Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-05-27
a oEspIcAsLe MNo OF swINoLINo.
The Free Crayon Portrait swindle and
Its Thousands Of Victims.


The Free crayon Portrait swindIe and
Its Thousands Of Victims.
Really am of the opinion that of all
the numerous devices for swindling con-
fding people that have been exposed
from time to time that which promises
a life size crayon portrait for nothing on
the receipt Of photograph is the most
despicabie. A few days ago | received
a note from lady Of Washington ask
ing me to go to the "Crayon Portrait
House, in certain building in this city,
and get photograph that had been sent
that concern in response TO its advertise
ment in various magazines and period
icals.
A copy Of the advertisement was for
warded. knew at a glance that this
was another of the free-crayon-ffty
cent-fve-dollar-frame schemes, several
of which have been broken mp in Brook
lyn, Chicago and New York, but |
thought might recover the photo
graph. The latter was the only portrait
of a dead son, and as such was beyond
price. The seductive advertisement
promises to return the picture. but this
lady had written repeatedly, inclosing
stamps for its return, and got no reply.
afterward found that was only part
of the game.
Under the plea of getting a crayon |
procured information enough from the
crayoD portrait concern to justify call
upon Captain Mclaughlin, Of the Ten
derloin precinct. He told me that he
had received two complaints from peo-
pie who had claimed to have been
swindled by this company before he had |
been in charge of the precinct three
days.
"Of course they are crooked" said he,
''but we can do nothing without COM
plaint. These people work the out-of-
town racket-they don't swindle any
body here, where their dupes can APP
pear against them at any time. have
written these persons who complain
that if they will come to this city and
I'll raid that place in five
minutes. We can't do anything with
out a complaint and a complainant"
When | went back three days later
,he crayon portrait house was packing
Up. The scowling young woman in
,harge permitted me to search among
several thousand photographs for the
picture of the lady's dead son while she
old me more contradictory stories of
he free crayon business than could re-
in a week. The rough shelves
we're crowded with these pictures packed
IN end in boxes. There were thousands
If them. Most of them were Of loved
mes who had departed this life. The
ender inscriptions, the elaborate in
tructions about care and return-the
Iged parent, the short lived infant,
)rother, sister, husband, wife, faces
photographed after death, tintypes, old
cherished ambrotypes in plush velvet
ases, forgotten and covered with dust
+ the owners had written as often and
nclosed as many stamps as this one in
Iuirer whom happen to know has done,
What golden harvest these dusty por-
rats have yieldedl
Many of the pictures were in their
mailing covers, and these bore the post
marks Of every city in the Union. They
ad just been torn open and the money
nd stamps extracted, and, if no order
or free picture in five dollar frame
ad been given, were chucked away in
he dust, as many of the originals have
oubtless been years ago. While | was
here the letter carrier delivered mail
money and stamps, and the
cowling woman scowled more because
he amount was not larger. Verify the
rop of fools is perennial, and there is
ucker born every hour.-New York
Ierald.