Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1885-09-04
THE msAWpUsT GAME"

THE "SAWDUST GAME"
The 'boodle' or "sawdust game" by which
Davis enticed Holland from Texas is a form
of swindling which is carried on extensive.
" by two or three sporting" men in New
York. AS it requires very considerable
sum of money to successfully play the game
there are very few "crooks" engaged in it.
The "boodle" swindlers all make their head.
quarters in New York city, and the largest
operator has made over Sl0O, 900 in the past
five years ont of unsuspecting and greedy
countrymen.
The modus operandS of the game is as fol-
lows:-The swindler secures copy ofa mer-
camille directory and selects the names of
country merchants and others n small cities
and towns whose financial standing is quot
ed at from 81, 900 to $4,000. A circular is
then addressed to the intended victim as
follows:
New YORK, -.
DEAR SIR-You will probably bo surprised as
to the manner in which secured your name and
address, butmy onfdential agent, who was in your
part Of the country short time since, sent mo your
address, and informed me that he thought you
would be q good man to do business with. My bust
ness is not exactly legitimate one but the green
articles l deal in are very safe and profitable to
handle. Do you understand? l cannot BIO very
plain until know you mean business. The sizes
arc ones, twos, fves, tens, and twenties. They
were printed from plates which were stolen from
the Treasury Department and are really bona fde
excepting the signatures. I only ask one favor
that is, if you do not wish to do business with
me do mo no harm. If you decide to transact
business with me write me at once and will
cor tor mr.
If the "boodler" receives a favorable re-
ply to the circular, he at once encloses q
sample, which is good new United States
one dollar bill cut in two in the following
letter =
DEAR SIK-Enclosed find sample of bills. Ny
terms are 200 of the bills for $1OO, and so on in
the same ratio. cannot deal in sums of less
than 5000. If you are coming on answer this at
once and will direct you what hotel you are to
stop at and have one of my agents to meet you
there on your arrival. Answer. - -.
If the sucker" thinks he can pass such
good money in that district and make a con.
siderable profit he answers without delay,
and the sWndler then writes to him and di-
rects him to some hotel, also telling him to
not make any acquaintances in the city, and
to beware of bunco steerers and confidence
men. Upon the green-horn's arrival at the
hotel one of the "boodler's" steerers 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 they that are
genuine the swindler tells him to take five
or ten dollar bill and and 60 out with his
agent to see if he can spend it. Of course
any storekeeper changes the bill, which
makes the sucker" more anxious to get his
pockets full of them. But the "booder"
doesn't let him have the notes then and
there it might be dangerous. So he puts
up whatever amount the victim wants to
buy into neat package and puts it into a
small satchel. and informs the "buyer" that
he will express the satchel to his home,
and he will have the money when he arrives
there.
This is generally satisfactory, and while
on their way out of the Office the satchel is
'rung" or changed by confederate, 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 it. This satchel is expressed by
the "steerer" iu the countryman's presence,
and the latter is hurried away from the
city. If the victim insists upon taking the
satchel, his money is refunded. When he
arrives at his home he finds the satchel full
of paper instead of money, and often writes
to the "boodler," who sometimes makes
him believe that the bag was opened on the
road, and occasionally one victim is roped
in twice.
Thousands of dollars have been made by
this game in tho past few years, and the
swindlers are almost out of reach of the law,
as the 'victim" who would buy counterfeit
money is generally bigger knave than the
"boodler" who sold it to HMM. Y. Herald