1006 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 12, 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
PRISON FOR “KORNIT” MEN. 
Ellis and Graves Sentenced to At¬ 
lanta for Three Years Each. 
Judge Hand in the Criminal Branch of 
the United States Circuit Court yesterday 
sentenced Charles E. Ellis and Erwin R. 
Graves, who ran the “Kornit" swindle, to 
terms of three years each in the Atlanta 
Federal Prison. The two men were locked 
up in the Tombs, where they will spend 
the two or three days before they start to 
Atlanta. 
Ellis and Graves were convicted of using 
the mails to defraud. The scheme was 
the exploitation of “Kornit,” a substance 
supposed to be made from the hoofs of cat¬ 
tle and horses, as a substitute for hard 
rubber. The convicted men ran an exten¬ 
sive publishing house and had several mag¬ 
azines in which they praised their prod¬ 
ucts and invited the unwary to invest. 
The Federal authorities had been inves¬ 
tigating “Kornit" for months, until finally 
the bankruptcy of the KIlis-Graves Publish¬ 
ing Company gave them a chance to get 
at needl'd evidence, and the “Kornit" pro¬ 
moters were arrested. They fought hard 
against conviction, but the case went badly 
against them. The Government produced 
victims from many parts of the country. 
More than $250,000 of the Ellis fortune 
has been tied up for the benefit of his 
defrauded victims, through bankruptcy pro¬ 
ceedings in this State and New Jersey. The 
Kornit Company is a Belleville, N. .1., cor¬ 
poration. It was alleged it got more than 
$1,000,000 from investors for its stock, 
though the actual amount charged against 
it by the Federal authorities was $371,000. 
The above is the last chapter of the 
Ellis Kornit scheme, taken from a city 
daily paper of October 28. It will be 
recalled that Ellis and Graves sold stock 
in both the Kornit Co. and in their pub¬ 
lishing company to country people, un¬ 
der representations which are now pro¬ 
nounced fraudulent. After the Kornit 
stock was all sold, the promoters repre¬ 
sented that the company was embar¬ 
rassed by a fire, and they appealed to 
the old victims to pay an assessment of 
20 per cent on their stock to save the 
company. This was, of course, on the 
old theory that the investors would put 
in good money to save what was already 
lost. Many did so. We had inquiries 
from many subscribers asking if they 
should pay the assessment. We were 
forced to tell them no, and in some cases 
where the amount involved was large 
we wired the inquirers at our own ex¬ 
pense to hold their money until we could 
get the information to them. In addition 
to his other enterprises Ellis published 
a monthly so-called farm paper with a 
claimed circulation of half a million 
copies. Whether these went out to sub¬ 
scribers or as free distribution no one 
but the publisher knows; but Ellis did 
announce a large list of contributors, in¬ 
cluding the names of the most promin¬ 
ent professors of agricultural colleges, 
and teachers of farm subjects generally. 
Not only this, but he actually published 
signed articles from many of these agri¬ 
cultural writers and teachers, and no 
doubt paid for them. We refer to this 
not in criticism of the distinguished con¬ 
tributors. They probably had no knowl¬ 
edge of the schemes Ellis was working, 
and no doubt felt at the time that they 
were doing a work of merit in causing 
the distribution of educational informa¬ 
tion, just as others have been doing on a 
larger scale in furtherance of the E. G. 
Lewis schemes. The responsibility that 
they assumed in allowing Ellis to use 
their names to win the confidence of 
country people that he might collect 
money from them for his fake schemes 
has probably never occurred to them. 
How much or how little these names 
contributed to Ellis’s success no one can 
tell, but that the names were used for a 
purpose no one would now deny. When 
Dr. Brooks and Profs. Craig and Conn 
discovered the Lewis schemes they 
promptly demanded the withdrawal of 
their names from his literature, and no 
doubt the same thing would have hap¬ 
pened to Ellis if the contributors to his 
paper had known of the schemes he was 
promoting. But swindles have now 
become so well known that ignorance of 
them in the future will hardly excuse a 
prominent educator for allowing his 
name to be connected with them, and 
himself to become in a measure accessory 
to the fraud. 
