The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-25
THE DECLINE OF BUNCO.
GREEN GOODS AS THEY WERE AND
as THEY ARE.

graded - Queer Stories of shrewd
Men Who Made Fortunes.
(Copyigkfl
NEW YoRK, Jan. 25.-Tne time has come
when il is possible TO write the history OF
the decline and fall Of a great American in
dustry. II has made men rich; it still fur.
aishes support 20 some; but its glory Ia de-
parted. Il will be soon forgotten by the
public, unless its record is written while
memories are fresh.
I refer to the green goods industry, and
shall try to point out what such history as
I have suggested ought to include. Il
would be interesting morally, because Il
would contain warning against covetous-
riches; il would be valuable scientifically
as showing that some men are descended
from sharks rather than monkeys. IL
would also show how perfectly the laws OF
evolution work in business affairs.
It would begin with Tunbridge. Like
Shakespeare, be is too great a man to have
more than one name in commol USE The
interesting portion Of his career began
shortly after the war l heard the story
from Lawyer AmbroFe II. Purdy, who wal
assistant United States district attorney at
the time. Everybody knows about the
green goods business, but most people are
as ignorant Of its origin as | was before my
talk with Mr. Purdy.
About the close OF the war" he said,
'oounterfeiting was almost as common as
lying. People were ignorant of the cur
rency ard the queer went almost as well
as the genuine. The counterfeiters kept
improving their work all the time until at
last, you remember, they initiated the
United States 7-S0 bonds so per fectly that
Jay Cook 81 Co. and Vermilye q Co. got
about $500, 900 worth Of them, which were
so good that they went clear to the redemp-
ton department 10 Washington before they
were detected as fraudulent Then came
the famous government suits against the
firms mentioned; and, In short, the coun-
terfeiting business was pretty we'll adver-
tisei
about this time came Tunbridge with a
big idea. He got out a circular saying that
be could produce exsct fac similss OF the
currency OF the United States. The letter
was skillfully worded so that every reader
would expect counterfeit money. He Gent
his price LISTS, 900 fses for 30 much 5000
tens for little more-and he promised TO
forw ard the goods by express Immediately.
He got barrel Of orders, and to every
man ne sent little Photographic reproduo-
lions of currency. They were not counter
l5ibSs IOr uOOOuy COulu De oecelV6u
by them. He was finally arrested, but he
claimed that he wasn't doing anything
wrong. He was furnishing the goods which
he had promised. He called my attention
to the fact that these little reproductions
were interesting curiosities which any man
might like TO have. | asked HIM what he
thought anybody could want with 5000
curiosities of that kind, but he only shook
his head gravely and remarked that there
was no accounting for tastes.
"Now here was the evolution of the first
green goods game as il developed In the
brain Of Tunbridge. The next stop was
almost forced upon him. Orders from Gus
toners were so exceedingly numerous that
it became impossible for him to supply the
demand. His presses wouldn't do the work
One day be found himself without a single
fac smile, and with barrels of orders and
bushels OF money. In despair he sent pack
ages Of sawdust to his customers. Whether
he wanted them 10 regard that too as
valuable curiosity, do not know. tbs
point is that he had worked the first saw
dust game. OF course the dupes made no
protest, and Tunbridge made fortune"
! must supplement Mr.. Purdy's account
of Tunbridge by saying that finaa cially he
has prospered, but that morally he has gone
steadily downward until now he is Wall
street broker.
Nothing could be done with Tunbridge,"
continued Mr.. Purdy. I'VE had no law
then concerning the use of the mails
for such purposes he was discharged.
But the green goods aud sawdust secrets
were out; and other men went into the bus
mess. An oct Of congress was then passed
making IL unlawful 20 send circulars adver-
Using the green goods business through the
mails. That act has been amended as the
methods of the green goods men have inn
proved, but they have generally managed
&c keep Just little ahead of it The act,
however, is a curiosity Of English. There
was no way to describe these practices ex-
cept in the language used by the men who
engaged in taem and by the police, so all
kinds OF slang appropriate to the subject
got incorporated into the august statutes of
the United States, and thus gained official
recognition.
''Ths next step in evolution was bunoo.
Men were enticed to the city, and all sorts
of tricks were gotten up to relieve them of
their money. The most acute crooks in the
country exhausted their ingenuity in getting
up circulars that would evade the law.
One of their tricks was to have slips printed
like newspaper clippings. On these slips
would be stories of men arrested and carried
TO the Tombs with their pockets full of
money. which they had bought. Then the
story went on TO say that government
agents were summoned, and that they pro-
u0uuCsu Ul6 money TO DosaS good as the
product of the United States presses.
I'm this stage of the game appeared one
Elias, q clever operator who kept what
purported to be dollar store on Broadway.
He was an English Jew. tall and impressive.
We raided him one day and found q force
of sixty girls In his store engaged in doing
up circulars. 1t was q clear green goods
game, but we couldn't do anything with
him. A curious incident occurred in con-
nection with the affair. OF course, the one
thing which green goods man, dealer In
alleged counterfeit money, never allows TO
be in bis possession is a counterfeit bill
Finding that in his place of business would
ruean conviction. Well, in examining the
bundles of money which Elias dupes had
sent him, we discovered, by good luck, lust
one counterfeit IS bill. 1t was an accident
all around, no doubt. You never saw a man
so ohagrined as Elias was, to think that he'd
been caught with counterfeit money. We
had him indicted on the strength Of that bill
nad could have convicted hIm-the Jury
would have found him guilty on general
principles-but we thought it was not quite
square.
1.-The next game which the green goods
men got I'D was to send for lists OF names to
postmasrers. They got hold OF these ad-
dresses; learned what men were gullible and
then used the names over and over again.
Its curious fact that the man who has
been fooled once is the easiest man to fool
again. The green goods man would work
his liSk 0flt fhpp trrn owa- A.