842 
•P*  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
June  0,  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  a  year  jn  their  dealings  with  the  so-called 
publishers.  Any  so-called  publisher,  bu 
reau  or  studio  that  asks  an  amateur 
writer  for  money  to  publish  his  song 
either  by  means  of  a  stock-selling  scheme 
deposit  or  otherwise,  is  subject  to  sus 
picion.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the 
victims  have  lost  at  least  a  million  dollars 
inquiry  and  answer,  hence  unsigned  let¬ 
ters  receive  no  consideration. 
Could  you  give  information  concern¬ 
ing  M.  G.  Babcock  Co.,  9  East  42d 
street,  New  \ork,  who  are  promoting 
“Bake  Ronkonkoma  Estates,”  Long  Isl¬ 
and?  These  people  advertise  to  give 
away  free  a  lot,  to  the  person  making  the 
most  number  of  words  from  the  word 
“Ronkonkoma.”  A  cousin  of  mine  sent 
“song  sharks.”  One  woman  is  said  to 
have  paid  $360  for  having  nine  of  her 
lyrics  set  to  music  by  one  of  these  pub 
lishers,  and  has  never  received  a  cent  for 
her  poems.  We  would  earnestly  caution 
our  readers  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
these  concerns. 
Some  time  ago  my  wife  wrote  to  the 
in  a  list  of  words  and  a  representative  of  Cnderwood  Art  Goods  Company,  Ports- 
this  company  called  on  her  and  informed  ™outl1’  O.,  in  regard  to  their  plan  of  mak- 
her  that  she  had  won  a  lot.  He  stated  “’S  money  in  the  home.  I  am  inclosing 
the  lot  they  were  to  give  away  was  not  the  letter  stating  their  terms,  which  my 
in  a  very  desirable  location,  but  if  she  wue  followed  exactly.  They  refused  the 
would  buy  one  in  another  location  they 
would  give  her  one  free.  He  pictured 
these  lots  very  highly  and  stated  they 
w’ere  improved,  in  fact  had  all  improv- 
ments  except  sewers,  and  would  increase 
in  value  in  a  very  short  time.  The  pur¬ 
chase  price  was  $385  per  lot  20x100  ft. 
She  fell  for  this  and  made  a  payment  of 
$15,  and  gave  a  note  for  $42.25  for  60 
.days,  this  being  15  per  cent  of  the  pur¬ 
chase  price  and  the  agent’s  commission, 
the  balance  to  be  paid  in  monthly  in¬ 
stallments  of  $5.  Will  you  advise  what 
you  think  of  this  proposition  and  are 
these  people  reliable?  As  I  understand 
this  property,  it  is  unimproved  and  not 
worth  anywhere  near  what  they  are 
asking,  being  about  a  mile  from  both 
the  lake  and  the  railroad  station.  She  is 
now  anxious  to  drop  this  and  the  note 
for  the  $42.25  is  due.  Can  they  compel 
her  to  meet  this  note  and  pay  the  balance 
at  $5  per  month?  D.  B. 
New  York. 
The  scheme  of  M.  G.  Babcock  Co.  in 
connection  with  the  Lake  Ronkonkoma 
lots  is  an  old  fake  that  has  been  worked 
by  Long  Island  real  estate  promoters  for 
the  past  20  years.  M.  G.  Babcock  Co. 
seem  to  have  combined  the  guessing  con¬ 
test  scheme  with  the  other  old  fake 
scheme  of  representing  that  if  the  party 
purchases  one  lot,  another  lot  would  be 
given  free.  Of  course,  the  price  of  the 
one  lot  covers  the  value  of  both — per¬ 
haps  two  or  three  times  over.  Our  ad¬ 
vice  to  the  woman  in  question  would  be 
to  repudiate  the  contract  altogether  on 
the  grounds  that  she  was  induced  to  sign 
the  agreement  and  note  through  a  fraud¬ 
ulent  scheme  and  misrepresentations. 
The  money  that  she  has  paid  is,  of 
course,  gone  and  cannot  be  recovered. 
These  real  estate  sharks  will  try  to 
frighten  the.  woman  in  every  way  possi¬ 
ble  to  get  more  money  out  of  her,  but  we 
do  not  believe  that  this  rea'  estate  con¬ 
cern  will  dare  go  into  court  to  enforce 
payment  on  a  note  or  contract,  the  signa¬ 
ture  to  which  was  secured  by  such  a 
palpably  fraudulent  scheme. 
I  have  received  settlement  today.  I 
thank  you  very  much.  I  don’t  believe 
what  you  are  doing  for  us  poor  “critters” 
is  half  appreciated.  For  myself  I  realize 
the  efforts  you  are  putting  forth,  and 
Publisher’s  Desk  is  read  with  great  in¬ 
terest.  Thank  you  again.  F.  H.  h. 
New  York. 
YCe  publish  this  little  comment  by  our 
subscriber  because  it  is  always  appre¬ 
ciated,  and  we  want  our  people  to  know 
that  any  work  that  we  can  do  for  them 
is  willingly  and  cheerfully  done  without 
any  hope  of  other  reward  than  to  be  of 
service  to  them. 
I  wTish  to  seek  information  about  the 
Melody  Publishing  Corporation,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.  They  have  sent  me  much  litera¬ 
ture,  and  said  they  would  write  the  music 
to  all  my  song  poems  free.  I  sent  them 
two  song  poems ;  then  they  refused  to 
write  the  music  and  publish  them  unless  I 
bought  stock  in  the  corporation.  I  have 
not  done  this,  and  my  songs  are  still  in 
their  hands.  I  wish  to  ascertain  whether 
the  Melody  Publishing  Corporation  is  an 
honest  and  reliable  concern,  and  if  it  is 
a  good  place  to  invest  one’s  hard-earned 
cash.  They  agreed  to  pay  me  five  cents 
royalty  on  all  copies  of  the  songs  sold. 
