1522 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December G, 1924 
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. 
In your Publisher’s Desk Department 
you always give such valuable informa¬ 
tion to your readers. Would you advise 
me as to* the following three companies as 
to their reliability? I have a catalogue 
from the Alexander County Nurseries, 
McClure, Ill. They have two fruit tree 
collections <pea'ch and plum) which I 
would like to send for if the firm is a re¬ 
liable one. The Shenandoah Valley Nur¬ 
sery Company, Waynesboro, Va., is ad¬ 
vertising by sending price lists and letters 
to different post offices, and sent out on 
routes addressed to “Box Holder, Route 
1, -. N. Y.” I received one this week. 
I wish to thank you at this time for 
the help you have given your readers, 
especially from the rural districts, on in¬ 
formation regarding the rural school bill. 
I am sure if it had not been for your 
good advice each week on the question 
there are hundreds who would not know 
the first thing concerning the bill and 
what was trying to be done at Albany. 
New York. j. A. B. 
Alexander County Nurseries, McClure, 
Ill., is one of the names used by the no¬ 
torious Bradley Bros, of Mankato, Ill. 
The concern is not worthy of the con¬ 
fidence of the public. 
The methods employed by the Shenan¬ 
doah Valley Nursery described above to 
secure patronage do not speak well for 
the ethics of the firm. Dependable houses 
do not send out such literature and price 
lists to rural route box numbers, while 
the practice appears to be permissible un¬ 
der the postal regulations. 
Washington, Nov. • 22.—A warning 
against “fly by night” concerns engaged 
in selling meaningless ‘‘service” con¬ 
tracts and against fake insurance and 
motor organizations was issued today to 
motorists throughout the country by 
Thomas P. Henry, president of the 
American Automobile Association. 
Mr. Henry said the association’s in¬ 
vestigators had found more than 50 
fraudulent organizations operating in va¬ 
rious parts of the country, selling “every 
conceivable kind of service, from acci¬ 
dent insurance to discount privileges at 
hotels” to “gullible car owners.”—Daily 
Paper. 
The R. N.-Y. has been warning its 
readers about these fake “service con¬ 
tracts,” often sold as automobile insur¬ 
ance. for the past two years. This ac¬ 
tion of the American Automobile Asso¬ 
ciation will help to stamp out these ne¬ 
farious schemes. These service con¬ 
tracts are sold by agents, so that the 
Post Office Department has no grounds 
on which to take action against the pro¬ 
moters. 
That several local stockholders and 
two or more former directors of the 
Farmers’ Standard Carbide Company 
were questioned on Saturday last by Post 
v Office Inspectors from Washington, sent 
here to find out whether the company 
used the United States mails for fraudu¬ 
lent purposes, was made known yester¬ 
day. 
Postal inspectors have received many 
complaints from stockholders alleging 
many golden promises had been made to 
them and they felt the company had de¬ 
ceived them into buying stock of little or 
no value. 
The Farmers’ Standard Carbide^ Com¬ 
pany was organized by William Strom- 
blad of Main'e in 1018 for the purpose of 
manufacturing carbide which is used for 
lighting devices such as miners’ torches. 
Mr. Stromblad, it is alleged, sold more 
than three quarters of a million dollars 
of the company’s stock to the public. 
Later two New York operators, Gordon 
and Fine, bought up control of the stock 
and they issued a half million dollars 
worth of it to the public in the States of 
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware 
and Maryland.—Pittsburgh Daily Repub¬ 
lican, Nov. 14. 
The history of the Farmers’ Standard 
Carbide Company promotion is familiar 
to our readers. It is unfortunate that the 
Post Office inspectors could not have in¬ 
vestigated this stock promotion before the 
million and a quarter dollars was lost 
to the public. Many farmers were caught 
in this carbide swindle. Samuel Null, 
who is still reported to be a director of 
the Stockholders’ Protective Committee, 
assumed the management of the company 
at the time Stromblad turned the con¬ 
cern over to Gordon and Fine, mentioned 
in this report. Our reports indicated that 
Stromblad methods were lily white when 
compared to the means Null and his satel¬ 
lites employed to swindle farmers. At 
no time could The R. N.-Y. see an honest 
effort behind this enterprise to manufac¬ 
ture and sell carbide. All we could see 
in it was a stock selling scheme to fleece 
farmers, and so stated in this department 
from the inception of the project. 
Some time in June a man called me on 
the telephone, asking me if I would like 
to buy grapefruit and oranges. He said 
he was having a big shipment coming 
from" Florida. The price w r as .$4.50 for 
a box of grapefruit. Oranges were 50 
cents a dozen, but I told him I did not 
want oranges. About a week later, to 
my surprise, I received a box containing 
oranges and grapefruit. About two weeks 
later J. M. Bolton, 9 East Parkway, Jer¬ 
sey City, sent me a bill for $14.50, which 
bill I have ignored. The last bill he sent 
me I inclose with my letter. Would you 
give me advice what to do? MBS. B. B. 
'New York. 
Our advice to this woman is to pay J. 
M. Bolton the amount of $4.50 when¬ 
ever that gentleman presents a bill for 
that amount, and not one cent more. 
