The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-03
"HOLY MOSES"
IS WANTED BY
THE POLICE
An Old Hand SWindIed
Banker JeWett.
He is A CLEVER SCHEMER
SOLD MANY BIBLES UNDER
FALSE PRETENSES.
BE Induced Saloon-Keepers to Think
They Needed Them in Their
Business and Made
Cleanup.
He Is A CLEVER SCHEMER
SOLD MANY BIBLES UNDER
FALSE PRETENSES.

The identity of the man who sold the
last gold brick to Banker John H. Jew
EFT has been fully established. He is not
the unknown for which he would pass
under the name of e. N. Baker, but
confidence operator who would be willing
to lose nickname by which he is known
all over the country. That nickname in
all the. rogues' galleries in the West is
Holy Moses" Baker, and the law is fair
ly itching for a good grip of its slippery
possessor.
Baker earned the prefix Holy Moses
and considerable incidental coin by a
clever swindle he worked a dozen years
ago. AT that time he was a temporary
resident of Albuquerque, n. Mex, I'M
known to fame or the police. He wanted
coin, but lacked the energy to work for
it, so put in his spare hours in the New
Mexican town thinking out some plan to
get easy money" At last he hit upon
the idea, since so commonly put in prac-
tice, of using the mails to catch victims
by wholesale. In contradistinction, how
ever, to the methods since pursued by his
imitators, Bakers plan was novel. He
was an artist in his line. The ordinary
sucker" was not to his taste. He pro
posed to go after people who were sup
posed to know 1t all, so that in after
years, while enjoying their coin, he could
gloat on the artistic fishing he had done
to land them.
Baker wanted wise" people, and after
events approved his judgment. From AL
DdQueIQu lie sent out CiICuldlS " SeilOOll-
keepers, cigar-store proprietors and we'll
known men about the cities and towns of
the West He had a plan, his circulars
stated, whereby he could furnish them
with the raciest book in the language,
one that Uncle Sam could not keep out of
the mails, and one that the lucky buyers
could exhibit openly in their places of
business for the delectaton of their
friends. 1t was a great money-maker, he
said and could be had from him for 81
cash, stamps or money order.
How many wise" people bit will never
be known, but there were thousands,
Albuquerque. So many were the letters
addressed to him that the postal authori-
ties became suspicious and began an in
vestigation. They found that Baker had
been sending to his various correspond
ents for the price named Bibles that could
be bought for song. In each book he
had put slip of paper, reading:
THE choicest chapters are from Gene
sis to the journey of Moses to the prom
Used land
There was no way to prosecute Baker,
apparently, but he was requested to move
on and he moved. Letters addressed 10
turned to their senders, who were inform
ed by the Postoffice Department of the
nature Of the swindle practiced against
them.
Since that time Baker, who had earned
the name of Holy Moses" tried all sorts
of schemes through the West. Latterly he
has worked the write-up scheme, and in
many other cases besides that of Jewett
apparently with success. His partner in
that swinde and in many others is one
A. n. Hansen, who does the rough