Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-08-19
ABOUT A HUNDRED SUCKERS.

. The following. from the Lacrosse
Chronicle of July Goth. may interest the
readers of the TRANSCRIPT, inasmuch as
the sw,ndler alluded to was in Austin but
few days ago. and several of our citl-
zcns-yes, some of our prominent citi-
zens-were taken H." While we have
no sympathy for them, We do not think
the CITY authorities ought to license this
class of street pedlars:
Yesterday morning a pleasant looking
fellow called on the chief of police and
asked if there would be any objection to
his selling cutlery. etc.. on the streets.
exhibiting state license as hawker and
pedlar either on foot or by wagon. Tue
chief asked If he was running a square
business. "Oh, yes; true as a die
Straight goods and every thing as repre-
sented." Mr.. Clark told him that some
times men were allowed te sell on the
market square if they were all right
The stranger left and nothing more was
heard of him until evening, when he sta
toned himself in buggy by the city
scales, and collected crowd by doing \
few highly appropriate tricks with rope
around his neck. Then he began selling
sleeve buttons at twenty five cents and
returning the money to the purchaser
This took mighty well. and the crowd was
soon ripe for bigger business. A glitter
ing gold watch was displayed with fine
big chain attached. worth $50 as the peo-
pie were assured, but to be sold at the r.
dicul0us price of one dollar. When the
first dollar was passed up. a watch was
placed in big envelope. the buyers
name marked thereon and the package
laid on the buggy seat in plain sight
| 1t is hard to believe there could ever
have been second dollar offered for
| such game, but there was and dozens of
them. When trade grew slack the seller
chain and offered the whole outfit for a
dollar, which brought another rush. FL
nally when there was about bushel
basket of watches done up and marked
the merchant began reading off the names
and passing them out. This was done
with lightning rapidity. but before the
last one was disposed of the crowd be-
gan to yell. the horse began to dance.
the gentlemanly driver siezed the reins
and went flying away. Examination
of the watches show ed them to be some
| sort of composition about as thick as
| tin with nothing under heaven inside ex-
cept paper dial. The chain was good
honest solid brass. The police were
sharp after the fellow and Albert Clark
caught him on State street. He was
searched and taken to Jail. He had a
pocket book bulglng with bills and a
canvass bag Of change, in all $176.
| There was also his state license issued to
J. II. Dalton of Owatonna, (although he
registered at the hotel from C;ncinnati)
and one-day licenses issued by the corpo-
rations of Austin, Wascca, White Bear
and other places. He had also note is
sued to y. Deutschmann" by two others
of the same family name for $500. But
his most interesting document was bill
of the goods he sold. 1t was from
Lamos & Co., ~ Washington street, Chi
cago. The watches were billed as flock
cts, at $36 per gross twenty-five cents
each);i the chains cost shilling each,
provided he had no discount on his bill,
making the outfit thirtv-seven and one.
half cents. Dalton has a partner by the
name of Stookey, said to be the tight
rope walker who was here in the spring
| Dalton's little game is much older than
the sphinx, or Susan B. Anthony or any
thing else coming down to US from the
far and misty past. It has been shown
up IN thousand newspapers; yet there
were business men, one alderman and
dozens OF people that one would think
ought to know better, crowding around
the wagon eager to get for one dollar a
$50 watch and five dollars thrown in.
Further comment really is unnecessary in