Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-26
GREEN GOODS MEN
Schemes by WRieh They Manage to
Catch the Gullible
PROVE SUcCEssaUE /: IN WASHINGTON
Men in the RuitaaI Districts Are
Not the Only Victims.
TALK WITH CHIEF HAzEN

81 want to see Chief Hazen privately. :"
said a well-dressed man who walked into
the office Of the secret service bureau of
the Treasury Department a few days ago.
He acted as IL he had something heavy
and important on his mind. He was d.
reeted to the officel'o of Chief Hazen and
found that official at his desk The man
repeated his request for a strictly private
interview. Chief Hazen's clerk withdrew
and the door was fastened.
rs there any danger Of an intrusion ?"
the man asked.
Certainly not.,,,,.-.s.
well, 1 have something to show YOU
began the visitor, his face coloring. He
reached into an inner coat pocket and pro-
duced letter. Without opening the letter
Chief Hazen said:
Yes, 1 see. It's a green goods circular"
How did you know?' the visitor asked.
with some alarm.
"Oh. I've seen hundreds of them" was
the response.
The visitor then began to apologize for
having it in his possession saying he cou,d
not conceive how respectable business
man of Washington, like himself. cou,d
De picked out as dishonest enough to en-
gage In the green goods business.
It's no reflection on your honesty" said
. 0nleI Hazen, to the great relief of the Wis.,
itof. Thousands of those circulars are
sent to honest men throughout this conn
try. Right now they are being sent in
every direction. About one man in every
ten Is dishonest and nibbles. He NAV 90 no
further. About one In twenty is not only
dishonest, but a sucker in modern mar.
lance, and is sold. The green goods man
no longer confines his business to country
men men, but plies 1t In all the big cities He
m oil Is
here in the city of Washington. Hundreds
OF men who receive those circulars saw
nothing about the matter. because thew
rear somebody will accuse them of being
IN a receptive mood for such enterprises.
The would-be victim of the New York
swindier was satisfied and went away.
Star reporter talked to Chief Hazen later
ABOUT the green goods business.
Use No Counterfeits,
receive letters every day. said Chief
Hazen, from all parts of the country in
closing circulars of the green goods fra
ternity. These circulars are sent me nv,
men who have received them and who
think that my Office may run down the
1ascals or start an Investigation The cir
suiars are Worded SO NICELY as to give the
Impression that the government is being
defrauded by clever counterfeit money. AS
matter of fact the green goods man
never deals In counterfeit money All the
aioiCs nc SfOWS itlu uses is genuine He
runs too many, risks without having the
secret service on his track. We, of course
do nothing with the circulars sent u.s.
The Secret service deals only with coln-
terfeiters. The government official who oc-
casionaliy goes for the green goods man
Is the post office inspector. He can arrest
the swindler for using the mails. State au-
thoritles also handle them when they can
find them 81 10
New York City is of course, the head
center of the fraternity which deals in
green goods, as the work is known. Up to
few years ago the swindlers did their
business almost wholly through the mails
They use the malls now to rope Their
victims, but after that the telegraph COM
panies are dealt with, and the swindIer is
careful to tell his would-be victims not to
write him letter, under no circum-
stances will he receive it. The whole bust
ness must be transacted by wire. Several
years ago the post office inspectors began
to use decoy letters to catch the swindlers.
The capture of one of the profession with
decoy letter in his possession was prima
facie evidence against him. $3.50 -
The state legislature of New Jersey tried
to break UP the. business In that state
few years ago by passing a bill preventing
telegraph companies sending cipher mes
sages to persons of a suspicious character.
The companies fought the BILL and it did
not pass.
How the Swindler Begins.
The first step of a shrewd green goods
man is to secure names of people in every
part of the country. This he does just like
patent medicine and all advertising con-
Germs. Then he mails to these persons
carefully worded typewriter document like
the following:
Confidential.
My Dear Sir: Your name was sent me by my
son sTho IS my travelling representative as
cooperate with in your vicinity, and I therefore
met y-Ui al tirpl n In
gladly grasp if they could personally examine my
work, thereby convincing themselves of the absolute
safety of my Offer
The writer is an expert engraver, having for
twenty, two years been employed in the bureau Of
was superintendent of Of the largest bank note
companies in the country. During my leisure took
tens. and as these were the original denominations
had worked if. upon YOU can believe me when say
'Now, my dear sir, am fully aware Of the sus-
picion nd prejudice that you naturally will enter
tain for my proposition. as You viii on first thought
swnd'er but if u will lay aside that pqeuaies
| from business standpoint compare 1t with the
cre OF with n9 I aha Sss
| time addressing man of your Intelligence ard
staEding in the community
dies have been exposed from time TO time in tho
ters to ienorant ' With newspaper cppin.
In regard to counterfeit money, ETC.. falsely pre-
and 's hrs a r tha ah
inducing theIn to send their hard-earned money
i and sending them vase of sawdust or n brick
| Or some such, in return.
THE these rascals find 1t profitable to
/ work this game is because they know, and they
take 1t for granted that the people in general know
that there are hundreds of thousands Of dollars
| cOLEterfeit-in circulation. and as men have nc
ncral scrfpes against increasing the money c1rcu
lation lin fact the majority of people are In favor
Of doing it by law, witness the late green'acR
craze and the present silver agitation, they are In
| duced to send on their money on the very liberal
terms held out to them5 cents buying dollar, OF
| some such absurd priceo Of
mo intelligent man. IyOulds do 1t, for their very
proposition IL ridiculous, ndt alone the buying OF
| pig in bag but man has only to stop and con
slider the cost of engta vingsi presses printing, pa
| per- etc, to see the ahsIrditF Of the offer
| Now. compare these methods with my PROPOSE
ton: Firstly. enot addressing an ignorant
farmer. Secondly, do not want you to send me
one cent. What l Want tn know Is whether YOU
will be willing to cooperate with me in the dis
Iosal Of my goods vtdinaLI prove to you beyond
all doubt that my work is all claim for it, that
| 1t cannot be told from the-genuine, even by ex
perts. Understand, / de nat want you to invest
one dollar until have examined my entire stool
| from one to one hundred thhnsand dollars, compare
| them with the genunet and in fact, submit then
| to any test you fiji thin. after you are thor
oughly satisfied every roint, You can decide
whether You accept my pH6positton or not. Tht
fact IS, an tnvestmenti of $500 VIII give you al
immediate return that d. lifetime of toll In YOU
present business would ISet DO this without injur
| Ing friends, neighbors or your felowman To con
vince you of the safety of tie business will, upor
1f.~A Az1z It, .y.~NAz