1526 
1ht RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
October 11, 101!) 
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. 
A representative of George K. Iligbie 
Company of Rochester has just started 
taking orders for seed oats in this county. 
The man who is doing the selling is a 
Mr. Crum, lie is badly crippled with 
inflammatory rheumatism, and not able 
to walk. With him are two men, one to 
drive the car and the other to search out 
the prospective victim and bring him to 
the cripple in the car. Extravagant 
claims are made for the oats, which are 
called the Granary Filler. They will 
yield from 03 to 150 bushels per acre; 
will stand up under all conditions. All 
you need to sow is bushels per acre. 
The stem is crinkled and the variety loses 
a crinkle each year as it runs out. r J he 
price is five bushels for $12. lie ap¬ 
parently shows a list of orders from every 
good farmer in the community when he 
starts in. and this leads them to take an 
order to get rid of him. If I remember 
correctly, you have published statements 
on the reliability of the George II. Iligbie 
Company of Rochester and also of this 
plan of selling oats. J. F. E. 
Broome Co., N. Y. 
We published the record of the opera¬ 
tions of this man Crum in Orange County 
and other sections last year. Last season 
he sold what he called “Mammoth Cluster 
oats,” and his claims for that variety 
were almost identical with what he is 
claiming for the “Granary Filler" now. 
This class of seed and nursery agents 
never visit the same territory the second 
time. Of course the only way orders can 
be secured for oats at these extravagant 
prices is by telling yarns as to their 
qualities. The game has been worked 
for years. Mr. Crum’s apparent affliction 
naturally enlists the sympathies of his 
prospective victims; but there is plenty 
of testimony to show that Mr. Crum’s 
vocal organs have not been affected by 
his alleged malady. 
Referring to my matter with the Elec¬ 
tro Importing Co.. 233 Fulton Street, 
New. York, they write that if I will re¬ 
turn the batteries they will either repair 
them or send new ones. As the other two 
batteries are giving fair satisfaction I do 
not feel like bothering you any further 
with the matter. Therefore we will let 
the thing drop. You made them reply, 
and have helped me much, for which I 
thank you, and I will still show my 
appreciation as opportunities permit me 
to. Kindly bear in mind that I can 
testify to the fact of their being a most 
unsatisfactory house to deal with. 
New York. c. M. s. 
The above sentiments will find approval 
in the experience of a number of our sub¬ 
scribers. The Electro Importing Co. has 
a substantial financial rating. The record 
of the firm with us is that it is slow in 
replying to complaints and making ad¬ 
justments when goods are not right. This 
often causes as much annoyance and dis¬ 
satisfaction as though the complaint were 
ignored entirely. As in this case the cus¬ 
tomer gives up in disgust under the cir¬ 
cumstances and swallows his loss. 
Enclosed please find literature regard¬ 
ing the Chester White lave Stock Com¬ 
pany, 1270 Broadway. New York City, 
farm and ranch located at East North- 
port. L. I. II. w. II. 
New York. 
So Long Island has followed the lead 
of other sections in the matter of a hog 
ranch scheme. The manager of the 
ranch is represented to be R. W. Wagner, 
who has been conducting a swine and 
poultry business at East Northport. We 
discontinued his little advertisement in 
The R. N.-Y. last Spring on the strength 
of reports from his section as to the 
condition of his stock—just the right 
sort of a man to develop a hog ranch 
scheme. The estimated profits are on 
the same basis as all the similar pro¬ 
motions which have gone before. Mar¬ 
vellous how easy it is to figure hog profits 
on paper. The prospectus contains a list 
of names of alleged well-known business 
men who have invested in the project. 
We do not know any of them, but we are 
willing to predict that if these gentlemen 
went into the enterprise in good faith, 
they bid fair to acquire some valuable 
information on the subject of hog breed¬ 
ing before another year passes over their 
heads. We wonder if they ever heard 
of a similar enterprise conducted from 
Pittsburgh as the National Ilog Company 
and what happened to the promoter. 
In regard to claim for 5 bbls. sweet 
potatoes I was offered $3.50 per bbl. here 
for those potatoes and refused it because 
I knew they were worth about twice that 
in the city, but since my commission man 
died probably the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company did the best they knew with the 
shipment. What puzzles me is what they 
intended to do with that $13.02. About 
a month after this shipment was made I 
filed a claim for potatoes and received a 
very prompt reply from Mr. Franklin 
saying be had received my claim and it 
would have “prompt and careful atten¬ 
tion." Three weeks later I wrote Mr. 
