Omaha daily bee., 1889-07-01
Frauds on The Farmers.

Chicago Tribune; The department
of agriculture of the Canadian province
OF Ontario has doue something which
might be initiated with profit in the
western states. 1t called on large
number of its regular correspondents
for information as to the frauds which
had been practiced on farmers, to their
knowledge, and then embodied that in
formation in a bulletin to be distributed
throughout the agricultural sections.
1t is expected that henceforth when
any man mates proposition to an On
tario farmer, he will run over the list
of swindles in the bulletin and will kick
the stranger off the farm if he finds him
on the black list.
1t appears that the articles which
most easily lend themselves to purposes
OF fraud are churns, washing machines,
pumps, sickle grinders, stoveppe
shelves, land rollers, plows, barbed
wire, Lightning rods, hay forks, scales,
roofing paint, pianos, sewing machines,
fruit trees, and all kinds Of patent
right. The pump swindle is thus man
aged: A travelling agent asks the farm
er to become an agent for the sale of
iron pumps, promising him one free if
he will. The farmer agrees to take
eleven pumps which he is to sell at SIS
apiece, reserving So on each as his COM
mission. Then he signs what he believes
to be an order for the pumps on these
terms, but which turns out later on to
be promissory note for $l65, the retail
value OF the pumps. Sometimes there
is verbal understanding" that if the
goods are not sold they will be taken
back, but that understanding never ma
terializes, while the note does. Rusty
IRON pumps in many an Ontario barn
bear witness to the success with which
this scheme has been worked
The hay-fork swlndle is somewhat
similar. The agent offers to put up one
for nothing if the farmer will take an
agency. He accepts, and later on an
other man calls TO get him to sign II
statement of the condition of his affairs
''iust TO show that he is a responsible
person" In some mysterious way this
is converted into an order for large
number of hay forks. The man who
thinks he is merely signing recon-
mendation of the working of tanning
mill which is on exhibition finds that
he has ordered one. Shoddy peddlers
pretending 10 represent great English
or Scotch houses sell goods which are
so tlimsy that they will not stand sewing
together. Imitation gold watches are
sold sometimes as high as $50, which
turn out to be worth nothing. There,
as in this country, the nursery agent
finds his easy victims, and the seed
grain or Bohemian oats swindler has
coined money. tn lightning rods there
is now but little cheating done; the
farmers nave learned that device OF the
enemy.
A most ingenious trick was perpe-
trated by Il clerical-looking couple who,
with a timid-looiiing young man and
woman, drove up to q farmhouse and
stated that the couple had taken n
whimsical notion that they should like
to be married among such handsome
surroundings, and were willing to pay
well for the privilege. The farmer con-
sented. served them fine dinner, and
was paid $40 for his trouble. The re-
ceipt which he gave the groom returned
TO plague him in the form OF a S40O
promissory note in the haI DIS Of an in
nocent holder. The inventors OF this
bright game have about worked out the
province and will be likely to try the
states. The western farmers must be-
ware.
The advice given by the department
OF agriculture to the Ontario farmer is
sensible and worth initiating ever y
where. 1t is that the farmer stick to
his farm aud be not in too much OF II
hurry TO get rich; that he never sign
anything for stranger, and that he al
ways read what no signs; that he deal
only with well-established firms, and
that he read the papers and pay for
them, as he will thus get the earliest
information about new and improved
methods OF cheating.