The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1879-10-01
CONFIDENCE MEN.
The Tricks They Resort to to Get Other
PeODiu's Motley

The Tricks 4 neg Resort 10 10 UeC Vthe
Peoples Motley
In Wilkie Collins novel, ''No Name,
there is q breezy adVenturer sailing under
the name sf Ga tain WIsgg, who is al
excellent representative of the large
class of humanity who live by theil
wits. and realizing thst the world il
their oyster, proceed tc open it in the
most approved fashion, not with sword
but that wkapCn, the tongue, which /;
far more effective than either the befOre
mentioned piece of fcutlery or the might
ier goose, Quill, which Is presumed to be
such q powerful Weapon in the hands q
men entirely great The Captain, being
interrogated concerning his avocation, in
q burst of charming confidence, says:
''There ale many Varieties Of rogue.
Let me tell you my variety to begin
with. I am sWindler Don't be
shocked. Don't be astonished. SWindler
is nothing bit word of two syl ables-
! winds wri-n>d-l-e f4-let-=swind>
ler. Definition: A moral agriculturist
q man who cultivate the field of human
sympathy. | am that moral agllculturl
ist, that cultivatipg man. Narrow
minded mediocrity, enviOus of my sue
cess in my profession, calls. me a swind>
| ler What of that7 The same low tone
of mind assails man in other professions
| in a similar fnahner-calls great writer's
scribblers, great generals butchers, and
go on. It depends entirely on the point
of view. Adopting your point, L an
nounce myself intelligibl4 as swindler
Hear what l have to say for myself in
the exercise of my profession" Then the
Captain cleared his throat, mentally
assembled his entife army of words, horse
and foot, artillery and reserves ! put
himself st the head, and dashed into
action, to carry the moral entrench,
ments of society by general charge.
Among his observations in carrying out
this theme was "All the world over the
man who has not got the thing obtains 1t,
on one pretense or another, of the man
who has--and in nine cases out OF ten
the pretense is a false one. What Your
pockets are full and my pockets are
empty, and you refuse to help me
Sordid wretch Do you think / will
allow YOU to violate the sacred obliga-
tons Of charity in my person? [ won't
allow it. say distinctly, won't allow
it. These are my principles as a moral
agriculturist !"
Harold SkimpOle was another of the
same ilk, and Richard Swiveller tried it
on q smaller scale, but restricted his
operations to the regjOno cOnfding souls
who dealt in small beer and kidney
stews. The captain quoted above was
nothing more nor less than a confidence
operator.
The readiness with which fools and
their cash can be separated accounts for
the existence of that small but acute army
of swindlers who go by the name of con-
fdence men. There are recruits to the
army who desert after a short service,
simply because they have made their
point. The temporary impecuniosity
which impelled them to duplicity to raise
the wind has been tided over with the
help derived by devious methods, and
the slight bunting of moral perceptions
is soon forgotten. Probably the field is
never cleaned sgain. There are some,
however, who descend to the confidence
business, IS the cSptain did, and make
systematic affair of it. The higher class
of rogues, who adopt this species of craft,
are elegant of dress, insinuating and pol
ished in manner, and gifted with the
perceptive qualities which enable them
to E'read right through a man." Rely
ing on his brass, his good clothes and
his oily CANNON, the confidence man
slides gracefully through the world, livs
ing on the fat Of the land at he expense
of his too 0nfiding victims, whose check
books or pocket~bOoks are at his service.
Sometimes ne ''strikes snag" and goes
to prison and fingers there awhile inglo.
riously, but when his time is up he starts
out anew and selects new field of oper-
ations. There are various ways in which
the confidence game is worked As an
instance: James Porter, merchant
from Oshkosh, comes into town to buy
goods. He exhausts the newspapers and
the photograph albums at the hotel and
goes out doors to take little walk to
break the monotony. A welldEessed,
smiling individual steps up to him, and
with q most agreeable bow, addresses
him by name, much to Porter's aatonish-
ment. The stranger remarks: / see /
have the best of you. You don't know
me any more. Pm Dixon's son Cor
nephew, as the swindler prefers). I've
been away from home some years." He
then enters into some particulars cone
cerning his own prosperity and soon gets
into the confidence of his new friend.
The walk is prolonged. After awhile
another man steps up, taps Dixon's son
on the shoulder and presents bill. VIII
Mr.. Dixon be kind enough to horror it?
Mr.. Dixon discovers that he has no
money, but whips out check on some
bank for an amount in excess of the
claim. The s'dun" does not happen to
have any change and demands his money
because the train or the boat on which
the imaginary goods have been shipped
has steam up and is ready to depart. and
the terms of the house are O. O. d.
Dixon becomes embarrassed, and either
appeals to Porter direct or 50 works
upon his sympathies by his embarrass-
ment that the latter compassionately
demands to koow what the amount OF
the claim ia. and, being told, forks it
over, taking Dixon's big check az secur-
ity. The third party, having got his
pay, vanishes. Dixon and Porter con.
II IN ~