The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1893-11-28

the postal authorities for aid, and the
postof7ice inspector places his sleuths
on the trail with a certainty of expos
ing the scheme and capturing the pro-
moters. No danger is so imminent as
the unlawful use of the United states
mails, as many a criminal has learned
in n short career.
In the west the mails are not used
for the promotion of frauds as fire.
quently as in the east, and in my eN-
perience the greater part Of the
work in my department has been de-
tecting the piliering OF letters or the
robbing of postoilices. Not one man
in n thousand is able to extract money
or valuables from the mails.
Yet fools will try to do it. Queer,
how a man will place his head under
the guillotiue, but the temptation of
handling valuables proves too great
for many.
II is wrong for persons to lnclose
loose bills in letters, as it puts temp
tation in the way of every man who
handles them. 1t costs but little more
to register the letters or purchase u
money order. But, as for fakes, my
experience with them has been 81 ght.
There was one man in this city
who carried on his operations for
three years before we eau hit him.
His scheme was to seld flaming adj
vertisements all over the country,
showing a superior article of well au-
purs and derricks for a price far below
the average. In this way he caught
many q sharp map, He would exact
from them q payment IN advance, any
where from S25 to S75. OF course he
had no further correspondence. with
his victim after getting the advance
money, and he would get letters up
braiding him for being cheat and II
fraud 1t was through the letters
that complaint, reached us from many
of the victims. We started on his trail
and finally located him in the third
story Of . tenement house on Frank
lin avenue. Here, IN ,aoJect
novertv, we found the sharper
living with his wife and three CHI
dren, almost without clothing and do
tually starving. Strange what he had
done with the money he had received
for in the time he had been carrying
on h operations he inust have real
lied tn uusands of dollars, but it wal
all gone. He said he had spent
IL on his family and in adver
Using. ON account of his poverty
the ne ed his family had of his support
and in view of the fact that he hat
never worked fake before this one
his fine, which was big one, wa'
suspended during good behavior.
Another good one was n scheme
that caught victims like mol 'asses doe
flies. Advertisements were inserted
in city and country newspapers 70
travelling men to handle cigars, eX
perience not necessary. This, o
course, caught suckers, especially il
. the country, where numberless youn
men are extremely apX GUS TO becom
! drummers. The "experienCG no
necessary" was the tru mp card. Tn
victim would write on, with descrip
tions of himself and his qualifications
> and would frequently enclose hi
photo,
Credentials were always satisfaC
! tory, and the young fellow would b
/ required TO send on SIS for his san
I pies and case. with promise of S,5
: month and expenses. he outh
5 would be sent per agreement Wit
instructions to start out and send )
I his expense account at the end Of tn
: month.
The rake off the fakir received wa
, the difference between the actui
cost of the sample outfit, which wa
A worth only about 50. caug I ont
the case and went to his office in tn
a down town business district.
He protested that he was doing a
r honest business, and he had cigars
!. boxes and he had shipment ready
A express that he showed me, but
]. didn't go examined hi, mail an
n found many letters bitterly upbrai'
4 ing him for his crookedness, as SON
a of the victims had paid out as much ,