1022 
Oic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 25, 1917. 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
In answer to many inquiries regarding 
Commonwealth Finance Corporation, 
the stock of which is being promoted by 
Sargeant & Co., we quote the following 
from Financial World, New York City: 
The stock cannot be regarded in the 
category of investments at all; on the 
other hand it is extremely .speculative 
and to describe it in any other manner 
displays extreme lack of conservatism 
on the part of the solicitors and on the 
jiart of the fiscal agents for permitting 
them to do so. The Commonwealth Fi¬ 
nance Corporation has been organized 
with a capital of ,$10,000,000 cumulative 
preferred stock and $7,.'100,000 common 
stock. It intends to finance the install¬ 
ment payments on automobiles and 
pursue a similar policy in connection 
with other merchandise. But so far lit¬ 
tle in this direction has been accom- 
jfiished as most of the efforts put forth 
at the present time have been toward 
laising this large capital and this is be¬ 
ing done through agents all over the 
country, who receive an extremely liberal 
commission for selling the stock. 
August .'Ird I shipped a case of eggs to 
Berrian Bros., .30 Washington Ave., 
Brooklyn, N. Y. The returns claim 
2 5-12 dozen broken. Taking this up 
with the local American Express agent 
for adjustment, I wms informed that the 
Public Service Commission had given the 
express companies the privilege of- 
breaking live per cent of all shipments of 
eggs without the shipper having any re¬ 
dress ; that the company wouhl only pay 
for eleven out of the twenty-nine broken. 
Is this statement a fact? If so, it seems 
to me as if it were a premium for the 
express employees to handle eggs care¬ 
lessly, or, to give a dishonest commi-ssion 
merchant a fir.st-class chance to claim a 
breakage of one and one-half dozen 
where there really was none. 
On .Tuly 1st the express company made 
an advance of 20 2-3 per cent, in the 
rate from ISIexico, N. Y.—our shipping 
station—to New York City. It looks as 
if they were trying to drive the poultry- 
men out of business. What do you think 
of it? ' S. T. s. 
New York. 
The Public Service Commission has 
made no such ruling as the subscriber 
has been informed. The American Ex- 
pi-ess Co. has made such a ruling, and 
we under.stand filed regulation with the 
Public Service Commission. We doubt if 
the ruling would be approved by the 
courts, and we propose testing it for the 
benefit of poultrymen, just as soon as 
we can find a shipper who is willing 
to co-operate with us in the matter in a 
case of breakage where the express com¬ 
pany is clearly responsible for it. 
The service of the express company 
in this regulation is well intended to 
drive the poultrymen out of business as 
S. T. S. suggests. Poultrymen should 
protest to the Public Service Commis¬ 
sion against the express companies’ reg¬ 
ulations. 
An agent, a Mr. W. L. .Tohnson, 
claiming to represent the Smith nurs¬ 
eries, near Washington, D. C., is travel¬ 
ing Central Kentucky selling, or rather 
soliciting orders for Fall delivery. His 
lithographic reproductions of his fruit 
and tree stocks are marvels of artistry. 
Al.so his prices are wonderful for these 
goods, inasmuch as they are, it would 
seem to the layman, exorbitant. Have 
you by chance ever heard of this gentle¬ 
man or his connections, and would you 
consider three-year-old assorted grape¬ 
vines so wonderful as to produce the 
first year? Would you pay twelve dol¬ 
lars a dozen for such Aunes? Would 
pecan trees grafted to black walnut roots 
grow absolutely and bear the first year? 
Will the shrub tree raspberry grow that 
fruit in clusters, like bunches of grapes 
and would cherry trees also dwarf, bear 
cluster cherries. The cost of these 
trees is from one dollar to four dollars 
each, according to size. Also did you 
over bear of an imported tree sperm oil 
coming from Holland, which would save 
grape and other vines from rot or the 
prey of insects and worms? This sperm 
oil,* the man Johnson declares, will halt 
the spread of pear blight. Ever hear of 
it? Please advise me your opinion of 
this inan and his goods, as I have been 
talked into signing an order for grapes 
from the man to the amount of a dozen 
jilants one dollar each plant. 
Kentucky. E. w. E. 
We never heard of this “wonderful” 
tree agent before, but we know his kind. 
It’s the same variety guff that has been 
handed out by H. ]\I. Whiting for a dozen 
years or more. Neither have we ever 
heard of such a nursery as is described at 
or near Washington, D. C. 