I have a claim amounting to $118 against 
W. H. Gearhart & Co., commission mer¬ 
chants, poultry and eggs, 330 N. Front 
street, Philadelphia, which I am unable to 
collect. I sold them the goods on a con¬ 
tract and have a witness to testify to 
same. Could you give me any aid in ad¬ 
justing same? t. k. d. 
West Virginia. 
This was a sale of turkeys through an 
agent of W. H. Gearhart & Co. by the 
name of A. T. Bradley. It seems to have 
been a verbal contract, but made in the 
presence of a neighbor who sends us a 
sworn statement substantiating the seller. 
The claim is that the price was fixed at 
25 cents for the first one-fifth of ship¬ 
ment ; 20 cents for next two-fifths; and 
, 27 cents for the two-fifths remaining. 
The returns were made at 21, 22 and 25 
cents respectively. There is also a claim 
for 200 pounds shortage in weight, the 
shipper’s weight being 3,074 pounds and 
the returns 2,874 pounds. All that we 
have been able to get Mr. Gearhart to 
say is that the account has been returned 
to complainant, and the statement that 
he bought the turkeys is entirely wrong. 
Here is a case where a shipper is prac¬ 
tically helpless, though he has a witness 
to the contract of purchase. He cannot 
go from West Virginia to Philadelphia 
to seek redress in the courts, and there 
is no very good assurance that he wou.d 
get redress if he did. If the contract had 
been in writing it might help some. 
I received check from the Currier I’ub- 
lishing Company for $2. I want to thank 
you for the prompt service. c. a. m. 
Ohio. 
This was for another of those guaran¬ 
tees to sell a patent or return the money. 
This company has returned all such 
claims that have been referred to them 
by us. 
The subscriptions to the Builder’s Fund 
debentures, including the notes and obli¬ 
gations of the several corporations and 
Mr. Lewis sent in for transfer to the de¬ 
bentures, has now reached close to a mil¬ 
lion dollars. 
Above is a statement by Mr. Lewis in 
his own paper. If country women have 
sent him close to a million dollars dur¬ 
ing the past two or three months, why 
in the name of goodness does lie neglect 
to pay our subscribers the $20,000 he 
owes them? He claimed the proceeds of 
these notes were to pay his debts. He 
also reported a sale of land for over a 
million dollars. 
What do you think of the Sterling Policy 
and its securities? E. s. 
New York. 
We suppose this refers to the Sterling 
Debenture Corporation, to which we 
have often referred during the past year 
or two. For ourselves we have never 
been able to find any basis of value in 
any of their stocks that come to our 
attention. If you wish to apply a safe 
test, go to your bank or other investors 
and see what you could sell them for if 
you had them now. That is the test to 
apply for present value. But if you 
want to save time, stay home and peel 
apples. 
What appears to be the final smash of a 
colossal investment scheme where appar¬ 
ently pure nerve has inspired confidence in 
spite of better judgment so that hundreds 
of people have placed their hard-earned 
savings with but little or no valid protec¬ 
tion, has at last taken place. On Tues¬ 
day, creditors of Ernest M. Arnold, a bank¬ 
er and broker in this city, filed a petition 
in the district court of the United States, 
asking that Arnold be adjudged bankrupt. 
Mr. Arnold was notified to appear in court 
on October 10 and show cause why he 
should not be so adjudged. 
The immensity of the scheme is almost 
unbelievable, for Arnold, and associates 
have been so suave and bland as to build 
up liabilities which are said to be over 
half a million dollars, while, in return for 
this amount, the people who have so will¬ 
ingly contributed to the pool have taken 
Mr. Arnold's personal notes, quite over¬ 
looking the possibility of never regaining 
their money. Many Investments were taken 
by Mr. Arnold for more than 10 per cent 
interest, and when people questioned his 
ability to pay such interest, he was quick 
to tell how he was using the money and of 
how his system could well afford such rates 
because of his advanced ideas in invest¬ 
ment. 