This scheme of bulldozing country peo¬ 
ple to pay an exorbitant price for grape¬ 
fruit and oranges has been employed pre¬ 
viously. This subscriber ordered grape¬ 
fruit only, and when a mixed box was 
sent her she should have refused it. The 
R. N.-Y. has entered correspondence with 
,T. M. Bolton over the deal, and he re¬ 
duces the bill to $10. We have fold him 
•when he reduces the bill to $4.50, the 
price agreed upon, then we will advise 
Mrs. R. B. to pay it, and not until then. 
Beware of salesmen offering to sell goods 
of any kind over the telephone. 
What do you think of this national 
mail order plan of Chas. M. Wallace, 
Marshall, Mich., and his sort of co-opera¬ 
tion? A. H. 
New York. 
What crimes are committed in the 
name of co-operation ! Chas. M. Wallace 
does not reveal in his circular just what 
his “plan” is. It consists of “a letter and 
a trade secret,” be says. He wants $1 
first, and then he will tell you the secret. 
Easy money will flow to your pocket as 
soon as you send him the dollar. Such 
palpably fake schemes would be unwor¬ 
thy of notice if it Avere not for the fact 
that a great many people will take a 
chance with a dollar, which makes it pos¬ 
sible for such sharpers to flourish. 
Will you write the Lapark Seed and 
Plant Co., Lapark, Pa., and ask them to 
return $2.10. which I sent to them Oct. 
10 for bulbs? I find they cashed my 
check, but did not even acknowledge the 
order. I asked them to send my bulbs 
soon; I also Avrote them over two weeks 
ago asking them to send at once or can¬ 
cel my order. I cannot eA T en hear from 
them. I Avanted these bulbs very much 
and I sent for them quite early enough 
but it is too late now for bulb planting 
here. I though Lapark was an honest 
seed man as my mother a number of 
years ago dealt Avith Park successfully, 
but it seems things have changed there 
for no good. mbs. c. a. n. 
New York. 
As previously stated in these columns, 
Lapark Seed and Plant Co., Lapark, Pa., 
resents our interference in connection 
with complaints of this kind from our 
readers. We can therefore only publish 
the experience for the guidance of read¬ 
ers. 
As one of your old subscribers I am 
asking your opinion of the offer of 
Eugene Christian to sell me stock of his 
Vitamin Food Co., New York. N. Y. 
New York. F. B. I. 
We can find no basis for considering 
the stock of Vitamin Food Co. on any 
other basis than an undesirable specula¬ 
tion. Mr. Christian presents glowing 
prospects for his company but Mr. 
Christian’s record as a stock promoter 
does not warrant putting much credence 
in his claims. ' It will be remembered 
that Mr. Christian promoted some oil 
stocks some few years ago. 
“I’ve brung home a couple of omenicks 
for you.” said Gap Johnson of Rumpus 
Ridge upon returning from the county 
seat, flinging them into his wife’s lap. 
“Aav. shucks!” returned Mrs. Johnson, 
“Omenicks are all alike these days, and 
none of ’em much account.” “Well. I read 
consid’able in ’em as I came rotating 
along, and both of ’em are all right. The 
green one has got the best weather in it, 
but the folks in the yeller one Avere cured 
of the most horrible diseases.”—Kansas 
City Star. 
For Economical Feeding 
This Winter .... 
Diamond Corn Gluten Meal and your home 
grown oats, fed in this manner: 
700 lbs. Oats (ground) 
250 lbs. Diamond 
50 lbs. Oilmeal 
gives you a 21% -protein ration that is perhaps as 
economical as any milk-making ration that could pos- 
sibly be mixed. Furthermore it is safe to feed, some¬ 
what laxative, palatable and highly productive of milk. 
Or, if you have no oats or wish to market what 
you have direct instead of through the milk pail, 
try this: 
750 lbs. Bran 
200 lbs. Diamond 
50 lbs. Oilmeal 
which contains 22% protein. 
E ITHER ration can be easily and thoroughly mixed 
in your own barn. Either will keep your dairy 
cows in good condition and producing a lot of milk 
until you turn them out next 
Spring. Try Diamond either way 
and keep records of milk yields 
and feed costs. The result will 
please you. 
IN EVERY LIVE 
DEALER’S STOCK 
AND EVERY QOOD 
DAIRY RATION 
Corn Products Ref g Co. 
New YorK Chicago 
Free Catalog 
In colors explains 
how you can save 
money on Farm Truck or Road 
Wagons, also steel or wood wheels to fit 
any running 
gear. Send for 
it today. 
Electric Wheel Co. 
48 Elm St..Quincy, III. 
ICE 
PLOWS 
TOOLS 
Plows $22.00 Up 
WM H. PRAY, Mfr. 
La Grangeville, Now York 
More Milk—More Beef 
Feed Home-Grown Crops 
Stop that monthly feed bill. The Letz Dixie will cut, grind 
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production from 15 to 30% and cut feeding costs 25 to 
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Write for copy of new Letz Feeding Manual describing Letz Sys¬ 
tem of Home Crop Feeding. A valuable addition to your library. 
America’s 
Leading 
Feed Mill 
1223 East Road 
Crown Point, Indiana 
