The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-04-17
THEY HAD MANY VICTIMS
Suspicious as to Webster and
Montgomery Well Founded.
A CHEAP SWINOlING GAME
Butte Was an Easy Mark and the
Sharpers Were Raking in a Har-
vest-It Was an Old Scheme
but 1t Worked.

The assumption of the police that
Webster and Montgomery. the men ar
rested day before yesterday for carry
ing on a cheap %swindling game. had
made rather a handsome cleanup in
their collection of four-bit pieces,
proves To have been well founded. The
expose of their game, published in yes
terday's Standard. caused a stream of
victims to pour in and out of police
headquarters yesterday. to inquire IL it
were true hat they had really been
film fiamm and IL there was any way
by which they might recover the photo
graphs they had intrus;ed to the agents
of the Elite Portrait company"
For a cheap game the scheme of the
swindlers seems to have taken exceed
ingly well with Butte people. The pro-
cession of victims resembled that which
swarmed about the entrance of the Of
fees Of n recent DIR. Veno after the
"healer's" methods were exposed, only
the present crowd were not as heavy
losers as those who bit at the heal
er's" game. The largest amount any
of the victims of the portrait swindlers
complained of losing was 81, and the
great majority had given only 80 cents.
Nearly all of them carried an order
for a portrait they had received from
the ~swindlers, after paying the so cents
or 81 required in advance. The pre-
text under which the swindlers operat-
ed was that they were merely adver-
Using their portrait business. and made
no charge for en~larging a picture. but
simply made the small charge to pay
for material. This was shown by a pre-
amble printed on the orders the victims
presented, which read as follows:
I'm order to advertise our school and
never-failing work. we will enlarge for
from any distinct cabinet, card or tin
type. to 14x17 l~ife-size crayon, IN pay
ment of 25 cents to u salesman and
65 cents at our studio: or one life-size
sepia on l4xl7 inch paper on payment
of 80 cents to our salesman and 81 at
our studio. for cost of material. The
work will be lone absolutely free of
charge. Purchasers are not compelled
to buy frames. Two heads on one pic
ture will be charged for as two pictures.
Photographs returned only with en-
larged picture. Notification will be
sent before delivery"
The last clause shows the police We're
also correct i'm their conclusion that
the prime object of the swindlers was
to get possession of photographs nav
ing a peculiar value i'm order hat they
might subsequently demand "a good
price for their return. The scheme was
doubtless the same as hat worked a
couple Of years ago when, after the
photographs had been secured, a man
representing himself to be a private
detective, called on the victims after
the canvassers had completed their
work.. and informed them that for "A
valuable consideration he woul put
them i'm "A way to recover their photo
graphs. This portion of the game was
frustrated by the timely arrest of the
operators.
When arrested. Webster and Mont
gomery told the police the Elite Por-
trait studio" they represented was To-
Gated at Ogden. Utah. and by so doing
afforded the police an opportunity of
confirming their belief that the propo-
sition To enlarge photographs so cheap
ly. was purely a swindling scheme. A
telegram was promptly sent to the chief
of police at Ogden, inquiring If the
Elite Portrait studio vas a business
Institution of that city. Yesterday
Chief Mulhplland received a reply from
Chief Davenport. stating that the bus
mess had been moved to Butte some
weeks ago. A complaint will be filed
against Webster and Montgomery,
charging them with obtaining money
under false pretenses. The police yes
terday were e~ndeavoring to find the
photographs the swindlers a secured,
to return them to their wners.
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