182 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
February 
1D2.1 
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. 
Can  you  give  me  information  regarding 
Empire  Fertilizer  Corporation,  executive 
office  Oneida,  N.  Y.,  sales  office  Syra¬ 
cuse,  N.  Y.?  I  inclose  papers  of  this 
company.  Their  proposition  is  for  the 
farmer  to  pay  $50  for  a  life  membership 
in  the  company,  $25  of  which  is  cash, 
the  balance  a  note  for  four  months.  The 
advantages  he  gets  are  five  shares  of 
preferred  stock  and  fertilizer  at  10  per 
cent  saving  from  dealers’  prices,  his  pre¬ 
ferred  stock  drawing  8  per  cent.  The 
heads  of  this  company  are  New  York 
City  men,  according  to  circulars.  Pet  me 
know  if  this  is  another  graft  to  get  the 
farmer’s  money.  w.  G.  B. 
New  York. 
The  Empire  Fertilizer  Corporation 
seems  to  be  patterned  after  the  L  nited 
Fertilizer  and  Lime  Company  of  Syra¬ 
cuse.  It  is  so  similar  as  to  suggest  it 
must  have  been  conceived  by  the  same 
brain  and  fashioned  by  the  same  hand, 
or  perhaps  by  one  who  has  been  at  the 
same  school.  George  A.  Stromblad  or¬ 
ganized  the  United  Fertilizer  and  Lime 
Company,  and  has  been  selling  stock  to 
farmers  in  identically  the  same  way.  His 
original  promotion  was  the  Farmers’ 
Standard  Carbide  Company,  and  many 
farmers  parted  with  $50  for  worthless 
stock  in  this  company.  The  pretense  of 
selling  goods  of  some  kind  at  a  discount 
to  stockholders  is  the  sucker  bait  of  all 
fake  stock  promoters.  We  predict  that 
Stromblad  or  some  of  his  pupils  are  re¬ 
sponsible  for  this  latest  promotion. 
On  October  18  I  wrote  you  relative  to 
a  set  of  O.  Ilenry  which  checked  short  in 
an  order  of  books  from  New  York.  I  had 
lost  the  address,  other  than  New  York, 
and  could  not  get  any  reply.  You  very 
kindly  traced  the  matter  and  wrote  me 
on  November  11,  and  again  early  this 
month,  when  I  advised  you  that  the  books 
had  not  been  received.  I  am  now  glad 
to  advise  that  these  books  reached  me 
today,  and  want  to  thank  you  for  this 
real  service,  which  is  of  enough  value  to 
pay  for  The  R.  N.-Y.  for  a  long  time. 
This  seems  to  have  been  a  case  of  an 
honest  dealer,  who  made  a  mistake  and 
sent  my  books  to  another  party,  and 
after  I  lost  his  street  address  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  that  he  did  not  get  my  letters.  I 
could  write  a  long  letter  about  the  good 
points  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  I  am  interested 
in  fruit  growing  and  get  more  practical 
information  along  that  line  from  The  R. 
N.-Y.  than  from  any  special  fruit  jour¬ 
nal.  T.  J.  T. 
Virginia. 
Many  readers  testify  to  the  value  of 
the  service  of  Publisher’s  Desk  in  adjust¬ 
ing  transactions  of  this  sort  and  bringing 
about  satisfactory  adjustment  is  sufficient 
recompense  for  the  work.  The  book  deal¬ 
er  was  no  doubt  as  anxious  to  make  the 
correction  as  the  purchaser  to  receive  the 
books  for  which  he  had  paid.  It  is  not 
always  because  of  any  disposition  to  be 
unfair  or  take  advantage  of  the  farming 
public  that  the  Publisher’s  Desk  service 
comes  into  play. 
s 
'What  do  you  know  of  the  Trustees’ 
Service  Corporation,  and  J.  C.  Corcoran, 
its  president?  Would  you  advise  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  its  stock?  I  read  your  paper 
regularly,  enjoy  it  and  benefit  by  it ; 
wouldn’t  be  without  it  at  10  times  its 
price.  S. 
New  Jersey. 
The  Trustees  Service  Corporation  is 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  loaning  money 
to  laboring  people.  The  corporation  is 
not  well  enough  established  to  be  consid¬ 
ered  with  favor.  The  concern  offers  prizes 
Some  time  ago  I  sent  you  a  letter  writ¬ 
ten  by  D.  B.  Cornell  regarding  selling 
the  real  estate  contracts  held  by  him 
against  the  farmers  who  were  duped  into 
listing  their  farms  with  his  agent,  J.  J. 
