The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1879-02-06
HUMBUGGING FARMERS.

If every farmer in the land could read, and
profit by, the accounts given in the american .Ig-
Ticrlturisf during the past year only, of the va
rious special frauds upon farmers, it would, in
the aggregate, be a saving of hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars to the farming community.
There is n set of swindlers whose operations are
ESPECIALLY DIRECTED TOWARDS FARMERS.
II is no reflection upon the intelligence of far
mers that this is so. These rascals know that
all kinds of fish are not to be caught with
bait; hence they operate upon clergymen, doe
tors, merchants, and farmers each in n different
manner. 1t is safe to predict that there is a
new set of traps ready this spriug to catch far
mers. OF late years the sag ency" dodge has
been played successfully, and it has already been
started TINS early in the season. These swindes
are all after one pattern. A glib-tongued chap,
No. 1, wishes 10 establish an "agency" for some
crinkum. 1t may be stump puller, machine
for grinding the knives of moving machines, it
may be churn power, or a spring bed. What
ever it is, chap No. 1, somehow, or in some way,
contriyes to get the signature of the farmer Here
is where the trouble begins We have eau
toned and reiterated the caution:
FARMERS, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU sIGN,"
but this does not seem to be enough; no matter
how much care is exercised, the smooth. t0ngued
chap, No. l, is usually too much for the farmer.
So we say to fsrmers-dont act as agents for any
thing, but if you riH not heed this, and the
temptation to profit is too great to resist, and
you sciH disregard warnings, we beg of you,
FARMERS, DON'T SIGN ANYTHING.
You may be asked to agree 10 become an
agent, you may be asked to give your address,
so that the sample machine, to be sent free, will
come all right; you may be asked for merely
your post-offce address. Take our advice
which 10 the same as Punch's advice 70 young
people about to marry-DON'Ti DoNT!l
Don't, do not-pray refrain from signing your
name to anything mhaferer. Observe this, aud
you are safe. Sign your name on any pretence
to anything ,rhaferer, and you open the way for
the visit of chap No. 9. He is not smooth
tongued or persuasive. He has come to collect
his bill You have ordered and SO. The
goods are at the depot, here is the bill, and be
wants his money, rs he must take next train
You can't say you never ordered the goods for
there is your signature! You can't deny it, but
You signed it as agreement to act as agent
or signed it as your address-No. 2, knows moth
ing about ths-cares nothing about it, but
wants his money. Here We again say, don't
Don't be bulied into paying it, but let him do
his worst. Show him the door, and let him ap-
peal to the courts tfhe dares. The game has al
ready begun, and hundreds of farmers, to avoid
trouble. will throw away thousands of dollars
the coming season.
DON'T BE BULLIED
into paying dollar any such claim. At the
most, it can only go to q jury of your neghbors
TO decide, but not one case in a hundred will
ever come to that. One correspond dent, In writ
ing from Massachusetts, says that some of his
neighbors think that an agricultural paper can
teach them nothing, yet one of these very con-
ceited farmers had to pay $50, which he would
have saved, had he read our humbug articles,
as the very swindle was exposed here.-From
81. gouJf so far