Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-06-15
ADROIT SWINDLES
The Washington Dead-Beats Who Sub
sist on the Patronage of Tricksters in
the Political! Rings.


sist on the Patronage of Tricksters in
the POlitica! Rings.
There is probably not place in
the country where the tricks OF
swindlers are more practiced than
in Washington. Not that there
are any more swindlers here than
anywhere else, but it is place where
else, but it is place where shiftless
people get stranded and think and
think and plot and plan to get loans
that they know they can never pay.
There is class, numerous enough
everywhere, too improvident to get
on without leaning on somebody,
that somehow land here, hoping to
get permanent lien on the Govern
ment. This class seldom, if ever,
succeeds. The Government, even the
most extremely political part of it,
has no place for drones or ne'er-to-
do wheels. It wants honest men
who can answer "herew with q clear
ringing voice whenever called, and
whose names are good at the bottom
of check. The dead beat gets on
poorly trying to get Government
place; so, of course, he can do no
better than put his old dead-beat
machinery to work and get out of
town in some way. This means that
somebody suffers.
There is q style Of deadbeat living
and dead beating on a good name.
He may be the descendant of Pres
iden1 though this is rare. Some
honored and honorable Cabinet
Miriste.s have had poor luck with
progeny, and more than one great
Senator has vicariously gone to the
devil in the second generation. The
more honored and we'll known the
name the easier the game. Not more
than month ago the son of a most
honorable gentleman, once the mem
Der of a famous Cabinet, came to
Washington and easily played his
fathers name for $1OO-perhaps for
more; the 500 instance is the only
one reported thus far. To give the
name would be to unnecessarily dis.
honor it It would not help to get
the money back, though poor man
lost it. The swindler came, and was
well received by a friend of his father.
He was shown every attention, and
complimented on every hand. The
friends Of his father are plenty here,
and the son reaped the benefit
When he was ready to go away he
suddenly remembered that he had no
money, and remarked that he would
like to get recognized and "draw on
the old man." He casually remarked
to friend of his fathers,
"you know he is good for
half a million" The friend
knew that he was, and was not the
man to see his son want, 80 he in
dorsed the draft. It took but three
days to learn that he had made q fool
of himself. Tue "old man" repudi-
ated, and the son went on to "work'
the honored name of his father some
where else. This is only one instance.
HOnored names are the innocent
causes of dishonored debts many,
many times every year in Wash
ington. Fathers get tired of idle
sons and refuse to pay their debts,
even at the risk of causing q friends
embarrassment. It is well to beware
of great names.
Another frequent bleeding scheme
is to strike a wealthy man in Office.
The would be- and sometimes are
men work this scheme the
easiest. The genuine correspondents
are to be- feared. OF course a man
hates to be disobliging. especially
when he has, as a politician, been
asking favors all his life, and 80
when he gets to Washington he il
struck for q nice little bundle Of dis
honpred debts. He tosses them
aside as SO many lessons we'll paid for,
and balances them by remembering
how well he has been repaid for lit
tie favors done genuine newspaper
men.
One Of the others, and perhaps the
most frequent of all the schemes il
to visit Washington, spend all the
money brought, and then get resi-
dent friend from the same state to 90
security at hotel. This trick is to
common to be interesting and too
tiresomely frequent to be strange
Senators aud Representative are
bled right along. That is a regular
thing, and they stand it like little
men, or great men, as the case may
be.
Probably the money owned in
Washington by borrowing desdbeats
would build a wall around the city
100 feet high if all were paid at once
with interest to a competent and
trustworthy engineer.