The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-03-26
CAPT. KELLY'S FAKE
Many Complaints Against
His Word Guessing
Contest Company.
POST OFFICE MEN IN LEAGUE
Prominent Jersey City Lawyers
Fail to Get Satisfaction for
Their Clients.

From time to time lawyers in this city
have received letters from Western clients
asking them for information respecting a
concern located in Jersey City and known as
the "American Publishing Company This
corporation issues The Good Fortune, The
american Household, The american Fire
side and two other monthly papers. These
are filled with stories clipped bodily from
foreign papers and no credit given. Onthe
back are advertisements couched in terms
only seen on circus posters and green goods
circulars, the latter form of literature par
ticularly. The company wishes to benefit its
readers, and for the sake of extending its
circulation, so the ''adsn read, it is willing to
display unusual generosity, unheard of ex-
travagance, and give anyone chance to win
thousands of dollars for a trifing considera-
ton. All the reader of the paper has to
do is to guess a few words, fill in
a form or two, forward a dollar and
thus participate in the 'sgrandest, fairest,
cleanest and most ingenious method for an
honest division of cash premiums;" at least
Captain John F. Kelly of Jersey City police,
who is treasurer of the concern, says SO.
But these hard-headed people of the wild
and woolly West don't agree with the state
ment of the captain nor the assurances of
the company, and say that the concern is a
swindle and is practicing an impudent fraud
Dn the public.
A CALIFORNIA COMPLAINT.
Oneo these, gentleman living In Los
Angeles, Cal, writes that he received a letter
from the company signed by ]. +. Kelly
treasurer PO. Box 1877 Jersey City, enclos-
ing four word studies and telling him to sup
ply the missing letter and win 800 $ /
examined the so called puzzle" he writes,
s'and anyone of ordinary intelligence could
i9 q
many politicians and others would like to
be, P Mt President Another
equally difficult word study given Isl
Desirable for women with plain faces
EA TY,' beauty. The remaining puzzles
are about as brain-wracking as these. They
wrote that if sent a dollars subscription
for paper, Good Fortune, and filed sue
cessfully the missing word, twenty dollars
would be mine. I sent the dollar and filed
in the words, but I have heard nothing Of
the S2O and my inquiries to the American
Publishing Company have been unanswered. y
Another complainant, this one from Vir-
ginia, tells the same story, and adds that
when he wrote for his prize the company
said that he must sign this and promise that,
and if the Examining Committee, on April
10, passed upon his prize he would receive
s16 of the $50 promised, and the remaining
81 would be for extended subscriptions for
the wonderful paper, Good Fortune.
This gentleman wrote at once to MessrS.
Babbitt q Lawrence of This city, and asked
them to look into the matter, and if possible
collect the $50.
Mr.. Tennant Of that firm went Immediate
ly to the Offices of the company, on Washing
ton and Sussex streets, and saw an army OF
typewriters at work, and young girls folding
and mailing copies of the papers containing
the lads" He found young woman, who
appeared to be the clerk, and asked her some
questions about the award, but she was as
lnconmuncafiye as q clam
ssI don't know s'You better see some one
else," Your client must wait until April
15,n and SO on.
Mr.. Tennant pointed out to the represen-
tatiye of the American Publishing Company
that it was all very well to wait until April
Is, but in one corEer of the many printed in
structions sent to the victims it was clearly
stated that if prize winner neglected to
apply for his award before that date he
waived his claim to the $50 The clerk
couldn't say and Lawyer Tennant abandoned
all hope of learning anything from her.
IMPUDENcE AT THE POST OFFICE.
He crossed the street to the Postofice to
see Colonel S. D. Dickinson. The Postmaster
was out, but a sallow. black eyed, black
mustached young man who represented him.
told the lawyer that he didn't know if the
American Publishing Company was fraudu-
lently using the mails.
"Why don't you investigator asked Mr..
Tennant.
The clerk replied that it was none of the
Postmasters business to look into the affairs
of the company.
.'Have you had no complaints about this
concerng inquired Mr.. Tenant.
ssYes, but we referred them to another
source
After few sharp questions put by the
lawyer, the clerk squirmed and snappishly
for nothing, referring to the complainants,
"We care nothing If the paper IS fraud;
it's got nothing to do with us.
MANY LAWYERS EXPERIENCES.
This experience OF Mr.. Tennant for his
client is parallel with that of Mr.. Willard C.
Fisk for another. Mr. Fisk made inquiries
at the Postofice, and the Postmaster was as
reticent as could be. He didn't know, and it
was none of his business. As Mr.. Fisk Is a
busy man and had neither the time nor in
clination to dig into the matter, he merely
wrote to his client and told him that the
affair was skin and wasn't worth powder
and shot.
Then Counselor Herbert j. Potts few
months ago had inquiries about the company,
and he Jared the same. Mr.. Otto Grouse
too, has several of his western clients want
ing to know about the doingsof the Ameri-
can Publishing Company. To complete the
list, Mr.. James s. Erwin has a case exactly
similar to the others, all of which proves
that there is something very shady in the
concern which will soon be matter of in
vestigation. and the people OF this city Will
be surprised to find many well known names
of Jersey City people mixed up with the is
sues of papers by the American Publishing
Company.
The job printing office Of the Evening
Journal prints these delightful sheets which
the above declare are fraudulent, and sent
out for the purpose of swindling.
POSTAL Law PENALTIES.
The action of the Postoffice authorities in
regard to these newspapers here has been
much critized by those who have had to in
vestigate charges against the American Pub
fishing Company, and the attention of Wash
ington officials is to be brought on the mat
ter.
It is well known that tons Of mail matter
come and go through the Jersey City Post
Office weekly on account of the Publishing
Company, and that having received SO many
complaints it was the duty of Postmaster
Dickinson to investigate the mail matter
thoroughly. The law on the use of the mails
by schemes of lottery or chance Is unmis-
takably clear and positive BY Section 1884
of Chapter 903 of the United States act,
passed September 10, 1890, in reference to
this question, heavy penalties are imposed
for those who make Uncle Sans postoffice a
means to disseminate matter calculated to
defraud the public and Of chance or lottery
character
Those who are prosecuting the complaints
against the Publishing Company insist that
this law is being infringed, and because the
Postoffice people do not stop the fraud they
are. Il not actually guilty Of connivance,
certainly guilty of negligence, which
amounts to the same thing.