Looker.  Now  Cornell  has  been  urging 
me  to  send  him  $50,  or  even  $25,  in  set¬ 
tlement,  which  I  did  not  do,  as  I  did  not 
feel  like  giving  him  anything.  Now  I  am 
inclosing  a  letter  just  received  from 
Bloomingthal  &  Finklestein,  New  York, 
who  have  transferred  the  contracts  to 
Tampa,  Fla.,  or  so  they  claim,  w.  T.  B. 
New  York. 
We  have  many  times  explained  the  Cor¬ 
nell  swindle — the  farmers  listing  their 
farms  for  sale  with  Cornell  paid  an  ad¬ 
vance  fee  of  $20  or  $25,  depending  on  the 
price  of  the  property.  The  agent,  Looker, 
gave  a  receipt  for  the  $25  paid,  which 
turns  out  to  have  a  provision  that  if  the 
farm  is  sold  or  withdrawn  from  sale  Cor¬ 
nell  is  entitled  to  a  fee.  He  has  been 
trying  to  frighten  farm  owners  into  pay¬ 
ing  him  a  fee  for  years,  and  in  some 
cases  has  actually  carried  his  'bluff  to  the 
point  of  bringing  suit,  but  in  such  cases 
when  the  time  for  trial  arrived  Cornell 
failed  to  appear.  This  latest  arrange¬ 
ment  with  Messrs.  Bloomingthal  &  Fin¬ 
klestein  comes  as  close  to  blackmailing 
farmers  as  anything  we  have  come  across. 
Here  is  the  essential  portion  of  the  letter 
which  has  been  sent  us  by  f trmers : 
Full  face  of  the  contract  value  is  $340. 
If  you  wish  to  settle  it  without  further 
trouble  or  delay,  we  will  accept,  if  paid 
on  or  before  February  1,  $50 ;  March  1, 
$100;  April  1,  $340.  On  April  3,  imme¬ 
diate  action  will  be  taken  to  collect  the 
face  of  the  contract. 
You  may  not  be  aware  of  the  cause  of 
our  transferring  these  contracts  to  Tam¬ 
pa,  Fla.,  office.  In  the  State  of  Florida 
we  have  the  right  to  advertise  the  debtor’s 
name  and  the  amount,  and  we  have  also 
the  right  to  mail  as  many  copies  as  we 
see  fit  to  the  home  town  merchants  and 
business  men,  or  to  any  other  town  in  the 
United  States.  Should  this  not  be  settled 
April  1,  we  shall  use  all  possible  means 
to  get  this  claim  paid.  Experience  has 
taught  us  methods  of  collection  that  we 
believe  make  it  more  agreetble  to  the 
debtor  to  settle  account  promptly  and 
avoid  disagreeable  action  that  will  be 
necessary  in  case  of  delayed  payment. 
These  contracts  have  been  passed  and 
O.  K.  as  being  clear,  upright  and  honor¬ 
able,  properly  signed  and  dated,  and 
sealed  in  presence  of  a  witness. 
We  will  send  you  a  list  of  debtors  m 
our  letter,  should  be  there  any  on  April 
1.  Don’t  delay  this  matter  if  you  wish 
to  save  as  much  money  as  possible  from 
the  face  of  this  contract. 
Would  anyone  having  an  honest  claim 
against  farmers  offer  to  accept  $50  on  a 
claim  of  $340?  This  fact  shows  that  the 
claim  is  merely  a  hold-up  to  avoid  the 
annoyance  of  a  lawsuit.  We  shall  be  dis¬ 
appointed  if  any  reader  of  The  R.  N.-Y. 
pays  even  a  penny  of  tribute  on  such  a 
barefaced  fraudulent  scheme. 
to  secure  membership  or  investments, 
which  indicates  in  itself  that  the  stock 
lacks  merit. 
