The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-09-18
THE "SAWDUSr" SWINDLE.
n GAM Z IN WHICH THIEF AND VIC
TIM ARE BOTH KuAvES.
Wien who Come e New York "a Buy
counterfeit NOncy-slOW They
Are '"E aiken En,D

Wien who Tome to New York TO Buy
counterfeit N~Oncy-Eqow They
Arc ''E aiken sn."
Referring to the fatal shooting of
"Tom Davis, the New York swindler,
bya Texan who had come on to buy
counterfeit money, the Herald says:
The "boodle" or ''sawdust game by
which Davis enticed Holland IRON Texas
is a form of swindling which is carried
on extensively by two or three "sport-
ing" men in this city. AS it requires a
very considerable sum of money to sue
cessfully play the game there are very
few "cruoks" engaged in it.. The "boo-
die" swindlers all make their headquar-
tiers in New York city, and the largest
operator has made over 500, 600 in the
past five years out of u~nsuspecting and
greedy countrymen.
The modus operandi Of the game is as
follows: The swindler secures a copy OF
a mercantile directory and selects the
names of country merchants and Others
in small cities and towns whose financial
standing is quoted at from 81, 600 to So
600. A circular is then addressed to the
intended victim as follows:
Il NORK,-
DEAR Din on Will PROBABLY De surprised
as to the manner in which | secured your
name and address, but my confidential agent,
who was in your part of the country a short
time since, sent me your address, and in
formed me that he thought you would be a
good man to do business with. My business
is not exactly a Legitimate one, but the green
articles deal in are very safe and profitable
to handle. Do you understand / cannot be
very plain until | know you mean business.
The sizes are ones, twos, tives, tens and TWEEN
ties. They were printed from plates which
were stolen from the treasury department and
are really bona fide excepting the signatures.
| only ask one favor-that is, if you do not
wish to do business with me do me no harm.
If you decide to transact business with me
write me at once and | will send terms and
sample. Yours, --
Ii the "boodler" receives a favorable
reply to the circular, he at once encloses
a sample, which is a good new United
States one dollar bill cut in two, in the
following letter.
DEAR SIR-Enclosel fini sample of bills.
My terms are 200 of the bill for 500, and SO
Oh in the same ratio, | canno deal in
sums less than $200. Ii you are coming on
answer this at once and | will direct you
what hotel you are to stop at and have on9 of
my agents to meet you there on your arrival.
Answer. --.
If the 'sucker" thinks he can pass
such good money in hat district and
make a considerable profit he nswer
without delay, and the swindler then
writes to him and directs him to some
hotel, also telling him to not make any
acquaintanccs in the city and to beware
of bunco s~tcerers and confidence men.
Upon the greenhorn's arrival at the hotel
one OF the ''boodlcr's" s~teerers meets him
and escorts him to the office. There he
is shown packages of new United States
treasury notes of all denominations, and
to make him doubly sure that they are
genuine the swindler tells him to take q
five or ten dollar bill and 90 out with
his agent to see if he can spend it. OF
course any storckeeper changes the bill,
which makes the sucker more anXiou:
to get his pockets full of them. But the
"boodler" doesn'tlet him have the note:
then and there; it might be dangerous,
So he puts up whatever amoun the
victim wants to buy into a neat package
and puts it into a small satchcl, and in
forms the 'buyer" that he will express:
the satchel to his home, and he vii
have the money when he arrives there.
This is generally satisfactory, anC
while on their way out of the office the
satchel is ''rung', or changed by a con
fcderate, he taking the one with the
money in it and giving the ''steerer, ;
who always carries the bag to the express
Office, one with slips of paper in. Thit
satchel is expressed by the ''steerer" il
the countryman's presence, and the latte
is hurried away from the city. If thu
victim insists upon taking the satchel
his money is refunded. When he ar
rives at his home he finds the satchel full
of paper instead of money, and Otter
writes to the 'boodler," who sometime
makes him believe that the bag wa
opened on the road and occasionally on,
victim is roped in twice.
Thousands of dollars have been made
by this game in the past few years, an(
the swindlers are almost out of reach o
the law. as the victim" who would bu'
counterfeit money is generally a bigge
knave than the "boodler'' who sold it t,
him.