The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1871-09-26


Here the man in drab nervously asks
if he may bid
"No," says the auctioneer, "you can
not bid ) 1 cannot bid. The watch must
be sold to bona fde bidders-once-tw
and gone to Mr.. Cash for twenty
dollars"
Our sharp friend takes the watch and
pays his twenty dollars. He never can
explain how the thing was DONE but he
will tell you that the watch was the poor
est quality of bogus article; and that
what puzzles him most of all is that it
should have been worn six months by
that innocent man in drab without its
worthlessness being discovered.
He reads with more interest than ever
accounts of swindling in mock auctions
but none of them hit his case exactly.
The truth is, these rogues do not run
one plan great while as soon as its pc
culiarities are discovered they invent
new way of covering their rascality, and
thus the public is continually entertained
with some new way of operating, and the
man who is on guard against any partic-
ular mode of swindling is almost sure to
be roped in on some other trick He
shuns one slough only to run into anoth-
er prepared expressly for him. When it
is remembered that there are hundreds of
susceptible points in every mans mind,by
the touching of which he may be led
hither and thther almost at will, it is no
wonder that accomplished sharpers who
are thoroughly familiar with the charac-
teristics, tastes and pecuiarites of the
general public, can devise schemes with
out limit by which large proportion of
this general public can be deceived
Success in such schemes is not chance
work. 1t is the result of thorough
knowledge of the weak points Of human
nature, and bold unscrupuIousness in us
ing that knowledge to advantage.
Here we must protest again against a
great deal of sympathy that is manifested
for the rumcrously swinded public
There are plenty of phases of business of
swindling which call for our deepest
sympathy such as deceiving old and in
experienced people who are travelling, by
means of playing upon their fear, igno-
rance, or credulity, and thereby getting
their money away from them. But, as
general thing, people who enter mock
auction room deserve but little sympathy.
If man buys for twelve dollars a watch
he supposes to be worth one hundred
and twenty-five dollars, he must know
that somebody is to be the loser, and it is
all the more discreditable to him that he
sees the unfortunate possessor of it be-
fore him, and believing him so hard press
ed that he is obliged to part with his gold
watch at that ruinous figure, he still bids,
and finally secures it at ninety dollars less
than its actual worth The fact that the
auctionccr is swindler, the man in drab
clothes an accomplice, does not make
him any the less an incipient rogue. He
is undeveloped and inexperienced, and is,
therefore, beaten at his own game. He
should be the last man in the world to 90
whining to a newspaper Office to ask them
to expose that wicked establishment that
has beat him out Of twelve dollars in
cash. He should pocket the loss, and
congratulate himself that he only needs
experience and opportunity to become
first class swindlcr
The great source Of success in all such
schemes is, that there are crowds of peo-
pie who are ever ON the watch to get
something without paying anything
like its actual worth. They are ready to
become the passive recipients of others
gains while the rogues who carry on
swindling establishments are bold, active,
and INSCRIPTIONS. The people that fre-
quent mock auction rooms are the mega
tive poles, while their audacous mana
gers are the positive poles of these great
batteries of rascality. They are compile
ments Of each other, and each is necessa-
ry to the schemes of the other. They
are both swindlers one positive, the 9TH
er negative.
A few days after our visit to the auc-
tion room | met my friend.
have something to tell you" said
he; "out of curiosity, ! have given some
attention TO these auction rooms for the
last two days, and have seen that little
man in drab come in with tears in his
eyes no less than ten times, and inquire if
they could sell watches for other peo-
pie"
swell, what of him 2"
"Why he is a regular pcnitentiary bird,
known to every detective in the city"
Rather Old.
The inundation of HI, which swept