734 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
June 22, 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
We have just received through the 
mail a proposition to buy a classified 
sucker list of about a million names and 
addresses. The broker who makes a 
business of furnishing these sucker lists 
offers to sell us the original letters writ¬ 
ten by the “suckers” to fake concerns 
that advertise in mail order papers. The 
names of 40 such concerns are given in 
the list. The original letters are sold 
to show that the names are of genuine 
“suckers” who actually bit on other 
schemes and by the law of experience 
are likely to take the same kind of bait 
again. Following are some of the clas¬ 
sifications: Women’s letters, work at 
home, young men’s letters, agents let¬ 
ters, cash flower seed orders, post cards, 
character reading, science of life, raise 
mushrooms, raise ginseng, hair remover, 
coin and stamp, matrimony, toilet goods, 
foot remedy, book buyers, Bible-trust- 
you-letters. Of the 40 concerns who 
sold these letters to the broker, not a 
single one would be allowed to adver¬ 
tise in The R. N.-Y though three of 
the cheap seed houses get into some 
good papers. You see that if you have 
written one letter to any one of these 
40 fake concerns your letter was sold to 
this broker. He now rents them out for 
30 days to another fake concern so that 
a new batch of sucker bait can be sent 
you. The letters are then returned to 
the broker, and they are again rented 
out to another concern. You get a new 
lot of sucker dope and the work is 
kept up as long as the game works a 
profit. The wicked part of it is that 
these fakers appeal especially to boys 
and girls, invalids and inexperienced 
adults. Every person of experience 
knows they are fakes, but they are so 
cunningly devised it is hard to suppress 
them. The best remedy is information 
as to their character. We may yet find 
a way to keep them out of the mails. 
The Publisher’s Desk has been a source 
of interest to me for years, and to hud it 
epitomized would be a treat. 1 have just 
had a talk with a man who was about to 
drop some of his money in a dazzling scheme 
of land buying in southern Texas aud m 
the Everglades and elsewhere in Florida. 
Told him to look you up hrst, and prom¬ 
ised to have some sample copies sent him 
of the original and old reliable fake-buster, 
The Rural New-Yorker, which is not 
quite so rural in its ideas as its name 
would indicate when it comes to heading off 
the city vampires who fatten off the farm¬ 
ers. Some high officials of the government 
at Washington tell me that they read your 
paper with great interest, and 1 know that 
copies of the same are passed around from 
one to another of those who, now bending 
over their desks in federal employ, are 
dreaming fondly of the time when they 
can go "back to the land” and have a home, 
farm and garden of their own. To this in¬ 
telligent class, whose ranks are continually 
growing, The Rural New-Yorker is a guide 
and inspiration. Long may it do business 
at the old stand ! l. s. r. 
Maryland. 
We know no class of people who 
stand more in need of the information 
found in this department than the city 
men who are looking for country 
.'homes. A man came to me last week 
:o see if 1 could help him recover a 
loss. He was one of these city men. 
He bought a farm of a real estate 
broker and paid $4,250 for it, paying 
$3,000 down in cash. He soon learned 
in the neighborhood that the broker 
paid only $1,100 to the former owner. 
If that man had his farm clear and $2,000 
for a cash capital, he would succeed; 
but no man can work under such a han¬ 
dicap. He has abandoned the farm. 
Inclosed find a generous offer of a free 
lot from the Pennsylvania Investment Co. 
I personally do not like to accept such gifts 
from strangers. If you do not want to use 
it for yourself you may know some society 
which is anxious to found a home for the 
widows of men who bite on such bait, or 
for imbeciles generally. I do not like to put 
myself under obligations to these charitable 
strangers, I do so love my liberty. 
New York. m. h. d. 
What do you know about the Pennsyl¬ 
vania Investment Co., 47 West 34th street, 
New York City? I have no stock and do 
not intend to buy any; but people here 
have bought stock, and a man is here work¬ 
ing the game. What do you say about it? 
Pennsylvania. p. b. 
Recently these people offered me one 
to three lots free if I would allow the 
use of my name for advertising pur¬ 
poses. I knew it was a fake, but told 
them all right, give me the full limit 
of these lots. Then he said I would 
have to pay for the sidewalks. Again 
1 said, all right, send me the bill for 
assessments as soon as the sidewalks 
are laid. Of course, he wanted the 
money first. There is the trick. The 
land is nearly 100 miles from New 
York and sidewalks there at $3.45 a 
square is a luxury to say the least. 
