Posts by ILoveTTATT2

7

Worldwatch Institute vs Watching the World

by berrygerry in

part of the "last days" in the bible teach book indicates that : "a report from the worldwatch institute states: “three times as many people fell victim to war in [the 20th] century as in all the wars from the first century ad to 1899.” more than 100 million people have died as a result of wars since 1914.

"that seems to be quite the statement, given mankind's history of war, which, for the most part, seems to have only dimished since 1945.fact-checking that quote shows that, first of all, it is not a quote by the worldwatch institute, but is actually a paper written by one of its contributors (michael renner) in 1999.

( http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/wp146.pdf ) additionally, that paper references a table (done by a different researcher) that indicates that the 20th century not only has the most war-related deaths, but far and away the greatest ratio of deaths at 44.4 per 1,000 population.

ILoveTTATT2

Great research!!

10

A Teenager Ran Away From Home to Get Away From the Witnesses ... in 1909

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

okay .... i guess technically they weren't witnesses yet; they were just russellites.

but i still think it is funny that teenagers were heading for the hills to run away from their nonsense ... even back then!.

.

ILoveTTATT2

Is this from the Brooklyn Eagle by any chance?

27

Damn it feels good to be free and on my own without the pressure to do more as a JW slave

by No Longer a JW Brother in

i don't know where to begin but damn it feels so good to be free of mind control.

i'm only officially out since this past december but i was out mentally for two hot years under the close watch of my batshit crazy psycho parents who bothered me every sunday to see what i thought about the meeting.

it was necessary for me to lie through my teeth.

ILoveTTATT2

Hey No Longer a Bro, welcome!

are you by any chance from Canada?

5

Miracle Wheat: Was Russell really guilt-free regarding it? Did Rutherford have more to do with it than Russell?

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

jim penton, in his book apocalypse delayed, barely touches on the miracle wheat episode.

in a 300+ page book, this is what he says about it:"he was charged with financial chicanery, particularly in what came to be known as the miracle wheat episode.

... both the miracle wheat and ross cases deserve some comment.

ILoveTTATT2

One thing that I thought was interesting was that when RUSSELL was promoting wheat that HE thought was amazing, this is what he said about it:

"The 'Miracle Wheat' yielded between two and three times as much crop to the acre as other wheat and that it requires only about one-fourth as much of it for seed."

"I gave the item as news and as evidence of the fact that we are entering the New Dispensation in which God has promised to bless the fields and to increase their productiveness. I recognized at once what a value such wheat would have to all mankind. If it would merely double the crop it would mean an increase of five hundred million dollars in the value of the wheat crop of our country and give us cheaper bread. If it would increase the crop still more, returns would be still larger."

So HIS "miracle wheat" was evidence of God's blessing on the fields, a GOOD thing.

The "miracle wheat" turned out to be not so miraculous.

About 50 years later, Norman Borlaug, a man who increased the WORLD'S wheat production to about double, or in some cases up to quadruple what it had been, was DISSED and his work MINIMIZED by the Watchtower!

Why? Because it was close to 1975, and the Watchtower NEEDED to paint the world's situation as DOOM AND GLOOM, no matter what!

*** g72 7/22 p. 3 What Is the “Green Revolution”? ***

"...dire predictions of world famine came from many sources. Some authorities estimated that the mid-1970’s would certainly see that famine. There were those who even said that the world famine had already begun....

The “green revolution” more specifically has to do with the successful development of very high-yielding types of wheat and rice. It is so important because these two grains, especially rice, are the staple foods for most of earth’s population.

The first breakthrough came as the result of efforts by a team of agriculture experts headed by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. This was after about twenty years of experimenting. They developed varieties of wheat that produced up to four bushels where only one bushel had grown before!

The new wheat was short, and its stalk very stiff. This was important, as it enabled the plant to avoid falling down under the weight of the extra-large heads of grain. Also, it was not sensitive to the length of the daytime period. This meant that it could be planted even in those parts of the earth where the daylight hours differed from where the seed was developed. Also, it had a very high response to fertilization and irrigation.

