Wichita eagle., 1886-10-06
SWlNDLERS TRICKS.
METHODS BY WHICH STREET aEG-
CARS MANAGE TO SECURE VICTIMS.

Money to Buy . Drink-The Apparently
Respectable Oper.4or-Applicant for .
Two Cent Loan-Unusual Experience Of
. Gentleman-Results.
The number Of mendicants on the streets of
New York this summer is remar kable Az
rule they are Of so vile an appearance as to
excite aversion rather than pity. Some Of
them may be deserving Of charity, but how
are such cases to be Distinguished The very
poorest, ditiest, raggedest Of them are rum
soaked, and frequently plead without conceal
ment for money to buy q drink with That
IS the frank dodge, and is wholly played out
the same may be said Of ninety-nin in every
hundred beggars When one appears with an
original tale there is every reason for sus-
pecting that he or she is swindler. One of
these sort came to my notice recently. he
was neatly dressed, well washed, and in every
way apparently respectable. He was too
proud to solicit aims, but this was the way he
operated Having selected his pla;e, Fifth
avenue was his favorite field, he placed a crust
Of bread upon the curb as if he was making
provision for the birds, and then withdrew.
When group Of ladies appeared he began to
walk dejectedly in front of them until his eye
caught the crust, whereupon he rushed for
ward, seized it and began to eat it with avid
ity. The ladies, of course, were much moved,
and stopped to question him When thus ac-
costed he took Off his hat in the politest fash
ion, and spoke in the most cultivated language.
The invariable result was liberal donation
from the purses of his victims He lived very
well on the fruits of his business until some
body who saw him operate twice unkindly
brought him before court. He was locked
up, and, believe, is still on the island.
Another, though not so original a swindler,
was well-dressed woman, who was in tie
habit Of of accosting ladies in shopping re-
sorts. She had come over from Brooklyn to
make some purchases, but had encountered
pickpocket. 1t was very mortifying, but she
had only five cents left, and would the lady
kindly loan her two cents that she might cross
to Brooklyn on the ferryl Two cents was
her limit, and she usually got l.. No one
knows how much she got in this way, but as
she was persistent in working the scheme she
eventually found her way to the island also
EXPERIENCE OF A FRIEND.
In marked contrast to these cases was the
experience OF a friend of mine who told it g.
follows: 1T was about midnight, il Unioa
square, that was accosted by a gentleman.
1 speak advisedly, for his manner and ap-
pearance were il every way respectable. He
and G friend had come over from England
short time before, expecting to meet some
body at the dock from whom they had prom
iSe OF employment. One was an assistant
to surgeons and the other q decorator of pot
terry. Their men had failed to meet them and
they had not succeeded in finding employ
ment Meantime they had spent al their
money, pawned every article Of clothing ex-
cept what they wore, and were now perni-
less They wanted to secure nights lodg.
ing and q breakfast. This is an Old story but
l was nevertheless; interested. l thought
there might be some charitable institution ID
the city where such cases were cared for, and
accordingly asked a passing policeman about
it. HI, no. he answered, grutfly; let 'em
go to a station house and sleep on q board
They positively refused to go to q station,
however, and l finally told them that if they
couldn't find any help elsewhere that perhaps
might aid them. I would return in an
hour. l then went on, thinking that this
would be a fair test of their genuineness.
''At the end of an hour l came back and
sure enough, they were waiting for me.
reported the case to the clerk OF the Morton
house, and he told ,ne that up to 10 o'clock at
night deserving people might get lodging at
the Christian Association building. It was
now after l, and | finally gave tie men 81
and directed them to Bowery hotel and
asked them to call on Inc in the morning
They accepted the favor gratefully, and
somewhat to my surprise, appeared at my
office in the morning. To make the story
short l gave them another dollar and such
adv;cc Is l could rs to the best way to pro-
cure work This was two months ago, and
although never expected to see them again
had often wondered what had become of
them. Last week one walked into the Office
well dressed and evidently prosperous. He
put q s. bill on ny desk, and insisted that l
should take it. The pottery worker had
secured wori, in New Jersey somewhere, and
the surgeons assistant was at work in the |
College OF Physicians and Surgeons. and both |
were doing well. You may imagine that I |
felt very happy to think that l had not |
turned them OF when they applied to me- /
"Uncle Bili's- New York Letter.