The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1883-06-30
OUR LETTER FROM BRoADBRIM.

oOh l. ICn 1nA(Nt 0f6Of41oftbNIa
DIR. Monck-The Biggest Humbug of the
Season Exposed-A Member of the Swell
Athletic Club Turns out Thief-Lillian
Russell-Boom in Stocks-The Exodus to
the Summer Resorts, etc.
New YORK, June 16. 1888.
EDITOR CHEF:
For several weeks in succession had oc-
casion to notice certain Doctor Monck as
one of the lively sensations of our sister city
of Brooklyn. I don't know whether to as
cribe it to the completion of the Big Bridge,
which has let daylight in on our benighted
neighbors, but certain it is, that in the last
two weeks the star of the Healing Evangelist
has waned; and in the next two weeks, he
will probably transfer his marvellous gift to
some other and more favored portion of the
globe, and the places that knew him here
once, shall know him no more. His private
secretary has sued him for his wages, and
hearing that he was going to fly the country
has attached his bank account, and in addi-
ton to his financial troubles he has been
denounced as swindler and a fraud. Peo-
pie who pity the poor deluded fools who be-
lieve in the miricle of Joe Smith and Brig
ham Young, would do well to take passing
glance at what has been done in the last
year in the enlightened city of Brooklya.
We are fond of preaching about the enlight-
ening power of the press. In New York
and Brooklyn over six hundred papers are
published, the aggregate circulation of
which will amount annually to great many
millions. The literature of these papers
the heavens above, in the earth beneath, or
in the waters that are under the earth; and
yet it was right here that this impudent i'm
postor started over a year ago almost pen
creating sensation such as Brooklyn or
New York has not seen since the days of
the Millerites. The most impudent of an
cient or modern impostors only claimed to
be able to perform miracles themselves, but
Doctor Monck not only professed to be able
to do it himself, but to be able to transmit
his power to anybody else, Or to send it by
post in an envelop, Or by express in bou-
quet. Monstrous as these claims were,
fools were found by the score who put faith
in them, and as I informed you three or
four weeks ago, they received endorsement
and support from some weak headed Chris
tian ministers. From an humble beginning
in small hall, where his claims at first
were put cautiously forward, it did not take
him long to find that the fools were not all
dead; in fact. the more monstrous his as
sumptions the larger the crop of fools, till
in few months the days were too short to
enable the doctor to attend to the patients
who focked to his doors. Feeling little
curious, I went to the Evangelist's house in
Adelphia street, Brooklyn. 1t was quite an
unpretentious establishment, and was
crowded with women, who seemed to be the
principal applicants for the Evangelist's
healing power. There were two ancient,
long haired men there, who had in common
with the women that sort of looney look of
the great majority of advanced spiritualists.
The Doctor was evidently doing a Land
Office business; the shekels were coming
in right merrily, or as the Doctor termed
them, offerings to the Lord. Exactly how
the Lord came into possession of them was
not made clearly to appear: but the pre-
sumption is that Doctor Monck held the bag
till the Lord called for settlement.
It seems marvellous in view of the infor-
nation furnished by six hundred papers
that such charlatan should have hourished
for weeks and months, crowding halls and
theatres, and filling papers with the adver-
tisements, making countless dupes, swim
ding them out of their hard earned savings
with magic handkerchiefs and bouquets,
and after his exposure be allowed to get off
with his plunder. Business began to fall
off as soon as the enterprising Bohemians
got off on the Doctors track. He had no
family, no any thing; he carried his whole
responsibility under his hat and it was the
attempt to swindle the agent who had as
sisted him to work up the imposture that
brought him to grief. So ends another
arrant humbug, but it is only a question of
day OR two. Some other impostor will
soon start, and take up the ends where
Doctor Monck has dropped them, illustra-
ting the moral noted in the first part of
this 1etfa that the fools are not all dead