The National tribune., 1886-09-30
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
The Weeks DOingS at the Ma
GOnal Capital
swINDIING SCHEMES.

10 the tont enc al
These letters show that most OF the old swim
dies which have been exposed again aud again
IN the newspapers are still in successful opera
Lion and that some new ones have lately been
invented Following are a few OF the most
recent complaints that have found their way
TO the Department:
A Kingston y. " man writes Z" ] seen an
advertisement from man who offered to tell
me bow TO make forchun If would send
him Is cents. ] wanted fOrchun, SO j sent
him the quarter. and ] rot this slip of paper
next day" The slip reads: How 10 make
fortune: Work hard don't smoke, don't drink,
don't marry, be saying) Now, Mr.. Postmas-
ter-Genemi, don't you think IL Is shame TO
Deat a poor man Oct of has mummy TINS way,
and can't you stop this swindliug through the
males"
A Kcokuk Iowa man complains as follows:
al red in q paper how man would send me a
currect picture Of my future wife II l sent him
the color of my eyes aud hair, and my hight
and forty cents Now. TO tell YOU the truth, j
was just at that time doubtin whether liked
Amelia or Mary best so ] thought would get
the picture and whichever one 10 looked like
most ] would 20 ahead and marry her
didn't Get an answer for nearly two weeks and
was beginning 10 think ! was swlndled when
package cum by mail one day. When
opened il there was nothcn but q piece Of paste
board with n face drawn on h. with lead PEN
Gil, Just like the boys draw in school. IL didn't
look like anybody In partickler ut all. This
is what was wrote underneath correct picture
of your future wile=-her eyes, nose, mouth,
chin, aud other teachers, as shown above. j
wasn't the only one that got left though, nearly
all the fellows that red the paper got caut aud
you OuRhter stop this swindlin."
A REPRESENTATION to this scrapbook reads
this way: . saw in the paper that mission
airy who had travelled through India had dis
covered q remedy for consumption and will
send ii free 10 anyone who suffered from the
disease My wife was eonsumptlve, so wrote
30 the missionary. In answer j received a can
did sympathetic letter such as some philan-
thropic old gentleman might write. aud with IL
a prescription. In postscript u was suggested
that ii ] could not get the prescription hled IN
town might apply TO the writer and he would
get the drugs and put up the medicine Tor any
trife that j should consider suitable i found
on going 20 the village drug store that the
apothccary had never heard Of some Of the
articles mentioned in the prescription, so
wrote 10 the missionary, Enclosing 81, which
amount judged sufficient for the purpose. A
box OF pills came aiterward with letter
filled with religious injunctiOns To my wife 10
have faith, take the medicine regularly, and
trust in God for results. After my wife had
taken about half the pills without any apparent
benefit. our druggist dropped in one DAY and
asked 10 see the wonderful medicine that i had
10 send 10 Boston for. Breaking one OF the pills
open he commenced laughing heartily. When
asked what was the matter, he said: Taken
in. Nothing but dough- and so they were.
The pretended missionary had swindled me
out OF So. ] write this so that you can guard
the mails against swndlers Of the same sort. >
1.-THE swindles recorded in this book are bat
small portion of those practiced daily" said
the official in charge. Most people who are
taken in prefer 10 let the matter pass rather
than take the trouble of writing here, especially
since they know that writing will not restore
their losses. There are many, too, who are
Swindled in such a way that any exposure
would show themselves up in a bad light, Ms well
as the swindlers. The Treasury plate trick is
one of the cOmmOnest, and one into which
gnllible people fall daily. yet no complaint is
ever made. The reason is on the surface. The
swindler in this case chooses his victims and
writes to them that he has come into possession
of Treasury plate from which he can strike of
any number Of greenhacks. I'm order 10 get the
notes into circulation and avoid the suspicion
which might arise from constant use of the
same issue of bills, he offers TO exchange any
amount for bills of other denominations and
allow large discount & specimen note is
always Enclosed, which rs, OF course, a good
greenback. The victim ascertains from hii
banker If the Enclosure is genuine, and finding
IL 70 be so generally falls into the trap. What
ever he sends is, of course, unheard Of again
AND he keeps very quiet about the matter Vol
may be sure"
CONCERNING PENSIONS.
The forthcoming annual report Of Commits
eiOner Black, of the Pension Bureau, for tkt
last fiscal year will show that on June
80 last there were 3657S3 pensioners Oh the
rolls, composed OF 265 S54 army iDvalids. SO, TO.
army widows, minor children and dependent
relatives, 1858 navy invalids ,s76 navy wild
Ows, minor children, etc; 1889 survivors oil
the war of 1872 There were Is, 1897 widows OF
soldiers of the war Of 1912. During the year
- original claims were filed in this class 30l
additional widows appeared on the rolls. 40, 35l
new pensioners were added during the year
2,22S were restored TO the rolls %. 059 pension,
ers were dropped from rolls on account O
death, rcmarriage, fraud. etc. leaving a me-
increase on the rolls Of 20,6S5. The annual
average value OF each pension was $l22. %
gain Of SIZES over the average value Of th,
preceding year. The aggregate annual valu,
OF pensions is S44, 7Os.0 27.44, being an increas
In annual value of S6.6l7, 04l5l. The amount
pad for pensions during the year was $685. 797
63l.6l. The difference in amount paid aud IN,
annual vane represents the accrued and ar
rearaRe pensions paid during the year
q table attached shows that nearly one hal
OF all the pensioners whose names have beer
placed on the rolls since 1861 have died OF
their pensions have ceased by reason Of arriva
al age t2l), Temarilage. etc. During the YEA
lOl,al6 cert bcates of all kinds ineudiu,
Ty,9S9 increase certificates 10 widows and de
pendents under the act OF March I9, 1856. wer
issued, showing large increase in the work O
the Office.
The Commissioner rcnews the recommends
lions contained Ia his preceding annual report
de says the Mexican pension bill is now befor
Congress and the people, and not one word il
the way Of argument in its behalf should b
necessary 10 its success. OF the appropriation
for tbe expenses of the office S3O5, 962 has beer
laaaL iftfq { faa IL.
force Mas diminished during the year by 10
clerks. statement Of the Chief Clerk Is ap
pended 10 the Commissioners report showing
that during 1884 ) 5l.5l6 days of annual AM
sick leave were taken by the employees of IA
Pension Bureau, while for loS5-6 1862 dag
only were taken, showing the net increase 1
time saved during the FIRST year of the prcsen
Administration 10 bc that of one man for 4
years II months and days.
TIIE OLD FRACTIONAL CURRENCY.
Capt. S. 3. Lathrop, OF Illinois, who was r.
many years in the Treasury Department. wa
talking the other day about the old fractions
currency Of the way time, aud told how ID va
that Gen. spinner happened 10 hit upon III
expedicni for small change. He said 81 hay
heard the General talk about il. Eyersthin
ln thcs1ape a coin vanished after war bad bee
declared. Aou could not fnd even a me Z
silver after the Government BEGAN 10 issr
grcenbaclls lfy0u had adoIlar bill with whic
20 go 70 market you bad 10 spend the whole {
you could not pay Tor your marketing Thcl
was no small change and you had 10 TAX
"a fiji -, no an,nt,,,t 49,, a