Pennsylvania.  E.  c.  y. 
■We  wrote  some  of  the  leading  music 
publishing  houses  about  the  possibilities 
of  marketing  song  poems  and  the  propo¬ 
sitions  put  out  by  a  certain  class  of 
houses.  Their  statement  is  that  music 
publishing  houses  have  their  own  staff  of 
writers,  and  it  is  only  once  in  a  thousand 
times  that  they  would  take  outside  songs. 
The  Better  Business  Bureau  has  prepared 
some  literature  on  the  subject,  because 
of  the  many  new  companies  started  up 
along  these  lines.  As  a  rule,  amateur 
song  poems  are  not  wanted  by  reliable 
try-out,’  saying  it  was  not  up  to  their 
standard.  Being  determined,  she  bought 
her  own  material  and  tried  again,  and 
was  refused.  If  you  can  give  me  any  in¬ 
formation  as  to  w'hether  they  are  a  reli¬ 
able  concern  it  would  be  very  much  ap¬ 
preciated.  I  am  inclosing  both  replies  to 
her  two  attempts,  which  are  of  no  help  to 
her.  a.  p.  b. 
New  York. 
This  report  is  typical  of  the  method 
used  by  many  of  these  work-at-home  com¬ 
panies.  It  is  almost  a  physical  impossi¬ 
bility  to  produce  work  that  the  company 
will  consider  equal  to  the  sample.  They 
return  the  articles,  but  give  no  instruc¬ 
tions  or  suggestions  for  improving  the 
work,  leaving  us  to  draw  the  conclusion 
that  they  prefer  inefficient  workers.  The 
reliable,  organized  exchanges  for  women’s 
work  are  practically  the  only  ones  that 
can  be  relied  upon.  It  is  well  to  make  in¬ 
quiry  before  going  into  work-at-home 
propositions. 
March  27  I  shipped  10  choice  muskrat 
pelts  to  A.  B.  Shubert,  Inc.,  W.  Austin 
avenue,  Chicago,  Ill.  I  had  them  hold 
my  shipment  separate.  April  2  received 
check  for  $16.30.  I  returned  check  same 
day,  and  told  them  to  return  my  furs  at 
once  by  express.  I  received  another  let¬ 
ter  from  them  April  9,  stating  they 
wanted  me  to  be  satisfied,  as  that  was 
my  first  shipment  to  that  firm,  and 
wanted  my  lowest  figure.  I  wrote  an¬ 
other  letter,  the  same  day,  April  9,  tell¬ 
ing  them  $25  was  the  lowest  price  I 
would  accept  for  the  furs.  I  received 
another  letter  April  19,  stating  they 
would  give  me  $20  for  the  furs.  I  wrote 
them  again,  telling-  them  $25  was  my 
price,  send  me  a  check  or  return  my  furs 
at  once,  and  I  haven’t  heard  from  them 
since  that  time.  Could  you  collect  for 
me  $25,  as  it  is  very  late  to  dispose  of 
furs  here  now?  Season  closed  here 
April  1.  l.  D.  B. 
New  York. 
After  dickering  with  the  shipper  for 
nearly  six  weeks,  A.  B.  Shubert,  Inc.,  re¬ 
turned  the  skins.  The  shipper  reports 
that  the  skins  reached  him  May  11.  The 
record  speaks  for  itself.  The  complaint 
of  another  subscriber  was  published  early 
in  the  season,  indicating  the  unfair  meth¬ 
ods  of  this  house. 
Would  you  give  your  opinion  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Humor,  Cleveland, 
O.,  whose  literature  I  am  enclosing?  Is 
there  a  shortage  of  humorous  material, 
as  they  state,  or  are  they  only  concerned 
in  selling  their  course?  w.  A.  w. 
New  York. 
The  American  Institute  of  Humor,  we 
assume,  is  principally  interested  in  sell¬ 
ing  the  correspondence  school  course  on 
the  subject.  The  literature  enclosed  rep¬ 
resents  the  subject  as  a  splendid  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  earn  money  at  home.  We  con¬ 
sider  it  a  splendid  opportunity  for  those 
having  a  little  money  to  part  with  it. 
Humorists  are  born,  not  made  by  a  cor¬ 
respondence  course. 
On  January  8  I  sent  an  order  to  the 
Succulenta  Company,  9  Campbell  street, 
Newark,  N.  J.,  for  $5  worth  of  tablets. 
Up  to  date  I  have  not  received  this  order. 
I  wrote  several  times  to  the  manager,  but 
he  never  answered  my  letters.  These  tab¬ 
lets  are  to  take  the  place  of  green  food 
for  chickens.  I  ran  out  of  mangels  and 
wanted  to  see  how  these  workedi.  I  am 
not  worrying  about  the  $5,  but  if  this  is 
the  sort  of  business  this  man  does,  I  want 
him  to  be  shown  up.  The  tablets  would 
not  be  of  any  use  to  me  now,  but  I  sup¬ 
pose  if  I  can’t  get  the  money  back  I’ll 
have  to  take  them.  c.  J.  P. 
New  York. 
We  can  get  no  response  to  our  letters 
from  the  Succulenta  Company  regarding 
this  and  other  complaints.  We  have  little 
faith  in  the  claims  made  for  the  tablets 
to  take  the  place  of  green  food,  anyhow. 
The  advertising  of  these  tablets  has  been 
refused  by  The  Rural  New-Yorker, 
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