34 
Vht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 5, 1'jJl 
PUBLISHER’S DESK 
With the first issue of the New Year 
the editor of Publisher’s Desk desires to 
thank readers for the co-operation and 
encouragement given him in the work 
during 1923. To realize, as we have rea-* 
son to, that the department is of helpful 
service to our people is sufficient recom¬ 
pense for all our labors in conducting 
the department. There is no reason why 
any reader of The Rural New-Yorker 
should ship a cent’s worth of produce or 
enter into any transaction with an un¬ 
known house without investigating the 
standing of the concern in advance. This 
office stands ready to furnish such infor¬ 
mation with promptness. The following 
gracious tribute to the service of Pub¬ 
lisher’s Desk is characteristic of many 
coming to us at this season: 
Enclosed find money order for $1 to 
renew my subscription to Tiie Rural 
New-Yorker. I find valuable informa¬ 
tion in your paper. One item a few 
years ago was worth more than 10 years’ 
subscription to me. I am interested in 
your Publisher’s Desk column, and that 
is the first thing I read when I receive 
Ihe paper. If I could have had the access 
to that column and asked your advice in 
the year 3909 I would have been saved 
a loss of $9,000, but since then I have 
had access to that column, and I cannot 
give you any estimate as to the amount 
of money it has saved me. c. A. B. 
Pennsylvania. 
The trial of the dairy farmers of West¬ 
ern Pennsylvania against the Rieck-Mc- 
Junken Dairy Company growing out of 
the failure of the Conneautville bank, has 
been recently postponed on account of the 
illness of counsel for the dairy company. 
It is now expected that the case can be 
tried in January. This is a case on ap¬ 
peal. The only issue is whether the 
dairymen held their checks an unreason¬ 
able time before presenting them for pay¬ 
ment. The company has refused payment 
on checks that did not reach the bank 
until it had closed. The lower courts gave 
the dairymen a judgment, but the com¬ 
pany appealed, and this is the action 
which now awaits trial. Publisher’s Desk 
is promoting the case on behalf of the 
dairymen. 
One Randal J. Carnes of Tallapoosa, 
Ga., advertises in obscure country news¬ 
papers, offering to teach typewriting for 
authors, and assisting to procure work, 
lie sells a small pamphlet of directions, 
and offers for sale lists of authors’ names 
who are likely to need typewriting done, 
at 2 cents per name. Somehow this petty 
scoundred got hold of my name, and sold 
it to various victims. East Summer and 
Fall I received numerous circular letters 
from his dupes, and by inquiry found out 
the details of his game. I wrote to the 
postoffice inspector at Atlanta, Ga., com¬ 
plaining, but was unable to get any satis¬ 
faction ; only a statement that that office 
would look after the matter in due time. 
Recently these circulars have begun to 
arrive again. I inclose three, all of which 
were printed in bulk, and sold at so much 
per 100, to be sent out. by the victims. I 
also inclose a letter from one of the vic¬ 
tims, who seems to have realized that he 
had been cheated. I have received dupli¬ 
cates of these soliciting circulars from 
almost every State east of the Rockies 
and north of Georgia. He has seemed 
to fight shy of the Southern States; per¬ 
haps because they were too near home. 
But Maine, Vermont, New’ Jersey, Kan¬ 
sas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio 
and other States have furnished the suck¬ 
ers. I am in no sense an author, have 
never pa-id a cent for typewriting in my 
life, and the use of my name in such a 
list is utterly without excuse. If you can 
do anything to warn your subscribers 
against this petty swindle I believe you 
will be doing a good thing. w. S. C. 
Florida. 
This is one of the many petty “work 
at home” schemes with which the country 
is flooded. The advertising of these 
fakers unfortunately is carried by the 
country papers and mail-order sheets. 
These are the meanest class of frauds, be¬ 
cause they take money from poor people 
on false pretenses. This Randal J. 
Carnes boasts of his standing in Talla¬ 
poosa, Ga., but perhaps his neighbors do 
not know that he is robbing poor people 
at a distance of small amounts through a 
work-at-home scheme. 
We are glad to see that active meas¬ 
ures are being taken against parties who 
issue checks when they have no money in 
the bank to take care of them. Alex 
Skilten, Dayton, O., gave a check for 
$192.50 to a party, for payment of pro¬ 
duce. The check was returned unpaid. 
The authorities got after Mr. Skilten, and 
he was arrested under a bad check charge. 
In Macon, Ga., another party was arrest¬ 
ed for issuing worthless checks. It is a 
misdemeanor in many States to give out 
checks for which there are no funds in 
the bank. We hope the work of prohibit¬ 
ing the practice of a few of these people 
will act as a timely warning to others. 
Have you any information regarding a 
large estate in Philadelphia, belonging to 
the Baker heirs? Mr. Geo. E. Hoover is 
secretary of the Baker Heirs, Inc., head¬ 
quarters at Youngstown, and is asking 
different members to contribute $17 down 
payment and 50 cents monthly for the 
purpose of employing counsel to prose¬ 
cute the claims, pay secretary’s expenses, 
office expense, etc. He holds out the in¬ 
ducement that this estate is very valu¬ 
able, running into the millions, consist¬ 
ing of valuable real estate in Philadelphia 
which has been under a 99-year lease, 
now expired, and large deposits in banks. 
My recollection is that this estate has 
been exploited before and was exposed by 
you, but am not sure about this, as it 
might have been some other estate. 
