The San Francisco call., 1898-02-27
4 ARNINC TO KLONDIKERS Unreliable Solicitors at the Entrance Gates of
 the City. Smooth Tongued Sharpers Who Seek to Trap the
 Unwary.
Strangers Borne of to Interruptions Houses and Unnaercitully
 "Bled."

Now that the Klondike rush is fairly on, 1t is but timely that word of warning be spoken for the benefit of the hundreds who are f1ocking to San Francisco to outfit for the frozen north let them beware of the willy "capper" who daily plies his trade at the ferry depot.
 When the great rush was in It's in- cipiency San Francisco's merchants, With their accustomed push and ener- gy, advertised the city far and wide as the foremost outfitting point on the coast. The great natural advantages of the city were told and told again, facts, figures and plain statements were brought before the prospective miner everywhere, and the eyes of the world turned toward the city of the Golden Gate as the natural quitting point, and as result they are coming from north, east, south and west; coming singly and in parties; by train, ship and caravan, all eagerly looking to- ward San Francisco as the last halt ing ground before the perilous journey Is begun.
 This advertising was carried on by legitimate and enterprising business men. who contributed literally toward 1t without mentioning any individual house, but only the cty as a general point, and it has been taken advantage of in most shameful way by scurri- louS and unreliable merchants whose only stock in trade consists of an inn measurable amount of nerve and a supply of useless goods which can cas- fly be foisted upon the unwary and in- experienced by glibtongued salesmen.
 To resort to legitimate methods of advertising would be entirely out of the question with these dealers, as an advertisement would only be a danger signal to warn people away, so they have reSorted to the old method which has been worked so many times that the only wonder is it was not aban- doned and thrown aside long ago as worn out. The plan is this: A num- Der of smooth articles" silver tongued loudly dressed and decked with the most approved designs of paste dia- monds are picked up from any old place the County Jail or State Prison pre- ferred. These men are supplied with stock circulars, business cards and re- concentrations of good character and stationed at the ferry depot. AS soon as a stranger arrives en route for Klon- dike he is immediately spotted and bounced upon by a horde of sagaciouS "pullers' who paint their own charac ters in the roSieSt hueS. The gullible one is then borne off in triumph to shoddy cheap-johns, the front of which is hidden with fiarng posters and display of goods, the use of which i'll the Klondike is as inexplicable to any one who knows the first thing about that region as the method by which they could be brought there.
 Once inside the bucolic one is re- celved with open arms, and assured that if he does not carry off half the stock of the store, with few of the fixtures thrown in by way of good measure, he will perish before he is half. way to the gold regions.
 The plan is generally successful, as these people are the smoOthest of their kind and the unwary customer carries away stock of goods which would be useless to him anywhere, and for which he has paid in good gold coin about three times the value. He is then smilingly turned loose, given a supply of cards of the house which he prom ises to distribute among his friends, and safely dispatched to a third-class lodging house controlled by the same people.
 The proprietor then rubs his hands in glee, divides the spells with his capper, and the trap is again baited for a fresh victim.
 The only safe method for strangers to avoid being robbed by these unre- liable dealers is to take things slowly Pay no attention to any solicitor, how ever oily his tongue, and look around for a few days before purchasing any thing. The reliable houses are easy to find; they cannot afford to divide profits with a solicitor and do not at tempt to sell useless goods at exorbi- tant nrioac