How Effective Has It Been?

A Warning

Yet, many agriculture experts warn against such a conclusion. They say that the “green revolution” is not solving mankind’s hunger problems now, and will not do so in the future!"

Yeah... Watchtower will spin ANYTHING to fit whatever it wants to say!

Fake "miracle" wheat brought about by a fraud? Evidence of God's blessing on mankind!

Real miracle wheat brought about by the combined work of thousands of people and decades of research? Yeah that's got issues, and it won't solve the impending armageddon of 1975!

5

Miracle Wheat: Was Russell really guilt-free regarding it? Did Rutherford have more to do with it than Russell?

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

jim penton, in his book apocalypse delayed, barely touches on the miracle wheat episode.

in a 300+ page book, this is what he says about it:"he was charged with financial chicanery, particularly in what came to be known as the miracle wheat episode.

... both the miracle wheat and ross cases deserve some comment.

ILoveTTATT2

Hi Listener,

I believe that the full article will be on jwfacts as a "side PDF" to be downloaded.

Thanks for reading and liking it!

13

Looking for Some PDF Books

by Bruisedandbleeding12 in

i'm looking for two pdf books.

they are:.

1989 you can live forever in paradise on earth (i have the 1982 pdf edition), next i'm looking for the 1967 qualified to be ministers (i have the 1955 pdf edition), thanks everyone.. bruisedandbleeding12.

ILoveTTATT2

why is that other guy with a knife squeezing that man's erm, boob like that?

Cause he's about to cut off his man-boobs. That's a scary thought, and a sign that we are living in the last days... indeed...

5

Miracle Wheat: Was Russell really guilt-free regarding it? Did Rutherford have more to do with it than Russell?

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

jim penton, in his book apocalypse delayed, barely touches on the miracle wheat episode.

in a 300+ page book, this is what he says about it:"he was charged with financial chicanery, particularly in what came to be known as the miracle wheat episode.

... both the miracle wheat and ross cases deserve some comment.

ILoveTTATT2

Jim Penton, in his book Apocalypse Delayed, barely touches on the Miracle Wheat episode. In a 300+ page book, this is what he says about it:

"He was charged with financial chicanery, particularly in what came to be known as the Miracle Wheat episode. ... Both the Miracle Wheat and Ross cases deserve some comment. In 1904 a man by the name of Stoner,who knew nothing about Russell or the Bible Students, discovered in Fincastle,Virginia, an amazingly productive variety of wheat which he named “MiracleWheat.” Seven years later two Bible Students donated thirty bushels of it to the Watch Tower Society to be sold at a dollar per pound as seed grain. The proceeds – some $ 1,800 – were to be used by the society to carry on its activities.Russell gained nothing personally from the proceeds, but his enemies claimed that the sale was a religious fraud. A New York newspaper, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, attacked him and lampooned both Russell and Miracle Wheat in a cartoon. Russell sued the Eagle but lost. He was evidently quite sincere in selling the famous grain but was more positive about its qualities than he should have been. Miracle Wheat was apparently no more than a mutant strain, a “sport.” It soon lost its outstanding vitality and was not, as he believed, a sign that the earth was soon to be restored to paradisiacal conditions."[i]

[i] Penton, M. James(2015-02-20). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses, ThirdEdition (Kindle Locations 1572-1580). University of Toronto Press, ScholarlyPublishing Division. Kindle Edition.

According to Penton, Russell was quite sincere in selling the wheat. From what he wrote in the Watchtower, that is the impression that one gets.

But from a document that has only been analyzed by pro-Russellites, and in an obscure website, one gets a whole different viewpoint of Russell.