Michigan. c. A. w. 
We had occasion to investigate this 
Baker estate some two years ago, and at 
(hat time it was claimed there was a 
large fund belonging to the estate in 
charge of the Girard Trust Co. of Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa. The Girard Trust Co. ad¬ 
vised us at the time that the Baker estate 
was entirely a myth as far as their infor¬ 
mation went, and that no fund of any 
kind was in possession of the trust com¬ 
pany. Evidently a certain class of law¬ 
yers find these mythical estates a good 
meal ticket and work the alleged heirs for 
all they are worth. The Anneke Jans 
estate of New York City is another pro¬ 
ject that lawyers have used successfully 
for many years to induce supposed heirs 
to part with fees in the hope of recover¬ 
ing untold riches. In no case have the 
hopes materialized. 
I am a man of 34 and fdr the last five 
or six years have had trouble with an 
arm, which might be called partial pa¬ 
ralysis, shaken paralysis, shakes, etc. At 
any rate it quivers so I can hardly write 
my name at times. I would like to try 
this radium appliance. All that I would 
like to know is if the firm’s guarantee is 
good. What sticks me if the thing is so 
good why sell it for $15. There might 
be something that could go wrong with 
the thing; being unable to return it in 
as good a condition as when received 
they would have me. o. l. s. 
Pennsylvania. 
As to the value of the radium pad, the 
firm’s literature shows clearly to me that 
it belongs in the class with numerous 
appliances designed to take advantage 
of popular ignorance with regard to such 
curative agents as radium. Their liter¬ 
ature is the usual mixture of truth and 
falsehood-, which, of course, the layman 
cannot separate. Taken as a whole, 
their claims are obviously ridiculously 
untrue, and would not receive a moment’s 
consideration at the hands of any intel¬ 
ligent physician who had only the welfare 
of a patient at heart. Radium is a 
curative agent, under certain conditions, 
though its action is not well understood 
and its possibilities and limitations have 
not yet been discovered. It is being 
studied by competent men, and we shall 
doubtless know, some day, what it can 
do and what it cannot. Meanwhile the 
quacks will take full advantage of our 
half knowledge of the substance to fill 
their pockets at the expense of the 
credulous and ignorant. 
Our advice to you is to keep your $15, 
or to spend it for something useful. 
Radio-active substances are found nearly 
everywhere, and it would not be at all 
difficult to make a pad containing ores 
of more than ordinary radio activity. 
Such pads, however, would, so far as we 
know, have no value as curative agents, 
even though such statements as “It is 
conceded by recognized medical authori¬ 
ties that sluggishness or poor circulation 
is the cause of nearly all human ail¬ 
ments” were true, and such statements 
are not true. 
A victim of chronic bronchitis called i 
on a doctor to be examined. The doctor, j 
after careful questioning, assured the pa- | 
tient that the ailment would respond 
readily to treatment. “I suppose you 
must have had a great deal of experience 
with this disease?” said the sufferer. The 
doctor smiled wisely, and replied : “Why, 
my dear*sir, I’ve had bronchitis myself 
for over 15 years.”—The Christian Evan¬ 
gelist. 
Water-shed 
We call this sturdy cloth 
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because it is water-proof 
clear to the top. 
"fVears Like Iron 93 
It is warm, too, and 
wears like iron! 
In fact “Water-shed’' 
outwears all others. 
Why 4 ‘Water-shed” gives such lasting satisfaction: 
The “Stubgard” toe and heel protect against snagging. “Water-shed” is 
the only cloth over-shoe made with an extra sheet of rubber between the 
wool fleece inner lining and the wool fabric outer layer (as shown above.) 
Demand the big “C” on the tough White Tire Sole; it’s your guarantee of 
Converse superior quality, comfort and long wear. Try them on today—or 
write for circular and full information. 
Converse Rubber Shoe Co., 175 Purchase St., Boston 
New York City ■ Chicago 
Only $ 14 2 J Down 
Puts this WITTE 
(Magneto Equipped) 
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For 90 Days FREE TRIAL 
Amazing Throttling Governor Engine burns 
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and trouble-proof. The low price includes fa¬ 
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at FACTORY PRICE. All sizes—2 to 25 H-P. 
s today for details of 
remarkable free trial 
_ - and wonderful, new, 
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WITTE ENGINE WORKS 
1893 Oakland Avenue, KANSAS CITY, MO. 
1893 Empire Building, PITTSBURGH, PA. 
MAKE MONEY 
Pulling stumps for yourself 
and others with''Hercules" 
1 —the fastest, easiest op¬ 
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Horse or hand power. Easy 
terms— $10 Down. | 
Cheapest Way 
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Quick for Agent’s Offer 
profits with easy work for you 
my new special agrent’s offer. 
Also get my new big catalog—free. 
HERCULES MFG. CO. 
1180 29th Sfc. Centerville, Iowa 
NEW MOLINE PLOW CO. 
Moline, III. 
American Fence is made of full 
gauge wire, full weight and full 
length rolls. Use American Fence 
for economy—long life service and 
more dependable stock and crop 
protection. 
Ask your dealer for Arrow Tee 
Steel Fence Posts—built like a 
Railroad Rail—with larger anchor 
plates which lock the post into 
the ground as driven. Frequent 
notches provide means for attach¬ 
ing every line wire if desired. 
AMERICAN STEEL & WIRE COMPANY 
New York 
Boston 
Dalta 
Denver 
