Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1868-12-12

aud opened the door to swindlcrs asd r.s.
cal>. There was not a city, town or vii
laec in the land that did not present some
scheme to raise money for the benefit Oft
soldier. AID the principal attraction of sil
Of them vas lottery whereby some iorta-
nate ticket holder was to bc made wealthy
for life BY simple turn Of the wheel.
Eie-ant md valuable prizes were often dis
tributcd fairly and to the satisfaction of
the tickst-hokicrs. Those who won were
Of course ssejoiced, while thase uho lout
snapped their fingers and consolcd them
selves with the idea that their contributions
had done some good TO the soldiers.
But these honorable managers Of chari.
table gambling schemes were speedily
pushed from their stools by speculative
sharpcrs, who FASTENED to cater in their
own fashion to that dcpraved public appc-
titc which had been unwittingly aroused
hy these patriotic pioneers. These swind.
lers initiated their predecessors, announcing
their gift concerns" distribution enter
priscs," etc, for the benefit of soldiers,
soldiers widows and orphans and the like,
but followed no further in their footsteps.
For valuable prizes they substitute in some
instances galvanized jcwelry, fictitious pc
trcleum stocks, or some equally worthless,
but far more frequently absconded entirely,
after having sold as many tickets (and as
many pcoplc) as possible. Notwithstand.
ing all the exposures which have been
made of these swindling concerns, and the
large sums of whicl.thc public have been
robbed by gift enterprise sharpcrs, they
still flourish and thrive in our land, rccciv-
ing thousands of dollars daily, for which
they give no equivalent whatever. The
gift enterprise business has come to be
recognized as an ordinary calling and the
men who are principally engaged in it are
recognized in Wall street as are other bust
ness men, and hold their heads aloft, ac-
cordMg as they have money in their pock-
cts. The nclarious transactions have been
exposed and denounced time and time
again by the press, they themselves have
been frequently arrested and confined in
jail, but still the business goes on, the
number of dupcs are the same, and tho
money still flows into their purses. The
gambling spirit invoked by the war is still
abroad in the land, and any scheme which
promises to give fortune to some one
who has not earned it, or offers two dollars
for one, "ncw lamps for old ones," is sure
to find plenty of people cred,Aous enough
to invest in it--as did my exceedingly
proper aunt.
The manner Of conducting these swind.
ling schemes is very well indicated by the
letters received by myaunt. The concoct-
ors of the :. Enterprise" by literally advcr-
tising in the rural papers, and sending cir
cuars to every person whose name can be
found in the Directory fevcry city and
town in the country, find purchasers for
their tickets. An individual having
bought one ticket, various means are
sought to make him or her purchase still
more. Promises ofprescnts arc unsparing-
ly made, not unfrcquently the individual
is quietly informed that the managers have
SO arranged matters that they can control
the drawings Of tic prizes, and If the indi-
vidual addressed will bcstir himsclf and
sell one, two, or three hundred tickets, he
shall not only have liberal commission
on his receipts, but the managers will
guarantee that his own ticket shall draw
such prize named in tho schedule as he
may most desire. This bait takes well--it
is so natural for one person to wish to have
nm advantage over othcrs-it is like betting
money on certainty. Of course such
promises are never kept to the agent any
more than are those made to ordinary
The agent is put off with
promises or with some almost worthless
!. prize" which is booked to him as "val.
lied" at $500, $500 or $500, according to
There il no law prohibit
ing person from putting such "value" on
his goods as he plcasss. I received from
Bark, Bite 4 Co., for my aunt's ticket, .
'' fine gold watch, valued at $200"-the
same watches can be bought at Wholesale
for $50 each-and If the purchaser grum-
bles at that price, the manufacturers will
throw in barrel or two Of them.
These Gift Enterprise swindlcrs conduct
their business 30 as to keep within the law,
and although the attempt to punish them
has frequently been made, il mover has
They have been arrested BY
the police authorities, their places Of busi-
hess entered, their mails, consisting Of
hundreds of money letters, have been
seized, vet in every instance the rsscals
have escaped puni-hwcnt. and in the end
succeed in compelling the authorities to
restore all the property seized The rear
-on Is this-evcry ticket which they sell
elaims Ia Le n ticket of admission TO .
'.Grsnd Concert. /" and this is held 10 he
considcrssios fr the Dosey Paid.
and hence a perfectly Legitimate tsssass-
iion--a simple case of buying and selling
gods. The tickets which my aunt pur-
rhassi read a. fcllovz:
rsekst o. Gsua9s - n~ses~
0rssA fss~<asssiss Bst1rrisr-
Csph.i u - .isA
!. IN sisAxs sn6islss - ha.lars - - shase
: GRAND DIsrriBrfIoS