New-York daily tribune., 1865-06-15


jewelers. Manufacturing Association, volun.
teen to relieve the public of its superauous
cash.
This concern advertiscs gold and silver
watches, jewelry, silver-ware, gold pens, and
many other articles of great value, to DO sold for
81 each. Not an article in the list is valued at
less than 81, yet none is to cost more than a
dollar, and there are no blanks in this lottery
but all prizes. So that it is seen at once to be
an enterprise Of the purest benevolence. That
everybody who wants gold watch for dollar
may know how to get it, we copy the follow
ing extract from the adyertisement-withO
charge, on this occasion:
"One million certificates bearing upon their face the
names Of the articles as above enumerated are each
nclosod In plain envelopes and sealed undisngnisha-
bic from another mixed and placed In repository,
without choice from which they drawn as ordered.
The seaied envelopes containing certificates marked
with the Of the article descriptions and marked
price it entities the holder to- will be sent by mail tn
any address at 25 cents each on receipt OF the cer
Gates the purchaser ascertans the exact article he
entitled to- which he obtain upon the return Of the
certificate and 81 to the office OF the Association"
Not wishing, however, to encourage too san.
guine hopes we copy also our former account
Of the success Of an experiment made last year
by an incredulous individual who was so Gu
rious as to wish to find out how it was these peo-
pie made money by selling gold watches for a
dollar. He spent hundred dollars for the
certificates" above referred TO-, and found
himself the lucky possessor of lot Of paper
tickets purpOrting to represent property to the
value of so, 1913, and this property he was en-
titled to receive on the further payment of S455.
Not wishing, however, to impoverish these
rashly. benevolent Samaritans, and rejecting,
perhaps, that he had already spent 800 for
which he had as yet received nothing but seer
tifcates," he selected hundred OF those that
promised the most valuable articles and sent
them for mption-paying another 800 for
the articles. He received lot of watches,
jewelry, gold pens, &C., Of which the nominal
value was $599.
Very good investment of 5000, was it not 7
But stop minute. We said nominal value.
As the articles were all gold and silver-at any
rate professed TO bet was edsy to ascertain
their actual value; so they were sent to the
United States Assay Office, melted up, and a
certificate of the net proceeds returned. And
how much does the ingenious reader suppose
this $599 of gold and silver proved to be worth 7
inst nine dollars and sirty-tnO cents ($9 62)!
That was what our friend got for the Two
Hundred Dollars cash he had invested. And
that is about what anybody will get who chooses
to invest money in the New-YOrk jewelers.
Association.
Our attention is just now drawn to this sub
ject by remarking that the police Of Washing
ton intertered last week to stop the operations
of the concern, and even showed themselves
so hard hearted and insensble to generous
impulses as to arrest the principal and assist
ants on q charge of Swindling. "Evdcnce
WAS produced" says the telegram, =" to show
that the gift concert partook of the character Of
a gambling institution. The parties were held
TO bail before the criminal court" In Boston
also, they met with Encouragement from the
police, SO that in two cities at least their facili-
ties for swindling have met with serious check.
The certificate -jewelry business is, in fact.
under whatever name carried on, nothing but a
gigantic fraud extending far and wide over the
country, and causing many innocent but rather
green people losses they can i'll afford. During
the war; the soldiers were cheated enor-
mously by it. Millions Of dollars have been
paid for utterly worthless stuff. Somehow, the
business ought to be stopped.