The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-03-21
WHAT DID THEY SIGN.
Two Men Pulled In For What Is
Claimed To Be SWindle.


They Claim 1t Was Legitimate Advertis-
ing-The Victims Insist They Signed
Receipts for Calendars Instead of Ex-
pensive Advertis ing Orders.
Yesterday, the attention of Deputy
Marshal Hartnett and Officer Skillings,
was called to complaint that Marshal
Trickey and Deputy Sterling. with these
other officers, are endeavoring to get into
shape. 1t is very queer case, but is
said to have a parallel in Pawtucket,
R. 1.
Some time ago man entered the of
fee of Messrs. J, w. Perkins & Co., told
the bookkeeper, Mr.. Geo. E. Dow, that
he would like to leave sample calendar
of firm who contemplated putting
large number into the city. But he said
he had to have a receipt for the calendar
as his voucher, to show the firm what he
had done with the samples. He offered,
what Mr.. Dow is sure. was blank re-
ceipt with the words signature" and
address printed at the bottom, and at
his request Mr.. Dow signed opposite the
word signature the firm name J. w.
Perkins & Co., and just below, by George
E. Dow. The man took the receipt and
went away. Yesterday man entered
the Office and presented a printed order
purporting to be issued by the Mercantile
Publishing Company of Boston, with
spaces between the printed words filled
in with writing. The order was for
certain amount of advertising space for
the firm in directory, published by the
company, to the amount of So Mr.. Dow
happened to be present and Immediately
repudiated the order, although he ad-
mitted the signature at the bottom of
the order was in his handwriting This
order claiming to come from this firm is
a sample of great number of orders
that the man claimed to have received
from other business firms throughout
the city. These similar orders were,
among others, from J. B. Browns Sons,
Woodbury. 6 Moulton Milliken, Cousens
& Short, J. & E. R. Barbour, Milliken,
Tomlinson Co., Ryan & Kelsey and E.
T. Burrowes. the Preble and Falmouth
hotels. Several of the firms whensthe
orders were presented to them yesterday
paid the money. as they acknowledged
their signatures, but also declaring they
never gave any order for advertising in
any such diractory. There must have
been in the list of orders at least four or
five hundred dollars involved, if not
more.
Deputy Hartnett went to the Falmouth
Hotel and requested the men to accom-
pany him to tho station. They went
without hesitation and were locked in
the lodging room. They had the great
bulk of the orders in their possession, and
a book purporting to be the Merchants
Business Directory of Boston, which
ments of some of these Portland firms.
The directory's title page said that it
was devoted to New England cities,
naming them, and including Portland.
LILO Two lACA RdRO uIO udIuCO I'll os Il.
Mcintyre and F. E. Main. Main is me-
diminished young man with dark hair,
and evidently a quick-witted, sharp fell
low. He said he owned the directory,
and that his business was legitimate. He
said he knew nothing about the calendar
business; that he employed agents to
collect advertising, and that these orders
found on him were the result of their
labols, and that he came here to collect
the money on them, accompanied by Mr..
Mcintyre, a tall, quite stout, young man,
who was his assistant.
There is one thing very singular in this
matter. The police have talked
with some of the firms whose
signatures are appended to the orders,
and they admit their genuineness, but
deny having given any order for adver-
Using in this directory, and the signatures
are in lead pencil. Mr.. Costello, clerk at
The Preble, says Mr.. White, the proprie-
tor, hasn't given an order for advertising
for over year and half, and he can
swear to it. Another odd thing is that
Mr.. Main should have told Mr.. Burton,
clerk at the Falmouth Hotel, that they
would be in town several days, and soon
after o'clock yesterday called for their
bill, some $3.50, and paid it in cash, when
he claimed to have an order of the same
hotel in his possession for $40 worth of
advertising. If these firms didn't order
the advertising, how were those sigma
lures affixed to the orders that had on
ly been signed to receipts for calendars?
That is the nut for the police to crack.
Cogawesco Tribe.
Cnnawescn Tribe No. B. L O. r M at