W. L. Johnson in making the claims 
as alleged secured the orders by fraud¬ 
ulent misrepresentations and our recom¬ 
mendation to all those who got caught 
would be to pool their interests and hire 
a lawyer with view to refusing the stock 
when delivered and resist payment on the 
orders. , 
June 1 an agent for the J. B. Colt 
Co., New York, came to my home to in¬ 
terest me in their light plant. At first 
I did not even consider it seriously as 
we never had thought of anything of the 
kind and I knew nothing about it, but 
he explained to me that the plant would 
be installed and we could have the use 
of it for two months on approval; that 
it was little trouble to install it and the 
cost of running it would not be but $10 
a year with moderate use. He also said 
it would not cost more than $20 to in¬ 
stall the plant. I was to have seven 
lamps, a stove with oven, etc., the cost 
to be .$210. He came before dark and 
talked until 11.30 and finally he referred 
to your paper, as a copy carrying your 
adv. of the plant was on the table. I knew 
you back all your advertisements and fin¬ 
ally I signed the contract. As I never 
had any experience of this kind I did 
not read the contract carefully until 
afterwards and I found there was no 
mention of the two months on 
trial, etc. It is also stated that 
they would not be responsible for any¬ 
thing their agents said, this was in very 
fine print. Now Avould you call that a 
square deal? The next morning on the 
first mail I sent the agent a letter ask¬ 
ing him not to .send my order and re¬ 
quested him to call or at least let me 
hear from him as I had been hasty and 
wished to talk it over but have never 
seen or heard anything from him, but 
know he was near here a short time 
after the transaction. On .Tune 6th I 
wrote the company and explained that I 
had been hasty and stating my reasons 
asked them to cancel my order. They 
wrote me the order had been accepted 
and could not be canceled. Then I wrote 
them I was willing to pay a reasonable 
amount rather than have any trouble. 
They never replied to that letter but 
instead shipped the plant and it reached 
here last Saturday, .Tune 23d. I h.ave 
not removed it and am trusting to you 
to help me out of my trouble. Please 
remember when I first wrote them they 
had gone to no trouble on my account. 
I do_ not want the plant ns it is too ex¬ 
pensive for farmers in my circumstances. 
The pipe alone would cost, I am sure, 
more than the $20 to say nothing of the 
work at 45 cents an hour and the extra 
labor about the house, as I now under¬ 
stand the floors have to be taken up, etc. 
M. D. 
This is a typical case in which the 
farmer has been persuaded against his 
will to sign a contract for a lighting 
plant which he does not want or that he 
cannot afford. The J. B. Colt Co. is 
one of the honorable acetylene lighting 
houses. There is no better acetylene 
lighting outfit than the Colt. We believe 
the company would not knowingly permit 
their salesmen to make misstatements 
about the plant or cost of operation. 
Perhaps there was no intentional mis¬ 
representation on the part of the sales¬ 
man, but at any rate it does appear 
that in his anxiety to make the sale he 
underestimated the cost of imstallation 
and operation. We want farmers to 
distinctly understand that Avhen they 
sign orders with salesmen of the J. 
B. Colt Co., or any other acetylene gas 
house the order cannot be cancelled 
except when the signature to the order is 
secured by fraudulent misrepresentations. 
The firm is within its legal right in hold¬ 
ing the other party to the contract to 
the terms of it, while we do not ap¬ 
prove the principle of forcing goods of 
any kind on unwilling purchasers. We 
accept the advertising of this house 
which we have always found strictly 
honorable; but readers must not assume 
because of this that they are safe in 
signing an order for a plant Avith the 
company and cancel it afterwards if 
they want to. 
Another point aa'o want to impress 
farmers with is that no matter what 
representations the agent or salesman 
may make verbally the condition specified 
in the order itself is all the company 
Avill recognize. Make the salesman or 
agent Avrite in the contract every prom¬ 
ise made A’^erbally. A clau.se to this effect 
is usually printed in small type and is 
usually unnoticed until after the contract 
is signed. Bead every word of every con¬ 
tract before signing and don’t sign or¬ 
ders for anything until you are sure you 
want the goods ordered. 
Bessie had a new dime to invest in 
ice-cream soda. “Wh.v don’t you give 
your dime to missions?” said the mini.s- 
ter who Avas calling. “I thought about 
that,” said Bessie, “but I think I’ll buy 
the ice-cream and let the druggist give 
it to the missions.”—The Christian Her¬ 
ald. 
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GET A 
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1898 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Mo. 
1898 Empire Bldg., Pittsburg, Pa. | 
The New GREENWOOD LIME and 
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TOP FEED-NO RUSTING-NO CLOGGING 
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New Kemp Clhnax Spreader 
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FARMERS 
HANDY 
WAGON 
Low oteel wheels, wide^ tires, inako 
loading and handling easier. Weiur- 
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carry any load. Plain or grooved tire* 
Catalogue sent free. 
EMPIRE MFG.COm Box 396, Quincy, lib 
