926 
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May-3.1. 191» 
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*W 
Wre RURAL NEW-YORKFR 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
! ■'- —=-- 
All letters to Publisher’s Desk depart¬ 
ment must be signed with writer’s full 
name and address given. Many inquiries 
are answered by mail instead of printing 
inquiry and answer, hence unsigned let¬ 
ters receive no consideration. 
Chapter 521 of the laws of 1910 is a 
new law just approved by Gov. Smith. 
It ought to discourage one of the con¬ 
temptible land swindles that has been 
practiced for years around New York. 
Promoters buy up tracts of suburban land, 
lay it out in lots and sell on the install¬ 
ment plan to small and frugal wage¬ 
workers or salaried people. When first 
purchased the land would be made subject 
to a mortgage, which of course would act 
as a blanket mortgage on all the lots 
after the division. The buyers of the 
lots would go on for years paying install¬ 
ments. and when payments were com¬ 
pleted they sometimes got a deed, but the 
original mortgage remained. More often 
the development company went broke be¬ 
fore payments were fully made, the pro¬ 
perty was sold on the original mortgage, 
and the lot buyers had nothing for the 
amounts paid in. The promoter took the 
payments and spent them on good clothes 
and i.igh living. The new law makes 
this practice a misdemeanor, so that pro¬ 
moters of the kind can be punished, but 
it will be little satisfaction to send a 
schemer to jail after the money is gone. 
The remedy is to have a careful lawyer 
look up the records before paying money 
on lots or real estate of any kind. 
The E. G. Lewis get-rich schemes at St. 
I.ouis. Mo., have now run the regular 
course. The receiver in the United States 
Court was discharged last week. lie was 
appointed in .1911. The records show 
that investors in the schemes which came 
under control of the receiver lost $7,040,- 
S91.13. Several other schemes had been 
promoted, but no assets were found for 
them, and the total losses are increased 
to an unknown amount by them. Tt has 
been estimated that the total collections 
by Lewis on these schemes were between 
10 and 12 millions, and the definite fig¬ 
ures now for the first time available 
justify the estimates. The definite 
claims file 1 amount to $9.090.040. The 
amount paid to the claimants is $2,049.- 
748.87. The amount Returned was largely 
from the so-called People’s United States 
Bank, and in this enterprise the prompt 
acti )^ fc of the Federal Government saved 
the bulk of the funds for the investors, 
though many of them turned their securi¬ 
ties over to Lewis, and lost the money 
originally put into them. 
Lewis was one of the most plausible 
get-rich-quick promoters of recent times, 
because he based his promotions largely 
on real estate, banks and publishing en¬ 
terprises. which appealed to the conser¬ 
vative as well as the venturesome classes. 
Women were his principal victims, but 
business men and even bankers were on 
his lists. Ilis assurances of profits were 
most alluring. 
When the Government closed his bank 
and issued fraud orders against himself 
Lewis set up a howl of injured innocence, 
and won the sympathy of many of his 
own victims and some others. Ilis pub¬ 
lishing schemes were all run at a great 
loss, but the publications were useful in 
promoting other schemes. He also 
utilized them to involve other publishers 
of good standing, as well as educational 
institutions and civic organizations. 
The downfall of Lewis began when he 
refused to return money collected from 
lit bal New-Y 0 BKEB subscribers. At 
first he refunded to save publicity, but 
as the demands increased he refused to 
return the money, and the real fight 
started. It was impossible to get the re¬ 
turn of money sent him, but the publicity 
did stop the sending of more. The sav¬ 
ing. of course, extended to the public 
generally as well as to our own sub¬ 
scribers. Lewis raised the cry that there 
was a conspiracy between The: Rural 
New-Yorker and the Federal Govern¬ 
ment to ruin his business, and some of 
his victims were persuaded to believe that 
if permitted to continue to collect money 
on fake securities he would ultimately 
send them the promised riches. Having 
parted with their own money some of the 
.victims were willing to have others take 
a chance in the vain hope of a dividend 
for themselves. The facts were of course 
that like all money that comes easily, it 
was quickly spent, and when the victim 
once parted with the money it was gone 
forever. It cost The R. N.-Y. consid¬ 
erable money to defend the suits and show 
up the fraudulent nature of the enter¬ 
prise. There was and could be no 
motive except to protect the public, j 
Lewis was indicted several times, and j 
tried three times. Once the case was | 
dismissed and twice the jury disagreed. 