The above is from a Connecticut 
newspaper. It is further stated that Ar¬ 
nold has promised as much as 50 per 
cent for the use of money recently, and 
that his liabilities amount to between 
$500,000 and $(>00,000. He holds some 
real estate, but it is mortgaged three 
deep. The lesson of the whole matter 
is not to part with your savings to any 
man, without adequate security, and es¬ 
pecially not when promises of big profits 
are made, under the guise of cooperation 
or any other allurement. We advised 
against this scheme last year. 
Persons in our town paid dear for their 
fakes. Two individuals died from worry 
and trouble. One man lost nearly all in 
the Washington Realty Co., Washington, 
D. C. I am acquainted with a nice married 
woman who is in the clutches of that man 
Lewis. She got my daughter to take the 
paper, but we put a stop to it. Her hus¬ 
band lost $13 in the Washington-get-ricli- 
quick scheme. They used to get The It. 
N.-Y. some years ago, but they would not 
heed its warning. If an honest poor man 
had asked for a loan they would have re¬ 
fused him, but a big fake they will bite 
every time. g. s. s. 
Pennsylvania. 
Our sympathies go to every country 
man or woman who gets caught in the 
nets of the faker, even if they have only 
themselves to blame. Many of these 
people have little experience in the in- i 
vestment of money. They have little to I 
invest. Besides, the faker or rogue j 
knows how first to win confidence and ! 
make their plausible arguments effec¬ 
tive. The old reader of The R. N.-Y. 
knows that we would not caution against 
a concern unless there be grave reasons 
for it. We are necessarily cautious and 
seldom say all we know against schem¬ 
ers. One knows a whole lot he cannot 
always prove, and we want to say only 
what we can back up with proof. Our 
regular readers know this, and a mere 
hint is enough for them; but new or 
transient readers cannot know all this, j 
and as the fakers put up big promises 
and loud claims it is no wonder that 
they catch the unwary. This corre¬ 
spondent, however, emphasizes a point 
that we have often made. If a neigh¬ 
bor asked credit, you would recall or 
hunt up his record, and his ability to pay 
when the account became due. You 
would not turn over the money to him 
until you were satisfied of his honesty 
and ability to pay. But if the faker 
whom you do not know at all makes big 
promises, many people send him their 
money blindly and without so much as 
an inquiry as to his honesty or ability 
to return the money when due. 
I have been offered stock in the Interna¬ 
tional Educational Publication Co. of 
Scranton, Pa. Is the said stock listed? 
What is its market value at the present 
time? Would a seven-per-cent preferred 
stock be a good buy at par? Would you 
advise me to take money out of savings 
bank and invest in this stock? 
New York. header. 
The stock is not listed. A well-estab¬ 
lished stock paying seven per cent for 
a number of years would be worth very 
much in excess of par, hut a stock may 
pay seven per cent for a few years and 
still not have any value behind it that 
would justify an investment in it at any 
price, for the simple reason that the pro¬ 
moters and the schemers may manipulate 
it in such a way as to pa-y dividends 
while the stock is being sold, and to stop 
paying dividends after the stock is out 
of their own hands. Again the stock 
under favorable conditions may pay a 
good dividend for a year or two hon¬ 
estly managed, but unless it extended 
over a series of years it would not give 
value to the stock. We certainly would 
not advise you to take money out of the 
savings bank and invest it in stock of 
this kind. A good legitimate stock pay¬ 
ing seven per cent interest is not peddled 
around the country. Such stock would 
sell readily above par in the stock ex¬ 
changes. If you ever want to find the 
real value of stock, go to your bank or 
money lender and find what you could 
sell it for if you held it. That is the real 
test of its value. j. j. d. 
When you write advertisers mention The ' 
It. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee page 12. i 
Ounce oft 
..... 
