The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1886-03-25
POSTAL DETECTIVES.
How They work Ia Keep the Malls
Clear Of Frauds.
fHsrfforl Globe
Hartford Globe

The maintenance of large force OF
trained detectives, or inspectors, as
they are designated on the rolls OF the
Postoflice Department, has greatly puri.
fed this branch of the service in the
particular mentioned. An infinite
number OF the swindles are carried on
through the agency Of the mails.
SWindlers reach their intended VIC
tins by circulars ard Advertisements in
careless and char4cterl-ss newspapers
The former method 10 preferred by
sharpers, as being the lelst hksy to
come urder the notice Of the official
spies Of the Department.. IL s an easy
matter to obtain full lists Of any re-
quired number of names, running up
into the millions. Lottery companies
made a business Of selling lists of the
names Of their patrons, and other swinl
ding concerns which obtain origina.
lists are addicted to the same practice.
Countrymen who reply to any one Of
the hundreds of snap advertisements
wonder how it is that the hundreds OF
fascinating enterprises from one end of
the country to the other obtain their
addresses, and they feel, some way,
that they must be persons OF impor-
tance. Their vanity is fattersd, and in
innumerable cases they undergo regu-
lar course of training before they
acquire a sufficient fund of experience
to enable them to realize that they are
on the wrong side of the institution for
the feeble minded.
The art craze, which during the last
few years has spread over the country
like an epidemic, has developed swim
die that is very hard for the Depart
ment to reach, and which affords
livelihood for large number of enter
prising aud unscrupulous persons.
The knaves tax the great army of un-
sophisticated girls who imagine they
have artistic tastes by showing them,
through the medium Of circulars, how
they can put themselves in the way of
earaiDg comfortable incomes with the
expenditure Of a trifIng sum for all
outfit. They promise to take their
work that is produced according t.
their System" aud require small
cash payment in advance from the
favored artists The Department finds
this a most Troublesome class OF cases
10 deal with, the orr .inators prot ctlns
themselves very completely, as u rule,
against prosecution.
The Postnifice DEPARTMENT spent
mobtas trying 10 break up the scheme
OF man who vautracted tn send pianos
aud organs from his manufactures in
Maine aud California TO any port OF the
country on payment of 81 or 50 or 81 to
defray the cost of boxing the instru
ments. The articles were received &C.
cordug to contract, but they rreved to
be cheap toy pianos aud organs. the ex
pense Of boxing which was about ten
per cent OF the sum remitted in each
case. Another fellow made lot of
money by boxing and forwarding very
cheap mouth organs to all who patron
ICED him through the mails.
The proprietor of snide but harmless
cure for deafness reaped harvest of
$50 or $40 day for long time. His
headquarters were in New York. The
president of bogus medical college did
o prosperous business in selling spurious
diplomas, but as the men who bit at his
bait were confessedly as great swindlers
as he was tho department was long
time getting at him. This was swim.
die pure and simple.
An army of ruralists forwarded hard.
earned dollars for knowing machine
knife sharpener, simple, effective, and
received IN return sticks dipped in
emory dust and pieces of iron. Another
ingenious operator found market for
thousands of copies of a cheap edition
OF the scriptures by representing the
book to be collection of very tough
stories. 1t is not recorded that the De.
psrsment interfered with this missionary