The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-12-15
GOOD GREEN GOODS.
Genuine Money Is Now Sent Out aa
Bait by the Up-tO-Date
Swindlers.

Chief Willlie of the secret service
says the country is being flooded with
the circulars of green goods operators
Many people send the circulars to the
secret service, thinking they have dis
covered nest of counterfeiters. Twen9
ty or thirty of these circulars are sent
daily to the office of the secret service
by people who have received them
The Office has nothing to do with green
goods people, but generally sends a
formal answer to each person, warning
them of the nature of the scheme in
tended to be worked.
The green goods men have new plans
this year" says Chief Willlie. For
merly they sent out a circular inclos-
ing an alleged clipping speaking of the
splendid counterfeit money being made.
They claimed that this counterfeit
money was so fine as to deceive govern
ment officials. This scheme was so often
exposed in the newspapers as to en-
Tighten the public. Now the green
goods man makes the following state
ment in his latest circulars: Now, my
dear sir, | am fully aware of the suspi-
cion and prejudice that you naturally
will entertain for my proposition, as
you will on first thought class it, az
coming from a green goods or sawdust
swindler; but if you will lay aside
that prejudice, apply common sense
and look at my proposition from a bust
ness standpoint, compare it with the
methods of these petty swindlers and
you will credit me with not being fool
enough to waste my time addressing a
man of your intelligence and standing
in the community. The methods of
the so-called green-goods swindlers
have been exposed from time to time
in the daily press. They send out Sc
ductive circular letters to ignorant
farmers with a newspaper clipping in
regard to counterfeit money, etc, false
ly pretending that they are the parties
spoken of in the article, and offering
to sell that which they have not, Undue
ing them to send or their heard learned
money and sending them a valise of
sawdust or brick or some such in re-
turn. The reason these rascals find
it profitable to work this game is be-
cause they know, and they take it for
granted that the people in general
know, that there are hundreds of thou
sands of dollars, counterfeit, in circula-
ton and as men have no moral scrupIes
against increasing the money circula-
ton Tin fact, the majority of people
are in favor of doing it by law, as wit
ness the late greenback craze and the
present silver agitation) they are in
duced to send on their money on the
very liberal terms held out to them
five cents buying dollar. or some such
absurd price. No intelligent man would
do it, for this very proposition is ri
diculous.'
Chief Wilkie says that the circulars
now sent out by the swindlers are so
artfully worded as to deceive many
people. If the swindler begins a CORE
spondence with a probable victim he
sends him new one dollar-bill along
with second circular as sample of
his work The bill is genuine, however.
Sometimes the would be victim incloses
this dollar to the secret service without
saying where he got it. and asking if it
is genuine. The secret service officials
write him that it is the best made. but
which opens his eyes and makes him
see how the green goods man is work
ing on him.-Washington Star.