue the work. 
I hold 100 shares of Good Housekeeping 
stock, and I intend building a house soon, 
so I wrote Mr. Myrick in February that I 
wished to sell my stock not knowing at the 
time that the magazine had been sold. He 
informed me that the magazine had been 
sold and that at some future time or 
words to that effect, the stock would be 
redeemed. As to the price paid for the 
outfit or whether it was a cash transac¬ 
tion we have never been informed. 1 got 
to a point where I wanted my money, and 
wrote again to Mr. Myrick about a month 
ago, but I Sot no definite answer. This 
time he said the stock would probably be 
redeemed in January next at $11.70' per 
share. Mine cost me $12. I fail to see 
w hy I should make him a present of 30 
cents per share. When I bought this stock 
from Mr. My rick’s solicitor he assured 
me it could be redeemed at par or cost 
after a reasonable notice. That was 
about six years ago. I think I have given 
a reasonable notice. What would you ad¬ 
vise me to do in the matter? I have to 
work pretty hard for what I get, about 
They are no good at this time, although 
at one time they were a responsible firm. 
“Florida” was not the only one to complain 
of their treatment. t. j. h. 
It is a frequent trick to get possession 
of the name and business of a once 
prosperous and reliable firm and use it 
to promote a questionable business. 
Often have I been grateful to you for 
your helpfulness through The R. N.-Y. ; 
still oftener through your letters to my 
own especial need, but I have never felt 
more grateful than for the little book that 
came with the New Year. “Hind-Sights.” In 
merely the few- minutes I have given to it 
I have already seen several places where 1 
have been taken in, and several more that 
were yawning for me. So hard is it for a 
woman to investigate before making a leap. 
This little book will be my dictionary for 
the coming year, and I shall hope to report 
to you next year that I have a little wisdom 
stored up. v. c. J. 
Pennsylvania. 
We are glad to have this clever en¬ 
dorsement of the little book. We know 
no other book like it, and- we believe ... - — - . 
country people will find it a safe diction- so ^ny times 7 ’ /“hive ‘Volt confidence^ 
ary to consult when tempting schemes well as courage. subscriber 
that they know nothing about are pre- Massachusetts. 
sented by strangers. We have the book , • e ^is farmer that we did not 
all ready wrapped, and one is mailed to think he could legally hold Mr. Myrick 
your address the day your renewal f° ^ verbal promise made by his agent 
comes in. this transaction six years ago, and 
T . ic vr ■ VV*^ in wan t of a written contract with 
Last week Success Magazine sus- Mr. Myrick to redeem- the stock Mr 
pended publication after a struggle of 12 Myrick could not be compelled to re¬ 
years to land squarely on its feet. Some deem it at any price Me merely be 
years back it evidenced its own weak- came a stockholder in the company and 
ness by selling a large list of life sub- whatever value there was in the stock 
scriptions for $5 each—clearly a ruin- belonged to him, no more no less At 
qus policy, and an evident mortgage on the same time, we told him we thought 
the future for present cash. Later it we could get the money for him at once 
sold an issue of $400,000 "Guaranteed and in full. Later on he sent us the 
Gold Bonds.” Of course they were mere certificate of stock representing $1,000. 
notes of the company. Its weakness was par value, for which he said lie paid 
then further evidenced in page endorse- $1,200. We wrote Mr. Myrick that we 
merits of the E. G. Lewis schemes in had such a certificate and got a letter by 
the forlorn hope that readers of the return mail from a Springfield bank di¬ 
magazine could be secured through the recting us to send on the draft for $1,200 
League scheme. About a year ago the with interest from last dividend date 
company failed with liabilities of about and it would be paid at sight. The draft 
$700,000. The only asset of the com- was sent for $1,200 and interest on same 
pany was the magazine, and this was since July 1. It was promptly paid. But 
leased to a new concern, the National immediately afterwards we had a demand 
Post Co., and the note holders left 
high and dry. A new paper was started, 
but soon abandoned, and stock, of the 
new company was sold to subscribers. 
A Florida farmer writes: 
They led me to believe that this stock 
was as good as gold and that I was one of 
16 in all Florida whom they would allow 
to buy of these shares, so I jumped at the 
bait and never suspected anything wrong 
until I read about them in The R. N.-Y. 
