The Portland daily press., 1881-02-04
Price $500
Price only $3.50.
MECHANIC FALLS, Me-, Dec.

MECHANIC FALLS, Me-, dec. 81 1851.
DEAR SIR:-You have been recommended
as suitable person to introduce our Escelsior
Corn Shelter and american Mo,oing Machine
Knife lSha1pe,ler, to the farmers in your vcin-
ity. Retail price of shelter, $3.50; Sharpener,
to your friends and neighbors, will send you
Shelter and Sharpener and GIVE them 10 you
FREE. We should expect you to sell to your
neighbors, if they wished TO buy, at the retail
price, and we will supply you with what you
might sell for $500 for shelter, and $3.50 for
knife sharpener. We do not ask you to spend
your time in showing the articles, unless you
so choose, only when not busy with your own
business We make this offer to introduce these
articles into each toacn an the U. S. at once.
We put the Shelter and Sharpener against
your time; il you do not sell all you get is a
Shelter and Sharpener for your time, and we
lose both; If you make some sales, you make
$3.50 on each and get Shelter and Sharpener
for yourself, and we make sale of our goods.
Ii you accept the offer send us one dollar to
pay for packing and charges Of transportation,
which we estimate will cover cost; if not, we
will pay balance ourselves, and we will send
you Shelter and Sharpener free of expense.
1--WE allow you ten days to take advantage of
this offer Ii you do not wish to accept, please
notify us SO we can engage some one to take
your place, and recommend to us some good,
rellable man OF your town who would deal
Justly with us if we should send him goods on
credit. Very respectfully.
EASTERN MANUFACTURING Co.
Mr.. Swan had previously been in the fruit
business and had in his possession the names
OF large number of farmers throughout the
country, and to these farmers aud others he
sent these circulars for the purpose of obtain
ing larger number of names. He sent to the
town clerks of Massachusetts,, New Hamp
shire, Vermont and other States, circular let.
ters with forms for the town clerks to fill out
with the names of farmers, residing in their
vicinity, agreeing to pay the clerks for their
trouble, in some instances fifty cents for fifty
names, in others twenty cents for twenty
names. These circulars to the town clerks
purported to have been sent by the Poland
Manufacturing Co. and the Kicker Rake Co.,
Mr.. I. B. Swan being the Co. Having OBJ
tanned the names he omitted to pay the clerks
for their trouble, and farmers would then re-
ceive the above circular. He also had another
scheme for operating on females This ,ras
the Mechanic Falls Jewelry Co., and the fol-
lowing the circular:
OFFICE MECHANIC FALLS JEwELRY Co.. \
Fine Jewelry Speciality, Agents Wanted. !
MECHANIC FALLS, Me-, Jan. 3, 1881.
Dear Miss:-We desire to advertise our
goods in your town; if you will aid us we will
make you a present of the following articles,
viz: One amethyst gold plated ring, one
ladies' imitation coral neck chain, one gold
plated shawl pin with stone centre, one gold
plated ladies set.
Retail price of above goods $40 We intend
10 send an agent soon to your town and we
want our goods advertised before his arrival
Ii you will! show the above goods to your
friends land tell them they came from our
establishment we will send them to you free.
Inc goods will wear for years and are very
handsome Ii you accept our offer send us 50
cents, Tin cash if you can, if not 81 cent post
age age stamps !,, to pay for packing and postag-
toned and send them to you free of all ex-
pense. We should want you to wear the
goods so that you could tell any one whom our
agent might refer to you that they are first
class goods. Ii you do not desire % accept our
some good, reliable lady who will accept.
We allow you ten days to accept. Hoping
to hear from you at once we are
Truly yours
MECHANIC FALLS JEwELRY Co.
1t is proper to say that Mr.. Swan was the
"Co.' and had none of the stuff on hand
when the circulars were sent, but waited to
see If it would work up 'sboom" and used
the stamps they produced to advance the in
terests OF the Eastern Manufacturing Com
pany. Quite number of females, mostly
factory operatives, weakened and sent the
stamps.
10 refer to MIR. Swans operations under the
the name of the Eastern Manufacturing Com
pany, it is proper to say he received a large
number OF letters from all parts Of New Eng
land, unregistered and registered, containing
postal money orders and money from farmers
who accepted the proposition to act as agents
for the company. Those gentlemen awaited
with glowing anticipations the day when they
should retire from the hard labors of the field
on the profits accruing from their agencies.
Their authorizations were doomed to disappoint-
ment, when, having remitted their one
dollar to pay the expenses of packing and
transportation of the Implements to be sold to
farmers they received the corn shelter and
knife sharpener described as follows: