138 
Vht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
January  27,  1923 
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. 
The  work  of  Publisher's  Desk  makes  an 
interesting  record  from  year  to  year,  and 
we  take  special  pleasure  in  compiling  the 
figures  in  a  general  review  of  the  work. 
We  received  fewer  claims  for  collection 
from  transportation  companies.  This  is 
probably  due  to  the  better  class  of  help 
they  have  and  more  careful  attention 
given  shippers  generally,  and  also  because 
more  use  is  being  made  of  parcel  post  for 
shipments  of  all  kind. 
In  this  department  we  have  answered 
no  less  than  28,320  inquiries  for  rating 
and  reliability  of  individuals  and  con¬ 
cerns,  requests  as  to  advisability  of  in¬ 
vesting  in  all  kinds  of  propositions,  in¬ 
cluding  stock  and  bonds,  mainly  of  a 
speculative  nature,  and  inquiries  on  va¬ 
rious  other  subjects.  Individual  replies 
have  been  made  to  these.  In  addition  we 
have  written  31,400  letters  in  the  work 
of  collecting  the  claims  and  accounts  sent 
us.  We  received  3,140  accounts  for  col¬ 
lection,  271  of  which  were  transportation 
claims.  The  total  amount  of  these  ac¬ 
counts  was  $68,654.30. 
We  collected  1,479  claims — 167  being 
from  transportation  companies.  The  total 
amount  collected  was  $62,549.60,  trans¬ 
portation  claims  amounting  to  $3,822.58, 
general  accounts,  $58,727.10. 
The  record  to  date  is  as  follows  : 
558 
743 
800 
921 
1910— 
1911— 
1912— 
1913— 
1914— 
1915— 
1916— 1,192 
1917— 1.630 
1918— 2,232 
1919— 2.506 
1920— 2.493 
1921— 1.584 
1922— 1,479 
400  claims  collected, 
539 
Total,  13  years,  17.077 
$9,665.45 
12.110.63 
10,926.51 
10,112.91 
10.665.50 
13,021.12 
18.131.54 
23,961.21 
37.425.54 
44,684.29 
45,592.74 
45.804.23 
62,549.60 
$344,751.27 
The  “Spanish  prisoner”  and  missing 
heir  games  have  been  superseded  by  the 
“Russian  nobleman”  swindle.  The  scheme 
is  to  beguile  credulous  investors  into  buy¬ 
ing  part  of  the  estate  of  a  fugitive  Rus¬ 
sian  duke,  who  has  been  driven  abroad 
and  compelled  to  part  with  his  ancestral 
acres.  One  Brooklyn  man  invested 
$2,000.  Recollecting  that  he  had  not 
taken  a  receipt  he  returned  to  the  hotel, 
only  to  find  that  the  “duke”  had  disap¬ 
peared. 
However  alluring  such  a  proposition 
looks  on  the  face  of  it,  prospective  buyers 
must  realize  Russian  property  will  have 
little  or  no  value  to  them,  and  there  are 
no  such  transactions  in  the  field  at  this 
time.  Therefore,  save  your  money. 
I  am  inclosing  letter  from  Chas.  A. 
Wheatley,  oil  operator,  Fort 'Worth.  Tex., 
for  your  comment  under  Publisher’s  Desk. 
I  have  been  a  reader  of  Tiie  R.  N.-Y.  for 
many  years.  I  have  not  bitten  on  the 
bait  they  are  holding  out,  and  am  not 
likely  to*  for  some  time.  I  thought  others 
of  your  readers  might  be  getting  similar 
letters,  so  have  asked  for  your  judgment 
in  the  matter.  E.  L.  c. 
Ohio. 
The  letter  is  a  fine  specimen  of  sucker 
bait.  Mr.  Wheatley  is  offering  the  Ohio 
subscriber  land  at  $20  per  acre  which, 
according  to  the  letter,  has  advanced  to 
$60  per  acre,  with  the  prospect  of  $100 
per  acre  as  soon  as  the  “drilling”  starts. 
Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  is  a  hotbed  of  “wild¬ 
cat”  oil  schemes.  This  is  no  reflection 
upon  the  honest  men  and  honest  enter¬ 
prises  located  there,  but  it  is  the  misfor¬ 
tune  of  the  city  to  harbor  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  the  easy-money  oil  operators.  Be¬ 
ware  of  such  promoters,  wherever  lo¬ 
cated. 
In  August,  1922,  Adam  J.  Miller, 
Chadwicks,  N.  Y.,  advertised  18-weeks- 
old  pullets  at  75  cents  each ;  offered  to 
refund  $5  for  every  cull  in  shipment  and 
guaranteed  satisfaction.  A  Pennsylvania 
subscriber  sent  him  an  order  for  25  birds 
with  remittance.  The  order  was  never 
filled.  At  the  time  Miller  was  employed 
by  the  Masonic  Home  Farm,  but  was 
discharged  for  dishonesty.  Since  leaving 
Chadwicks  we  have  been  unable  to  locate 
Adam  J.  Miller.  If  any  of  our  readers 
know  his  present  whereabouts  Publisher's 
Desk  would  like  to  have  the  information. 
What  do  you  know  about  the  Midwest 
Grocery  Company,  109  Bird  Building, 
Mansfield,  O.?  w.  c.  c. 
Ohio. 
The  Midwest  Grocery  Company,  Mans¬ 
field,  O.,  is  given  no  financial  rating  by 
the  commercial  agencies.  From  the  cir¬ 
cular  letter  enclosed  soliciting  invest¬ 
ments  in  the  stock  of  the  company  it 
appears  to  be  a  new  enterprise  of  the 
chain  store  variety — a  very  popular  line 
of  business  for  the  promotion  of  stock¬ 
selling  schemes.  The  usual  investment 
“dope”  of  the  big  profits  made  by  a  num¬ 
ber  of  successful  chain  store  projects  is 
quoted.  Nothing  is  said  about  the  many 
failures  in  the  same  line. 
We  received  accounts  against  the 
King’s  Hatchery  amounting  to  $7,000, 
and  most  of  this  represents  a  total  loss, 
although  the  receiver  hopes  to  pay  a 
small  pro  rata  share  on  each  share.  We 
issued  a  prompt  warning  against  Harry 
King,  and  many  readers  wrote  us  that 
this  saved  them.  Others  asked  advice  as 
to  his  standing  and  saved  their  money 
with  a  2-cent  stamp.  Our  service  is  free 
to  all,  and  we  will  be  glad  to  have  read¬ 
ers  write  us  when  in  doubt. 
I  inclose  some  reading  matter  pertain¬ 
ing  to  Pettijohn  Company,  Minneapolis, 
Minn.,  which  looks  to  me  like  “blue  sky.” 
Would  you  tell  me  if  this  is  worth  put¬ 
ting  $47.50  in  to  save  $30?  I  have  per¬ 
suaded  my  friends  to  wait  until  you 
passed  on  same.  s.  J.  P. 
Michigan. 
The  present  Pettijohn  Company,  Min¬ 
neapolis,  is  an  aftermath  of  the  Petti¬ 
john  Pure  Products  Company  which  went 
into  bankruptcy  in  September,  1922.  The 
stock  had  been  exploited  on  a  get-rich- 
quick  basis  for  a  good  many  years  pre¬ 
viously,  and  Publisher’s  Desk  warned  its 
readers  many  times  of  the  dangerous  char¬ 
acter  of  the  promotion.  Now  a  new  Pet¬ 
tijohn  company  has  been  formed,  the 
stock  of  which  is  being  promoted  by  E. 