His money is gone, and we have an¬ 
other proof of the wisdom of letting 
venturesome publishers finance their 
own risks. - 
The Home Correspondence School of 
Springfield, Mass., is yet using the name 
of Prof. John Craig and Cornell Uni¬ 
versity in its advertisements in farm 
from Mr. Myrick to return $33.20, claim¬ 
ing that the subscriber paid only $1,170 
“net,” and that the interest should be 
reckoned on $1,000, the face of the stock, 
and not on $1,200. We wrote Mr. My¬ 
rick that the farmer stated plainly that 
he paid originally $1,200, and that Mr. 
Myrick did not seem to d.eny it. We 
asked him to please explain what he 
meant by “net.” We told him frankly 
that the transaction occurred six years 
ago; the farmer kept no records, and 
might be mistaken on one hand or easily 
imposed upon on the other hand; and 
requested that lie send us a statement 
from his books showing just the amount 
originally paid, and the dates and 
amounts of dividend checks. If the rec¬ 
ord seemed to warrant we woulc^ 
papers. Tim representations are that promptly return the amount. 
Prof. Craig is one of the instructors of For two months W e tried to get that 
its cot respondence courses. Prof. Craig statement of the account from Mr. My- 
has written us that he had resigned rick, but never got it. In the meantime 
from the school. When The R. N.-Y. 
discovered that this school had made 
an affiliation with one of the many 
schemes of E. G. Lewis the advertising 
w r as thrown out of the paper. As citi¬ 
zens of the State of New York and as 
taxpayers as u r ell as spokesmen for 
nearlj’ a hundred thousand farmers of 
the State, we protested against the use 
of the name of Cornell University as a 
cloak of respectability for these schemes. 
Prof. Craig assured us that he had with- 
his representative made three trips to 
the farmer to induce him to make a re¬ 
fund of the $30 without the necessity of 
furnishing the statement of the account. 
At last the farmer became exhausted, 
and as he needed the money for imme¬ 
diate use was willing to sacrifice the 
amount in dispute in order to have the 
use of his money and avoid the expense 
and annoyance of a law suit. When he 
so advised we sent him a check for the 
full amount of the draft, and advised 
drawn, but the advertising yet appears, him that in our judgment it all belonged 
We now protest again, and if the abuse to him, and we advised him to keep it, 
is continued we believe the protest from though, of course, he was at liberty to 
honest and indignant farmers of the do with his own money what he pleased. 
We knew that others had paid $1,200 
for similar certificates, and we think this 
farmer’s memory was correct This is 
confirmed by the fact that Mr. Myrick 
authorized the payment of $1,200 before 
he knew the name of the creditor and 
by his use of the word “net.” If Mr. 
Myrick was entitled to the $30 his books 
ought to confirm it, and we see no rea¬ 
son why he should not be willing to re¬ 
veal what they contain. 
In selling his paper certificates, Mr. 
Myrick is fond of saying that he wants 
farmers to become his partners; but we 
fail to see the partnership feature in 
such a transaction. The company or¬ 
ganized with $1,000,000 of stock, and 
this was sold at a premium of 20 per 
cent, though the company did no busi¬ 
ness itself except to put its publication 
to another company controlled by Mr. 
Myrick. By this clever device of one 
Myrick company controlled by another 
Myrick company, dividends in rental 
could be paid to cover the outstanding 
stock whether earned or not; and if 
the magazine ever got to a place where 
it earned more than six per cent, the 
rental device could automatically dump 
the excess profits into Mr. Myrick’s 
pockets. But that was not all. The 
magazine was sold without this partner 
knowing a word about it. He does not 
know now what it was sold for, and 
probably never will. Legally he was 
entitled to his share of the assets of 
the company when liquidated. The stock 
of any successful publishing company 
would increase in value in six years. If 
this property was sold for more the 
stockholders are entitled to their pro¬ 
portionate share. If it sold for less, 
they made a bad purchase, and in any 
event they are entitled as Mr. Myrick’s 
partners to know just what their share 
of the business was actuallv worth. 
We think this record fully justifies 
our advice to farmers to leave publish¬ 
ing ventures aLne. This stock never 
was sold on any stock exchange for any 
such money, and never could be so sold. 
If a stock will not sell on the open mar¬ 
ket it is not a desirable investment. 
This stockholder got about five per 
cent for the use of his money. He 
shared no other profits; and does not 
know whether the value of his invest¬ 
ment. increased or diminished during 
his holding of it.. j. j. d. 
LET US TAN 
YOUR HIDE. 
