The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-25

cheating Uncle Sam, for the war feeling
still survived. I went through the sonth IN
1871, and at many railroad stations l saw
placards with the advice: Don't send 70
New York for counterfeit n II IS ail
a Yankee swindle.' In those days there was
q fortune in the business. The leader OF
almost every New York gang has made him
self rich. The game was worked openly
compared to what is possible now. These
green goods men were not devoid OF humor
either, and there are many funny incidents
mingled with the tragic.
For instance-and it illustrates what l
said before about the permanent gullibility
of men-I defended the hand shaker of a
ganG which swindled a syndicate OF three
men from Havre de Grace. The hand
shaker you know, is the man who meets
the victim when he arrives in the city. The
man who finally does the trick, is usually a
young fellow disguised to look about go
years old. In this case he sat right behind
me in court while the witnesses were telling
about the odd fellow of CO. who had
swindled them, and he was not recognized.
"The three men from Havre de Grace had
city; and had been steered into the den Of
the green goods men. They sat on n side
Of the table and the operator on the other.
The goods were exhibited, the bargain
made; and tho money planked down. The
operator ran it through rapidly. He paused
HI h LWcubY uOllHE DILL "u6I6 you K6b
that he said. From the bank at Havre de
Grace he replied. Well, it's no good
said the operator, throwing it upon the
floor, i made it myself He actually made
one of the men 90 out and pawn his watch
for the twenty dollars.
when the syndicate arrived at Havre &c
Grace they opened the bag supposed to con.
tain green goods with great secresy and
ceremony. II held a coupling pin and some
cotton waste such as is used to clean loco
motives. The men we're furious. Thcy
wrote to the green goods men and received
a courteous reply, suggesting that railroad
men must have rif1ed the bag on the road.
The syndicate hadn't mentioned the con-
tents Of the bag in their letter, 80 that the
green goods mans reply looked like inspira.
ton. More correspondence ensued and
finally the three gulls came up to New
| York again and were swindled by the same
gang that had worked them before.
at looks like a good business, doesn't it,
Five million dollars has been made in this
city alone out Of such games. But more
stringent laws and greater vigilance have
spoiled the fun. There are only two active
gangs in New York now, and their profits
are nothing to What they used to be-"
Nj. Purdy didn't say anything about the
I connection of the police with the greer
might be said on the subject. When tn.
two Alabami8ns came up to the metropolis
a few weeks ago to beat the green goods
men at their own game, there is no doub
that two policemen were hanging arount
outside the crib ready to give aid to tn,
wrong eide. It was done not long ago il
the case of a man who brought but one pis-
toll with him, but the Alabamians had four
and the policemen discreetiy retired.
After my talk with Mr.. Purdy, / called
upon Anthony Comstock, post Office in
spector and secretary of the society for tn,
Suppression of Vice. He co~rroborated IN,
opinion that the green goods industry wa
in the sere and yellow leaf-which doesn'
mean. of course, that it will totally vanisl
from the path of crime. but that it is n,
longer f~iourishidg and can never flourisl
again.
The three most prominent gangs in til
city are the Parmalee, the Mcguire and til
McNuIly gangs. OF the Maguires, Nj
Comstock informed me, four are in th
Tombs. Brock Morton's gang is badl
broken up. "Bfocky's" brother and w. c
Byrnes, another member of the gang, ar
in jail. The Johnson Porter gang hes bee
hunted almost to the destruction Of il
business. Perhaps the most active Of tn
gangs in recent days has been the ParFaa
lee. II takes it's title from the middle nam
of it's distinguished head, Edward Parmale
Jones. 1t has travelling c~ompanies' be
sides its Metropolitan stock company. :
use theatrical language. Mr.. Jones him Q
recently opened an ONCE in Jersey CITY
where he received mail under ESQ aliases
He nae one or two young men with hin
but his most trusted companions were
bull dog with nm almost infinite jaw and
big navy revolver. When he got . ''hay