Here's what the Bible Students Monthly, a "newspaper" dedicated to promoting the Watchtower and delivered throughout Brooklyn, said about it:

BSM Vol. 3 No.11

PASTOR RUSSELL INTERVIEWED

A Representative Called on Pastor Russellfor Some Facts Respecting “Miracle Wheat” and Other Matters. – He States WhySome Ministers Oppose Him. – “The Eagle” the Channel.

WE REPORT the interview, as follows:

"Pastor Russell, the Brooklyn Eaglehas attacked you in connection with 'Miracle Wheat.' It has given the inferencethat you are a wheat speculator and gulling the farmers by selling ordinarywheat for $1.00 a pound. Your neighbors and the public would be interested inhearing your explanation of the matter."

"I have nothing to do with 'MiracleWheat.' I am not in the wheat business in any sense or degree. The Eagle ismerely following out its nagging and slandering policy which it has toward mesince my coming to Brooklyn. Slander, misrepresentation, and vilification seemto be the policy of The Eagle for some years-a very different policy, Iunderstand, from the one which gave it its reputation originally. My friendstell me that its course toward me is much the same that it pursued toward Dr.Talmage. Indeed, one Baptist minister remarked, 'The filthy Eagle killed Dr.Talmage-literally. He died of a broken heart.' I know nothing about that, but Ido know that The Eagle has not killed me and I do not propose to let it."

"But, Pastor Russell, was there notsome wheat sold at the Tabernacle and was it not called 'Miracle Wheat?'

"Contrary to our wishes, a reporter ofThe Eagle purchased one pound of 'Miracle Wheat' at the Tabernacle. He boughtit from Mr. Bohnet's representative, who obtained the privilege of using abasement room at the Tabernacle for preparing the wheat to be sent out by mailin pound packages.

Mr. Bohnet had promised that the proceedsof his wheat would be donated to our Free Tract Fund for sending out the BibleMessage in all languages. Mr. Bohnet has an interest in a farm in Pennsylvaniaon which he grew this 'Miracle Wheat.'

"Where Mr. Bohnet got his seed willinterest you. Three years ago the newspapers contained extensive accounts ofthis 'Miracle Wheat' which was found in Virginia by a man named Stoner, whogave it its name. He claimed that he found it in answer to prayer. Thenewspapers quoted the U. S. Agricultural Department's Report made by AssistantSecretary Miller. The report declared that the 'Miracle Wheat' yielded betweentwo and three times as much crop to the acre as other wheat and that itrequires only about one-fourth as much of it for seed. I copied the newspaperaccounts in my Journal, The Watch Tower. Subsequently Mr. Stoner's agent calledat my study and showed me samples of the 'Miracle Wheat,' one with as many asone hundred and twenty stalks from one seed, and told me that most of hisorders for the wheat had come from my free notices.

"I gave the item as news and asevidence of the fact that we are entering the New Dispensation in which God haspromised to bless the fields and to increase their productiveness. I recognizedat once what a value such wheat would have to all mankind. If it would merelydouble the crop it would mean an increase of five hundred million dollars inthe value of the wheat crop of our country and give us cheaper bread. If itwould increase the crop still more, returns would be still larger.

"About then my friend, Mr. Bohnet,came to my study and collected a few grains of the wheat which was shown to meby Mr. Stoner's agent. Mr. Bohnet planted those grains and this year wrote methat he had a sufficiency to sell; that he would dispose of it at $1.00 perpound and give the proceeds to our Free Tract Fund. Does it seem strange to youthat The Eagle holds up my friend as a criminal because of his desire tobenefit the farmers of the world and his further desire to turn the proceeds ofhis wheat into free tracts? Yes, that would seem strange. But that is not whatThe Eagle attempted to do. It merely wished to slander me-to kill me, byinferring, insinuating, hinting, caricaturing, etc."

"But is not a dollar a pound a newprice for wheat?"

