Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-05-12
AGENTS roR MYTHICAL CONCERNS
Malls Burdened with Complaints oi
swindled Country People.


suindled Country People.
A merchant connected with a large dry
goods firm OF this city brought 10 The
Tribune yesterday the following letter,
which he had received from friend in
Lewisburg, Pa:
DEAR -: IncIosed I send you a receipt for
three dollars, which one Of our worthy dress
makers gave an agent in February Inst for n
subscription 10 a fashion magazine" which
has never come 20 hand. and probably never
VIII. This Is one OF several subscriptions
taken and raid for in our town, and IL 1t is o
swindle think the parties should be exposed,
Knowing your adherence Of anything that lie
mean, and believing this to be one OF the most
cruel sTindles that was ever perpetrnted upon
a confding and hard working class, | now
write TO ask you IL you will do US the favor to
call at 30 broadway and investigate the
matter. and II you find it is a flake" think
the world at large should be apprised of the
scheme through one or more Of your metropol
itan papers, and an quite sure The Tribune
would be glad to expose the same.
The receipt, which was a printed blank
filled out in the usual form, was dated
Lewisburg, Pa. Feb. 6, 1892, and stated
that the New York and London Subscrip-
tion Agency, office 80 Broadway, n. Y.,"
had received three dollars from - "for
lie journal Des Modes and Lacouturiere,
with Books Nos. | and q" The receipt
was signed by 81. B. Allison, Agent"
This form of swindling is one that il
more frequently called TO the attention Of
the postal authorities than any other, not
excepting the complaints from the multi
tudinous victims of the industrious "green
goods" men. The address given, 73
Broadway, is the "Old London Street." op,
posite the New York hotel That familiar
and antique bit of Broadway architecture
has been closed and empty for three years,
OF course nothing was known there of any
such concern us the 'New York and Lon,
don Subscription Agency"
pennsylvania and the southern and
western states swarm with these swim.
dlers," said an official of the postollice yes.
terday to Tribune reporter. ''They rep
resent themselves to be agents for New
York concerns, dry goods houses, publish.
ing houses, etc. Needless to say these con.
Germs are mythical. The swindlers are
amply provided with printed blanks to aid
them III deceiving people. They will take
a subscription for a publication, as was
done in the case of the Lewisburg dress
maker, or will sell bill of goods amount
| ing to hundreds of dollars to a country
merchant They will ask to have a check
cashed or for ten dollars advance on .ht
order, and usually get what they are after
After staying a week in one town and
working it, the swindler moves on to an
other field. Their dupes, after waiting G
reasonable time and not getting what they
| had paid for, write to the New York con
Germ. These letters are sent by us to the
| Dead Letter office in Washington, indorsed
Not found Before the victims hear from
! Washington they generally write to thi:
office wanting to know why their letters
are not delivered. These poor people bur
den the mails in vain"
SIS it not possible to catch the rascalsP
at is neXU to impossible, for they change
their stationery, their New York addresse:
and are continually on the move them
selves. One fellow was arrested recently
in Williamsport, Pa, for selling paints
ETC., and taking money as the agent of til,
American White Lead company, a ficti
tious concern, He gave the New York ad
dress as a box in this postoffice. / went t,
Williamsport and testified against him
He was sentenced to eleven months in tht
penitentiary and to pay the costs of court
When Lycoming county is through with
him there will be fifteen other counties il
Pennsylvania ready to seize him for SINH
lar offenses. One of the mythical concerns
worked by one of the swindlers was Hill
ton, Day s. Co., dry goods, who were sup
posed to be at Broadway and Canal street
Hosts of people were swindled on thi
alleged firm, which the victims were mad
to believe ex-Judge Hilton was a membe
of. James D. Johnston & Co. is anothe
myth But the cruelest work of th
scamps is when they obtain photographs
oftentimes the only likeness of some de
ceased member of a family, on the pretens
of sending it to New York city to be en-
larged into a crayon. They take a small
sum as part payment, go away with th'
picture and are not heard of afterward.
New York Tribune.