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American Agriculturist, December 22, 1923 
Letters That Should Be A Warning 
How Fakirs Get Your Money—Most Advertisers Are Honest 
S INCE we published our first article showing 
the swindling operations of the Standard 
Food and Fur Association, letters to our 
Service Bureau asking for help against 
other swindlers have more than doubled. We 
never get over the feeling of wonder and pity that 
there are so many people in the world who respond 
to the bait of “something for nothing” and 
thereby almost always lose much for nothing. 
Often that “much” is savings that have taken 
years of sacrifice to accumulate. 
A few days ago—after all that has been said 
about the fakirs, and after all the emphasis that 
American Agriculturist has put on the advice 
to our people not to buy oil stocks—we received 
the following letter: 
“Would you kindly advise me if Wolf Creek Oil and Gas 
Company is a reliable company, and if their stock is any 
good. I have an opportunity to sell my farm on this proposi¬ 
tion. Am asking $3,600, which includes agent’s commission 
of 10 per cent. He says he has a buyer to 
whom he can sell at $4,500 if we will accept 
$2,250 in cash and 2,250 shares of this 
company at one dollar per share. The man 
who wants to buy was through here a week 
ago and has 25,000 shares of this stock 
Avhich he was trying to sell. He says the 
company has never paid dividends, but has 
sixteen producing wells, and when they get 
going good, will pay about 25 per cent. 
“This is all we know about the company 
and would greatly appreciate anything you 
could tell us about them.” 
To this letter, we replied as 
follows: 
“I know of no greater tragedy, except 
Death itself, than for a man to work all of 
his years for a few savings and then lose all 
through some unwise investment with oil 
sharks or similar concerns. The English 
language is not emphatic enough to warn 
you not to accept this stock on any terms.” 
At least this farmer wrote to us 
for advice before he closed the deal. 
We can understand, too, what a 
temptation it was to him when he 
thought he had an opportunity to 
sell his farm, but it would have 
seemed that the statement that the 
oil stock would pay 25 per cent, 
dividends some time would have 
been enough in itself to have 
shown him that it was worthless. 
We wish that we could frame as 
a constant warning and put up in 
every home some of the letters 
which we have received since pub¬ 
lishing our article on the Standard 
Food and Fur Association from 
people who have been duped by 
these swindlers. Just to show you how extended 
the operations of this one company were, we give 
a few of these letters below. Some of the others 
that we are printing also show that our people 
appreciate what we are trying to do to develop 
“truth in advertising” and to eliminate the 
swindlers from the business world. 
“I am dropping you a few lines to let you know my experi¬ 
ence with the Standard Food and Fur Association and am 
glad to know that you are among the many papers that stand 
for honest advertising. I am one of the many who have been 
faked by this company and regard them as a set of dishonest 
people. I have wondered why they have been left to continue 
business. 
“ I bought one pair of Belgian Hares from them along about 
November 12th and paid $14 for the pair. They promised 
to give me $7 a pair for the young when six to eight months 
old, so when I got ready to ship, I wrote them for instructions 
and shipped them one pair. They wrote me that they had 
received them and had sent me a check for same, but I never 
received the check. 
“I have neighbors, also, that say they have done the same 
thing too, only they did not even answer their letters. I handed 
the information over to our postal authorities in Washington, 
but I think they are not interested very much or these kinds of 
firms would be stopped from faking our people out of our 
money and doing it through the mails.”—J. E., Maryland. 
Here’s another one, from way up in Maine: 
“I have recently neen reading the American Agricultur¬ 
ist and saw the stories about the Standard Food and Fur 
Association. I have also had unpleasant experience with this 
firm. Last June I sent in an order for $25 worth of Belgian 
Hares. After waiting for some time, I received a card that 
they had shipped the hares. But I never got them. After 
three or four weeks of waiting I asked them to cancel the order 
but I have never even heard from them, except the card stating 
that they had shipped them last June. I recently wrote to 
them to either ship the rabbits or send me back the money by 
this time, but they have not done either.”—F. E. G., Maine. 
F. E. G. will never receive either the hares or 
his twenty-five dollars. 
Here’s one from Massachusetts: 
“Just a few.lines to your paper about the Standard Food 
and Fur Association. Sometime in the month of February or 
March, 1923, a friend of mine, a young man, wanted to raise 
rabbits, thinking he could make money by doing so. After 
reading the advertisement of the Standard Food and Fur 
Assocation, he wrote me about the matter and wanted my 
advice. I advised him to write to the company and ask them 
if they would forward the rabbits one-fourth down and the 
rest C. O. D. They answered him that they preferred the 
cash. So he sent them $92. He was to receive three does 
and one buck of a certain foreign breed. After a long time and 
much correspondence he received three does, but no buck, and 
the does were just plain ordinary rabbits.”—W. J. W., Massa¬ 
chusetts. 
