1912. 
THE RUR4I* NEW-YORKER 
430 
OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. 
Last week in the trial of E. G. Lewis, 
for alleged fraudulent use of the mails, 
Gustave W. Niemann, a real estate ex¬ 
pert. testified to the value of lands held 
by the Lewis concern at the time Lewis 
was selling mortgage notes against 
them. He was assisted irrt the appraisal 
by two other real estate men. He said 
it was customary to mortgage suburban 
real estate for not more than one-half 
its value. He estimated Section 4 worth 
$295,000. It was mortgaged for $522,- 
229.98. Section 5 he estimated worth 
$270,000. It was mortgaged far $537,- 
000. That is, the six per cent mort¬ 
gage notes which were sold country 
people amounted to about double his 
estimate of the value of the land. He 
appraised the Woman's Magazine build¬ 
ing and grounds at $90,060 in 1907 and 
1908. The seven per cent mortgage 
notes sold against it amounted to $450,- 
000. The Daily building and grounds 
he valued at $98,000. The mortgage 
was $150,000. The other experts val¬ 
ued these two properties at $140,000. 
They placed Little value on the buildings 
because of their peculiar shape. 
A. E. Radert, the accountant, testi¬ 
fied that from March 1 to December 1, 
1909, $23,367.25 was received in part 
payment of lots. Articles by Lewis on 
February 6, 1906, were read to show that 
he claimed $400,000 to $500,000 worth of 
lots had been sold and 25 per cent of 
the price paid in cash during that time. 
It predicted that the sales would reach 
$1,000,000 and all lots would be sold be¬ 
fore the end of the year. From March 
1 to December 1, 1905, he said subscrip¬ 
tions to the six per cent notes were 
$1,143,842.94, of this he testified $753,- 
006.13 went to the Lewis Publishing Co. 
Advertisements were read to show that 
Lewis promised all the money would be 
used to pay the indebtedness of the Uni¬ 
versity Heights Realty & Development 
Co., and that when this was done the 
six per cent notes would be the only 
debt against the company. Mr. Radert, 
however, testified that the indebtedness 
of the company April 1, 1911, exclusive 
of the notes was $785,283.42. 
Ex-treasurer Putnam testified that 
about 3,000 persons subscribed for seven 
per cent notes of the Lewis Publishing 
Co., and that over $1,000,000. of them 
had not been paid. An equal number 
subscribed for the six per cent realty 
notes, he said. He said that Edward 
Gruenner, a real estate expert, appraised 
Section 4 at $354,000; and that Lewis 
mortgaged it for $526,000. He said fur¬ 
ther that a third mortgage against it 
was the only security behind some of 
the six per cent notes. He said that in 
September, 1909, with the Gruenner es¬ 
timate of $354,000 as the value of the 
land, Lewis transferred it to the Uni¬ 
versity Heights Realty & Development 
Co. for $422,000. He said that in the 
Spring of 1910 Lewis valued Sections 1, 
2 and 3 at $1,800,000. Putnam’s valua¬ 
tion was $700,000 or $70 a foot for 
10,000 feet unsold. “Then, if we deduct 
$300,000 mortgage, we have a value of 
$400,000 for the equity as against $1,800,- 
000, do we not?” asked the judge. The 
witness replied that this was correct. Ad¬ 
vertisements by Lewis which were read 
stated that the money received on the 
notes would be used to buy more land 
on which options had been secured, and 
to improve the land. Of the $1,100,000 
received for the notes, Putnam said 
only $80,000 was spent as promised. 
Other notes were sold with the promise 
that $6 per front foot would be set 
aside to improve the lots. Putnam said 
this was not done. 
Putnam testified that Lewis bought 
Section 4 for $125,000 and sold it De¬ 
cember 5, 1906, to the Development & 
Improvement Co., which hv once said 
was himself incorporated, for $236,000. 
On February 28, 1910, Lewis bought it 
back at the price paid for it, and the 
same day sold it to the University 
Heights Realty & Development Co., of 
which he was president, for $422,223,20, 
making a profit of $205,443.20, according 
to Putnam. He also said that on De¬ 
cember 5, 1906, Lewis bought Section 
5 from his D. & X. Co. for $215,220. He 
again sold it back to the same company 
and on March 31, 1909, he bought it 
back once more, at the original price, 
and sold it the same day to the U. H, 
Realty & Development Co. for $537,189.- 
12. His total profits on these sales 
back and forth between the companies 
lie controlled and himself were $652,- 
242.30 according to treasurer Putnam. 