"I had nothing whatever to do with theprice of the wheat. That was the concern of Mr. Bohnet and those who sent himtheir mail orders. I know nothing about wheat nor about farming. I have heardof forty or fifty cents per pound being paid for seed wheat of especiallyproductive strains, but I never before heard of wheat which would produce twohundred kernels from one, as many testify of the 'Miracle Wheat.' If I were afarmer I would pay, if necessary, not only one dollar per pound, but even tendollars per ounce, in order to get a start in wheat of this character."

So this must be analyzed point-by-point.

"He bought it from Mr. Bohnet's representative, who obtained the privilege of using a basement room at the Tabernacle for preparing the wheat to be sent out by mail in pound packages."

So apparently according to Russell it is a privilege to be able to use Watchtower property to sell fraudulent goods.

"Mr. Bohnet had promised that the proceeds of his wheat would be donated to our Free Tract Fund for sending out the Bible Message in all languages. ... I recognized at once what a value such wheat would have to all mankind. ... [it] would give us cheaper bread. ... Does it seem strange to you that The Eagle holds up my friend as a criminal because of his desire to benefit the farmers of the world and his further desire to turn the proceeds of his wheat into free tracts?"

So he got upset because the Eagle recognized that he was selling something that would (if it had really been a "miraculous" wheat) benefit mankind at an outrageous price so that it would be turned into something that would damage mankind? It's like Martin Shkreli getting upset because he jacked up the price of a life-saving drug... oh yeah... he did. He's now the poster child for pharma company greed. If he really wanted to benefit mankind, then why wasn't he making as much as he could of this wheat and giving it for free or at a low cost?

"Three years ago the newspapers contained extensive accounts of this 'Miracle Wheat' which was found in Virginia by a man named Stoner, who gave it its name. He claimed that he found it in answer to prayer. The newspapers quoted the U. S. Agricultural Department's Report made by Assistant Secretary Miller. The report declared that the 'Miracle Wheat' yielded between two and three times as much crop to the acre as other wheat and that it requires only about one-fourth as much of it for seed. I copied the newspaper accounts in my Journal, The Watch Tower. Subsequently Mr. Stoner's agent called at my study and showed me samples of the 'Miracle Wheat,' one with as many as one hundred and twenty stalks from one seed, and told me that most of his orders for the wheat had come from my free notices."

Now we know that all of the newspapers in 1908 were sent a fraudulent, misquoted report that supposedly came from H.A. Miller, from the USDA. Russell copied the newspaper accounts, didn't contact the USDA, and that made more business for a con man. Then, gullible Russell was shown the "miracle" wheat, probably was lied to, and believed the agent 100%. This is the most important take-away. If Russell was "divinely guided," then he would have known this was a fraud.

"I am not in the wheat business in any sense or degree. ... I recognized at once what a value such wheat would have to all mankind. If it would merely double the crop it would mean an increase of five hundred million dollars in the value of the wheat crop of our country and give us cheaper bread. If it would increase the crop still more, returns would be still larger.... But is not a dollar a pound a new price for wheat? ... I have heard of forty or fifty cents per pound being paid for seed wheat of especially productive strains, but I never before heard of wheat which would produce two hundred kernels from one, as many testify of the 'Miracle Wheat.'"

Contradiction much? For someone not in the wheat business, he sure knew pricing, value, and production of wheat!

And my favorite quote from this:

"If I were a farmer I would pay, if necessary, not only one dollar per pound, but even ten dollars per ounce, in order to get a start in wheat of this character."

Rephrased: "This is a get-rich-quick scheme, and I know that the first one who gets into this will make a lot of money. I think that this business is so good that I would pay up to 9600 times the value of ordinary wheat to be the first to get in."

So overall, this paints a pretty bad picture of Russell. But was it Russell who wrote this article?

Why am I suspicious?

Brooklyn Eagle, November 12, 1911:

"This borough has been literally strewn with a certain copy of the Brooklyn Tabernacle People's Pulpit ... I am quite sure, also, that "Pastor Russell Interviewed" was never written by the "pastor" for he was on the sea, I am given to understand, when it was dictated."

