The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-09-10
POLITICAL "GREEN GOODS" MEN.

neighborhood of Niagara.
POLITICAL "GREEN GOODS" MEN.
For many years a gang OF sharpers
have been living sumptuously off would
be " smarties in the country by offering
to sell them "green goods that is,
counterfeit greenbacks, go cleverly ex-
ecuted that even the most expert cashier
could not detect them. For 500 in
genuine greenbacks, National bank
notes, or other currency, they would sell
several thousand dollars Of the fraudu-
lent stuff.
Now, there is no such fool as the
man who thinks he is smart. Police
and other records show that tens OF
thousands of this class bit at this bare
hook, and were egregiously swindled.
They actually thought that somebody
else was fool enough to give them money
with which they could fool everybody
else. They never stopped to think that
if this money was good enough to de-
ceive experts these sharpers would not
be selling it for one-tenth Of one per
cent. of its face. It would seem that
that thought should occur to very
stupid man. 1t did not to Mr.. Smart
Aleck. He thought at once that this
was a glorious chance to Fill his own
pockets by fooling his neighbors out of
several thousand dollars, by palming off
on them bogus greenbacks. He an
swered the cunning letter which he had
received from the Green Goods man,
received the telegraphic summons " Come
on" gathered up the $500 in good
money which the sharper required, and
hurried on to New York or Jersey City,
met the rascal whom he thought was
fool enough to give him $4,000 or
$4,000 for his $500, made the ex-
change in breathleas haste, and, when
out of town and far away from the
sharper, opened his precious package to
find that it consisted of package Of
green paper, with a good 81 bill on
either end.
1t is a constant astonishment to the
police, the Postoffice officials, and others,
the number and class of men who were
caught by this transparent trick. When
they are closely studied, however, they
are invariably found to be that class of
men who start into life under the delu-
sion that there is some way to get dol
lar without giving dollars worth of
something for it. The man who gets
possessed by this idea thinks himself
" smart" but he is a scoundrel at heart,
and becomes the prey Of other scoun-
drels who are smarter than he is
The Free Coinage idea is an attempt
to work the " Green Goods" racket on
the whole country and the world. A
lot of political " Smart Alexis are try
ing to fool the people with the idea that
Congress can legislate dollar which
everybody can get for 53 cents worth
Of labor or produce. and yet which he
can pass on somebody else for 100 cents.
The idea will not win. The "plain
people" Of America are very far from
being either fools or scoundrels. On
the contrary, they are men of the sturdi-
est common sense to be found under
any flag in the world. They are un-
finchingly honest, and have as little de-
sire to cheat others as to be cheated
themselves. Of the two they would
much rather suffer from dishonesty than
commit it. They are not to be deluded
by cunning sophistry, no matter how
catching its phrases Lives Of toll and
struggle have taught them that when
man gets dollar he must pay its full
value in something. And when they
give full value for a dollar they want
to be paid in a dollar of full value.
Against this rock of unsuitable in
tegrity the winds of vociferous dishon-
esty shrek in vain.
THIS is a Scotch-Irish campaign.
Mckinley, Palmer and Bryan are all
Scotch Irishmen, with the clearest strain
of the blood In McKinley's veins Int