Then a mortgage was filed against this 
Section 5 for $537,000, and notes sold 
investors, and, on top of this, unsecured 
notes sold to make the entire issue 
$900,000. Class A notes Putnam said 
were sold against a property already 
mortgaged for $300,000. Class B notes 
were wholly unsecured, and Class C 
were secured only by a mortgage on 
Section 4, which had a first mortgage of 
$80,000. Putnam said that advertise¬ 
ments of the first mortgage notes were 
continued after the mortgage notes were 
all sold. When the subscriptions came 
in for the secured notes, trust notes 
were sent instead, with a letter saying 
that the note at hand was issued for 
various reasons and promising to re¬ 
turn the money if not satisfactory. He 
also said that in 1909 subscriptions for 
mortgage notes were filled with Series 
B notes which were without security. 
Several witnesses from various parts 
of the country testified that they bought 
the notes relying on the promises of the 
advertisement and their faith in Mr. 
Lewis that the investment was safe and 
the notes would be paid. One woman 
from Fayetteville, Ark., testified she 
sold her home to invest in the notes 
with a stock bonus. She only got back 
$15. This was first interest payment in 
advance. John M. Wade, of Indiana, 74 
years old, invested $4,(XX). T. P. Griffin, 
Los Angeles, Cah, sent $1,000 for six 
per cent notes, thinking the land was 
improved as stated in advertisements. 
Fie since found that the notes were 
against unimproved lands. Mary Crasp- 
sey, 66 years old, unmarried, of Plains- 
ville. Ill., sent $1,000. In letters to 
Lewis afterwards she said she was un¬ 
able to buy coal and keep a fire in Win¬ 
ter and alternately scolded, threatened 
and begged Lewis to return the money 
or interest on it. In another letter she 
pleaded for enough to pay her taxes. 
She expected to get secured mortgage 
notes. It was nearly a year before she 
got anything. Then she got $500 in un¬ 
secured notes, and $500 in stock of the 
realty company, both of which are 
worthless. J. G. Cowie, 82 years old, 
Burlingame, Kan., testified that he in¬ 
vested $14,100 in Lewis’ enterprises. He 
had $500 in the first bank and accepted 
87^4 per cent in settlement. That was 
all he ever got back. Many of the cred¬ 
itors testifying are said to be old men 
and women, and some of them cripples 
and invalids* The tales of distress they 
tell are pitiable.. Whatever may be the 
result of this trial the experience is an 
expensive lesson to the people who 
parted with their money and their sav¬ 
ings. _ 
NEWS FROM ALBANY. 
The State Department of Agriculture has 
in preparation, for free distribution at the 
Pure Food Show to he held in Rochester 
April 15-27, a little booklet telling of the 
work of the department in reference to food 
products consumed in every family and the 
method of making small home tests to deter¬ 
mine the purity of some of the ordinary 
foods. A .sufficiently large edition of these 
booklets will be issued so that interested 
readers of The R. N.-Y. may, upon appli¬ 
cation to the State Department, receive a 
copy. 
Among the bills introduced in the closing 
days of the legislative session was one ap¬ 
propriating $100,000 for the purpose of set¬ 
tling the claims for death and injuries as 
the result of automobile accidents at the 
State Fair ground at Syracuse last Fall. 
During the month of February, the Com¬ 
missioner of Agriculture referred to the 
Attorney General for prosecution. 140 cases 
of violation of the agricultural law; 94 of 
these were violations of the dairy products 
section, 36 on acount of adulterated milk, 
57 for illegal sale of oleomargarine, one 
on account of unclean cans. There were 
24 violations of the article relating to 
bob veal, violation of glanders and rabies 
quarantines. There were 21 violations of 
the pure food law and one of the law rela¬ 
tive to the sale of turpentine. 
M. .Tac. Korthals Altes, a Hollander, vis¬ 
iting Gov. Dix, has been so impressed with 
the opportunities for successful farming in 
New York State, that he last month sent 
for one of his farmers from the Edam dis¬ 
trict in Holland to come to this country 
to assist in the selection of a dairy farm 
suitable for the production of Edam cheese. 