• i-Pr&ve 
•^L , v "o \ \ 
• ' 'XV 
A 
Pens, stables and 
henneries, if at all 
neglected,speedily be¬ 
come fertile breeding 
places for disease. Germs 
loves filth and propagate by millions 
in hidden cracks and crevices. 
Dr. HESS DIP 
and Disinfectant 
is the surf preventive and remedy. 
Clean the pens and spray thoroughly— 
over head and under foot, using a propor¬ 
tion of i part Dr. Hess Dip to 70 of water. 
In this way you can prevent hog cholera, 
infectious pneumonia, mange, 
she^p ticks, lice, and all forms of 
skin and parasitic disease. If 
your dealer has'nt Dr. 
Hess Dip and Disinfect, 
ant, we will supply 
you. Write for 
booklet. 
DR. 
HESS & CLARK 
ASHLAND 
Ohio 
5000 FERRETS FOR SALE. Write for price 
list, it’s free. I>E KI.EINE EROS. 
Jamestown, Michigan. Box 42. 
FFRRFT<J Here ^ am again, dealing in ruff on 
I LnilLIO rats—the ferret. Enclose stamp for 
prices. CALVIN JEWELL, SPENCER, OHIO. 
Kelly DUPLEX GR »E G 
Thousands in use. Grind ear corn, 
shelled corn, oats, wheat, barie.v, rye 
kaffir corn, cotton seed, corn in shucks, 
sheaf oats or any kind of grain. The 
bagger has a double 
THE 
DUPLEX 
is the only- 
mill mado 
with a donblo 
set of burrs. 
Easiest running. 
Requires 25# less 
power and does twice 
as much work as any 
other mill of equal size- 
Especially adapted for gaso¬ 
line engines. We make 7 
sizes. Free catalog. 
DUPLEX MILL & MFG. CO., Box825) Springfield, Ohio 
SCIENTIFIC SWEEP MILL 
Doublo Action. Triplo Geared 
This No. 5 is one of onr 
leading Feed Mills. Particu¬ 
larly adapted for grinding 
ear corn and small grain for stock 
food. A medium priced mill that 
Gives Satisfaction 
Strong, durable and 
easy running. Mounted 
on a heavy hard-wood 
box. Fully guaranteed. 
Write for free catalog. 
Over 20 styles and sizes. 
THE FOOS MFG. CO., Box 889 Springfield, Ohio 
VICTOR POWER MILLS 
For grinding ear corn, oats, rye, 
and all small grains. This is one of 
our leaders, is fully guaranteed and 
will do all we claim for it. 
NEVER CHOKE OR CLOG 
in any kind or condition of grain. 
Simple in construction and easy to 
operate. Write for catalog. All 
styles. Sweep, Geared and Power 
Mills. Horse Powers and Wood Saws. 
VICTOR FEED MILL COMPANY, 
Box 189 Springfield, Ohio. 
MAKE HENS LAY 
By feeding raw bone. Its egg-producing value is four 
times that of grain. Eggs more fertile, chicks more 
vigorous, broilers earlier, fowls heavier 
profits larger. 
MANN’S l m5d!I Bone Gutter 
Cuts all bone with adhering meat and 
gristle. Never clogs. 10 Days' Froo Trial. 
No money in advance. 
Sond Today for Free Book. 
F. W. Mann Co., Box 1 5, Milford, Masa 
NIT, PLEASANT FARM LEGHORNS 
SEASON OF 1911 
We are now booking advance orders for 
Hatching Eggs Day-Old Chicks 
On Oct. 15th we had chicks engaged for Spring 
delivery up to half our capacity. Hatching eggs 
for commercial plants a specialty, 250 acres de¬ 
voted to breeding the best S. 0. W. Leghorns. 
MT. PLEASANT FARM. Box Y, Havre dc Grace, Md. 