McNeal  &  Co.,  Chicago  stockbrokers.  The 
stockholders  of  the  defunct  Pettijohn 
Pure  Products  Company,  American  Cereal 
Company,  and  Coffetone  Manufacturing 
Company  are  offered  the  privilege  of  ex¬ 
changing  their  holdings  for  stock  of  the 
now  Pettijohn  Company,  with  the  pro¬ 
vision  that  they  be  allowed  57%c  per 
share  for  the  old  stock  and  42% c  per 
share  be  paid  in  cash.  Exchanging  an 
old  worthless  stock  for  a  new  stock 
equally  worthless  is  a  favorite  game  of 
the  pirates  of  promotion.  The  victim  puts 
up  more  money  in  the  hope  of  saving  his 
original  investment.  To  the  experienced 
investor  this  is  “throwing  good  money 
after  bad.”  The  new  Pettijohn  company 
is  being  promoted  apparently  in  the  same 
fashion  as  the  original,  and  we  can  see 
no  prospect  for  any  different  final  result. 
And  the  “conversion  opportunity”  is  only 
a  bait. 
Will  you  inform  me  as  to  the  standing 
and  reliability  of  Mark  Harris,  Buffalo. 
N.  Y. ?  He  sent  his  man  dowTn  here  to 
see  me  two  years  ago  in  March,  about  his 
oil  syndicate  of  which  'he  is  the  trustee. 
I  invested  $500  in  cash  and  was  supposed 
to  get  big  returns  from  this  investment. 
Well  I  haven’t  had  a  report  and  no  divi¬ 
dends  up  to  date.  A  few  days  ago  I 
wrote  Mark  Harris  and  told  him  to  sell 
this  stock  for  me  at  a  small  profit,  or  I 
would  find  some  way  to  collect  this 
money,  as  I  wasn’t  financially  able  to 
lose  $500.  I  will  inclose  his  answer  to 
my  letter,  so  that  you  may  see  what  he 
says.  I  want  my  money  out  of  that 
syndicate.  I  have  waited  long  enough 
without  any  returns.  Will  you  advise  me 
how  to  collect  this  money?  I  want  6  per 
cent  interest  for  the  use  of  the  money 
for  nearly  two  years.  mbs.  e.  j.  m.  s. 
New  Jersey. 
We  know  of  no  way  by  which  this 
woman  can  secure  the  refund  of  her 
money,  or  payment  of  interest  on  it.  We 
have  yet  to  hear  of  any  stock  promoted 
by  Harris  that  had  any  value.  He  does 
recommend  standard  stocks  at  times,  no 
doubt  with  view  to  creating  a  favorable 
impression,  and  to  give  color  to  his  claims 
for  his  worthless  promotions.  The  only 
hope  Harris  holds  out  to  this  woman  is 
•that  some  of  the  properties  may  be 
“proven  up”  by  the  drilling  operations  of 
other  companies  in  the  vicinity.  If  any¬ 
one  ever  invested  in  the  recommendations 
of  Harris  and  did  not  lose  all  put  into  the 
enterprise,  we  should  like  to  have  such  a 
report. 
hiOhiOhiOhiOhiOhiOmOhiOhiOhiOhi 
FAMOUS 
PULVERIZER 
Start  using  this  tool  to  prevent  winter 
killing  on  your  wheat  the  minute  it 
gets  dry  enough  to  go  on  this  spring. 
Use  it  on  every  seed  bed  you  make 
from  your  early  oats  to  your  fall 
wheat  seeding. 
Go  over  the  growing  crops  with  it 
whenever  they  are  retarded  by  lumps 
or  crusts. 
Used  in  this  way  it  will  pay  for  itself 
twice  in  one  year — first  by  the  labor 
it  will  save — second  by  the  increased 
crop  that  comes  with  better  seed  bed 
and  tillage. 
The  price  is  lower  per  pound  than 
you  pay  for  good  stove  grates.  You 
cannot  save  a  cent  by  waiting  and 
you  will  certainly  lose  many  dollars. 
Write  for  illustrated  book  "The  Foundation  of  Farming." 
The  Ohio  Cultivator  Co.,  Bellevue,  Ohio 
iOhiOhiOhi 
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