The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1874-05-05
Tricks Of Sharpers.

NE w 1Ohh leJJer gives Jne 1OllOW-
IA ing description of some of the meth
ods employed by black mailers, to raise
money.
In a great city, it is safe to say, that
nearly one-half the population have no
good reason for living. The number of
rumsellers, gamblers, thieves, confidence
men and people who steal living would,
if put together, make an army large enough
to have crused the rebellion. now speak
of the male ulcers on the body polite
there are at least 10000 women in the city
who live by equally disreputable means
The meanest and most despicable of all
the scoundrels who infest the city, next to
the politicians, are the professionable black
mailers, and few paragraphs devoted to
them may be of interest to your readers
The black-mailer is man, or woman, who
possesses some knowledge of another per-
son which will not bear open daylight, and
then extorts money as the price of silence.
For instance the professional black mailer
goes night after night to fashionable
gambling-house, and watches closely the
players. They are admirable judges of
human nature indeed, this is the first quail
ification of the business.
He fixes upon some nervous player who
is losing heavily, and notes to dollar his
losses. When the player finally quits and
leaves the house he does not know that he
is being followed, and that the street and
number of his residence is taken nor does
he know that watchful eye follows him
the next morning to the bank or office
where he is employed, and that by noon of
that day every fact in his history is in the
possession of cool, calculating merciless
scoundrel, who by knowing what he is, ha S
hold on him that will ruin him.
We will assume that the victim observed
in the gambling is the cashier of a
bank. From the moment the black mailer
spotted him he is not out of his sight for an
instant. His losses are carefully noted, his
goings to and fro observed and noted, and
every incident that at all compromises him
is set down with circumstances. For be it
known, he who CANDLES has other vices
in fact the most Of the raw men at gam
bling tables are those who have squandered
money not theirs on unlawful pleasures
and they fly to gaming in the hope of get
ting even by stroke of luck.
When the black-mailer has got "points"
enough on his man--that is when he has
facts concerning him, if made known to
his employers or family, would ruin him
he moves on him. He takes him aside and
tells him boldly what he knows of him, and
assured. The victim puts ON a bold front
and defies him. Mr.. Black-mailer expects
this, and it doesn't move him.
He pulls out of his breast pocket a little
book, and he reads to him that on such a
night he lost 50, 900 at John Chamberlin's
on such another night $1,000 an another
night he was at house in 92d street, with
q woman closely veiled, but whose name is
So-and-So, that moreover he pays the board
of Miss So-and-So, at such a street and
number in short the black mailer reads to
his victim complete history Of his secret
life, so methodically arranged as to make
denial useless. And after this no denial is
made. He willis and gladly pays the price
demanded.
But it does not end here. Having once
paid he belongs soul and body to his tor
mentor. The threats of exposure, SO eff
cacious the first time, are equally SO the
second. He comes again and again, until
the dupe becomes desperate and flies the
country. f
Frequently they do not wait for tho com,
mission of crime. They select a timid
nervous man and threaten to accuse him o.
crime if he does not come down handsome
ly, and in many cases they succeed, Tho
victim submitting to be bled rather than t
be accused One Of these gentlemen mel
his match the other day. f
A black-mailer, graduate of the stat'
prison, accused clerk Of stealing from his
employer and proposed to ''hush the thing
for 5000. The intended victim gave
seeming assent but privately made ar
rahgemonts with the police and had hi
matchmaker arrested with the money in hi
hand. II was fortunate that the clerk has