River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-12-25
Knayes and Fools.
From the St Louis Globe-Democrat.


The ease with which people of small
means are robbed of their little savings
by scheming swindlers is marvellous
OF course the swindlers are bad men
who deserve severe punishment fo1
their rascality, but all the blame must
not be saddled upon them. 1t takes
two to make bargain, and the indi-
yidual who hopes to get something for
little or nothing is at heart little better
than he who promises TO give some.
thing for little or nothing. The grasp
ing greed of the victim Is as reprehen-
sible as the vile cunning of the conf
dence man. If the punishment for
violating the laws of common sense on
the one band, and of common honesty
on the other, fell equally on both par
ties, there would not be much to say
on the subject. But the shrewd knaves
get all the half-pence, while the kicks
are all bestowed upon the greedy fools.
The wonder is that no amount of ex-
perience seems sufficient to teach the
average human being that the easiest
and surest way of gettiug dollar is to
earn it honestly.
Just now the postmaster at Denver
is kept busy sending letters containing
money orders to the dead letter office.
These letters were addressed to a swim
ding firm 1T Denver, and the money
contained in them was intended to pay
for town lots in mythical place styled
"North Denver" by the rascals who
engineered the scheme. The adver-
tisements published by the sharps set
forth in glowing colors the future pros
poets of North Denver, and warned
purchasers of the necessity for prompt
action. The price of the lots was low
enough to suit the poorest laboring
man or woman in the land, being but
81 each. To make it look as if the
philanthropists offering suct. bargains
were determined that no purse-proud
Spectator should rush in and secure
an undue share of the pleasant build
ing spots designed for the lower mill
lion, the public WAS assured that no
purchaser would be allowed to buy
more than FIVE lots. If anybody sent
more than S., the excess above that
sum would be Indignantly returned.
1t seems hard to believe that many
people could be found ready to be tax
en- in by so Transparent a sWindle as
this, yet it is certain that hundreds and
possibly thousands of men and women
in sll parts of the country hurried their
money forward as fast as the mails
would carry it to the rascals who de-
vised the scheme. The number oil
money-Order letters that began To pour
into tho Denver postoffice, addressed
to the fiat-lot sharps, excited the suspi-
cions of the postmaster. An inquiry
revealed thetrue character of the fraud,
and all letters to that address received
subsequent to the exposure have BEEN
returned to the senders. These may
thank their stars for getting their hard
earned money back so easily. Ii the
Denver postmaster had not been SO
watchful, the saunders would have the
capital now. and the dupes would be
richer only in bitter experience. Hard.
" week passes without the exposure
of some new device for the swindhng
Of comparatively poor people, but the
next scheme Tor the accomplishment
Of the same vile purpose invariably
finds an undiminished harvest of fools
ripe for the swindler's sickle. This will
remain true so long as people permit
their cupidity to rule their reason.
Every sane man and woman knows
that IN honest dealing nobody get
more than he gives. and that whoever