This letter goes on to explain at some length 
how this poor farmer boy finally lost $20 more 
to this company for which he received no value. 
Here are a couple of letters as samples, show¬ 
ing how our folks appreciate what we are doing: 
“I have received a copy of American Agriculturist of 
November 17th with a front-page story regarding the Standard 
Food and Fur Association. Publicity of this kind should do 
the trick almost as good as the courts of law. In many cases 
like the fur association it no doubt is impossible to invoke the 
law.”—H. F., New York. 
“I have just been reading the American Agriculturist 
magazine. I enjoyed ‘Heads I Win, Tails You Lose’ very 
much. The farmers (myself included) should certainly appre¬ 
ciate your efforts to protect them from criminals.”—Mrs. 
F. S. S., New York. 
Still another letter says: 
“I was very much pleased at the expose you made in the 
last issue, of the Standard Food and Fur Association. It is 
outrageous that such an organization should be allowed to 
continue in business and to use the mails and newspapers for 
advertising. They have swindled people by the hundreds 
all over the tJnited States and apparently take up one section 
at a time until the people find them out then move on to 
another.”—H. J., New York. 
Another writer was kind enough to say: 
“If all publishers would do as the American Agricultur- ' j 
ist, that is, require reference from all advertisers, and expose 
the fakirs, we would soon be able to trust one another. Here’s 
hoping you keep after them until they are glad to hunt for an 
honest job.”—W. P. D., Pennsylvania. 
That’s just what American Agriculturist has 
been doing, for we figure that there is no way by 
which we can render more service to our people 
than to help clean up these scoundrels and save 
the fortunes that are being lost every year 
through unwise investments. 
In this connection, may we call your particular 
attention to the fact that American Agricultur¬ 
ist guarantees all of its own advertisements. 
When you answer one of the advertisements in our 
columns you may do so with the absolute assurance 
that if the advertiser fails to make good American 
Agriculturist will refund the price of the goods 
purchased by our subscribers. Our guarantee, 
which is printed on the editorial page every 
week, reads as follows: 
The American Agriculturist accepts 
only advertising which it believes to be 
thoroughly honest. 
We positively guarantee to our readers 
fair and honest treatment in dealing with 
our advertisers. 
We guarantee to refund the price of 
goods purchased by our subscribers from 
any advertiser who fails to make good 
when the article purchased is found not to 
be as advertised. 
To benefit by this guarantee subscribers 
must say: “I saw your ad in the American 
Agriculturist” when ordering from our 
advertisers. 
We are constantly turning down 
thousands of dollars’ worth of 
advertising about which there 
might be some question. However, 
the great bulk of modern adver¬ 
tisers are reputable and honest 
business men whose statements 
can be depended upon. All modern 
business including even that of farm 
marketing must advertise to suc¬ 
ceed and the advertising columns 
of honest and reliable publications 
are like great department stores 
with the advantage that you can 
select your merchandise without 
leaving your own home. 
* * * 
Reports on the Serious 
Coal Problem 
HE letters which follow will 
give you some indication of 
what prevails in all sections of the 
country on the very serious fuel 
situation. The only thing that has saved people 
from disaster this winter, worse even than it was 
last year, is that the winter so far has held off and 
there is some promise that the weather will be 
mild all during the season. 
What is to be the solution of this fuel problem 
anyway? It is, of course, nearly as much of a 
problem to farm people as it is to city folks, for 
most farmers are obliged to burn coal. You will 
note in these letters references to prices of cord 
wood. Not so many years ago we sawed wood 
which was sold for a dollar a cord. Now not only 
is it too high to burn as a fuel, but most of the 
trees ought not to be destroyed for fuel anyway. 
In addition to the labor and strike problem which 
has had much to do with the high prices of coal, 
there is the fact that the end of coal is in sight, 
which means that within a very short time some 
real substitute must be found for it. 
Evidently, judging by these letters, in addition 
to the extra price which was added at the mines 
when the quarrel between the miners and the 
operators was settled, several more profits have 
been increased this year before the consumer is 
privileged to buy. 
The interesting letters follow: 
“The coal dealers of this town have practically no domestic 
*' c (Continued on page b28) 