• 
An  indictment  was  returned  against  ten 
members  of  the  Finance  Corporation, 
which  operated  a  stock  market  pool, 
offering  in  its  circulars  “a  red-blooded, 
worth-while  proposition,”  hut  which  final¬ 
ly  failed  for  $2,000,000.  The  main  office 
of  the  company  was  in  New  York,  but 
branches  had  been  established  in  Balti¬ 
more,  Wilmington  and  Philadelphia.  The 
indictment  charged  that  the  corporation’s 
circulars  sent  through  the  mails  offered 
enormous  returns,  and  represented  that 
investors  had  received  92  per  cent  profit 
in  six  months.  It  said  that  something 
like  eight  millions  had  been  cleared  up  in 
Baltimore  alone.  Austin  Howard  Mont¬ 
gomery,  Jr.,  is  said  to  have  been  the  mas¬ 
ter  mind,  and  his  father  and  others  were 
connected  with  him.  Another  enterprise, 
the  Fidelity  Finance  Corporation,  orig¬ 
inated  by  Montgomery,  Jr.,  is  said  to 
have  vanished  mysteriously. 
The  District  Attorney  of  New  York 
makes  the  statement  that  more  than 
$100,000,000  has  been  lost  by  the  public 
in  stock  brokerage  failures  since  Novem¬ 
ber  1,  1921.  The  failures  numbered  154, 
and  assets  found  amount  to  less  than 
$10,000,000.  Some  stockholders  have 
failed  for  $65,000  whose  business  was 
started  on  a  capital  of  $500.  No  bank 
could  start  business  that  way.  The  rec¬ 
ord  shows  the  necessity  of  curbing  opera¬ 
tions  of  this  class  of  people  and  putting 
the  brokers  under  the  inspection  of  the 
Banking  Department.  Under  a  proposed 
law,  brokers  would  be  obliged  to  apply 
to  the  State  Banking  Department  for  per¬ 
mission  to  do  business.  Stock  brokers 
have  failed  whose  assets  were  less  than 
2  per  cent  of  their  liabilities. 
All  claims  against  John  Pining  &  Co., 
324  Washington  St..  New  York,  must  be 
filed  with  the  Commissioner  of  Farms  and 
Markets,  122  State  St.,  Albany,  N.  Yr., 
before  March  26.  1923,  if  the  creditors 
are  to  realize  on  shipments  sent  to  Pirung 
prior  to  his  failure  as  a  commission  mer¬ 
chant.  Pirung  was  bonded  by  the  De¬ 
partment  of  Farms  and  Markets,  and 
the  amount  of  this  bond  will  be  paid  out 
for  goods  sent  him.  Send  a  verified  state¬ 
ment.  giving  your  name  and  address  and 
the  amount  due,  to  the  Commissioner. 
“I  want  a  dog  trough,  please.”  “With 
‘dog’  on  it,  madam?”  “Certainly  not; 
the  dog  can’t  read  and  my  husband  does 
not  drink  water.” — London  Tid-Rits. 
WHEN  you  want  to  cut  an  iron  rod  or  bolt,  to 
repair  a  machine  in  a  hurry,  that’s  when  a 
hack  saw  will  prove  the  most  useful  tool  you  ever 
owned.  It  will  save  trips  to  the  blacksmith,  avoid 
costly  delays  on  busy  days,  and  enable  you  to  fix 
things  right  on  the  spot,  in  a  few  minutes. 
METAL  CUTTING 
Every  Farmer 
Needs  a  Good 
Hack  Saw 
You  can  do  dozens  of  jobs  quicker,  easier  and  better  with  an 
Atkins  Hack  Saw — cut  pipes,  iron  fence,  bolts,  nuts,  nails,  iron 
hoops,  down-spout,  gutters,  hinges,  rails,  rods,  angle  iron,  etc. 
And  when  you  buy  a  hack  saw  be  sure  you  get  an  Atkins 
“Non-Breakable”  Blade.  It  will  cut  the  toughest  metal  faster 
and  easier  than  other  blades,  and  will  not  break.  Atkins 
Blades  are  made  of  best  steel,  specially  tempered  to  make  the 
cutting  edge  keen  and  hard,  and  the  back  tough  and  flexible. 
Ask  your  hardware  dealer  for  an  Atkins  Hack  Saw  or  send  us 
10  cents  for  a  sample  blade  and  a  copy  of  our  Hack  Saw  Chart. 
Free  Book  —  “Saws  on  the  Farm” 
Here  is  a  free  book  which  tells  all  about  Atkins  Saws  for  cut¬ 
ting  wood  or  metal.  It  also  contains  scores  of  hints,  tables  and 
facts  every  farmer  will  find  handy  and  helpful.  Write  your 
name,  address  and  dealer’s  name  on  the  margin  of  this  page, 
and  mail  it  to  us  today.  We’ll  send  you  the  book  at  once. 
