Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1886-03-11
BOHEMIAN OATS.

words. Ine business has virtually
been driven from Ohio, but is seeking
new fields in Michigan, Indiana and
other States. Parties are trying to work
it up i'll few localities in this State,
but it is evidently uphill Work, owing
largely to the spread of information
through The Farmer in regard to the
true character of the business. Failure
to realize further returns has brought
dire threats and denunciations upon
this paper from parties who. in spite Of
our advice, have gone into the specula-
ton, and now denounce The Farmer us
the cause OF their loss. Is this reason
ableY We are sure there is not an hon
est farmer in Ohio, knowing the stand
The Farmer has maintained in regard to
this business, who does not respect its
position, whether he has gone into the
scheme or not, or whether he has made
or lost money by it, One man writes:
have only myself to blame Another
says: II could have got out whole and
made some money had it not been for
The Farmer" In this latter case EN-
lightened public opinion no doubt put
an end to the business just in time to
catch our correspondence use Gen.
Scott's words--"with his breeches
down. If he went into it with his
eyes open, knowing that the oats were
not worth, intrinsically, more than
common oats, pound for pound, and
that in order to make any more Out of
them some other farmer must buy his
oats at the same price he paid, and that
in the end somebody must be Il victim,
we have no sympathy for him. 1t is
simply case of "the bitter getting bit"
The agents who have carried this
business to Michigan are meeting with
a rough reception, for the press of that
State, with commendable enterprise, are
publishing broadcast pile of facts
derived from Ohio's experience during
the last few years. The following letter
to the editor of the National Democrat,
published at CassOpOlis, Michigan, is
right to the point. The writer is man
of high standing III Defiance county,
and one OF. the county commissioners.
He says:
Your letter of recent date has been
received by me, making inquiry about
Bohemian oats" and / take pleasure
in conveying to you my opinion of the
same, which can be done in just one
word it is a fraud" Bohemian oats
sold for "A cents per bushel at Tuttle's
warehouse, in this city, this fall. Oats
are not worth $40 per bushel in this
country; we all know that, and if we
only stop to reason we would soon dis
cover that some one must eventually
pay the extra 1915. 1t is bound TO come
out of some farmers pocket, and if you
are fortunate enough to get out of ii
without losing money, it will be at the |
expense of your neighbor or some other |
unsuspecting farmer. The parties re-
ferred to in your letter as references,
are good citizens, but they have made |
purchase of some of the oats, and of |
course want to get out if they can, and |
in order to accomplish that end will |
lend their name to further the interest |
of the scheme" Hoping that my
brother farmers of Michigan will give |
the Bohemian oat men 'wide BERTH"
l remain yours respectfully,
JOHN SPANGLER.
Defiance, o., Oct. IL, 80.
The following letters from Ohio were |
sent to the Manchester (NIich.) Enter
prise for publication, by j. +. Spafford,
of that place, who wrote to the parties |
for information:
Your letter of the 9th is at hand and
noted, and i'll reply will say,
let the Bohemian oats alone; by so |
doing you will avoid great deal of |
trouble. The general opinion of the |
people of Huron county is that the |
business,is a swindle. There have been |
five law suits in our town this summer,
and they were decided against the part
les that'raised and sold the grain If |
you have any oats on hand that you
have raised this year, my advise to you
is, don't allow them to be sold by these |
for you will be responsible |
for every bushel sold The company is
not responsible for anything. SO it has
been decided in our county.
o., Sept. 3. J. III. LoUTHER.
received a letter from you last even
ing aug. 81, S5). You asked me about |
Bohemian oats. There has been in this
county for about three years quite a
trade insthe oats; trade here and in
other places. Many good men and men
of wealth went in, but most of them
have settled with their victims. There
have been many law suits There was
a suit here yesterday and was one of
the jurors. The man paid his note of
500 for ten bushels of oats, and he paid
said note and sued the man and obtain
ed judgment for $10S, and they will do
it every time, as tits considered only a
swindle, and / should think that any
man would know that oats
are not worth $10per bushel. The farm
ers here SOW them but once; they have
But the lawyers are doing
good business out of the oat trade, more
than the farmers. 1t will do quite well
for one who has nothing to lose, and he
may make something out of those that
are foolish enough to get in that busi-
ness. All about here think alike at
this date. Some of the oat men have
put their property out of their hands.
o., Sept. l. 50. a. LEWIS.
Farmers in several parts of the
country inquire as to the so-called "Bo-
hemian Oats" and about the &C., en-
gagged in selling them. The old Skin
less" oat, was some years ago sold un-
der the name of Bohemian" and we
are informed that the grain now sold is
similar. The skinless oat is very old
variety that is valued in Europe, but
has not met with any marked success
in this country. The present interest
in these Bohemian oats, is not so much
in their intrinsic value as a farm crop,
as the manner in which they are sold.
The agents who go about the country
selling these oats at $40 a bushel, induce
farmers to purchase by a promise to
sell rthem, from their (the farmer's)
crop, twice as many bushels as they
purchased, at the same price--ten doll
ars. The farmer is induced to buy ten
bushels of the oats for one hundred
dollars, by the hope of selling twenty
bushels for two hundred dollars, and |
thinks this is guaranteed to him by a
"bond" given him by the seller. This
bond in spite of its abundance of green |
and red inks. its very broad seal intend |