The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-06-02

Eight or ten years ago what was known as the
Saw Dust Bus mess WIS lipurishing in this
city. class u swinders Obtained the names
Of thousands OF persons throughout the cOun-
try. aud sent them circulars Offering to sell them.
at a low rate. counterfeit money that would pass
ahywh1rr. N some cases thgy sent a good
one-dullnr bill ns q sample. The victim had
no difficulty IN passing It. He became sat
islcd tnat he had fortune within his grasp.
lie, scrnpcd together all the money pos
sihle, and sent It TO- the swindl"rs for
supply Of the rounterfeits. In return lac re-
eeiyrd a carefully sealed package by express.
On his opening IL there was nothing found hut
sawdust or -lils Of pnper cut TO the size of green
backs On writing the swindlcrs. h. was inform
ed that probably some of the express agents
had stolen the countcrieits under the impress
thized deeply with him. and would forward as
mu'h more at u greatly reduced rate II he would
send the money or course the victim never
got any counterfeits although in some cases he
sent money half Il dozen times. THE Sun and
other newspapers exposed the, fraud; and the
was totally broken w.
They then sought new occupation. Some OF
them went into Wall street and Hooded the
country with circulars Offering great induce
ments to farmers and mechanics to enter into
stock speculations on a small basis. They are
amasscd p much wealth. Every day w. receive
their circulars from our SUI scrl"rs asking d-
vice. and could I'LL our columns with them II nec-
essary. Other OF tho Shwdust sWin,llcrs started
spurious petroleum companies and during the
oil fever scattered their circulars far ana wide
over the country. selling shares TO their dupos
at dollar apiece. and coming money-lOst in
gambling dcns as soon NJ received.
The discovery Of gold ia the Black Hills gave
tho fellows a fresh trail. They came together
In little groups. organized on paper mining
companies with fancy names and 90, iiainlng
stock certificates engraved and printed. Crcu-
lars were issued setting forth tho prospects
Of The, COMPANY N glowing ,colors They in;
were hlled with such terms a. bed rock
iree gold. rich body 9Ire. wire gold. nu-
es S u ,gpor n Tho e nun WV tns ycH
n poor miner without money 10 develop it, and
every countrynan was Invited 70 take from 81
10 $50 in stock and become rich. Biz stories
were told concerning the dividends of the Con-
sOlidated Virginia. the Bobtail. the Crown Point,
Belcher. Raymond. and Ely. and other celebrated
mines. and the swindlers rakcd in another for
tune. TIE SUN and one or two other newspa-
pers again exposed them. and the business ia
The fellows have struck a new vein. No
longer able to sell their stock. they have bought
up all the old letters they can find in the
country. They cut The signatures from these
letters and send them e. the writers, innocently
inguiring whether it IS in their handwriting II
so. th"y are entitled To- a certificate OF gold
mining stock valued at $500 The writer OF the
| original letter acknowledges the signature. and
| forthwith receives beautifully engraved tSr-
| tin'Hte Tor i've shares Of Silver Mountain. Gold
| Gulch. sem.ng!e. and Rod Elk Mining Com
pany's stock There il No. charge. The shares
| come 10 him free gratis. In nineteen casos out
| oi twcuty he ahks no questions. but salts
| them down and awaits developments. Mean
| time. h" Receives anonymous newspapers
| giving glowing descriptions Of the cNtruordl-
| nary richness Of the mine. with probably
| II
| Nih rlu'is'N or n ll,aS NEWSPAPER. W liulh
| month Or SIX weeks he r"""iVes notice Of nm
assessment Of dollar share. IL IL small
| sum, considering the high value ~ the stock.
! The company are Just on tue eve of surprising
di-coNorirs, and ar" sending money TO- the
cutting VIM II Will be- tho biggest thing
! ever known. I'll" money Is promptly forward
ment accompanied bv a letter from the mining
! engineer. With this H-s"s-m"ut the 9tti-i il
Will b' fully opened. ami 90 pr celt. 4 INiaoud
ala. aNH 4 q
| ond s., AMI continues pnclLs these as ~
ments until. g. use the II rae ~ "a" ~ iuIl'r-.
W.E ',' ru NM. t',' 'l ' u ~,
| tain AMI simiiar frauds. Tn" inlHtuht"n of thr
y"tI. however is remarkable. one man
! from Virginia wrute us twi 'e asking advice. AMI
/ was told IL WIS fraud. Despite all. he invest
! ed. and Is now payirs his g7-gssmgnts only
/ Cooyman's Landing. \. Y:
DIR Sm am 'to,Shonlcr in the q n and Silver
/ Bu,hqn Mmns tomian, S,.f since is nrN discovery
come back ou me 81 yi,cr. 20 {" Tie prsi ei,cr once
dc nine and wan, 10 know what ha, i,cone Of IT,
sHm Ami il wSr t nans AMI 6a. 1' h, S Sn 1
| a,nds rl,s'c inform NE com,nienu"Hi want to
CONSTANT RKAnsu
| The mine Is on paper. and worth nothing.
! This man. MS wei rs our West Virginia friends,
/ has been swindlei. Though the names Of tho
mines are different. the swindlers are probably
Ono word Of advice 70 all readcrs u The SrS
! DESTROYS Of investing in gold or silver mines.
/ The writer spent nearly yrnr in the mines oi
J Colorado, tan, Nevada. and California. Forty
/ nine out Of ifiy men who visit the mining coun-
/ try for the cXIr'Ss purpose OF investment lose
| thcir money. What showing can a man have who
never goes within 5000 miles Of n mine. even
/ supposlng these paper mines TO be genuine
! II mine proves valuable. ring Of directors
obtain control, and the small stockholders are
frozen out. They get nothing - not oven a
smell. Such has been the in ali the rich
/ mines on the Comsto'k lode.
Finally. any man who suhscrihos To- tho stock
! Of mining or any other company on the
strength of u printed circular coming from IN
unknown source deserves 10 be. and undoub;-
eddy will be. swinded.