You will probably see the sidewalks 
there when we see white crows. I told 
the gentleman that I thought he had a 
pretty good nerve to come to a man 
with such a fake proposition, and he 
did not seem to enjoy the compliment. 
He pulled the door just a bit hard when 
he went out, after I told him I was 
a graduate of sucker lists. 
Three or four years ago I made a con¬ 
tract with the Thompson Publishing Com¬ 
pany, of Syracuse, N. Y., to do some work 
for them in return for liberal royalties on 
copyrighted work of my own authorship. 
I received word I had $25 in royalties com¬ 
ing to me. I tried to collect it but was put 
off with trifling excuses. I finally gave 
it to an attorney who said he could collect 
it. I was unable to hear from the attorney 
but later he advised me he had collected 
the full amount aud said I could have it if 
I came to his office. I did so but was put 
off and so time has gone on and the money 
cometh not. If I meet him on the street he 
promises a check “to-morrow.” Could you 
impress him with the dishonesty of collect¬ 
ing a client’s funds? His name is Porter 
A. Wilson of Syracuse. lie has had the use 
of this money for two years. c. L. h. 
New York. 
1 he result is best given in a letter re¬ 
ceived in December—the claim came to 
us in June: 
I must tell you the sharp trick Tor ter 
played on me. I have to laugh when I 
think how easy I was. Ijast August you 
wrote him and I wrote him too. I knew 
he was in process of selling his house but 
did not realize the imminence of its con¬ 
summation. I met him and he said he had 
received my ultimatum and as lie was in 
funds he would send the money in the 
morning. That night he skipped and his 
wife had the equity of their sale in her 
stocking. I should have had sense enough 
that day to have gone to the justice and 
taken out a warrant for his arest, but you 
know what is said of “hind-thoughts.” Is 
there such a thing as a perpetual warrant 
that I might carry around with me on the 
chance of a future encounter and have exe¬ 
cuted on the spot? c. l. h. 
This attorney certainly took chances. 
He is subject to arrest any time before 
the statute of limitation expires and as 
a public policy, if for nothing else, he 
should be brought to account. It is a 
fact that in our early experience of 
sending accounts to attorneys indis¬ 
criminately, we found it as difficult to 
collect from the attorney as from the 
original creditor. But the experience 
taught us to look after the standing of 
the attorney first. 
I notice in the columns of your paper, 
of which I am a yearly subscriber, that you 
sometimes collect bills for people when it 
seems to be impossible for people to collect 
them for themselves. I have a bill against 
a Mr. James Wilcox, 921 Sixth avenue, New 
York, amounting to $35, said amount being 
for eggs purchased from me. This account 
has been running nearly a year. It orig¬ 
inally amounted to $47 but he has made 
two payments of $0 each. I have written 
him lately but he does not answer my let¬ 
ters. lie is still doing business for there 
is a poultrymau in this village sending him 
poultry. a. c. 
New York. 
I have a bill for ten cases of eggs shipped 
to James Wilcox, 921 Sixth avenue, New 
York. They were shipped in June, 1910, 
aud I was down to see him in December, 
1910, when he paid $10 on the account by 
check. He then pleaded hard luck and 
agreed to send me some each week after 
the holidays. I did not hear anything from 
him after I came back and cannot get any 
reply from him. An attorney has written 
him for me but he gets no reply. Could 
you collect it for me? j. h. w. 
New York. 
We have been unable to collect either 
of the above accounts. Mr. Wilcox 
claims that the eggs were sent on con¬ 
signment to be sold on commission; 
and seems to reason from that fact that 
the shippers have no redress. He ad¬ 
mitted, however, that something was 
due them and promised to send it, 
which he has not done. If other ship¬ 
pers would like some of this kind of 
experience, the opportunity seems open 
to them. We would not expect any 
rush of shipments to Mr. Wilcox. 
