206 
THE RURAL N PC W-YORKER 
February 7, 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
Since I received a notice of renewal for 
your farm paper, I take time to reply as 
follows: 
If you are going to continue the policy 
of assailing, and attacking the business 
of other business concerns, I don’t want 
the paper. I have been reared a farmer, 
now own and.operate one farm, and I know 
at least 100 of the Strout agents are 
farmers, and all have suffered financial 
loss on account of the articles you pub¬ 
lished in your paper the past year. In 
my case I spent three years trying to 
build up an agency here, spending money 
I earned farming ana carpentering, and 
when I got to a point where there was 
beginning to be some reimbursement and 
prospects of profit your articles set me 
back at least one year. Now I am not 
going to quit; no, no; my credit is good, 
and I will win, but the fact is I have 
been damaged, and I was brought up to 
abhor anything approaching the small 
business of trying to throw my brother 
traveler down in order to lift myself up. 
We have courts for the trying and 
convicting of offenders, and all those of¬ 
fended have access to them. Therefore 
it is not the business of a farm paper to 
weigh other business concerns and decide 
if they are found wanting or not, and if 
you are going to continue this policy, dis¬ 
continue the paper. If you are going to 
abandon it, me and my friends will take 
and boost the paper. H. w. M. 
Hammonton, N. J. 
We are sorry to differ from any man 
who thinks he qualifies to speak for farm¬ 
ers and the proper functions of farm pa¬ 
pers. But, from our experience, the 
courts do not always afford protection or 
redress to the offended; nor do they al¬ 
ways convict and punish offenders. Some 
of the worst swindles of which we have 
knowledge were perpetrated under per¬ 
fectly legal forms. 
We also differ from you on the functions 
of a farm paper. We do not contend 
that a paper should take testimony, 
weigh evidence, and mete out punish¬ 
ment to offenders; but we do hold it is 
the privilege and the duty of a farm pa¬ 
per to know when and where its sub¬ 
scribers are in danger of being imposed 
upon; and to make such facts known as 
will enable the subscribers and the pub¬ 
lic generally to protect themselves That 
is our idea of service. Any other policy, 
and especially the carrying of dishonest 
advertising, is nothing short of a con¬ 
spiracy with the dishonest advertiser to 
exploit the subscriber. We would be 
glad of your help and the help of your 
friends in the line of this service; but 
we could not pay your price for the boost 
you could give the paper. Indeed there 
are situations in which friendship can be 
regarded only as a menace. You cannot 
serve two masters. 
You say you have lost business be¬ 
cause of what we have published. We 
would regret causing loss to any honest 
business, but as a farm-bred man you 
will hardly deny that farmers have a 
right to expect information imparted to 
them through their farm paper. In at 
least some instances your company has 
charged farm buyers from 50 to 70 per 
cent, of the selling price for their ser¬ 
vices. You know their schedule charges 
are now from 10 to 20 per cent, at least, 
and a recent complaint seems to indicate 
that farmers sometimes pay more. You 
must know and your employers know they 
cannot induce a buyer to pay 10 or 20 per 
cent., if he knows that he is paying it. 
Hence to make the deal they must keep 
him in the dark or deceive him. They 
do not let the buyer know all the condi¬ 
tions of the sale. They could not make 
sales yielding such profits if they did. We 
think it our duty to tell the buyer what 
they keep from him. If you cannot do 
business where such facts are known, it 
is your fault, not our fault. 
If you have unwisely invested your 
earnings we are sorry. If you had come 
to us in time we would have been glad 
to advise you and serve you. When you 
ally yourself against the interest of those 
we are bound to protect, we can be of no 
further service to you. Your subscrip¬ 
tion is discontinued. 
Mr. J. F. Freeman came to my place 
during the Fall of 1911, representing the 
Allen Nursery Co. of Rochester, N. Y., 
and sold my wife a bill of trees, and 
agreed to come and set them out and to 
keep them pruned for three years. Also 
added $5 worth of apple trees to the 
order that she never bought C. F. T. 
West Virginia. 
the methods of the agents. Farmers must 
not confuse this class of agents with the 
upright men selling trees in their own 
community year after year. Those sell¬ 
ing “guff” trees seldom visit a neighbor¬ 
hood the second time and don’t ever de¬ 
liver in person the trees they do sell. 