Mr. Korthals Altes is a representative citi¬ 
zen of Holland, with interests in many 
parts of the world. A number of years 
ago, while making a tour around the world, 
accompanied by his wife, he happened to meet 
Governor and Mrs. Dix on shipboard. A 
warm friendship ensued which has con¬ 
tinued unabated up to this time. Mr. 
Altes road of Governor Dix’s election while 
in Shanghai a year and a half ago, and at 
once cabled his congratulations. Governor 
Dix responded with an invitation for his 
Holland friends to visit him in the execu¬ 
tive mansion and the present visit is the 
result of that invitation. The governor 
has taken pains to see that Mr. Korthals 
Altos should be the recipient of every 
courtesy within his power. The Hollander, 
being largely interested in farming opera¬ 
tions at home naturally was much inter¬ 
ested in like pursuits as conducted In this 
country. He has visited several sections 
of the State, has inspected the State Agri¬ 
cultural College at Cornell and accompanied 
by a representative of the Agricultural De¬ 
partment has recently been over a number 
of farms in Cortland and Tioga counties. 
Both. Mr. and Mrs. Korthals Altes speak 
English fluently and have been the recipi¬ 
ents of many social attentions while guests 
at the executive mansion. Mrs. Korthals 
Altes is a cousin of Queen Wilhelmina of 
Holland, that youthful queen in whose up¬ 
bringing, marriage and motherhood so many 
of the women of America had been inter¬ 
ested during the past score of years. 
The bill providing for the licensing by 
the Commissioner of Agriculture of abat¬ 
toirs for the slaughtering of cattle, sheep 
and other animals for food and for the 
inspection of all these products, and for 
the regulation of places where sold, failed 
of enactment by the Legislature. 
Senator Hamilton’s bill appropriating 
$4,000 for the Agricultural Station at 
Geneva, for continuing the investigation 
of the condition of grape culture in Cha- 
tauqua County is before the Governor, and 
it is thought will receive his approval. 
Assemblyman T. K. Smith’s bill appro¬ 
priating $200,000 for the construction of 
a cattle building on the State Fair grounds 
at Syracuse, and for the permanent 
improvement of such grounds, is now a 
law, having received the Governor’s signa¬ 
ture March 15. The cattle building will 
afford more room for the exhibits of horses 
and cattle and will enable the Fair Com¬ 
mission to make a more advantageous dis¬ 
play of the animal products of the State 
breeding farms. 
The closing days of the legislative ses¬ 
sion of 1912 witnessed the assembling in 
Albany of the largest number of lobbyists 
seen about the capitoi In a number of 
years. “Big business” was well represented 
by “attorneys,” while many independent 
members of the “Black Horse Cavalry" 
gathered, each representing, or claiming to, 
some special interest. 
Senator Griffiths bill appropriating $50,- 
O0O for the establishing of a State School 
of Agriculture at Kenka College, Yates 
County, has passed both- houses and gone 
to the Governor. 
The direct State tax this year which is 
expected to be one mill on every dollar of 
valuation, will net the State eleven million 
dollars. 
Governor Dix. on the 27th ult., signed 
Assemblyman Wilson’s bill authorizing the 
acquisition and development of forest lands 
by counties, towns and villages. 
FARM AND GARDEN.—The announce¬ 
ment was made March 21 by the Geological 
Survey and the Department of Agriculture 
that a potash deposit of apparently great 
importance has been discovered at Borax 
or Searles Lake, in the northwestern cor¬ 
ner of San Bernardino County, California. 
According to the information received, the 
deposit is sufficient to supply the United 
States for the next 30 years. The probable 
importance of the deposit is due to the 
occurrence of the potassium salts In soluble 
form in a natural saturated brine and un¬ 
der climatic and other conditions especially 
favorable to its separation and recovery 
by solar evaporation. Existing data give 
reasonable assurance that the brine satu¬ 
rated salt body is at least 60 feet thick 
and covers an area of at least 11 square 
miles. Assuming the salt body to contain 
£•> per cent by volume of the brine, the 
total amount of potassium oxide is esti¬ 
mated at over 4.000,000 short tons. This 
estimate is believed to be very conserva¬ 
tive, and the available tonnage may well 
be expected to exceed 10.000.000 tons, 
which would supply the country at the 
present rate of consumption of potash for 
30 years. At any rate it appears that this 
locality constitutes a very important source 
of potash in probably readily available 
commercial form. Potash salts are used 
m the United States chiefly in the fer¬ 
tilizer industry. They are also used In the 
manufacture of glass, in certain kinds of 
soap, in explosive powders and in the chem¬ 
ical industries, including the manufacture 
of alum, cyanides, bleaching powders, dye¬ 
stuffs and other chemicals. 
