St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-04
MOCK AUCTION swINDLERs.
Beginning of a Movement to Stop
Their Work.

ment on foot to bring the SO-called auc-
ton fakirs of the city before the grand
jury for examination. The auction
fakirs have become so firmly rooted in
the municipality that the condition of
affairs is actually alarming, and it is
with the view of inaugurating a reform
that a crusade will be commenced against
the hawking, taking pests. Scarcely a
day goes by but n or more victims make
complaints to the police of being swim
died by the brass watch man out of
their hard earned money. There are
foir of these mock auction stores i'll the
city that are more especially obnoxious
from the fact that the men in charge
are SO wonderfully e~negetic. Two of
these are On Nicollet avenue and two
on lower Washington. The mOnotonOus
''going, going, gone" is heard On these
two thoroughfares from early morn
till after dusk. If the fakirs were sure
OF customers all night long, and on the
Sabbath day, 1t is a f%oregone conclusion
they would keep their places open.
1t may seem peculiar that so
many men are victimiZed. each
day, when the newspapers are con-
lnually printing accounts of people,
who have been Swindled in the shops
yet when it is taken into consideration
that the average countryman is the
most gullible creature on earth and the
tongues of the auction crier and cap
per" the softest ON earth, it is not SO
peculiar after all.
The Exposition is now in full blast,
and, beginning with Monday, the State
Fair will be open. AS a consequence
the city will be filled with just the class
of people the auction fakirS are looking
for and grow bleary eyed and rich upon.
1t will behOoye strangers, therefore, to
pass the seductive auction fakir by with
out recognition, for If they daily at
all they are lost. One of the shops
adopted a system a short time ago OF
giving receipts instead OF watches to
the suckers who were inveigled into
bidding for some "unfortunate man
who needed the money to buy shoes for
his Children. The name of the vic
tins were taken and the worthless Jew
elry forwarded to them by express. In
some instances the victims walk away
with the receipt and never get their
watch at all. 1t is said a prominent
attache of the city attorneys Office is
the attorney for the principal auction
shop Oh lower Washington avenue. If
such Is the case, it is no wonder the
fakirs are dismissed when brought be-
fore the municipal court.
Supt. of Police Henderson has been
asked time and again to put a stop to
this evil, but he does not appear able to
do so. AT any rate, he does not do so.
He was asked by a GLOBE reporter yes
terday why he could not rid the city of
the fake auction shops. He said:
"These auction ShOpkeeperS have
licenses granted them by the council
committee Oh licenses. | cannot revoke
their licenses; it is beyond my jurisdie-
ton. l really do not see that they are
much worse in some respects than the
dry goods merchants who adver-
tise to sell wooden cloths and
then sell cotton. | do not
know but these auction stores give
people who patroniZe them their
moneys worth. If a man goes in there
he generally knows what he is about,
and bids with the anticipation that he
is going to get the better Of the auc-
t%ioneer. and get something for nothing.
If he was to get 500 worth for $40, he
would walk out and never say a word.
l have tried to get the shops closed, Dut
failed. In every instance the man who
claims to be victimized has no witness
es, and when lie ZONES to court he can
prove nothing. The a~uctioneer'S word
is as good i'll cOurt as the man who
claims to be a victim. and there you are.
l. Have lTlGu W Tx Il case Ou lIlG SHOPS,
but in each instance have failed, be-
cause | could get no witnesses"
What the superintendent says does
not alter the fact that the auction fakirs
have a wholesome fear of the municipal
court. and when met with a demand
from the police that a victims money be
returned the auction fakir usually
makes a few of the quickest possible
motions, and the victim has his none
i'll his hands. But the business is not
done hat way any more. The man Who
complains to the police about having
been swindled in IN auction room is re-
ferred to the city attorney. and up
there he gets little satisfaction.
/ The theory that an occupant of the city
attorneys Office is attorney for some of
tine auction men may account for the
lack of satisfaction. But the auction
men have been closed up before now.
Cases can be made against them-have
been made and successfully prosecuted
before now. 1t Is learned, on reliable
authority, that a movement to secure
good cases and then report them to the
grand jury is now OH foot. This evil is
II of the worst affecting the city.
Strangers come to town, lose their
money to the auction Swindler. with
whose methods they are unfamiliar, and
then go home yowing that they will
never come to Minneapolis again. The
reputable merchants are beginning to
feel the effects and to think about
checking it,