The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-10-15
Advice to Straasers visitIap the City.

WHERE there are grapes there will be
the foxes, and the rascals who make
their living by prowling around increase
in proportion with the visiting strangers.
Then swindlers, gamblers and confidence
men of all kinds, who have been plying
their games at the watering places, the
race-courses, and the country fairs, or
wherever people gather in crowds, are
on hand in full force to meet the crowd
that this month assemblies in the CITY,
| and few words Of caution to strangers
in New York may save our visiting
friends much annoyance and loss. Some
of these swindlers, not content to await
the arrival Of their victims, 60 out to
meet them, and many man who has
met an agreeable travelling companion on
his journey to the city has learned a
lesson in regard to this kind of swindling
that he will not soon forget. To those
unused to travelling we would say, be
careful Of showing your money Only
take out enough at stations to pay for
tickets; keep sufficient loose change for
incidental expenses in a handy pocket,
and have the resi- securely placed in some
inside pocket. Having disposed of your
money, don't fuss about it and every
now and then feel to ascertain if it is
safe, rs there is no surer way of directing
a pickpocket than this. 1t is a safe rule
to treat travelling companions with polite
ness, and nothing more; allow no sudden
intimacies; if one persists in taking you
into his confidence, the chances are that
he has some end to serve. Don't change
any large bills for anyone, and do
not tell any stranger what your
business is, or where you are
going to "stop" Those who have
Travelled much, and are good judges Of
character, have no need of these eau
tions, but those who have had little or no
experience should be careful how they
make chance acquaintance. Whatever
you may do at home, by all means avoid
card playing while travelling
When wearied with long Journey the
temptation with some is very strong to
accept the invitation to make the fourth
hand at game of cards 1t is safe
always to decline, and often highly
dangerous to accept. The social game
is readily turned into gambling one
Only twenty-five cents side to make
it interesting;;' this point passed, the end
G mt for II ic Epnyrr, hot
leading from the city are infested by we'll
dressed, gentlemanly" gamblers, who
+" travel on the make" and we have seen
persons stripped by them of every dollar,
the conductor apparently knowing all
about the little game. Within the city
the traps that await the stranger are
numerous. One Of the common tricks of
the street hummer" is to run up to a
stranger with open hand, pretending to
be very glad to meet him, asking
when he came to town, how he
left the folks, where he is stopping,
and all that; if the stranger does not
know the chap, he says: "Oh! here
comes Charlie" and Charlie is sure to
know the stranger twice as well as the
first one. 1t often happens that a good
natured person, feeling the loneliness OF
a large city, thinks he might have known
these persons at some time or some
where If he hesitates or stops to ex-
plain he is quite likely to be taken pos
session of by his newly-found friends,
who will not leave him so long as he has a
dollar This thing happens almost every
day directly in front of our Office, and
our young men, when they see it going
on, do not hesitate to step out and inform
the stranger of the character of his
+" friends" Another game is for these
chaps to get names from the hotel regis
ter and then call upon the guest with
some story of being related, or other ap-
peal to his sympathy. The only safe way
for an entire stranger in New York is to
absolutely repel all advances of whatever
kind from unknown persons. Let him
make up his mind what points he wishes
to visit during the day and learn from
the hotel clerk how to reach them. If
he wishes information while on the
streets, ask it Of a policeman, and of no
one else. Avoid auctions, great sacri-e
fices," I" dollar" and other cheap stores
of all kinds. If he wishes to make pur-
chascs, and has no friend to advise with,
ask the hotel people for the names Of re-
spectacle dealers, or consult the adver-
tisements Of the daily papers. Much
more might be said in the way of advice
toestrangers in New York, and the same
applies to other large cities, but we have
touched upon those which our observa
ton shows are most needed. Remember
that money is the first requisite in travel
ing, and that next in importance is
common sense" which, among other
things, wi1l'lead--to the proper care and
expenditure Of it.-American AgrtcMl-
turist.