The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-01-15
Seductive Advertisements.

those IN the haDit OF reading thor
oughly the newspapers are doubtless
familiar enough with artificially worded
advertisements like the following, which
are only covers for q nefarious business
or for ingenious attempts at downright,
ewindling: "Twenty-6ve thousand
dollars cash will secure q 0ne.iifth in.
terest in a valuable mining claim in Ne.
vada; three millions ore in sight, which
can be worked under a patented electr;.
ore process at cost of 81 per ton. Ad.
dress Business, &C." Or, ~ have
eleven mines located together in New
Mexico; extraordinary prospects;
want party to advance 81, 800, in month.
ly payments, to sink a shaft; don't want
to sell, but will give an interest in the
property. Address Bona Fides," etc.
The "don't want to sell" in the latter
advertisement is we'll calculated to at.
tract the attention of the supplemented
people to whom it is addressed, though
too transparent to deceive the most or.
binary business man. All the fools are
not yet dead, and "Bona Fides," whose
demands are certainly very modest, is no
doubt now in receipt, from more than
one quarter, of a handsome monthly in.
come. "Bona Fides will continue to
sink that "shaft :" as long as his delud-
ed victims are willing to furnish regular
monthly payments in return for a
shadowy interest in an apochryphal
property. The principal things re.
quired under this system. to wheedle
out OF unsuspccting and unsophis.
ticated people the accumulated re.
suits of years of toll, is little in.
genuity in wording an advertisement,
q plausible manner, q large amount of
assurance, and q tolerable gift of Ian
guage. To do this more effectuallv.
the services of confederates are
required, and these are always to
be found on the spot, ready
to render such as NAV be
necessary, receiving a percentage on all
moneys realized from the jobs in which
they have hand. Last fall an adver-
,isement calling for a young man to 20
to California appeared in most of the
New York papers. The applicant, BY
giving 800 cash as security, was to OBJ.
tain = good position, paying $50 a
month. This California advertisement
proved very successful. Some dozen or
more fools parted with 500 before the
accomplished swindler came to grief.
He told each applicant that be would
suit, agreed to furnish him with a free
pass to California, and promised to re-
turn the 800, which he demanded a.
security for good behavior on the part of
his dupe, after the latter had been one
month in his employ. Written agree.
nlents were invariably drawn up and
signed by both parties in the presence
OF a confederate, who was represented
to be a notary public. This simple, al
most clumsy, machinery, slightly
changed and modified, is still in active
operation. as may be seen by glance
at the advertising columns of our morn.
ing papers.
Wall Street swindlers deal largely in
seductive advertisements. They look
chiefly to the rural districts for victims.
Country papers TEEN with advertise.
ments emanating from the swindling
put and caA brokers' headed, "How
to make Money in Wall-Street." Each
particular advertisement contains ex-
travagant descriptions Of the wonderful
exclusive advantages posse :sed by tour
firm for manipulating stocks. Accord
ing to the seductive advertisements of
the ''Mutual Stock Operating Com
panies," it would seem that stock specu.
'ation has been by them reduced to 50
perfect a system that they can at any
time during business hours dip out large
buckets tull of gold from the Pactolian
stream popularity supposed to flow
steadily through Wall-Street into the
East River. There exists in New York
certain class Of sharp financiers, who,
having no money Of their own to invest,
eve their whole mind to the investment
u other peoples money. These in
,estments are permanent, in fact, for
me most part, too permanent. The ad.
'ertisments of these phiIanthropists ex.
'laln that they have facilities for loan. !
ng money on 6rst mar'gage security Of
'holce farms in the West. where the |
egSal rate OF interest is almost donb'c |
What it is in some of our Eastern States.
ma where the security is more ample