Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-01-11
GREEN GOODS GOOD AS GOLD.
Genuine Money Sent Out as Bait by the Up.
to.Dste SWlndlers

e 4 Z. ~ H.
Chief Wilkie Of the United States
Secret Service says the country Is be-
ing flooded with the circulars of green
goods operators. Many people send
the II circulars to the Secret Service,
thinking they have discovered a nest
Of counterfeiters. Twenty or thirty.
of these circulars are sent daily to the
office of the Secret Service by people
who have received them. The ONCE
has nothing to do with green gooos
people, but generally sends q formal
answer to each person, warning tnem
of the nature Of the scheme intended
to be worked.
"The green goods men have new
plans this year." said Chief Wilkie.
'.Formeriy they sent out Q circular
inclosing an alleged clipping speaking
Of the splendid counterfeit money be-
ING made. They claimed that this
counterfeit money was so fine as TO
deceive Government officials. This
scheme. was so often exposed In the
newspapers as to enlighten the public.
Now the green goods man makes the
following statement in his latest cir
cular: Now, my dear sir, am fully
aware Of the suspicion and prejudice
that you naturally will entertain fol
my proposition, as you will on first
thought class it as coming from
green goods or sawdust swindler; put
.f you will lay aside that prejudice,
apply common sense. and look ut my
proposition from a business stand
point, compare 1t with the methods of
these petty swindlers and you will
credit me with not being fool enough
to waste my time addressing 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 seduc-
tive circular letters to ignorant farm
ers with newspaper clipping In re-
gard to counterfeit money, &C., false
ly pretending that they are the par
ties spoken of in the article, and Offer
ing to sell that which they have not,
inducing them to send on their hard
earned money and sending them va
lise of sawdust or brick or some
such in return. The reason these ras-
Gals find it profitable to work this
game is because they know, and they
take it for granted that the people IN
general know, that there are hundreds
of thousands Of dollars, counterfeit, in
circulation, and as men have no moral
scruples against increasing the money
circulation Tin fact, the majority Of
people are in favor Of doing it by law,
as witness the late greenback craze
and the present silver agitation} they
are induced to send on their money on
the very liberal terms held out to
them-fve cents buying dollar, or
some such absurd price. No intelli-
gent man would do it, for their very
proposition Is ridiculous"
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 cor
respondence with a probable victim
he sends him n new 81 bill along with
q second circular as q sample Of his
work. The bill is genuine. however.
Sometimes the would-be victim In
closes this dollar to the Secret Service
without saying where he got il, and
asking if it is genuine. The Secret
Service officials write him that it is
the best made, but they manage to in
close him q circular which opens his
eyes and makes, him see how the
green goods man is working on him.