The court decision in the Batavia case 
upholds the advice we have often given 
tree agent victims, that they can not be 
compelled to pay for trees sold on the 
strength of false statements and should 
not be bluffed into doing so.. 
Some weeks back we referred to a 
scheme that was being worked by an 
agent of D. B. Cornell Co. of Great Bar¬ 
rington, Mass., in New York State. It 
was a scheme for selling farms or more 
properly a scheme to induce owners to 
pay for selling them whether the sale was 
effected or not. We have had slight 
modifications of the same scheme from 
other sources . from Ostrander up and 
down. Now the New England papers 
are full of complaints arising out of the 
Cornell Company scheme and practice. 
There are many real estate agents willing 
to sell farms on a fair commission for 
their services. Why listen to specialized 
schemers? If you touch a red-hot iron, 
you are pretty sure to get burned. 
All over the country companies of 
capitalists and bankers are being formed 
with the alleged purpose of financing 
farm mortgages. In many instances they 
are called cooperative. Do not let any 
farmer be deceived by these representa¬ 
tions. They are not cooperative. They 
are the direct opposite of cooperative 
principles. They are on the opposite 
side of the fence. In cooperative efforts 
the associations or companies are com¬ 
posed entirely of debtors. They sell their 
credit in land and get money to buy it 
or improve it. These companies are com¬ 
posed of and controlled by capitalists, 
large or small. It may be safe enough 
and well enough to negotiate with them 
for a mortgage, if the contract is def¬ 
initely and carefully drawn to protect 
you by your own attorney, but such con¬ 
cerns have no right to masquerade under 
the pretense of cooperation. 
Some time ago I received through the 
mail a package supposed to contain a 
razor from the Victor Razor Co., 412 
Drexel Bldg., Chicago, Ill. There has 
been an epidemic of razors in our neigh¬ 
borhood. In the past two or three years 
I have received several such packages 
and returned them. I do not care to con¬ 
tinue to open up such mail and take up 
my time re-addressing packages and re¬ 
turning them without pay and receive 
threatening letters from these people 
when they do not get the money prompt¬ 
ly. Is there any way the practice can be 
stopped? I have not returned the last 
razor nor sent any money, as I do not 
intend to purchase the razor. Can the 
company compel payment or return of 
razor? j. r. v. 
New Jersey. 
We have numerous similar complaints. 
A surplus of this literature must be go¬ 
ing out. A subscriber sent one of these 
razors to us some time ago, and we had 
it examined by an expert, who reported 
that it seemed about the quality which 
sold for 75 cents in retail stores. There 
doesn’t seem to be anj- way to prevent 
them from sending out these razors and 
there is no obligation to return them. 
To do so may save some annoyance. Col¬ 
lection agencies will threaten to sue, but | 
fake concerns of this sort never actually 
go into court. They only hope to bluff 
people into paying the money by threats. 
Our advice is to refuse to take the pack¬ 
ages from the postoffice or complain to 
the Postoffice Department, Washington, 
D. C. 
Is this a new scheme of the Thwing 
Co., or the Circle Magazine? Is it good 
or isn’t it? h. D. 
New York. 
This inquiry is about lots at Demarest, 
New Jersey. It is away out in the 
country, where no trolleys run, and trains 
are not frequent. But Mr. Thwing says 
he has land there that he is to divide 
into lots. He attempts to tickle the 
vanity of his prospective dupes by dis¬ 
tinguishing 100 of the first purchasers 
as founders; and promises them 100 
per cent, profit. It is the old E. G. 
Lewis scheme, only Lewis promised 1.000 
The above corroborates previous com¬ 
plaints which have come to us about this 
agent Freeman, and in fact is typical of 
per cent, profit. In comparison Thwing 
is modest. A publisher should be tarred 
and feathered for exploiting the public 
in such a way through a paper and 
through the mails. j. j. p. 
A Studebaker wagon bought in 1868 
—and working today 
back in 1868 Mitcheal Everman of Centerville, la. bought a 
jt~\. Studebaker Farm 'Wagon for $1 10.00. The wagon has faithfully 
served three generations of farmers and C. H. Everman, grandson of the 
man who bought the wagon, writes “there is not a crack in the hubs.” 
Perhaps you would like to read Mr. Everman’s letter. It would be difficult 
to write a more convincing argument in favor of Studebaker Farm Wagons. 
