454 
7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 12, 1921 
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, lienee unsigned let¬ 
ters receive no consideration. 
You are printing one of the best agri¬ 
cultural papers that I have any kuowl- 
i of. F. B. It. 
New York. 
Our ideal for the “best farm paper” 
is one that is conducted at all times for 
the best interest of the farmer, exclusive 
of any other interest. It excludes even 
the interests of the company that pub¬ 
lisher it. if such interest seemed to be for 
the time being in conflict with the best 
interest of the farm. We have carried 
that principle out for thirty-odd years, 
and every day makes us more sure of the 
wisdom as well as the honesty of the 
policy. Naturally we like to know that 
our friends think we have succeeded iii it. 
The r.eslie-.Tudge Company, publisher 
of Leslie’s Weekly: •/ it dye. a humorous 
weekly, and Film Fun. a monthly, entered 
involuntary bankruptcy today, facing lia¬ 
bilities of $2,210,000. 
In min. the Leslie-Judge Company 
lost $150,000 and last year its losses 
amounted to $.'>00,000. I >uring January 
of this vear it accumulated a deficit, of 
$10,000 .—CUy Payer. 
The increased cost of paper and print¬ 
ing as well as the increased postage rates 
and general exjieuses begin to tell in the 
publishing business. Some publications 
are going out of business and others are 
combining so that there in only one pane- 
in -some territories that formerly had 
two or three. This is true in the farm 
field, as well as in other lines. The most 
serious increased cost is in the price of 
paper, which is three to four times former 
prices. Other items have increased al¬ 
most in the same proportion, hut paper 
increases are felt the most, because it is 
the big item of expense. The publica¬ 
tions that lost money last year when busi¬ 
ness was good, have a hard time this 
year with reduced income. Some borrow 
and run on credit as long as possible, and 
give up only when credit is no longer 
available. The Leslie-.Tudge liabilities 
of over two million dollars are stagger¬ 
ing. It is feared that others are to come. 
Tuless the paper mills reduce the price, 
they will soon have an opportunity to 
own many of the publications. 
Will you advise fully concerning bucket 
shop speculation? What is meant by buy¬ 
ing on margin or options? Why are the 
bucket shops allowed to do business? Is 
there any difference between them and the 
little ordinary punch board candy prize <>■■ 
Cigar prize machines, which are illegal? 
If all the above are illegal, what is the 
difference between them and Wall Street 
speculation? I know a very fine man who 
is speculating on option wheat, but who 
would consider a punch board candy prize 
machine illegal. F. M. M. 
New York. 
The term “bucket shop” applies to the 
class of concerns operating in stocks on 
a gambling basis. You place your money 
in .the hands of these operators, presum¬ 
ably for the purchase of a certain stock, 
usually on a margin. What you really 
do is bet on the rise or fall of the price 
of that stock. The stock is not bought 
on your account by these operators. If 
the stock rises in price and you instruct 
the bucket shop broker to sell you win 
the difference between the market price 
when bought and the price at the time 
you instructed to sell. If the price de¬ 
clines beyond the percentage of the price 
you put up the bucket shop maja wipes 
the account off his books—if lie keeps 
books—and you have lost the money. A 
legitimate brokerage house buying stocks 
for their customers on a “margin” act¬ 
ually buys the stock and borrows the 
money to pay for it of the bank pledging 
the stock for security. He holds it until 
the customer can pay the balance, charg¬ 
ing interest in the meantime. If the 
stock declines below the margin the 
broker asks for more money, and if it is 
not forthcoming sells the stock, and the 
investor loses the money put up. The 
latter is sometimes a legitimate transac¬ 
tion—the former always a gamble. In 
principle the difference is in degree only. 
Buying on “option” is a term used on the 
board of trade, where grain, cotton, etc., 
are bought and sold. You buy the right 
to have a certain number of bushels of 
grain or bales of cotton delivered to you 
on a certtain day. This is a gambling 
operation also, as the goods are rarely de¬ 
livered and the purchaser has no inten¬ 
tion of having the grain or cotton deliv¬ 
ered to his warehouse. Many believe that 
the Board of Trade in Chicago, the pur¬ 
pose of which is to gamble in food neces¬ 
sities, should be done away with. 
On September 17. 1917. I sent to Mer¬ 
rill A. Beach, Penn Y’an, N. Y„ nine hog 
skins valued at $1 each, making a total 
of $9 for all. I have written at intervals 
of six months ever since, but can get no 
reply from him. I first saw his advertise¬ 
ment in The R. X.-Y. and sent him quite 
a lot of hog skins. lie paid very promptly 
for every lot except this bunch of nine, 
and I have been unable to hear from him. 
I have had word that he received hides 
and paid expressage on same at Penn 
Yan. H. a. n. 
Pennsylvania. 
Mr. Beach denies having received the 
skins, and at this date, after more than 
three years have passed, it is impractical 
to produce the railroad record of delivery. 
Ilis refusal to answer the shipper’s let¬ 
ters makes him morally responsible at 
least for the value of the skins, because 
had Mr. Beach responded to the shipper’s i 
letters of inquiry a claim might have been 
entered against the railroad and the ship¬ 
per could recover unless delivery were 
proved. We have found Merrill A. Beach 
negligent in matters of correspondence on 
previous occasions. 