He gathered up about 10 millions iu the 
country, and spent it. in St. Louis, and 
was not without some influence there. 
He is now working a development scheme 
in California, and is still promising easy 
riches to the gullible. 
An agent of the Farmers’ Standard 
Carbide Company, Inc., of Canastota. N. 
Y.. was here trying to sell five shares at ! 
$10 a share, claiming to pay 7 per cent, 
and the privilege of buying carbide at 
$2.05 per 100 lbs. In my opinion it has 
the earmarks of a fake. A. A. K. 
Now York. 
We have referred to this matter before, 
but the numerous inquiries make neces¬ 
sary a repetition of the advice. The pro¬ 
moter of the enterprise is Geo. A. Strom- 
blad. Ilis wife and Reuben L. Stimson 
each hold one share of stock. Mr. Strom- 
blad is reported to be without means and 
is said to have left unpaid bills in the city 
where he previously resided. The capital 
stock of the company is $25,000, which, 
if all sold and after deducting the selling- 
expense, would not leave a very substan¬ 
tial amount to establish the proposed car¬ 
bide plant. The proposition to sell car¬ 
bide to stockholders at a reduced price is 
an old form of “sucker bait” to sell stock. 
We have never known of a case where 
stock was sold on such a basis that the 
result proved anything but disappoint¬ 
ment and loss to the investor. Whether 
the promoter is -sincere in his alleged pur¬ 
pose to establish a carbide plant or not. 
it is nothing short of a blind gamble for 
fanners to put their money into the pro¬ 
ject. 
I have a complaint to make against 
Geo. B. Ferris, Grand Rapids, Mich., 
White Leghorn breeder, whose advertise¬ 
ment is in The It. X.-Y. On March 17, 
1919, I sent him a registered letter con¬ 
taining $21. About a week later I re¬ 
ceived a postal from him. stating he 
would send me as I ordered four two- 
vear-old hens at $3.50, each. $14: one 
cockerel, $7; total. $21. On March 31 I 
received four hens and one cockerel. Two 
hens were sick with a cold, one hen had 
the scaliest legs I think I ever saw on a 
chicken. The cockerel weighed about a 
pound and a half and was almost dead, 
and two days later, April 2. he did die. 
I put him iu a box and sent him right 
back to Ferris, prepaid. Ferris fooled 
around till April 11 ; then he sent me an¬ 
other cockerel. He is white in color, and 
I have been trying to figure out what 
breed he is. and so have others who have 
seen him. I wouldn’t have any of the 
five as Leghorns; they are worth about 
42c a pound, market price. I got the two 
hens that had colds in pretty good shape 
now. They are nothing but scrubs. 
New York. J. E. R. 
We long ago abandoned all hope of 
reconciling two poultrymen as to the 
value of birds when one happened to be 
the buyer and the other the seller. In 
cases of this kind we feel that the only 
way to adjust satisfactorily is for the 
seller to order the birds returned and re¬ 
fund the purchase price. Mr. Ferris 
offers to accept the return of the birds 
and give .T. E. R. credit to be taken iu 
other stock, eggs for hatching or poultry 
supplies. Mr. Ferris contends that this 
is as far as his guarantee obligates him, 
and he sees no reason for going beyond it. 
This plan leaves the door open for future 
complications. We have adjusted the 
transaction with the subscriber under our 
square deal guarantee of advertisers, and 
we have asked Mr. Ferris to seek trade 
through other channels than the advertis¬ 
ing columns of The R. N.-Y. 
The mild Winter has made the outlook 
very good for wheat and rye. This is not 
much of a dairy country. All fruit with 
the single seed, such as plums, peaches 
and cherries, are killed by the late freeze. 
