The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-09-22
THEIR OWN COMPANY.
Messenger Boys Scheme to Make
Money Easily.
They Collect Money on Bogus kilograms and
Make Fun at Their Victims Expense.
In tho City Prison.


An over-enterprising band of messenger
boys employed by the Western Union Tele-
graph Company quite recently established
company of their own to do business on
novel plan. Some of these are now in prison.
Their corporation was not organized to
gi We value for its receipts. just to col
lect money was the idea, and the incorrigi-
Bile Youngsters found themselves business
rivals of the Western Union people without
having to bother themselves with lines. OIL
fees, in struments or employees. The scheme,
however was soon discovered, and three OF
the boys were led into trap set by them
selves.
These less fortunate lads are Ike Anuix-
ter, who lives with his parents at l522 TURK
street; Arthur Marshall, living at 739 Fol
som street. and George Heller, living at 74O
Harrison street. They are aged u, IA and
u years respectively but Annixter acts anu
assumes the position of leader and spokes-
man for all Owing 10 their youth they were
booked on the City Prison register for the
Industrial School, although arrested on a
charge Of obtaining money by false pre-
lenses.
THE RINGLEADER GONE.
The boy. who is said to have been the ring
leader, has disappeared from sight OF the
police. He Is known as Cole, and lived on
Shipley street. Dat mug" remarked one
of the little prisoners as he grinned through
the bars Yesterday was San Francisco
messenger and went on de Union, but did
not come for his pay. He Amt a bit foxy,
is he?'
The three Young prisoners wore their uni
forms in the cell, minus their badges, and
looked with contempt on other lads who
kept their company. Toward evening
dispute ensued. and resulted in Annixter
and Marshall with their enemies being
placed in the dungeon for punishment.
The mother of one of them called at the
prison, and was allowed to see her boy
through the bars. DE jagged US, sad
the youth, in explanation, "for playin' ball
IN de street, see? Dere amt notln to cry
about" And he kissed her between the
iron railing.
1t is thought that the boys had not been
working their scheme for more than week
or two, and that they were not successful 10
any extent Still they are said to have OBJ
tanned many n dollar from unwary persons.
How much more of their trickery may come
to. light could not be surmsed yesterday.
WHO ARE THE DUPEs
In hotels, where they chiefly laid their
operations. it cannot be known until the
bills of a number of guests shall have been
paid aud some merchants may not consider
themselves dupes OF messenger boys LOT
some time, when they will learn that the
kilograms received from these lads were
bogus.
In the telegraph offices blanks, envelopes
and receipt sheets are accessible to the
messengers. Some of these unpromlslng
youngsters bethought themselves OF turning
this to their necuuiary advantage, and they
soft To work in q hack of the
Western Union Company's offices to carry
the scheme into execution.
They read the personal columns in tn
morning papers and addressed envelopes IN
hand as nearly as possible with their COM
mand of the pen, in imitation of the clerk S
flowing caligriphy, to selected names. This
done they either folded blank message forms
and placed them in the envelopes OF, to suit
their moods. piled on the agony by writing
dispatches to their dupes. The names were
copied in regular order upon a receipt form.
and opposite each was the amount OF
charges due. With liberal supply of these
messages the boys started out to make
money. How the little rascalS worked Is
best too by the Clerk of the Occidental Ho-
tel, one of those victimized:
WHAT TIE CLERK DID.
"When we receive n message for any
house for few days" said the clerk, I'VE
pay charges, if the receipt slip of the mes
senger boy shows charges. OF course 1.-THE
money is included in the guests bill after
ward. 1t is an every day occurrence. We
never took particular notice of the boys,
who generally came in in hurry and left
quietly"
At the time the clerk was explaining, two
messengers came Gathering over the marble
floor, stirring up echoes through the halls;
"Why didn't you make some noise p
shouted the clark above tie din. One OF the
boys grinned and presented his dispatch. re-
Ceyed payment and walked away IN care
less matter-Of-fact way.
That's just it," continued the clerk,
after the interruption. Just the same
with the young rascals who swindled us.
They came up 20 tie counter with the as
surance Of men holding mortgage on
everything, looked wholly unconcerned,
presented their letter and receipt slip and
walked away whi5tling with the charges.
That's all. You could hardly imagine the
GOODNESS with which these boys went about
the work
each time on bogus dispatches:
A similar tale was recounted by the clerks
of the Baldwin and Palace Hotels, who
added:
=" We cannot tell how many dispatches
taken from the boys were fakes until wa
present bills to guests. Ihen, whenever a
false telegram was received, naturally
enough there will be an objection. We may
lind several.
WHAT THE MESSAGES CONTAINED.
Report has it that tbs work of the boys
has caused excitement, domestic troubles to
arise temporarily, has brought joy to some,
sorrow to others, and made many men use
supplementary language.
One telegram read A boy, all WELL and
| dumfounded the recipient Another read
You have betrayed me-" and another con-
veyed startling information to the effect that
| money was wanted urgently by the sender.
| 1t ran:
SEP. 20, 1890
Bese sepet me at once s25 to 700 T. y. ST.
| On this charge of So cents was paid by
the clerk of the Palace Hotel. 1t was ad-
| dressed to "T. Edgar, Blaze Hotel" which
suspicious address set the clerk to thinking
| and got the messenger into jail.
paid at the Baldwin. contained this concise
| statement OF the truth:
You are a sucker.
A Chinese merchant paid SIS charges for
a cablegram from the Orient which read;
| HoNG-KoNG.
The Chinese must go. Fat rat.
The disgust, surprise and wild fury of the
Chinese who had just parted with S25 for
| this dispatch was wonderful to behold. He
| jumped upon his counter, used choicest
| Monaghan profanity with great vehemence
and strength of lungs, tore his hair and
acted like one insane. He rushed to the
police station and thence to the telegraph
office with the cablegram, but got no salts
| faction.
| TIPS ON THE RACES.
Many of the envelopes on which money
had been paid were found to contain blank
| dispatch forms.
One youth did a thriving trade in tips
for Eastern races with men who played in
the pool-rooms. Believing gamblers to be
men who should pay more legitimate rates,
charge Of 81 was set in each case. The
'tips" did not prove quite correct and the
subscriber stopped paying his dollars to mes
senger boys to help him part with his money.
| One tip was found. 1t read: Bet on Bile
| JAY"
| A receipt form which Officer j. A. Nc
| Grath found upon one of the boys contained
the names of Willie Herberta and f. Williams