The demand for good seed by New York 
farmers this Spring is becoming very great. 
The New York Plant Breeders’ Association 
Is attempting to serve as an agency to bring 
into closer touch persons having good seed 
for sale and those who wish to buy such 
seed. The association wishes to stimulate 
the production of highly bred seed by seeds¬ 
men and farmers in New York State. 
Growers of seed are urged to write to the 
secretary of the New York Plant Breed¬ 
ers’ Association, Dr. A. W. Gilbert, New 
York State College of Agriculture, Ithaca, 
New York, and list a description of the 
seed which they have for sale. Methods of 
breeding certain of our staple crops will 
also be gladly furnished. 
The fifth session of the Graduate School 
of Agriculture will be held under the aus¬ 
pices of the Association of American Agri¬ 
cultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, 
at the Michigan Agricultural College, East 
Lansing, Mich., July 1-26, 1912. Director 
A. C. True, of the United States Office of 
Experiment Stations, will be dean of the 
school, and the faculty, as usual, will con 
sist of some of the loading scientific men 
from the United States Department of 
Agriculture, the American agricultural col¬ 
leges and experiment stations, other Amer¬ 
ican universities, and European institu¬ 
tions. Two lecturers have been secured 
from England, Dr. A. D. Hall, of the 
Rothamsted Experiment Station, and Prof. 
F. H. A. Marshall. Christ College, Cam¬ 
bridge University. The school is open only 
to college graduates who want to pursue 
advanced work in agriculture. 
Ricker Manufacturing Co 
333 N. Water St, 
•f Rochester, N.Y. 
^T^HE farmer who knows the plain truth about 
paint is not at the mercy of either paint fakirs 
nor fake painters. He knows what to ask for in 
his specifications and how to get what he specifies. 
The “Handy Book on Painting” gives in con¬ 
cise and practical form the plain facts about the 
most durable of all paint, made from 
Dutch Boy Painter 
Pure White Lead 
When competent help isn’t handy, the farmer who under¬ 
stands paint can do a pretty good job himself, especially 
on the small painting, such as fences, sheds and tools. 
Ask for Farm Helps No. 474 and if there are 
children in your family, or your neighbor's fam¬ 
ily. ask for the Dutch Boy Painter’s Book lor 
the Children. 
NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY 
New York Boston Buffalo 
Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland 
St. Louis San Francisco 
(Philadelphia. John T. Lewis <* Bros. Co.) 
(Pittsburgh, National Lead A Oil Co.) 
It is a double carrier and works either way. It is easy and simple to 
operate and must be seen to be fully appreciated. Before deciding on 
your outfit it will pay you to write us for full information and prices on 
this unequaled carrier and System. Also ask us for information about 
the Ricker Feed and Litter Carrier, Watering Basins, etc. Address, 
YouWant a Hay Carrier 
E VERYONE wants a Hay Carrier who 
hasn’t his hay barn already equipped 
—pitching hay with a fork is as much 
out of date as the crotch-stick plow and 
thrashing grain with a flail. If you want a 
carrier that will be a comfort to you the rest 
of your life and lift your hay without mis¬ 
haps or break-downs, investigate the 
Let tho STAR Litter Carrier do all the hard, dirty work. Yon just 
load it at the drop—a push sends It to the spreader or dump pile where 
It dumps and returns automatically. The swinging boom type shown 
herewith, enables you to damp litter at any point In circle. 
STAR LITTER CARRIERS 
/H 
Nothing complicated—nothing to get out of order— 
a boy can do the work of two men. 
FREE PLANS —Send us rough sketch of your 
barn layout—we will send detail plans how to 
make STAR litter and feed carriers pay. Address 
HUNT-HELM-FERRIS & CO. 
3894 Hunt St. HARVARD, ILL. 
STAR^LINE 
24 Mgp/ 