SAVE  HALF  Your 
Paint  Bills 
!Y  USING  Ingersoll  Paint. 
ROVED  BEST  by  80  years’  use.  It 
dll  please  you.  The  ONLY  PAINT  en- 
orsed  by  the  “GRANGE”  for  47  years. 
Made  in  all  colors— for  all  purposes. 
Get  my  FREE  DELIVERY  offer. 
rom  Factory  Direct  to  You  at  Wholesale  Prices. 
INGERSOLL  PAINT  BOOK— FREE 
ells  all  about  Paint  and  Painting:  for  Durability.  Valu- 
hie  information  FREE  TO  YOU  with  Sample  Cards, 
frite  me.  DO  IT  NOW.  I  WILL  SAl  E  YOU  MONEl . 
ldest  Ready  Mixed  Paint  House  in  America— Estab.  1843 
i.  W.  Ingersoll,  246  Plymouth  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
KITSELMAN  FENCE 
“I  Saved  $28.40,”  says  I.  D.  Wasson, 
Orbisonia,  Pa.  You,  too,  can  save 
We  Pay  the  Freight.  Write  for  Free 
Catalog  of  Farm,  Poultry,  Lawn  Fence. 
KITSELMAN  BROS.  Dept. 230 MUNCiE,  INO. 
Will  Pay  for 
— In  T ivo  Weeks 
^irClClOf/  Saves  fuel  and  oil.  Saves  one  man’s 
time  on  aii  belt  work.  Makes  tractor 
last  longer.  Can  be  installed  in  twenty 
minutes.  Lasts  for  years.  Wrile  today  for  free  literature. 
The  Pierce  Governor  Company 
Dept.  2  ANDERSON,  IND..  U.  S.  A. 
'f  GRADE  R0ADS.BUK.D  DYKES.  LEVEES  willC 
The  Great  Farm  Builder 
Works  In  any  Boil.  Makes  V-ahaped  drainlfrs  or  ir¬ 
rigation  ditoh  or  cleans  ditches  down  to  four  feet  deep. 
Does  labor  of  100  men.  Make  every  acre  pay.  All  Bteel. 
Reversible.  Adjustable.  No  cogs  or  leFers  to  get  out 
fix.  Write  for  free  book  ao  1  our  proposition. 
Owensboro  Ditcher  &  Grader  Co.,  Inc. 
Box  334,  Owensboro,  Ky.  mmamt 
Brown  Fence  &  Wire  Co. 
Gentlemen: — I  am  perfectly 
delighted  with  my  Lawn  Fence. 
I  could  not  have  got  one  as 
nice  here  for  three  times  the 
price. 
MRS.  LOTTIE  BEGELL. 
100 Garfield  Av.,  Endicott,  N.Y. 
OW£R  PRICES 
ON  LAWN  FENCE 
Get  my  New  Bargain  Book  and  see 
the  surprisingly  low  prices  1  am  mak¬ 
ing  on  Lawn  Fence  this  season — It  will 
cost  you  but  a  very  little  money  now  to 
beautify  your  home  and  lawn  with  one 
the  many  artistic  styles  shown  in  my  New 
Bargain  Book.  You’ll  be  surprised  at  the 
savings  you  can  make  by  buying  Lawn  Fence, 
Farm  Fence,  Gates,  Steel  Posts,  Roofing 
and  Paints  from  Jim  Brown. 
Direct  from  Factory— Freight  Paid 
When  you  buy  from  Jim  Brown  you  get  real  Factory  prices: 
I  ship  direct  from  my  three  big  factories  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
Adrian,  Mich.,  and  Memphis,  Tenn.,  also  from  warehouses  at 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  Davenport,  Iowa.  I  pay  all  freight  charges 
— the  low  prices  in  my  catalog  are  all  you  pay.  I’m 
saving  a  lot  of  money  every  year  for  my  750,000  customer 
friends.  Send  for  my  Bargain  Book  NOW.  It  will  save 
you  a  lot  of  money  if  you  are  going  to  buy  Lawn  Fence, 
Farm  Fence,  Drive  or  Farm  Gates,  Steel  Posts,  Barb 
Wire,  Roofing  or  Paints.  My  Prices  lowest  —  quality 
highest.  Everything  guaranteed. 
-JIM  BROWN,  President, 
THE  BROWN  FENCE  &  WIRE  COMPANY 
Dept.  4313  Cleveland,  Ohio  (13) 