(In case you're wondering, I checked. There was barely any radio on boats in 1911. Definitely no phones).

This and other details makes me think that Russell wasn't too invested in the Miracle Wheat, but that Rutherford was. He probably saw the power and the money that could be had by having many "minions" working for you. It was HE that was most upset at the Brooklyn Eagle, and he was the one who was instrumental to get Russell to sue the Eagle. But it is only a suspicion in my part. I don't know of a way to prove this.

10

lf evolution is true then doesnt it make sense that other life forms exist on far away planets.?

by atomant in

just thought ld throw it out there for discussion.lf we evolved from nothing doesnt it stand to reason that other life forms also evolved from nothing?l mean lets face it time is infinite.

so given enough time its possible for anything to happen isnt it?

ILoveTTATT2

Your post shows you don't understand the first thing about evolution: evolution and abiogenesis are two different topics.

15

Analysis of Brooklyn Eagle Articles related to Miracle Wheat

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

this article appeared in the september 22, 1911 brooklyn eagle.

notice the "general counsel".

church a salesroom for 'miracle' wheat at $60 per bushel .

ILoveTTATT2

This is what Russell should have done. Written to the USDA, trusted scientists instead of the words and claims of "brothers". Wait... that would never have happened. Of course the "brother's words" count more than the "evil" government! The Eagle sent for scientific reports, both in milling and from the USDA. The USDA knew that "Stoner" wheat was in reality the same as "Fulcaster"

September 29, 1911

$60 ‘MIRACLE’ WHEAT POOR IN COMPETITION, U.S. EXPERTS REPORT

Department of Agriculture Finds Pastor Russell’s Brand Yields Only One-Half of “Fultz.”

NOTHING MIRACULOUS ABOUT IT

Polytechnic Institute Chemist Says Religious Grain Sprouts Only a Little Better Than $1 a Bushel Kind.

Eagle Bureau, 608 Fourteenth street,

Washington, D. C., September 29—The Department of Agriculture, through its Bureau of Plant Industry, furnished to the Eagle today a statement concerning Miracle wheat, which is being exploited at $60 per bushel, by Pastor Russell, in Brooklyn. The Eagle left with the Bureau a sample of Pastor Russell's wheat for analysis. It turns out to be a wheat well known at the Department, and which it has been growing on its experimental farms. There is nothing miraculous about it. In fact, in competition with another well-known brand of wheat its yield per acre is only one-half. Neither is the sample obtained from Pastor Russell by the Eagle as good in quality as one which the Department has just obtained from its own farm, where it is growing wheat originally obtained from K. B. Stoner, who claims to be the discoverer of Miracle wheat. Dr. B. T. Galloway, head of the Bureau of Plant Industry forwarded this official report to the Eagle bureau today:

Report of the Department of Agriculture.

"A number of years ago a variety of wheat called 'Miracle' was brought to our attention by K. B. Stoner of Fincastle, Va., who it was alleged produced it in a miraculous way. The wheat has since been exploited by McCormick and other promoters. Note that this variety does not belong to the group of poulard wheat in which occurs the variety known variously as 'Mummy,' Seven Headed' and 'Egyptian,' is closely related to the ordinary soft winter wheats of the Atlantic coast, of which Fultz, Fulcaster and others are leading types. In our experiments with Mr. Stoner's variety, we have found it to be satisfactory, but not particularly better than other wheats like Fultz and Fulcaster. It does not merit extravagant claims made for it, though it is a little better perhaps in the district where it was developed than the varieties ordinarily grown in Virginia, but chiefly because it was carefully selected strain.