Franklin again, and very promptly re- 
seived the .same reply: “Would have 
prompt and careful attention.” I kept on 
reminding him that claim had not been paid 
about every three weeks and always re¬ 
ceived “prompt and careful attention.” On 
Feb. 4. 1019. I wrote Mr. Franklin that 
I had received all the “prompt and care¬ 
ful attention” I needed: what I wanted 
was the nay for the potatoes. Then I 
thought of the only hope left, the “Old 
Reliable,” the farmer’s friend. The R. 
N.-Y.. and sent, the claim to you, and 
strange to say in one short year to the 
exact day I received a check for less than 
half the worth of the potatoes, thanks to 
you. my worthy friend ; had if not been 
for you I suppose I would still be re¬ 
ceiving “prompt and careful attention.” 
Now if Mr. Franklin had written me the 
circumstances in the first place, inclosing 
check for $13.02. I should have been satis¬ 
fied. but since they used my money one 
year it looks as though I am entitled to 
the interest on same. Yes. the Pennsyl¬ 
vania Railroad gives us farmers a square 
deal(?) av. a. i. 
Delaware. 
We are still of the opinion that some 
law ought to be passed making it im¬ 
perative for transportation companies to 
pay claims within 30 days, which is ample 
time for investigation. This would be an 
opportunity for the women to help now 
that they have the vote. Their insistence 
added would make the case stronger. The 
sweet potatoes were not delivered, and 
the railroad company finally telephoned 
consignee and ascertained he had just 
died. They thereupon sold the potatoes 
to protect the shipper’s interest, which 
was all right and as it should be, but why 
was this explanation not made at the 
time, and a year’s interest on the money 
saved, besides our time and expense, and 
the railroad's expense in advising shipper 
claim would have “prompt and careful 
consideration’"! 1 It. reminds us of the 
careful consideration Representatives and 
Assemblymen give their constituents. We 
are trying to get the interest. The history 
of this case will give readers some idea 
of what we have to contend with in fol¬ 
lowing up claims. It took us six months 
to get this far. 
On July 20 I bought a tire (.">7x4 v£) 
serial No. 734-N. T., from Broad Street 
Tire Company, corner Broad and Vine. 
Philadelphia, for $30. The firm guaran¬ 
teed the tire to me for 4.000 miles. I 
put the tire on the machine and it was 
run scarcely a mile before it blew out. 
While standing I had it vulcanized, pay¬ 
ing $4.50. and after it had only been run 
a few miles, not more than four or five, 
it again blew out and I took it back to 
the firm. They advised me to write to 
the manufacturer, the Community Rub¬ 
ber Company, Mnrrisville, Pa. I wrote 
twice before getting a reply. The en¬ 
closed letter is what I have for all my 
trouble, besides loss of time—and $34.50 
for tire and fare twice to Philadelphia 
and return. What would you advise me 
to do? Knowing you help others, I am 
writing to find out your opinion, or you 
might be able to help me in some way, as 
I cannot afford to lose the money. 
New Jersey. M. A. S. 
This tire was apparently not guaran¬ 
teed by either the manufacturer or the 
dealer. Under the circumstances we do 
not see but the subscriber will have to 
take his medicine. If any of the standard 
makes of tires were purchased the manu¬ 
facturer would unquestionably make good, 
and it would be hardly possible for a tire 
of this kind to pass the inspection of any 
of the factories, the tires of which have 
a reputation to sustain. The moral con¬ 
firms our oft-repeated advice regarding 
“cheap” tires. They invariably prove 
most expensive in the long run. 
There was once a politician, formerly 
a farmer, whose reputation was such that 
a colleague, meeting an old man from his 
district, asked confidentially: “What do 
you think of him down your way? Is he 
an honest man?” The countryman stroked 
his whiskers and smiled. “Would you 
call him a liar?” asked the other. An¬ 
other stroking of the whiskers, then he 
replied: “Well, now, I don’t know that 
I’d go so far as to call him a liar, but 
those as knew him down our way do say 
thiit when he wanted his pigs to come 
for their feed he had to get somebody else 
to call ’em.”—Credit Lost. 
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When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a “square 'deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
