The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-03-02

6WtHOAtt, ana more dangerous lf&QQ
upon the public than the former. 1t
seems to be carried on chiefly at the
expense OF she soldiers. and It Is oftheif
benefit especially that We undertook to
expose il. The managers Of it appeal
to the credulous public by sensation
advertisements in substance something
ike this q
$4,000
WORTH OF TATcHEs AED TEWEIRY,
70 be sold for one dollar without regard
70 value, and not 10 be paid for till you
know what You are 10 get.
A schedule Of articles and prices fol
lows, embracing gold watches at 500,
silver watches from SIS to SO each,
gold bracelets and chains, cameo, mo
siac, coral and emerald brooches,
diamond pins, and numerous other ar
ticles, valued at from s. 50 TO so The
advertisements say that articles enum-
Grated IN the schedule viii be sold for
81 each; that certificates Of all the ar
ticles are placed in envelopes, sealed,
mixed and sent by the mail rs ordered
without regard 70 choice, that on re-
ceipt Of the certificate 'yOu VIII see
what YOU can have and then it Is at
your option to send 81 dollar and take
the articles or not" Certificates 25
cents each, Eve for 81, &c. Agents
allowed ten cents on every certificate
We have not copied any one adver-
tisement but compile the above from
five which are before us, which profess
10 be issued by different firms, and all
which, though varying slightly are the
same in substance and often IN words.
Any number of su,h advertisements
can be found in the illustrated week
lies, and nobody viii have any difficulty
IN identifying them. What We have to
say applies TO all Of them alike. They
ali advertise watches and jewelry, and
some Of them add TO that the prize
package" stationery, the value of which
viii appear hereafter.
The method OF doing this business
has been investigated with care. and at
considerable expense, by public spir-
tied citizens, and the facts have been
put in our possession. Some Of the
statements we shall make, we know Of
our own knowledge 10 be true, some Of
them we take on the authority of our
informant, for whose veracity we vouch,
and some of them-the most remark
able and conclusiye-wiu appear by an
official certificate The investigation
was conducted as follows:
A letter was sent TO each one Of five
separate firms, who advertise in the
manner above set forth. Each letter
contained an order for certificates or
goods. according to the terms Of the adj
vertisement, and each inciosed $50. A
COPY of the letter, and the names Of
the firms 70 which it was addressed, and
the answers which were received from
each of the FIVE, are before US We
take one answer as specimen, and then
state the aggregate Of all
This answer Enclosed l30 certificates,
of which we copy one, emitting names:
"On the return of 81 and this certifi
cate, with Is cents in cash, or post-office
stamps to pay for packing and postage,
we will send you a Fff I1
GOLD LocEET MARKED Al s..
There were IA certificates Ike the
above, promising the delivery Of various
articles AT 81 each; 81 certificates at s.,
80 at Sc, 16 at 81, Z at s., 3 at SO, and
at sl5--in all, $50 certificates, on the
face of them good for articles valued at
S752 From another firm were received
a watch as premium, and 100 certificates
OF similar form to the above repre-
senting articles valued at 1899 A third
firm sent watch, and lJ5 certificates
calling for articles marked at S70T
From fourth came a package of Jew
elry inToiced at $50, at wholesale prices !
From. the fifth, $50 packages of station
cry, and IS certificates, representing /
articles Of which the cash value IS
marked at S5ll.
In all, there were received ASS. certifi- !
Gates for the 500 originally invested
By the terms of the advertisement, and
Of the letters, and of the certificates /
themselves, it appeared that on return 1
of these certificates, and on the further /
payment of one dollar on each, the APP |
plicant would be entitled to receive |
goods valued at SO 1913. IN other words. |
for q total investment Of 1888, adding /
Is per cent, these firms promised TO re |
turn nearly four times that amount
That on the face Of it is a swindle
In the first place, nothing is yet re-
turned for the money spent. The Gus |
toner has received certificates which /
are worthless unless he chooses to in |
vest more money. Undoubtedly this 4
is one source of the profits; man who |
has received only a lot Of eertifi Gates |
for the money he first sent, becoming |
reluctant to throw away any more In |
the second place, here Is no lottery, no
Of chances between blanks |
and prizes, but an absolute undertaking /
by these firms to pay to those who deal !
with them, on return of the certificates,
four times the value Of the money re
ceiyed That is what it amounts to, /
stripped Of all the delusive verbiage Of 1
the advertisement
OF course, such a business cannot be /
honestly conducted There IS fraud /
somewhere. 1t would be quite sufficient.
in order TO warn the public against
il, il the investigation had stopped here
But he who had il in charge having sat
isfed himself of its rascality, concluded
to make clean work of il, and to salts
fy the public, also, beyond cavil So
the demonstration proceeds
Having spent Sl00 for certificates,
worthless in themselves, and not pro
Tossing to be worth anything, except BY
further payment, he now invested an
other 500 to test their representative
Talue A hundred certificates were sent
FOR redemption those Of the highest
nominal value being selected They
we're presented at the places Of business
Of these firms, the money was paid, and
! large number Of articles received
Each certificate, it win be remembered,
salled for certain article and the
iealer was bound to deliver that article
or dollar The articles now called
or were gold band bracelets, at $40.
diver hunting watch, al SIS; gold vest
.hains, at S. gold studs, at IS; gold
,ens and silver extension cases, at 81:
old pen, pencil and holder, az s., and
nany other similar articles, ali gold and
liver. Those were what the applicant
Tas entitled to get He did, in fact, re-
Give 2ll pieces or sets Of jewelry, and
I've watches, the aggregate nominal
7alue of which was $500
We inspected these articles. 1t was
yident enough they were not worth ,
that they were represented 70 be worth.
'ome of the " gold pens had not a
article Of gold IN them, and could not Z
'e written with at all. Some of the !
silver holders were scarcely washed
lyer, and were 50 weak that or, rrravs;y,,