"A representative of this bureau visited Mr. Stoner's farm and made a report in which the most favorable statements are as follows: 'The yield had been from three to five bushels more per acre than that of other varieties grown on the same farm under the same conditions of culture, except the rate of seeding, which was three pecks per acres, while other varieties were sown at the rate of eight pecks per acre, which latter is the common practice of farmers in that locality. The straw is large, stiff and stands well without lodging. The grain has a red color, is rather hard, and in size is perhaps slightly larger than the grain of other varieties of this class of wheat.’

33 Bushels of “Miracle" to 66 Bushels of "Fultz."

“As to the results since obtained with variety which has been under experiment by this bureau, in 1908 on the Arlington farm the wheat ripened several days later than the earliest wheat and from three to five days later than the average wheats. In yield in the nursery rows it compared as follows with Fultz: Miracle, lowest yield per row, 7¾ ounces, highest yield 10 ounces; Fultz, highest yield per row, 20½ ounces. This would allow approximately a yield of 33 bushels for the Miracle and 66 bushels for the Fultz.
"From an examination of the sample which you left with us a correct identification cannot be guaranteed without heads of the variety.

"It appears to be the same as that which we are growing at the Arlington farm under our grain investigation No. 2980, which is Stoner's wheats, but the sample is not quite as good in quality as one we have just obtained from our plats.”

John C. Olsen, consulting chemist of the Polytechnic Institute, today submitted a report of a test he has made of Pastor Russell's "Miracle" wheat, showing that 89 per cent. of the Russell wheat sprouted as against 83 per cent of an ordinary $ 1 a bushel wheat used in competition.

15

Analysis of Brooklyn Eagle Articles related to Miracle Wheat

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

this article appeared in the september 22, 1911 brooklyn eagle.

notice the "general counsel".

church a salesroom for 'miracle' wheat at $60 per bushel .

ILoveTTATT2

This one's fairly long. But here are the highlights:

1) The Eagle found out that the "Alaska" wheat followed the same pattern: A person finds a plausible "miraculous" wheat that at first glance will produce a lot more, makes an amazing story about it, sends the story and a circular to newspapers, starts selling it to whomever believes it, until the Post Office or the USDA stop the fraud. EXACTLY THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITH MIRACLE WHEAT AND K.B. STONER. The Alaska wheat sold for $20 a bushel (20 times more than regular wheat), and THAT was a scandal. Even more so with Russell foolishly selling this fraudulent wheat at $60 a bushel. Everyone knew the huge implications of finding a wheat that produced a lot, including becoming very rich.

If the WT was "divinely guided", then why did the entire society fall prey to a con artist?

September 27, 1911

MIRACLE WHEAT HAS AN ALASKAN COUSIN

Brought $20 a Bushel Until Petulant Government Got Out Fraud Stamp.

FARMER ADAMS' BONANZA.

30,000,000 Acres Still Waiting for Marvelous Seed Found by Mysterious Stranger.

Eagle Bureau, 608 Fourteenth Street.

Washington, September 26—This is the sad story of a little grain of wheat. No, that's wrong. Not a little grain—a whopping big grain—a whole head of whopping big grains. To quote Holmes' Dr. Watson, it was “simply marvellous." [sic] Not as marvelous, perhaps, as Pastor Russell's Miracle wheat, because that sells for $60 a bushel, whereas the wheat of this tale brought only $20, and was, therefore, only one-third as marvelous. But it was wheat with a big W; wheat that was going to revolutionize husbandry, make a multi-millionaire out of the humble farmer and fill the grain elevators of the world until they groaned in agony and finally burst scattering their golden bounty to the four winds and feeding the wide, wide world forever and ever. All these benevolent things might it have done had not the United States Government, in a moment of petulance, stamped “Fraud” in big letter all over the rosy dawn of a new agricultural era and turned a Utopian future into a pathetic past.

