The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-19
swINDLING LETTER WRITERS.
The Fraud Requires a Clever Head, But
Many People Live by 1t.
From the Nau York SIM

From the New York Sun.
This is by no means a new trick, and
yet people are being swindled by it every
day." said the head of one of the relief
societies in speaking Of the arrest of Rob-
ert ]. Johnson. the begging letter writer,
who pretended to be a clergyman. 1t
requires clear head to write letter to
total stranger and make money by the
transaction, but this man is only one of
multitude who have profitably pursued
this line of trade. The fact that his peck
cts were filled with the names and ad-
dresses Of many of New York's most gen
erous citizens would suggest the possi-
bility Of there being known to his pro-
fession some association similar to the
Charity Exchange" which fiourshed
for a time in coffee house in the suburbs
of Vienna. 1t was the rendezvous of pro-
fesslonal beggars and swindlers. 1t was
as regularly organized as a legitamate
club, and in design and method was au-
daciously unique. The charitable and
benevolent were classified. Lists were
prepared and were revised from time TO
time to correspond with the changes
arising from death, loss of fortune, etc,
and these lists were sold, according to
value from the beggar's standpoint.
Each class had its name. The Prince
embraced those who gave freely, invari-
ably, and without the formality of Ques-
tions; the Priest those who catechised
before giving and were not lavish; the
Mean those who unpleasantly insisted
upon having the applicants name and
some proof that the appeal was genuine,
and who had been known to heartlessly
offer work instead of money; the Pau
per those who gave nothing, and of
whom it was useless to ask; and the
Extra those who were personally mac
cessible and could be approached only by
- .
chaser to one dozen names of the best
grade, warranted to yield a good revenue.
Half that sum purchased four of the best
and four from the Extra and Priest
The Mean and Pauper' lists were sold
at very low rates, and were bought chiefly
by those who were anxious to avoid them
for beggars are very cautious to about
wasting time on the wrong material. The
exchange smoothed the beggars' path
greatly, but Fortunately for the public it's
career was brief. In 1886. after an in
vestigation by the police, the managers
were lodged in jail
THE sending of a begging letter is at
all times an act open to suspicion, and,
where one is the result of genuine need,
ten are frauds. For years a woman
kept two homes. one in the slums, one in
a respectable quarter of the city. She
sent out, far and wide, letters represent
ing that she was in great distress She
gave the address of her Wretched rear
basement, and invited the interested or
doubling to visit her. AS a result she
was able to maintain her second home,
| When the imposition was discovered she
| had accumulated a sum not to be despised
and sufficient to take her out of the coun-
| try.
None but those who have endeavored
! to investigate such pleas can appreciate
the disheartening effect of the discovery
that touching story of want is fiction,
| the sick wife and suffering children are
mythical, and the address given has no
existence. One kind-hearted woman, in
her zeal to promptly aid starving house
hold that had been graphically described
| to her by a beggar on the street, toiled
! over the east side of the city, on and on,
to find a house answering to the given
| number Her conviction that the story
was genuine was mistaken until she
found that the number could only be
located east Of the shipping. Even then
she felt troubled lest the mistake might
| have been hers. Within week, in a
different part of the city, the same man
accosted her with the same story, but
| gave as his home address a number in a
street on the west side which was Gov
| cred by an iron foundry of which her
| husband was part owner"