The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1869-04-22
.y,g sd el a .ss From The NeV Fork Tribune.
SWINDLING IN NEW YORK,

SWINDLING in NEW YORK.
Iot bs7g5l 80 ! ,9tlGr ----- alna gaEf..WfsT
HOW THE swIxDLERs oPERATE-THE GIFT EN-
TERPRIsE-THE BARGAIN swINDLE--TEIE SEW
ING-MAcHINE swINDLE-THE ExPRKss swINDLE
THE WATCH swINDLR.
No sooner does one ingenious trick
for swindling the gullable public begin
to show signs of giving out, either
through the exposures in the papers,
the action of the police, or the natural
exhaustion Of the material on which its
authors feed, than another is devised;
and forthwith the geese who ought to
be taken out on Sarum Plain, and driv.
en- cackling home to CamelOt, are once
more plucked, and the land is deafened
with their indignant Kisses. Time was
when the victims appealed to the law.
Then, when that abstract power was
found to be impotent to punish or to
save. they wrote to the Mayor, the
Sheriff, the Coroner, the Jailor at the
Tombs, the Chief Of Police, the Sexton
of Grace Church, or even the Street
Commissioner, in the vain hope of OBJ
tanning 'iredress through mysterious
agencies, supposed to be known only to
those dignitaries. At last they invoked
the press AS fast as new bubbles
were blown and burst, bushels of COM
planning letters were sent TO the daily
papers of New York, and time after
time the deluded victims of the swim
dlers' greed and their own ignorance
were cautioned against placing conf
dence in the inventors Of schemes,
which, according to Josh Billings,
"have all the premonitory symptoms Of
a dead beat "5i2a The warnings of the
press were of no more avail than to
break up a few rascally firms for the
time being. These began to operate
again, before long, under new names,
and with new plans. The same vic
Tins were trapped, more letters were
written, the old caution reiterated, but
again and again the Kellys, the Clark
6 Websters, and the dozen and one
other adventurers to whom the COM
mission of fraud was legitimate business,
flooded the country with their circulars
cast their bread upon the waters as
it were--and the return was all their
fancy reckoned it. Mayor Hall has
recently issued a proclamation warning
people in the rural districts against
the legion Of swindlers who operate
with circulars, but it is vain to hope
that even this official caution win be
needed. 90 s9a. 3. H1
Many are apt to think that none but
young and inexperienced people are
taken in by these sharpers. "In the
morn and liquid dew Of youth conta-
gious ylastments are most imminent, +"
and an epidemic Of thievery of the ba-
ser sort is sure to prove fatal to the
thin purses Of young rustics of more
credulity than judgment. But the
danger is not confined to them. Old
people Of both sexes, who have lived
through generations Of all kinds OF
swindles are hooked by every rogue
that throws out a printed line of gilt
tering promises, and their lamentations
are sad to hear. They read the warn
,ings of the papers, but listen at the
same time to the honeyed words of the
tenpter, and again invest their money
in his schemes, only to lose it forever.
HOW THE swNDLERs OPERATE.
There are one or two nOndescript
firms in New York whose main bust
ness consistsin collecting the names and
addresses Of obsure people throughout
the country, and renting the list to ad-
lyenturers at SO much per thousand
names. One of these firms on Nassau
st. is reputed to have a genuine list
numbering 100000 names confined to
the Northern, Eastern, and Western
Estates alone, When a gift enterprise
adventurer desires to sow his circulars
broadcast over the land, he makes an
arrangement with the list-holder, and
at given price copies as many names
as he may wish to use, and for many
days the owners of these names keep
themselves in a state of bewilderment
in attempting to discover by what
means they are known by the single
hearted capitalist of the great metrop-
oils. A large proportion of them feel
flattered at the attention paid them,
and fall lncontinently into the net Of
the snarer To them the simple fact
Of his having put his promise in print
! is sufficient evidence of his honesty
Others are not captured till they read
the recommendation purpOrting to
come fFSm The Tribune and ether New