Cattle or Horse hide. Calf, Dos, Deer, 
or any kind of skin with hair or fur on. 
We make them soft, lisht, odorless, 
wind, moth and waterproof, and make 
them into coats (for men or women), 
robes, rugs or gloves when so ordered. 
Your fur goods will cost >'ou less than 
to buy them, and be worth more. It 
will certainly pay you to look into it. 
Our illustrated catalog gives a lot of 
information. Tells how to take off and 
care for hides; how we pay the freight 
both ways ; about our marvelous brush 
dyeing process which is a tremendous 
advantage to the customer, especially 
on horse hides and calf skins; about 
the goods we sell, taxidermy, etc., but 
we never send out this valuable book 
except upon request. If you want a 
copy send in your correct address. 
The Crosby Frisian Fur Company, 
571 Lyeil Ave., Rochester, N. Y. 
Ship * 
your 
FURS 
To McMILLAN FUR & WOOL CO. 
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. 
Old Reliable (35 yra.) and Largest Dealers in the Northwest. 
Pay High Prices. Quick Returns. Satisfaction. 
Free I Circulars to anyone interested in Raw Furs, 
rI GGt Trappers Guide to those who ship to us 
I Raw Furs Wanted I 
i 
i 
® Skunk, Mink. Raccoon. Opossum, Fox, Muskrat and 
other furs are bringing high prices in New York, the 
best market for you to ship to. Do you want to know 
j,* 1 How to Got More Money for Your Raw Fun ? ” 
Write for " Monjo’s Hunter and Trapper" and price 
— list—it's free. Highest commercial references. w 
| F. N. MONJO, 156 W. 25th St., N. Y. j 
G. I. FOX. 162 
W. 26th Street, 
N.Y. A square 
deal, liberal as 
sortment, top 
prices. Write 
for price list. 
RAW FURS 
WE WANT TO BUY 
ABOUT 
THREE MILLION FEET 
1-in . Round Edged Pine, 
Spruce or Hemlock 
BOX BOARDS 
IN LARGE OR SMALL LOTS. 
Address 
SAYLES’ BLEACHERIES, 
SAYLESVILLE, R. I. 
COMPTON 
MANURE 
I X L 
LOADER 
A load in 5 or 10 
minutes. A man 
and a boy can do it. 
Cleans up yard or barn in a "jiffy.” No 
work to use. Fork pulled by horse, and 
all weight rests on wheeled truck. Easy 
to dump. Saves its cost in a short time. 
Fork self-cleaning. Write for booklet, 
prices, etc. Fine offer to agents. 
Compton Manufacturing Co. 
Dept. E Waukesha, Wis 
PAYS FOR ITSELF EVERY THIRTY DAYS 
Without a doubt Clark’s Double Action “Cutaway” Harrow with Jointed Pole 
is a most wonderful farm tool. It cuts the soil twice, throwing it in opposite 
directions, filling in the hollows, thus leveling the land All Single Action 
Harrows have to he Driven in Half hap. 
It is drawn by two medium horses. It can be set 
to move the earth but little, or at so great an 
angle as to move the earth eight or nine inches. 
Runs truein line of draft. A customer 
wrote recently that his “Cutaway” 
pays for itself every thirty days in 
labor saved. 
The Jointed Pole takes all weight o ft the horses’ necks, 
and keeps their heels away from the disks. 
We make a “Cutaway” for every crop. Every need is 
fully supplied by the different styles of genuine •‘Cut¬ 
away” Tools. If your dealer won't supply you, we will. 
Write us. “Intensive Cultivation,” our new booklet, — - -,rvr»v r^T>rvT»c 3 
Is free. Send a postal to-day. ckui 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO., 839 Main Streets HIGGANUM, CONN. 
Sherwin-Williams 
Paints 6-Varnishes 
FOR THE FARM 
When you paint your home, use the best paint— 
Sherwin-Williams Paint (Prepared) (S W P). It looks 
best, spreads easierunderthe brush,savesthepainters’ 
time, covers the greatest number of square feet to 
the gallon and wears the longest possible time. Con¬ 
sequently, you can use the best paint, S W P, for a 
less average cost per year than in using cheap ready 
mixed or hand mixed lead and oil. 
Sold by dealers everywhere. Ask for color cards 
Address all inquiries to The Sherwin-Williams Co., 635 Canal Road, N.W.,Cleveland, Ohio 