Pears and apples look good where there 
were blossoms. Apple blossoms are very 
scarce, but are the most plentiful on the 
trees bearing sweet apples. Butter, 60c 
per lb.; eggs, 50c; potatoes, $1 per bu.; 
liny, $30 per ton. Not much grain raised, 
only what is fed on the farms. c. u. 
Indiana Co., Pa. 
U NITE© 
OTATEW 
DISC SEPARATOR 
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Demobilized 
During the war, while our manufac¬ 
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our engineers and workmen were told 
to produce an all-American separator 
that would be the pride of the men who 
used it as well as the men who made it. 
- • v. 
No fundamental change was necessary 
because the United States already held 
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But these separator specialists succeeded 
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new standard for ease and convenience 
of operation, long life and mechanical 
perfection. 
Seven exclusive patents on important 
refinements suggest a superiority that the 
separator itself demonstrates. 
Vermont Farm Machine Company 
BELLOWS FALLS, VT. 
Chicago Portland. Ore. Salt Lake City 
U. S. Farm Lighting Plants and Engines 
Watch your newspaper for this advertisement telling where you can see the 
United States Separator. Agents and dealers wanted in some localities. 
lOl 
IIIHIItlilllllitllllllltlllllltllllflillllllllllllfllMllltllllHIIIIIHHHIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlll 
'h OFF SILOS 
1 will sell by mail, at just 
llalfPrice, my entire pres¬ 
ent stock of Five Hundred 
Silos. This make of Silos 
has been on the market for 
many years, and has given 
complete satisfaction in all 
parts of the country. All 
are new and first-class. 
Place your order within 
the next Thirty Days and 
save precisely one-half. 
M. L. SMITH, Manufacturer's Agent 
113 Flood Building 
Meadville .*. Pennsylvania 
SILOS 
BUV NOW AND CRT EARLY 
SHIPPING AND CASH DISCOUNTS 
AN EXTENSION ROOF 
llmt is ii-ally practical for full 
t.Bilo. Adjustable .door frame 
with ladder combined. Many 
other features In Catalogue. 
AGENTS WANTED who Can Sell 
and can devote some tine to the 
business. We guarantee satis¬ 
faction. Write 
GLOBE SILO CO. 
2.1 2 Willow St , SIDNEY. N. Y. 
Cut Your 
Own 
Silage 
This Year 
SWdLHS 0\\\0 - ft -'A 
1 i 
Get a one- or two-man 
Silvers'Ohio’ 
The Logical Silo Filler 
Don’t wait for a silo filling crew. Fill silo 
when cropis right—refill again without extra 
cost. Get an‘ Ohio” to fit your needs. Va¬ 
riety of sizes, 4 horsepower up. 40 to 300 
tons a day. Big “Ohio" features—direct 
drive, friction reverse, single lever control, 
etc. Automatic beater feed. Silverized 
Silage—packs air-tight—makes better food. 
Write for free catalog. 
THE SILVER MFG. CO.. Box 364 SALEM, OHIO 
“Moduli Silage Methods. 1 * 264-page teat-book, 25c. 
BARNS, SILOS and 
FIELD DRAIN TILE 
Write for Winter Prices 
ENTERPRISE LUMBER & SILO CO. 
North Tonawanda, N. Y. 
Before You Buy Your Silo. 
investigate the reliable Green Mountain. Send 
for circulars describing long-life, tight 
construction, new Anchorage System, etc. 
Croamorx rackago Mlg. Co., 338Vint St, Rutland, Vt. 
INTERESTING 
GARDEN BOOKS 
A Woman’* Hardy Garden 
By Mrs, II. R. Ely 51.75 
Old Time Gardens 
By A. M. Earle 2.50 
Flowers and Ferns in Their 
Haunts By M. O. IVright 2.00 
Plant Physiology By Ditggar 1.60 
For Sals by 
RURAL NEW YORKER, 333 W. 30th SI.. N. Y. 
