Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-02-05
THE NEW MATRIMONIAL BUREAU.
A Syndicate That will DO a Land
Office Business Between the
East and the West.

-
Office Business Between the
East and the West.
A special New York correspondent O
the st. Paul Mimi Pioneer Press is re-
sponsible for column and half in thai
papers issue, telling the details of a
matrimonial racket lately inaugurated
and describing the workings of a syndi,
cate lately formed for the purpose of pro-
noting intermarriage between the over
plus female population of the East and
the preponderant male element in the
West. The Press says:
"Early in June last half dozen gen.
tlemen formed joint stock company un-
der the name of the American Exchange
Bureau and were incorporated under the
laws OF New York. Four offices under
various disguises Immediately opened,
one in New York, one in Sioux
City, one in Helena, Montana, and one in
Portland, Oregon. The gentlemen forming
the syndicate are well and widely known
as men of wealth and wide financial ex-
perience, including such names as the
Hon. Ellis G. Seymour and General John
Hughes, of New York City; Warden M.
Clay, of Massachusetts; ID. L. Westfeld,
of San Francisco; Henry Woods, of Min
nesota, and Major Edwards, of Fargo,
Dakota. The stock is divided into 500
shares, but it is understood that the orig
inal six hold a controlling interest"
1t then proceeds to detail how the work
which commenced July LIST and closed
November 18th, was proceeded with
| through the medium OF commercial traY-
elers. These men were engaged by the
syndicate to make a thorough canvass of
the whole country. They were furnished
with blanks to get descriptions of men
and women desirous to marry. Correct
name, age, complexion, height and weight
were insisted upon, but fortune, acquire
ments and accomplishments were left
largely to the lady's own estimate. Plitio-
Cal and religious views were not required
candidates being classed by the agent
only under four general heads, "beauti-
full" "fair to middling," "plain" and
"ugly."
The scheme met with great success,
says the Press. Men who longed for
wives, needed housekeepers and craved
companionship; men whose business
conld not be neglected, and men whose
means were limited, all sprang to the
front. The Western agent was furnished
with two sets of blanks, one very
similar to the ladies', with fewer
details, name, age, postofice ad-
dress, and bank account being the inn
portant features. The second blank,
called the contract" and "order card,''
tallies with the descriptive blank filled by
the ladies, the gentlemen simply filling in
age, complexion, height, weight and the
accomplishments chiefly desired in wife.
These orders are forwarded to Eastern
agents, who say they have little difficulty
in filling them satisfactorily. The can
vass closed with the following orders
Dakota, 80, 600; Montana, 25, ,210; Wyom-
ing, 29,912; Oregon, 12,2OO; Washington
Territory, 10000; Nebraska, 2O,249, and
Idaho, 5,O0S, against 40,960 ladies from
Massachusetts; New Hampshire, $1,000;
Maine, 30,7O4; Vermont, 22,50O Rhode
Island, 8,116, and Connecticut, 2S,91O.
A total of 125, 200 orders against 2O8,7O
head of girls, leaving surplus of 1880
still unprovided for. But agents say that
even a partial canvass of Utah, New
Mexico, Arizona and Nevada will supply
them all in the fall shipping season.
"Of course the syndicate makes some
thing out of each marriage. No commits
slons to the company are less than $40,
and some run as high as $500 and 81 900.
Especially in the large cities and subur-
ban towns is the revenue enormous. It
is believed that Boston alone will Weld |
over million and half. There will be |
two shipping seasons the coming spring
foil
be kept busy. The spring shipping
season opens May 1st and closes
August 1st, which will necessi-
tate the sending of over twelve hundred
daily from the two Eastern depots-New
York and Boston. Two trains will leave
each city daily and run straight through
to the great distributing depots OF Sioux
City, for Nebraska and Wyoming; Bis
marck, for Dakota; Helena, for Montana,
and Portland, for Washington Territory.
Oregon and Idaho"
Look out for the first train-load of girls.
Every man who has ordered wife has
MS blank numbered, and by presenting
when the train arrives can claim his
bride by the corresponding number on
'ne of the girls blanks.
The correspondent says a great busi-
hess boom all over the country will result
rom the scheme, and concludes his letter
n these terms:
1.-The nation ought to throw up its hat
or the American Exchange Bureau
nd give three cheers for the boys and
iris who have come to the rescue-two
undred thousand souls with but a single
bought, two hundred thousand hearts
hat beat as one.'