After spending weeks in preparing an 
exhibit of apples for the New England 
Fruit Show, held in Boston the last week 
in October, and taking every precaution 
to pack securely, wrapping each apple in 
paper and sewing the barrels in burlap, 
they were handled so roughly by the Adams 
Express Company that they were not fit to 
be shown, aud half of them so badly dam¬ 
aged as to be unsalable. I have put in a 
claim for $15, the value of the fruit that 
was unsalable, which they will not allow 
and am now turning to you for advice. The 
boxes showed that they had been thrown 
on end as the corners were split off. The 
boxes Avere opened in the presence of the 
president and secretary of the sIioav and 
they will verify my statement. I will ap¬ 
preciate any help you can give me. 
Rhode Island. l. g. c. 
This was referred to us in December. 
The Express Company first claimed 
they were not responsible; their next 
excuse was that the claim was exces¬ 
sive—that the apples ‘might” possibly 
have sold for a fair price at the exhibi¬ 
tion” but “it is fair to assume they 
might have sold for almost nothing.” 
As the subscriber had received $15 for- 
the apples not damaged we felt it was 
fair to assume the balance were worth 
that much. We sent an itemized bill 
with verified statements from the presi¬ 
dent and secretary and in March check 
was sent for the value as entered in 
the claim. 
I am patentee of Patent No. 979255, and 
as I am a workingman I had not time or 
means to look after its manufacture and 
sale, so put the matter in the hands of 
American Patent & Promoting Co. With 
the exception of making out application 
papers for Canadian patent, nothing has 
been done in the matter, and I feel that my 
$20 is held without making returns for 
same. Can you do anything? w. c. B. 
Lake Pleasant, N. Y. 
Our latest letter in behalf of the sub¬ 
scriber addressed to this concern has 
been returned by the postoffice and the 
envelope contains the notation “out of 
business.” Under the circumstances of 
course nothing can be done and the sub¬ 
scriber will be obliged to charge his 
$20 up to experience. This is too often 
the result of sending money to concerns 
without any financial standing and with 
regard to which the subscriber, knows 
nothing. 
After squandering some eight or ten 
million dollars of other people's money, 
and practically nothing to show for it 
now after some 10 or 12 years of high 
flying, and all of his sixty odd enter¬ 
prises defunct or bankrupt, E. G. Lewis 
has another scheme under way. or 
rather he is working another feature of 
the old games. The undisputed evidence 
of competent witnesses and his own 
books and employes is that he never 
made a profit of a dollar in any one year 
in the publishing business, Avith the pos¬ 
sible exception of one year, in which the 
evidence is not definite whether there 
was a small balance of profit or not. 
That he lost more than half a million 
publishing the Daily Star and $32,000 
a month for some years publishing the 
National Daily is undisputed. We have 
his own statement that the other publi¬ 
cations were published at a loss for 
three years before they were dropped. 
But the papers afforded opportunity to 
issue confidence dope to his sucker list 
on other schemes; and the loss in 
publishing was made good in remittances 
for notes and bonds and. stocks and 
certificates and debentures, etc. 
Now he thinks this experience en¬ 
titles him to work the old game all 
over again. He wants the old dupes to 
furnish the cash again for a new ven¬ 
ture and he frankly avoids responsi¬ 
bility by telling them that this time he 
makes them no definite promises; but 
clearly enough evidences his want of 
candor by intimating that he is going 
to pay them back the old and the new 
money in the profits of the next few 
years. We are telling this just to show 
the gall of this man and of fakers of 
his kind. We are not telling it now in 
the hope of saving any money for any 
one. Those who sent Lewis money in 
the past have lost it. Those who may 
wish to send it to him in the future 
are hopeless. If, after the evidence 
produced against him in court, and un¬ 
disputed by anyone, there is another 
person living who is willing to send 
him money with the expectation of ever 
seeing it again, the quicker they send 
it and the more they send of it the bet¬ 
ter. The hard experience will cure 
them of their folly and of their infatua¬ 
tion quicker than any argument that we 
or anyone else can furnish. j. j. d. 
Potatoes $1.50 to $2 a bushel: corn $1 ; 
hay, ton, $26 to $30; butter. 13 to 16 cents ; 
eggs 15 to 18 cents; corn $ 1 ; meal $1 ; 
oats 80 cents bushel. Hogs high, also cattle. 
Alma, \Y. Ya. s. m. c. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page 
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