The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-30
The Butternilk House
How Trust Was Busted 5 By
by Rich Young Man. s NJ. QUAD
Copyright, 1916, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate

TO he called the Buttermilk House? II !
was first called the Mountain House. .
But a trust in buttermilk was smashed |
there. and that changed the name
When the hotel had been running for
a couple of years the buttermilk craze
spread from east to west, and it soon
found its way to the Mountain House.
There was only one man within ten
miles of the Mountain House who saw
money in buttermilk, and his name
was Stebbins. He bought five cows. a
big churn and cans, and he delivered
buttermilk to the hotel in gallons and
charged % cents for every gallon that
he delivered.
Away off in New York city was
young Carroll Harper, who held a sit
uation in his wealthy fathers bank.
stead of a dawdler He was anxious
to learn the banking business, and,
though rich in his own right, he stuck
to his work like some of the employees
who were getting salaries of only $50 a
week. By and by crisis came-that
is, young Harper found his appetite
gone, his nerves all aquiver and his
ambition about faded away. He went
to a doctor, and after being questioned
and thumped and paved over the doc
tor looked him in the face with stern
ness and said:
go west, young man! Go west, sirp
But why?' was asked.
ITO breathe in great chunks of ozone
and drink gallon of buttermilk every
day and to come back here in about
sixty days feeling as well or better
than you have in the past ten years"
And the doctor, who had heard of the
Mountain House and had sent three or
four invalids there, advised the young
man to make straight for that spot
and to order a supply of buttermilk
as soon as he had registered His ad-
vice was needed, and one morning the
young man descended from the stage
and entered the hotel The place was
off the railroad by fifteen miles.
They generally find out all about you
very soon at country hotel. and it
was scarcely two hours before it was
generally known to the landlord and
among the guests that Carroll Har-
per had financial and social standing
in the big city in the east. 1t was also
known to Mr. Stebbins. and when he
called to take the order for buttermilk
he raised the price from % cents to
double that sum because he was deal
ing with a rich young man.
Isn't that double what the others
are paying? he was asked.
"Oh, it's a little more" was the re-
ply, but you are rich and can afford
it. What Is quarter a day to a man
of millions?"
"But 1t strikes me as eXtortion."
well, you can take it or leave 1t. l
! am the only one around here with but
termlk to sell. and can put any price
on it like"
! The young man who was the victim
/ of an extortioner planned to get even.
He took the landlord into his conf
dence. and there was a conspiracy to
smash Mr.. Stebbins' trust.
After n ten mile auto ride down the
valley and back only one family was
found so situated that they could help
! Mr.. Harper carry out his plans. This
family was composed of widow and
] a strapping daughter. They owned and
worked little farm together, but they
did not even have one COW nor any
| n, IN viii thn Int
termilk question. In a conversation
the young man had with the strapping
girl on the doorsteps he asked:
Can you and your mother milk and
take care of six or seven cowsT
Yes, or ten of them," she answered.
Can you drive horse and wagon?''
| "You bet"
And what did young Mr.. Harper do
He sent an agent out to buy six OF
seven cows, a big churn that turned
| with crank, small cans and big cans
and horse and wagon to contract fol
supply Of alfalfa to feed the cows
on during the winter. When all these
had been secured everything was pre-
| scented to the widow and the daughter
as free gift, and they were told tC
go into the buttermilk industry for al
they were worth. They had to sign q
contract to supply the guests of the
Mountain hotel with all the buttermili
wanted for the next five years, ant
they were not to ask above Is cents
gallon. 1t was figured that at this
price the profits would be about II pei
cent.
One morning the mighty Mr.. Steb
bins, who had run a one man trus
for two years, drove up to the hotel IL
his mightiness and began to unload hi:
cans of buttermilk. The guests ranged
themselves on the veranda with smile:
on their faces. and the landlord kindly
but firmly announced to Mr.. Stebbin.
that no more of his buttermilk wa!
wanted. The Stebbns buttermilk trus
was smashed. 1t was smashed as fla
as a pancake. 1t was smashed by ,
young man. widow and a strappinl
girl.
And when the strapping young CIR
drove up to the Mountain House TO
the second time with the light OF tri
umph in her eyes and about a barre
of buttermilk in her wagon she saw ;
painter on a ladder in front of tn,
house. and he was painting out the oil
sign preparatory to painting in a new
one which should read THE Butter
milk House." And the hotel is Their
yet, and the sign is there yet, ant
every guest there Is following tn
doctors orders and is drinking cool
good buttermilk. There is a two won
an trust, but it is trust to be praise,
and not busted.