Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-30

upon this extraordinary number of pictures at
a single establishment engaged in the manufac-
ture Of hkenesses in crayon. This industry, as
carried on by the concern referred to, is one of
the most remarkable swindles of modern times.
II Is only very recently that the authorities
nave succeeded in controlling it to any extent.
Brooklyn is the chief center for enterprises
OF TINS description. In Chicago also they are
conducted on large scale Having done bust
ness hf!nerto with impunity. they nave un-
douotedly reaped enormous profits Their
me'nods nave become somewhat familiar to
the pubic through their circulars. which have
Deen scattered SO widely through the mails
that there Is hardly household in the United
states which has not received one or more of
them. Each of these documents conveys to
the addressee very attractive proposition. to
tne enect That the undersigned Art Crayon
company VIII make free of charge, q life-size
portraltin crayon from any photograph OF him.
sell or member Of bis family which the per-
son written 70 may care to forward This liberal
oher holds good for thirty days. and the only
recompense asked Is that the recipient shall
recommend the firm to his friends and keep
the picture carefully"
WHAT Is GUARANTEED.
Inasmuch as it is guaranteed that the por-
trait shall be "A as to resemblance, artistic
treatment and beauty of fnish--vaiue $25,''
the individual addressed not unusually jumps at
the otter and sends on the photograph, A few
days later he receives word that the portrait
has been made but he lie informed that il can
not be shipped without a frame, lest il suffer
damage An illustrated price list of frames,
costing from - to SIS. is inclosed. by this
.ime the victim IS very anxious to get the
picture, and he is not unlikely to respond with
the money demanded. Otherwise he replies
with more or less indignation and demands his
photograph back. In the latter case though
he may write fifty letters, he will never get his
property again, for the reason that it is the
most important point in the business policy Of
the crayon company never to return a photo
graph unless a frame is paid for
The $4,000 photographs captured by post
ofhce inspectors in the establishment spoken
OF had all been held in this way for fraudulent
purposes. Necessarily many Of them were of
great value to their owners, being Hkenesses
OF dear ones dead or for other reasons not to
be replaced, and in large percentage OF in
stances people would doubtless have been glad
to ransom them eventually by the payment Of
the money demanded. OF course, in no case
was the crayon portrait actually made until
the sum asked for the frame was received To
produce it then was a simple matter the man.
ufacturer of the cart work" requiring probably
not more than fifteen minutes There are
well-known mechanical methods employed in
this industry which save labor wonderfully.
The affair amounts to no more than throwing
an enlarged ''sun print from the photograph
upon sheet Of white paper. filling it in with
crayon In an expeditions manner familiar to
those skilled in the trade. Any one who has
seen real oil painting" turned out in three
minutes by the watch will understand some
thing of the nature Of the process.
The way in which the Post Office Department
finally succeeded in getting some control over
this fraud was by Selling all letters addressed
to the firms practicing it and by declaring its
intention to prosecute them unless all photo
graphs received by them were returned to the
owners. Furthermore, it has now obliged
them to include in their circulars clear state
ment to the effect that portraits will only be
delivered on payment for frames. Thus the
swindle is scotched, though not killed. 1t can
still be carried on with great profit, because
the frames supplied at from 80 to SIS each are
ofthe most trumpery description, tho best of
them not being worth more than Sf.50
SO long as FIRMS engaged in the business
give some sort of quid pro quo, resortiug to no
methods OF actual dishonesty, the government
cannot interfere with them nor forbid their
using the mails for distributing circulars. To
illustrate their boldness it is worth mentioning
that the Post Office Department has been pre-
vented from publishing them in its fraud list
by threats to sue the Postmaster General per-
sonsiiy for damages. They scatter their ad-
vertisements broadcast by taking directory
after directory and addressing every house
hold included in them. However, their most
profitable field has always been found in the
rural districts, where people, not knowing
much about art, consider the pictures they
produce very satisfactory.
THE GREEN GOODS INDUSTRY.
Country people, whose comparative seclusion
far from the more crowded haunts of men
ought to afford them some protection, seem
Always to be the chosen victims Of swindlers OF
all sorts. Nearly every species Of fraud preys
upon them. The green goods" industry de-
ponds almost wholly on their patronage. Re-
specting this most important Of all cheats con-
Quoted through the mails certain developments
have recently come to light that are very in
teresting. The industry is managed exclusively
in and from New York city, nothing OF it being
known elsewhere, and the Post Office Depart
ment is now convinced that the whole Of it is
carried on by single gang, Including large
number Of individuals, which constitutes an
character. Its chief is supposed to be GER
tain well-known sporting man, formerly resi-
dent OF Washington. Although it has been
operating actively for so many years its doings
have been rarely interfered with by arrests,
because OF the great difficulty OF capturing and
convlcting the offenders.
1t is only recently that they have been effect
lively shut out Of the mails. 80 thorough a
system OF defense against them has been
elaborated by the Post Office Department that
their circulars, which used formerly to food
the post, conveying invitations to rural resi-
dents to invest in counterfeit money, have
been practically excluded. Each OF these
documents must necessarily give some address,
whittier cash may be sent, aud, within forty
eight hours after batch of them has been dis
tributed from New York. the authorities at
Washington are sure to receive one or more OF
them from wsll-disposed persons. Immediately
notice Is transmitted to the postmaster in the
metropolis to look up the name and number
III the circulars have been sent out from some
other town the same method Is adopted, the
mail that comes in being held. The readiness
with which people are humbugged by this
ancient swindle is illustrated by the fact that
single batch Of letters addressed to green
goods man at Newark, N. J., not long ago con-
tanned %, 600 in sums of from e5 to $100.
OF course. the person addressed in such cases
can never be found. The name is fictitious
and when called for at the number given he ID
not In. He receives the mail in care OF some
body else, very often hiring one of the letter
boxes which are rented by the month in many
cigar shops in New York Such swindiers have
been known to bride carriers to deliver te
them matter directed to q number which hal
no existence, while in other instances they
have suborned small postmssters As quickly
as delivery to one name il forbidden by the
authorities another name il adopted for q
fresh batch OF circulars. But when the gov
eminent takes its steps 30 quickly there 10 little
chance TO obtain any returns, and so the pos
has been abandoned almost entirely % o me
dunn Tor the prosecution OF this kind Of fraud
An ingenious scheme formerly adopted was Y
oner TO sendsampies of the counterfeit money X