The Saint Paul globe., 1896-11-01
THEIR APARTMENTS IN THE
WASHBURN BLOCK.
MANY. WoMENs GOOD MONEY
HELPED THE STRANGERS ON THEIR
JOURNEY WITHOUT KNOW
ING TT.
UNTIL 1T WAS ALL TOO LATE.
Designs Were Pretty, But They Seem
to Have Been Designed for
Wrong Uses.

A steady stream Of expectant young
and old women. went up in the ele
vator at the Washburn block during
the first part of the week, and stopped
at room 304. Another throng of very
much disappointed and very angry VIC
men descended on the same elevator
in just as big a stream. and there were
mutterings of wrath. 1t would appear
that the good people Of ST. Paul have
been the victims of another flake"
and that dozens of innocentS have been
robbed Of sums ranging all the way
from ST to SO. An aggrayating feature
of the alleged swindle is that the peo-
pie who have lost their money are peo-
pie who can i'll afford to.
Some time ago there appeared in all
the city papers advertisements stating
that ladies wishing to make money
could find employment in fancy work
by calling at the number mentioned.
On the walls of the room hung pieces
of black velvet, worked in brilliantly
c.lored wool. The ladies were Informed
that by depositing 81 they would be
furnished with a piece of cotton cloth,
on which would be stamped design
to be worked in colored WOOL The ap-
plicants were to do the work on this
sample copy, and, if it was satisfac-
tory, they were to buy piece of vel
vet, on which was to be stamped an
other design. They were to buy their
own materials, and in case this second
piece was perfectly worked they were
to receive so cents, and the same price
for as many as they could work after
that. Visions of a dollar or a dollar
and half day arose before the eyes
of many weary women, to be earned at
easy work. They put up their dollars,
some Of them dollars hard earned at
the wash tub and the ironing board.
1t was soon discovered that very few of
the patterns were purchased, no mat
ter how fine the work. The women
who ran the place said that the work
was sold to country people and that
they represented a firm in Chicago
where thousands of articles Of this
work was sent out every day The ma
terials furnished were Of the cheapest
order and yet many women were
fooled. Many women went to room 30i
expecting to-sell all the way from one
to three pieces of their work each day.
but 304 was dark and there was no
one in. The elevator man was be-
sieged with a hundred indignant ques-
tionS, but all he could tell was that the
room had been unoccupied for several
days.
1t is believed that the swindlers must
have netted a snug sum, as many dol
lars were deposited in the week or so
that they were here.
There were two women in the room
when the G b e reporter first en- .
tered-millde-ag ladies of the middle
class-seemingly One of them asked
the reporter if she would buy out her
share in the business. 1t is possible
her conscience reproached her, for the
swindle worked upon innocent people
The reporter declined, and when next
the Office was visited by the investi-
eating reporter, the guilty parties had
gone, the doors were shut and the room
was deserted.
The room occupied by the fancy
workers was rented some weeks ago
by a Miss Andrews, of Chicago Ac-
cording to one Of the other tenants on
the same floor, the enterprise was a
perfectly legitimate one, and Miss An
drews was doing WELL not only for her
self, but to those who patronized her
A week ago she sold out the business
and went back to Chicago. The pur-
ChaserS of the plant could not be found
the agent of the building. stating thai
the last occupants of the room had
locked up and gone away. The ac-
quaintance of Miss Andrews, who ap-
peared to know the most about the
business, said the only trouble was
that the purchasers of the plant did
not know how to handle the business
became disheartened and closed UP tho
office.