Enclosed am sending you some printed 
statements of the East Coast Fisheries 
Products Company. Looks to me like a 
skin game from start to finish, and they 
sure did scoop a bunch of money out o f 
our county. I hope you will point the fin¬ 
ger of shame at I. M. Taylor & Son of 
your city. When men like the above will 
send out agents to deceive old people 
and widows of some of their hard- 
earned savings there ought to be some 
way to punish them. You may use my 
name in The It N.-Y. if you like. 
Ohio. HORACE BACON. 
We agree that there should be some 
means of putting a stop to the activities 
of these “get-rich-quick” gentlemen. “Blue 
Sky Laws” in the States that have enact¬ 
ed such measures have helped some cases ; 
however, these laws have led many people 
to believe that because certain securities 
were allowed to be sold under the law 
they must be safe investments, with the 
result that ordinarily cautious people lost 
their savings. It is difficult to frame any 
law that will control swindling invest¬ 
ments without seriously injuring legiti¬ 
mate investments. To root out the cockle 
without destroying the wheat also is a 
very delicate process. 
The Rural Saving and Loan Associa¬ 
tion was organized to encourage saving 
by the employes of The Rural New- 
Yorkkr and their friends, to instruct them 
by actual experience how to manage and 
invest their own savings and to use the 
accumulated saving to buy and own then- 
own homes. 
The total assets now amount to $23.- 
856.78. Dues received for the year 1920 
were $4,804 50. The profit paid on in¬ 
stallment shares was 6\4 per cent, on 
the income shares 4 X 4 per cent and on 
juvenile shares 4 per cent. Any person 
may become an accumulative shareholder 
at any time by making a deposit of one 
dollar, and deposit from time to time, as 
convenient. The installment sharehold¬ 
ers specify how much they care to pay 
monthly, and they share in the profits at 
compound interest. Any shareholder may 
withdraw at any time and have all pay¬ 
ments returned with interest earned and 
due. 
Every shareholder lias one vote in the 
election of officers and conducts the busi¬ 
ness; on strictly co-operative principles. 
This is the universal practice of saving 
and loan associations. It is one of the 
most perfect forms of co-operation that 
we have in this country. It is growing 
in New York State every year. There is 
nothing safer in the form of investments, 
and they have the advantage of keeping 
the use of the money in local service and 
in the management of the people who 
draw it. 
Friend: “What on earth are you doing 
to that picture?” Artist: “I’m rubbing 
a piece of raw meat over this rabbit in 
the foreground. Mrs. Xewrieh will be here 
this afternoon and when she sees her 
dog smell that rabbit she’ll buy it.”— 
Cincinnati Enquirer. 
Fairbanks-Morse “Z” Farm Engines 
We feel that it is up to us as farm 
engine manufacturers, to go the 
limit in attempting to bring prices 
and conditions back to normal. 
The farmers of America today 
need every possible help so that 
farm equipment costs will more 
closely meet the lowered return 
from products sold. 
That the “Z” Engine is an essen¬ 
tial factor for bettering farm 
conditions has been proven. Over 
300,OOOengines have been bought 
by farmers from over 6000 repu¬ 
table dealers. 
After full consideration — with¬ 
out regard to costs of engines 
now completed in warehouses of 
our 26 branches, we have decided 
upon this big price reduction. 
Even present costs of labor and 
raw materials have been ignored. 
There is a “Z” dealer near you 
who will be glad to prove that the 
“Z” Engine is supreme as to ma¬ 
terials —design—workmanship. 
So if you can use one or more 
engines on your farm to lighten 
your labor, to help you get more 
work done, this is the time to buy. 
FAIRBANKS, MORSE &CO. 
MANUFACTURERS - CHICAGO 
Eastern Branches: New York; Baltimore; Boston; Philadelphia, 
1^H.R 
3 H.P. .. $107.50 
6 H. P. . . 1 75.00 
F. O. B. Factory 
KEEP LIVESTOCK HEALTHY 
BY USING 
Kreso Dip No. 1 
(STANDARDIZED) 
Easy to use: efficient; economical; kills 
parasites; preventsclisea.se. 
Write for free booklets on the Care of 
Livestock and Poultry. 
ANIMAL INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF 
PARKE, DAVIS & CO. 
DETROIT, MICH. 
WILSON FEED MILL 
For grinding corn in the ear and 
•mall grain. 
Has special crusher a ttachinent 
which first breaks the ears of 
corn, which can be shoveled right 
into the hopper. Also Bone and 
Shell Milli and Bone Cutters. 
Send for Catalog 
WILSON BROS., Box, 15 Eaiton, 9m 
FARM WAGONS 
High or low wheels— 
steel or wood—wide 
or narrow tires. 
Wagonparts of all 
kinds, t Wheels to fit 
any running gear. 
DRIED BEET PULP 
An Inexpensive Milk Producer 
ATTRACTIVE PRICE 
NOW IN EFFECT 
The Larrowe Milling Co, 
Ask Your Feed Dealer Detroit, Mich. 
,11 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you ll get a | 
quick reply and a “square deal." See guarantee editorial page. | 
