The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-07-05
A VERY OLD sWINDLE
SUCCESSFULLY WORKED ONCE Mokg
Ga the Farmers of western psuu,,I,anlG--pa,
Lightning Rod Iu,s.tnrSts- uArtln's srrty
Child Badly Hart-PIellss Yesterday.
General aAd Personal Gossip.

The old regulation lightning rod man that
has figured for years past in story and song,
has at lest made a visit to Greene county,
Pa, and has Scooped In the guilelEss farmer
right numerously. The advance guard ar,
rived in Waynesburg, June II, in the shape
Of two well dressed, gentlemanly-looEing men
and drove in buggy to the Downey House,
and registered the names Of ]. p. johnson
and Z. Strass, Fl. Wayne, Ind. On the next
day, Monday, man and woman travelling in
o buggy stopped at the hot,l and registered
as O. Hub and wife, Ft. Wayne. Iud., aud
proved TO belong 10 the first party named.
The two frat named men made several trips
TO the country In the meantime, and on
Thursday, the 2lst Of June, a tWc.horSe
wagon, the body OF which was covered with
canvas, the shape and make up leading the
boys to readily mistake 1t for the bill wagon
OF circus and menngerie, drove into town
On the seat wero two men and woman,
and all stopped al the D0wney House, ths
driver registering as B. P. Phillips, TT,
Wayne, Ind, but the other man, who
called the woman his wife, didn't put
his autograph TO the register no doubt fol
prudential reasons. The canvass covered
wagon turned out to bea lightning rod de.
post, and II there was any advertisement
about It to indicate Its character 1t wa
carefully and nicely concealed blythe closely
q ting canvass about It's body. This who'll
party of men, and no doubt the female poT
tion OF 1t might very properly b. included
were set of base frauds and swindIeTa, OF The
same kind that have been prtylug upon thu
unsuspeeting farmers In different parts OF tllt
country, and by different ingenious anG
fraudulent schemes in all the past years.
But though warned time aud again By
the newspapers OF the day to sign nj
paper IN the hands OF strangers without
first consulting lawyer or some one IL
whom they have confidence 1t seemingly
all does no good, and number OF farm
ers OF Greene county are to-day mourning
the loss OF from hundred 10 two hundred
dollars each, from not heading what they
read, or else from not reading what they
should heed.
These men, johnson, slrass & Co.. with the
fair damsel thrownin just to make 1t inter.
esting, were first.class sWindieIsot the light
ming rod stamp, and the thievlng scoundrel.
operated in the vicinity Of Wayneiburg for
ten days or two weeks, and rOpeds In quiteA
number OF suckers who have had credit for
possessing more brains than TO bite at such a
uOuhs 4Ic luOub VI OptEhllVn was luE Tue
advance agent to ride out among the farmers
and negotiate for the sale and erection OF
lightning rods on farmers buildings,
The inducement was strong, 10 be for
tilted against the deadly electricity for two
dollars. Who could resist the temptatioa2
After the farmer signed his name to an agree.
ment to take cheap lightning rod and a
bogus fire insurance on the buildings thrown
in, by little thimble.rlgging and thumb
papering by the nice lightning rod man, the
agreement turned out to be an itsm'zsd
statement OF sale certified tn by the farmer
Jonathan Jewell was euchared to the
amount Of $3.50; David Buchanan, OF Morris
township, 1854; Port Rinebart, OF franklin
township, $3.50, he seeing he was In for II,
followed the swindlers to WayneSburg and
paid 1t off. Andrew Hu0hes, Of Wa hing
ton township, was also taken 10 on light
ming rod. and finding by the time the wagon
men came round to put up the rods that he
was sold, refused TO have The rods put 10 his
building, but the men claimed they had his
name 10 an agreement and 1t would be all
the same, rod or no rod, he then proposed a
compromise and got the strangers down to
twenty-five dollars, which he paid, and then
paper was destroyed which puiported to be
the contract ne had signed, but whether It
was the same he does not know. ]. Mad.
Scott, Esq, was another that was taken in
for about the same amount as those above
mentioned.