This was “Alaska Wheat” – near relative of the “Seven Headed Wonder,” “Egyptian Mummy” and other wheats of high degree, which perform all kinds of feats except when the experts of the Agricultural Department come to watch, in which case they seem to become victims of stage fright and are unable to give any better account of themselves than the plain farm varieties that go into our daily bread. Alaska wheat had fine prospects until the government stepped in. Its discoverer and promoter is said to have reaped several thousand dollars from it, at the rate of $20 per bushel. His tale had a pleasing beginning in mystery. His head of wheat came to him out of the great and little known Northland, where everything is big – the nuggets of gold, the beds of coal, the trees of the forests, the Kodiak bears and the mountain that was not climbed by “Doc” Cook.

Mysterious Stranger Gives Marvelous Wheat to Farmer Adams of Idaho.

Abram Adams, farmer, of Julietta. Ida., is the hero. Farmer Adams had been raising wheat off and on for years down home, but when he met a mysterious stranger while returning from a trip to British Columbia, and when that stranger handed him a single head of wheat, his eyes grew big with wonder and admiration. “I just picked it up in Alaska,” said the stranger. The year was 1904, a memorable one for Farmer Adams, for he carefully carried that head of wheat back to Idaho, put it in the earth in the fall of the year and then paced up and down restlessly until the springtime should read the riddle for him.

The history of that mysterious head of what is told in the records of the Postoffice [sic] Department, in that particularbureau [sic] which Is devoted to detecting fraudulent users of the mails. In the year 1908 articles began to appear in newspapers here and there, and that in at least one widely circulated weekly from the pen of Oscar F. Day, concerning a "marvelous" wheat discovered by Farmer Adams. Two hundred and twenty-two and a half bushels to the acre was its record! Agricultural folks who read these articles wrote by next mail to Farmer Adams, asking how about it. In return they received printed circulars, with halftone engravings and big type and the word "Alaska," with an exclamation point after it, and the information that a limited supply of this prodigy of nature could be obtained from the Adams-Hobe Seed Grain Company, price $20 per bushel. It was the “cereal marvel of the world," to quote from this Idaho farmer's literature. According to his tale he had devoted a lot of time to perfecting this wheat. Afterward he admitted to the Government that he had not, but had simply planted the single head received from the mysterious stranger in British Columbia.

53,000 Pounds of Wheat at $20 a Bushel.

Now, what happened to that head of wheat was this, according to the circular: It harvested seven pounds in 1905. Farmer Adams treasured that seven pounds until the spring of 1906. Then back to the soil it went. Presto! In the fall of 1908 he reaped 1,545 pounds. Step up, gentlemen! This is the marvel of the age. Only a few left, etc., etc.! Into the earth (always according to the circular, went that 1.545 pounds of cereal marvel, so that the year 1907 yielded 53,000 pounds. Not quite such a good record, gentlemen, we admit. But think of the hailstorms we had. Besides, 53,000 pounds at $20 a bushel was a pretty good little nucleus for a mail-order business.

By this time Farmer Adams' wheat was attracting not only bucolic, but scientific attention. The Department of Agriculture. the Ohio Agricultural Station, the Colorado Agricultural College and Professor Elliott of Washington State College all addressed themselves to the American farmer on the subject. Unfortunately, they all said it was a fraud. On September 28, 1908, the Agricultural Department was unkind enough to write to the Postoffice Department: “This wheat is an ordinary variety, grown in numerous places in mountain valleys, and is of low grade for flour and is only an ordinary yielder."

Post Office Department Takes a Hand

So the Postoffice Department sleuths investigated. They found that the Adams-Hobe concern was owned by Farmer Adams and his son-In-law, O. K. Hobe—who was perfectly willing to put his O. K. on Alaska wheat. The first two crops, it also appeared, had been planted in Farmer Adams' garden, where the soil was very fertile and drilled thin. For the two years the wheat had been sown in ordinary fields the yield had been no better than that of other varieties, and in some places not so good. Farmer Adams admitted in an affidavit that when the wheat was sown outside of his magic little garden it yielded from 25 to 30 bushels per acre—not 222½ . It also developed that his circulars had been prepared by Mr. Day, who had written the newspaper and magazine articles, and that the Adams-Hobe Company was doing its mail order business with the East and South; practically none in the West.

On November 25, 1908, the Postoffice Department told the postmaster at Julietta to hold up any more mail that might come for Farmer Adam’s concern, and then notified the farmer that it was from Missouri and would have to be shown a few things about the cereal marvel before he could get his letters.

Farmer Adams came to Washington in a hurry and began to admit things. He admitted that his wheat, planted under ordinary farm conditions, yielded only about thirty bushels per acre, and that it was “not what was hoped for” He admitted that the claim of 222½ bushels per acre in “large tracts” was not true, and that the only large yield was the crop of 1906. But to back up his claims for Alaska wheat he brought down from Brookline. Mass., F. M. Slagle, who averred that he had knowledge of wheat, and believed that the Alaska grain would be a great yielder; better than other varieties.

Experts Find Nothing Marvelous in Alaska Wheat

They sent Adams and Slagle over to the Bureau of Plant industry, in Tama, Jim Wilson's department, to show Dr. Galloway and his experts what the cereal marvel could do. Now, it takes a mightyiIndustrious plant to startle the Plant Industry Bureau, which on January 20, 1909, advised the Postoffice Department that there was no evidence to show that Alaska wheat was anything but the well-known Seven-Headed Egyptian, or Mummy, wheat, already cultivated in a small way in the Northwest. It appeared to be analagous [sic] to Little Club in yielding qualities, which at best is ranked about half way between the best and the poorest of milling wheats. Farmer Adams was told that if he could give Alaska wheat its right name, state that it was to be ranked with Little Club, both in quality, average yield and breadmaking properties, the department would have no objection to his selling it.

On February 25, Adams made an affidavit to the Postoffice Department, in which he agreed to allow the mail that had accumulated at Julietta to be confiscated, promised to destroy the circulars that he had on hand and also promised that if any new ones should be issued they should be in accordance with the views of the Agricultural Department.

Bobs Up Again at Rate of 206 Bushels to the Acre.

But Alaska wheat was not to be thus summarily cheated of its bright future—as a mail order proposition. On April 5 following, the Agricultural Department tipped off the Postoffice Department that a circular was going out over the name of the Alaska Wheat Seed Grain Company, of Julietta, Idaho, and St. Paul, Minn. It was the same old friend—Alaska wheat, now running as high as 206 bushels to the acre in Idaho, and selling, gentlemen, for the small sum of $20 per bushel. E. H. Hobe, brother to son-in-law O. K. Hobe, was running the St. Paul office. It was a perfectly good circular, with pictures and promises and injunctions like this:

DON'T WASTE TIME
Start Your Fields to Bringing You Big Money.
30,000,000 of Acres are Waiting for Alaska Wheat Seed.

Well, the Post Office Department acted sort of short and suddenlike. On April 19, 1909, it clapped a fraud order on the company and put an end to the mail business. The 30.000,000 acres are still waiting. Not only was it a fraud, declared Assistant Attorney General R. P. Goodwin, but it was a violation of promises made to the department, because the company had submitted one innocuous circular to the Government authorities and then issued an entirely different one to the public. Mr. Goodwin decided that the scheme could be treated "only as a deliberate and intentional scheme to defraud a credulous public."

So ends the story of Farmer Adams and the bead of wheat presented to him by the mysterious stranger from British Columbia. In one of his circulars Farmer Adams admitted that he had heard of such a thing as Miracle Wheat, and Seven Headed Wonder, and Egyptian Mummy, but he did not claim to know anything about them. All he knew was Alaska wheat. Simple arithmetic shows that Miracle Wheat must be three times as good as Alaska wheat, because it costs three times as much. Just what the Post Office Department may or may not do to Miracle Wheat its hard hearted officials will not say. But over in the Bureau of Plant Industry even the stenographers giggle when you ask about it.