Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1886-03-13
NO. g..
POSTAL DETECTIVES.
How They work to Keep the Mails Clear
OF Deslgning Frauds.

OF Designing Frauds.
I he ms intenanee Of large force Of
trained detectives, or inspectors as
they are designated upon the rolls OF
the Fost-otlice Department, has greatly
purified this branch of the service in
the particular mentioned. An infinite
number of swindles are still carried ON
through the agency of the mails.
Swindlers reach their intended VIC
Tins by circulars and by advertisements
in careless or charactcrless newspapers.
The former method is preferred by
sharpers, ms being the least likely TO
come under the notice of the official
spies of the department. 1t Is an easy
matter to obtain full lists of any re-
quired number of names, running up
into the millions. Lottery companies
make business of selling lists of the
names OF their patrons. and other
swindlng concerns which obtain orig
inal lists are addicted to the same prac-
ticc.
Countrymen who reply TO any one OF
the hundreds of snap advertisements
wonder how it is that hundreds of fas-
cinating enterprises from one end OF
the country to the other obtain their
addresses, and they feel, some way,
that they must be persons of import
ancc Their vanity is battered. and in
nnumerable instances they undergo
II regular course OF training before they
acquire sufficient fund of experience
to enable them to realize that they are
on the wrong side of the institution for
| the minded.
The art craze, which during the last
| few years has spread over the country
! like an epidemic, has developed swing.
die that is very hard for the depai tments
! TO reach. and which affords livelihood
for a large number of cnterprising and
unscrupulous persons, The knaves tax
the great army of unsophisticated girls
who imagine they have artistic tastes
by showing them. through the
medium of circulars, how they can
put themselves in the way Of earning
comfort lble incomes with the expendi-
ture OF trifing sum for an outiit.
They promise to take work that IS pro-
duced according TO their system,
and require small cash payment IN
advance from the favored artists. The
department finds this most trouble
some class OF eases to deal with, the
originators protecting themselves very
completely, as rule, against proseeu-
ton.
The Post-oilicc Department spent
months trying to break up the scheme
of a man who contracted to send pianos
and organs from his manufactures IN
Maine and California to any part OF the
country on payment of two dollars OF
three dollars or four dollars TO defray
the cost of boxing the instruments
The articles were received according tt
contract, but they proved TO be cheal
toy pianos and organs, the expense o.
boxing which was about ten per cent
of the sum received in each case An
other fellow made lot of money DN
boxing and forwarding very eheaE
mouth-organs to all who patronlzct
him through the mails.
The proprietor of harmless cure fol
deafness rcaped harvest of thirty o.
forty dollars day for u long time
, His Headquarters were in New York
The president OF L bogus medical col
! legc did a prosperous business in sell
ing spurious diplomas, but rs the mel
who bit at his bait were confessedly a
great swindlers as he was, the depart
, mcnt was II long time getting at nm
This was swindle pure and simple.
! An army of ruralists forwarded hard
: earned dollars for "mowing-machin
knife -sharpener, simple, effective,
/. and received IN return sticks dipped i
G emery dust and pieces of iron. Al
$ other ingenious operator found maj
I, ket for thousands of copies of chea
c edition of the Scriptures by rcpresen
ing the book TO be a collection OF yer
tough stories. II is not recorded thu
the department intcrfered with Tn
- Hartford tItOU