Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-04
Rural Residents Yet Being Vic
timized by Gratters AS in
Former Days
SEED CORN ONE OF LATEST
Farmer Who Refused to Fall Victim
Tells of Experience of One of His,
MISUNDERSTANDING in Tent on
Iowa Prairie-Wilson's Rural obser
vations.
vations.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Clear Lake. March 5.--As far back
in the past as any one appears to have
any record on the subject the rural
districts have been the favorite haunts
of the human pests that have persisted
in trying to make a fortune thru mis-
representation and fraud. The explain
alton of this fact given in other days
was that country people by reason Of
their secluded surroundings, We're I'M
able to keep themselves so well in
formed as those living in cities and
towns. and nence were more likely to
succumb to the deceptive persuasion
of the smooth tongued CRATER who
preyed upon them to their ultimate
sorrow. The old order of farm life mas
largely passed away, however. hut the
country visiting swindler is with us
yet 1t is possible that his continued
presence is due to the fact that farm
ers in these later days are popularity
supposed to possess more of what the
an-with- a-graft- to-work is after,
than are those engaged in many of the
other lines of human endeavor and so
almost any tiller of the soil can relate
an experience OF his own with some
traveller who has recently visited him
at his home.
Here Is a sample told me one day
last week by gray haired old man
who was selected as an easy mark,
probably because he presents a rather
guileless appearance and also because
he has never yet been known to ORDER
a man off his place until it had been
fully demonstrated that said man had
come there with purposes that rem
dered his further stay absolutely in-g
tolerable.
"Just before noon one day" said thes
old man, two individuals rode into my
yard and asked for dinner. told the,.1t
to unhitch their gteam and we would
accommodate them. We did have a,
pretty fair dinner that day which was
duly praised by the visitors. After the
meal, one of them said. speaking to-
the other, Now we've had Il good din
ner and are warm and comfortable
WINE you 1tilSIi up SltS poHiSS i YSoAio
like to talk to this gentleman for ten
minutes about seed corn. He did talk
too, and while he talked he DISPLAYED
samples of a mammoth variety of ex-
ira early corn that he said was grown
near Charles City Iowa. He quoted
Professor Holden and everybody else
that ever pretended to know anything
about corn raising. explained his ia
ciiities for saving it and finished with
the question, How much do you WANT!
after naming the price, which was a
Iretty stiff one. l had read some about
Mr Holden had in fact heard
79rn lecture several times, but
i couldn't remember hearing him
& W,se nny farmer to invest in
great big early corn grown as far north
rs Charles City SO ! answered that 1
saessed I would take a peck of it any
Nay The astonished seed corn man
,iss79ai.5ed that he couldn't possibly sell
30 small a quantity as it wouldn't
t'snt field large enough to do well
aad TIE result would be dislppoint-
n,eat to me and a poor advertisement
for himself. He was looking for future
as well as present business. The next
tire he asked me how much / wanted
said not q grain Then he got mad
Said he had wasted two hours of val
liable time on q man that wouldn't en-
brace a great opportunity when it Of
fered itself, and the pair drove away.
An acquaintance bought a bushel of
the corn and planted it. The stalks at
tanned wonderful height. Ears APP
,peared far above the reach of the grow
er but they didn't come to within a
month of maturing. For the latitude of
northern Iowa the wonderful corn was
absolutely worthless. 1t must have been
SOME Charles City farther south that
it came from.
4 On a prairie farm in this county,
surrounded by snow banks quite as
high as itself is a little wall tent
which has served as bedroom turnout
the past winter for several members
of a family which was burned out late
last fall There was not sufficient time
before the advent of the winter sea-
son after the occurrence of the disas-
ter, to erect a new house; so the farmer
moved what he had left into a little
old outbuilding and set UP a tent near
by. He declares that he never passed a
more comfortable winter so far as cold
weather is concerned than the present
one. A small stove was set up inside
the tent and the occuDants assert that