RICHLAND FARMS, Frederick, Md. 
s. c. whiteleghorns 
WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS 
S. C. BLACK ORPINGTONS 
Now is the tune to place your order for 
HATCHING EGGS and HAY Of.If CIIICKS 
Six hundred and sixty-two acres devoted to the three 
breeds. All breeding stock have free range. No orders 
too small or too large. 
BREEDERS FOR SALE 
IMPERIAL PEKIN DRAKES in any quantity at 
and SINGLE COMB WHITE bar8ain prices 
LEGHORN COCKERELS Joultr^ farm, 
New Rochelle. N.Y. 
KEAN’S WHITE WYAND0TTES 
are bred for heavy laying, heavy weight and vigor. 
CHOICE COCKERELS for sale at *2.50 each for 
immediate shipment. Write for further descrip¬ 
tions. Address E. FRANKLIN KEAN. STANLEY, N. Y. 
S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS 
Pure bred, pure white S. 0. Leghorn Cockerels. 
Carefully raised. Personal attention given each 
customer. Prices upon application. 
J. L. l.EE. Carmel, New York. 
S INGLE COMB WHITE LEGHORNS-Quality 
Kind, Famous Lakewood Strain, Young and old 
stock for sale; Hatching eggs for early delivery. 
SUNNY HILL FARM, Fiemington. New Jersey. 
S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS 
A number of very choice April hatched Cockerels 
for breeding. Prices right for quality. 
WHITE & RICE, Yorktown, New York. 
5,000 S. C. WHITE LEGHORN 
Yearling hens, pullets and cockerels. Bred for eggs- 
American Poultry Plant, Collins, Ohio. 
THE FARMER'S FOWL-Rose Comb Reds, best winter 
I layers on earth. Kggs, *1.00 per 15. Catalogue 
free. THOS. WILDER, Route 1, Richland. N. Y. 
LIGHT BRAHMA? 
B. I'. Bocks. White P. 
Bocks, Col. Wyandotte?, 
Black Minorcas, $6 and *8 a trio. Fine Birds, 
i J. A. ROBEHT 8 , Malvern, Pa. 
GREAT WINTER LAYERS^,Sf,IIAi-Kffil 
$3 to *5; also Cockerels $3 to $' each according lo 
size. W. A. Kaiser 2703 Jamaica,Richmond Hill,L.I. 
R. C. R. I. Red Cockerels and Pullets 
Also Indian Runner Drakes. High Class Stock. 
Moderate Prices. H. J. VAN DYKE, Gettysburg, Pa. 
Free Poultry Catalogue 
EAST DONEGAL POULTRY YARuS MARIETTA PA. 
RJJ. Rhode Island Reds and Indian Runner 
nupl/Q—Strong, vigorous strains for utility, show- 
UUUrto and export. All stock sold on approval 
SINCLAIR SMITH, 602 Fifth Street, Brooklyn, New t'er.'- 
Op! I IC P| | DO —From imported stock. Females 
UltLLIL iUrO cheap. Nelson Bros., Grove City. Pa. 
MacKellar’s Charcoal 
For Poultry is best. Coarse or fine granulated, also 
powdered. Buy direct from largest manufacturers of 
Charcoal Products. Ask for prices and samples. Est. 1841 
R. MacKELLAR’S SONS CO., Peekskill, N. Y. 
TUP PPI FRRATPn HUNGARIAN AND ENGLISH 
IllC UCLLDnfll LU PARTRIDGES AND PHEASANTS 
Wild turkeys, quails, rabbits, deer, etc., for stock¬ 
ing purposes. Fancy pheasants, peafowl, cranes, 
swans, storks, ornamental geese ami ducks, foxes, 
squirrels, ferrets, and all kinds of birds and ani¬ 
mals. WENZ & M ACRE.\ SEN, Dept. 10, Pheus- 
antry and Game Park, Yardley, Pa. 
W HITE HOLLAND TURKEYS-Pure Bred Prizewinners/ 
MBS. K. J. HIDE it, ltodman, New YotV. 
