New-York tribune., 1868-01-07
HOW TIE VERDANT ARE SWINDLED.

PRISES - BOGUS JEWELEKS-I.OIIEEi AND
EMPLOYMENT AGENCIEs-THE GETTYSBURG
AND OTHER CHARITABLE swINDLEs.
Whatever else may be said of the character
stics Of the American people, is certain that our gu
liability q lately popularized-s one OF our
most noticeable pccularies. Every specious rogue
swndler sharper humbug, or whatever else he may be
called who can invest lie with freshness and novelty.
OF receiving the most liberal from
all classes society; and when the cheat II DIS
covered and preelamed BY & me press throughout tne
overy body has heard Of and laughed at tho huge sell
Te most Infinite variety and extent Of the fraudulent
gt enterprises bogus lotteries aud confidence schemes,
renders complete eose OF the Ingenious operations OF
these professional sWndlers an inpossbihty Tor, com
Ing they do from almost every city In the Union no
article could De made sufficiently coinpfehenhlye 10
include them all Recent Investigations, however, have
famliarized with the swlndes perpetrated by most
OF the confidence operating IN tue vicinity OF
New York aud for the benefit OF our readers We give
brief subject The facts recorded may be
relied accurate III every particular as tey nave
been carefully collected with the assistance OF ocefs
who have long been engaged In detecting and defeating
these swiudng operations and no statements are made
T. which documents IN our possession 40 not vouch
TIE truths revealed by careful oi ths eh
L Ayo system OF fraud, are peculiarly interesting ata
time when enterprises, OF similar character, are
enjoying the liberal patronage OF the public OIu opera
tOis having exhausted their credit under hafdozen
different names, arc again coming FORWARD VIII ncsn
scmes Of deception; and some more lpuuent lhah te
rest have yenured To seek and obtain the ndorse
me nts OF prominent officials ahd oltLehs 10 aiu ,iem IA
derandnS the public by appealing 70 ILe patrStsn
Aot satisfied with past experiences OF bogus jewelers.
eia enterprises, and other lotteries, every new
form % OF sTnae epssed y Ir s
Thc facilities Afforded by the mall have heretofore been
dependence OF those who sought TO fleece the
public by OF fraudulent gift aud lottery enterprises
Ihis system OF swindBg is By means new, aud pobs.
extensively IN England many years ago. The plan
adopted by him the sending OF letters 10 all parts OF
viousy obtained that the receipt Of shilling he would
tell them Of something to their advantage The success
of his rauds the Immense profit accrung from them,
induced many SUBSEQUENT limitations OF the Original
In lt.
have been played for long une but whlh lho past ~
and in with plans carefully devised aud bold
y executed. Among the earliest Of these OF which we
have any detailed account were the operations OF Young
writing under the name OF Joliet OF whose letters
DslK sE bsv. p.ci,g. fp.psr o yOu o. Liver
2o Eagad sbug. thereon receipt Of which
S''i ss % gi % b. seat ''' % such WILLIS ol.r "
In most instances the money was promptly forwarded,
and young rascal pocketed the amount The large
number OF letters arriving at the POSOce addressed
tins which was unknown IN business circles and
be found In the directory aroused the Suspicion OF
the officials and secured Joliets arrest Swindes OF
like character have since been carried on In various
parts OF the country, and many found, even now,
who will credit the representations OF men purporng to
hold similar packages for delivery Some twelve years
ago another Of fraud instituted which
amusing n II was wicked Some one signing himself
d. Conneson mailed autographed letters 10 ministers
residing different parts OF the country, which vailed
their purpose under covering OF wecounterfelted
piey The writer described himself employing the
leisure hours OF Sabbath afternoon by writing TO
with whom he was wholly unaquaintcd, save In that
sympathy which persons OF Ike temperament inyolun-
tary feel toward one another" He alluded 10 time
when detained Sabbath In his village 1t was his
TO hear that much impressed him with
its calm pety and deep perception OF human nature,
which coutrasted pleasantly with the coness and FOR
may OF metropolitan sermons. After a little judcious
nattery Mr. Conneson suggested that his
might induced call the rural pastor 10 the charge OF
would accept He then referred to work lately pub,
shed containing long and favorable notice Of the
and impressed with his style. In postscript he
incidentally mentions that the price Sf the work .
dollar aud half, or thereabout" Offering TO procure
a copy and send II, II he has not already seen
It flattered and unsnspciou,s OF fraud. many "a
Of these carefully selected victims forwarded the
money, thanking Mr.. Connolson for his dslnerested
to YORK i be should be convinced that such was
his duty to his master" &C or course the writer's never
informed the postmaster Of the cheat that
perpetrated through the convenient agency OF
eretIons. but not until he had realized considerable
profit About this time Dashal Co." inaugurated the
successful In all parts OF country, of which viii
give general facts respecting the mode Of procedure
the same means were adopted to obtain names
aud addresses are now omplassd OF these
are engaged in the business Of procuring letter
addresses exclusively One means adopted is the send
aud villages Of every State. requesting them to Ill the
Same with the names Of tradesmen, manufacturers,
clerks professional men, farmers, and public officers.
We before Of these blanks flied according TO
IN Mississippi which has evidently been prepared with
and contains over 300 names The pretext employed
the fea o TINS m coS @ i nS sa1ss. and
business directory OF the States and the Inducements
offered for compliance the promise OF copy Of
the work when finished, or any work OF equal value
10 be sent immediately In addition to being generally
successful this involves but little expense, and most OF
the name brokers prefer 1t to any other Advertising is
extensively resored TO, when other means unsc
cessfu notice will appear III the journals having the
largest out town circulation, 7heh is calculated To ex-
cite the curiosity OF the reader valuable secret re-
ypaled without charge !" is OF the many forms TO
which the unwary invited To reply. inclosing stamp
"somethng every gentleman should have IN his pocket
Valuable information 10 young men contemplating
matrmony" have both been largely used. Other firms
employ special agents travel and collect These
alphabetically entered IN suitable registers and sold
or TO lottery swinders for much hundred
II they fresh they command high price but the val
decreases in proportion 10 the number OF times they
have been used Dashsll & Co.'s enterprise pro-
jected scale that startled the public with Its magn
Among the prizes were several interesting fables with
which the public from time to time deluded-The
Farm the Hudson, The Fifth-aye Mansion The Race
Horse "White Raven;" coach, horses, and harness;
watches silver In every variety splendid yachts pianos,
c &c. The true character OF Dashall & Co was soon
discerned, and armed with the necessary warrants the
police one day made descent upon the Office OF TINS
bogus firm. They found room bare OF everything but
the customary table and chairs. and enanted by
save strong armed, red faced Ish woman who was
gagged In the work Of scrubbng the floor. window,
openne on shed that communicated indirectly with a
hallway and back stairs, had afforded the rogue chance
escape No papers books were found, as they had
been previously placed beyond the reach OF the police,
and the parties were unknown no arrests we're made
Subsequent Investigations, however, revealed the fact
that the party signing himself Dasha CO. had real
ized O0O from HIS atrocious frauds, 80 per cent VI
which clear profit
In attempting erpost OF the swndles Of more recent
will be impossible TO mention all even OF those
whose papers are In possession. few may be
lected fair specimens OF their class ana OF those
enough may be said to disgust the public with any future
confidence in their representations Prominent on the
black lists stands the name J. ii. Whitman CO.. who
have come before the public under dozen different
asmmest st' Eliot Co. Frank Mass Co. and Thos
Bout Co Their business the sale OF bogus lottery