Here is the letter: 
Studebaker, South Bend, Ind.—I have a Studebaker Regular Farm Wagon that 
Yqgq Ug j i* n i? n ^ er 7^ e * I a - hy my Grandfather, Mitcheal Everman, in the year 
lobo and ha3 been m constant use in the family ever since. The wagon cost 
my grandfather $110.00 and has the same wheels, axles, skeins and bolsters on 
it today as when it was bought and there is not a crack in the hubs. The wagon 
is in reasonably good repair and I have recently been hauling 154-yard loads of 
sand in it. _ C. H. EVERMAN, Mystic, la. 
WHAT THIS PROVES 
method of manufacturing they are even better 
than they were in 1868 —and the price is less. 
Just remember that Studebaker has been 
building wagons for over sixty years and dur¬ 
ing all that time their one effort has been to 
build not the cheapest, but the best—that is 
the reason they are the largest wagon build¬ 
ers in the world. 
Studebaker buggies are also built to last a 
lifetime and have no equal in style and finish. 
_ See our dealer or write us 
STUDEBAKER South Bend, Ind. 
mFnNRAJPOL® SaEtlSj® CITY DALL sIn FRANCISCO 5 CITY DENVER 
It proves that the wagon bought by Mr. 
Everman was made of the best material and 
workmanship—that’s why it is still working— 
It proves that it pays to buy the best. 
Studebaker Wagons are the best. 
Even if a Studebaker wagon costs a little 
more at the time of your purchase—if it will 
last a lifetime, it is the best wagon to buy. 
Studebaker Wagons today are built of the 
very best material and because of the improved 
PORTLAND. ORE. 
_Adv. 2002 
Studebakers last a lifetime 
The Louden 
/f* Louden- 
is tho quick > easy, money-making way m 
The Louden Junior Hay Carrier, like all Louden Movable 
Equipments, is center hung—runs easily and smoothly; will not > 
bind on the track; never misses register. No los3 of time because of kinked 
or twisted ropes. Built entirely of steel and iron—the strongest 
swivel carrier made. 
The Lifting Power of the Louden Balance Grapple 
Fork, and the easy way it handles a heavy load, 1 
makes it the most serviceable in any kind of fod¬ 
der. Will grip half a ton at once, short or long 
growth, and hold it tight. So perfectly balanced 
it never fails to drop the hay where desired. 
Wr for Catalog giving full information on 
Louden Hay Tools, Stalls, and Stanchions, Feed 
and Litter Carriers, Barn Door Hangers, etc./ 
See the Louden Line at your dealers 
LOUDEN MACHINERY CO., 2(00 Broadway, Fairfield, Iowa 
12 and 16 Gauge 
Hammerless 
Pump” 
Guns 
. . icyL'dllUK 
, shotgun is a ftne-appearing, beautifully-balanced gun, without - —^ 
any ; objectionable humps or bumps; no holes on top for gas to blow out through or water to get in; 
can t freeze up with ram, snow or sleet; its solid steel breech (not a shell of wood) permits a 
thoroughly symmetrical gun without sacrificing strength or safety; it is the safest breech-loading 
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.. It is Hammerless with Solid Steel Breech (inside as well as out)—Solid Top-Side Ejection 
-Matted Barrel (which costs $4.00 extra on other guns) -Press Button Cartridge Release-(to 
remove loaded cartridges quickly from magazine without working through action) Double Extrac. 
tors I ake-Down Feature—Trigger and Hammer Safety. Handles rapidly ; guaranteed in shoot¬ 
ing ability; price standard Grade “A” 12-gauge gun, $22.60 ; 16-gauge, $24.00. 
Send 3 stamps postage for big catalog describing all jrs ” 
2/larun repeating shotguns (hammer and hammer- J/lCW££/2jT£l^(Zrj7lS CO., 
‘ ' ” iZKzrriv/rei 
less), all 
^repeating rifles, etc. Do it now ! 
157 Willow Street, New Haven, Conn. 
Use NAT CO Tile-—They Last Forever 
Farm drainage needs durable tile. Our drain tile arc made of best 
Ohio clay, thoroughly hard burned. Don’t have to dig ’em up to be 
replaced every few years. Write for prices. Sold in carload lots. 
Also manufacturers of the famous NATCO IMPERISHABLE 
SILO, Building Blocks and Sewer-I’ipe. 
NATIONAL FIRE PROOFING COMPANY, Fulton Building, PITTSBURGH, PA. 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal. ’ See guarantee editorial page. : : : 
