Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-03
OSTR|CHES STARVING
ON PENNSYLVANIA FARM
Fortunes Lost IN Propagation OF
Big Birds for Their
Plumage.

Recause there Was no money to buy
feed for them. ostrichcs on the farm "i
the Direct Supply Company, successor 10
the African Ostrich Farm, and feather
COMPANY. NJ Esp,. noar bloomsbury, "a
IN which more than Slo0,ooO WAS ios''
were found literally starving To DEAN py
Charles II Rcics. of Blconsburg,
agent for the society for the freven-
tion of Cruelty 10 ANIMALS. The Society
IL providing food until some means can
he secured 10 feed them which pronaoly
will be hy court order. When heicc
reached the farm he found two dead
birds. while many carcasses oi those
which had died were iound ihcr'
was tune when there were MY rs
,r,cb,s there. hut now only few gatint
skeletons al birds remain.
Nbcn William II llile, native OF
Columbia county, came Ia bloomsbury
more than eight years ago with i1iir
tfr,c,u birds. no end OF excitement WSs
crsa,cJ lille formed the African os-
,r,,h l,rn, and Feather Company, with
himself as president. Thousands o'
.tock certificates were turned out HIlc
ISSUED IN elaborate prospectus ana told
of the millions that would develop from
the business of raising Cstuchcs IN tho
north. He predicted the raising OF thou
sands oi nstriches and planned 10 opcratc &
I'm the English 60 Cooperative plan. Three
farms were bought at Espy huge
mems and many buildings were con-
structcd and money began 70 pour w
Investors III Sunbuy, Bloomshurg'
Wilkcs-Rarrc P,ttshurg, Rochester;
Sshnsgroyc, Philadelphia, ShamoAin ana
All over Pennsylvania, many OF them
hard-worklng people, put their money
I.,l,eh 60 ,tp yxsgrk -
erx who understood the English CO.
onerativc plan. especially invested.
Morc ostricheS were bought. Money
c,rne ~ freely. and the list OF stock
hoISers grew with amazing rapidIty.
Ry,,nrb farms were located ~ Hsrrls-
burg and Cleveland. O. and the place
al Ispv was visited by thousands OF
n,rsons, an admission being charged IN
view the BIRDS.
And thus II went for a few wears.
As hong - stcck sales kept up new oS-
tricbeS ver, bought and buildings, many
never much used, were erected. HIlc
lived IN luxury on the farm.
II vas about that time that II was
rcallycd that there was no hope Of breed
ing and raising ostrches IN this climate
stock sales began Co decline, and u was
that which alone kept ahvc the prop
uSttlOn just ~ fOng 81 Hoit HohtN
could hc mvcglrd into the Golfers q the
concern everything went along smoothly,
hsit with the hov Of cash ceasmc th,
crash wss inevitable.
Hlle dlgressed from The ostrich bus
prs, which was 20 make the birds
worth ther weight 10 gold, and started
Ia do some cooperative buying but
when he sent out his pruepcctuses tell
ing how an additional fortune could be
made out oi dredging rIver coal and
bought sn expensive apparatus that
never paid dollar Hiic 5 stock drop
ped among hEs supporters.
The concern went to smash, and fed-
ersl Judge Wrm<r appointed c1-ludgo
l.. : Walter, of Mt Carmel receiver
and the hus incSs was clUscd The m
vestor~ never got cent. and after
hills were paid, there was little left
lilies left fur new pastures and then
Direct supply Company Wa formed by
Wilkes Barre stockholders who hoped
10 retrieve ethlng from the smash
ed bubble Al they succeeded IN dong
was 10 pnt in additional thousands Of
dollars and 10 see the proposition, I'M
poSsiblc and impracticablc from the
first, SO - rum
Hlc. il + understood, Is Irving IN
IhttsburC