The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-06-16
BLOCKED THEIR GAME
Two Confidence Men Taken
in by Detectives for
AN ATTEMPT TO SWINDLE
Claimed to Represent Missouri
Pacific Shops al Eureka.

During the past week the police and
detective forces have been greatly both
cred with petty confidence men VINO have
settled her to blk the young farmers
who have focked to this district TO find
employment in the harvest fields. AL
kinds of schemes are worked by the con-
fdence men and terms can be made with
them all the way from 10 cents up.
| Yesterday Detectives Sutton and
Cairns arrested two middle aged men
upon the charge of attempting to defraud
young fellow out of two dollars by pre-
tending that they were representatives of
the Missouri Paciffs round house at Eu-
reka and were authorized to employ men.
They were taken to police headquarters
where papers found on their persons dis
closed their names to be w. NJ Huff and
j. w. Sherman. One of the men claimed
to be an old soldier and a letter of recon-
mendation from some G. A. r. post was
found among his personal effects. When
searched but s1.95 in money was found
on both of them and Mr.. Sutton believes
that at least one person was victimized by
their skin game. One of the fellows prac-
tically admitted as much but that is all
that could be learned from them. Their
names were recorded in the book at po-
lice headquarters as confidence men, but
unless additional testimony can be OBJ
tanned of their guilt only a minor charge
will be entered against them
It is evident that the two attempted
swindlers only worked among strangers,
for to persons who are acquainted in this
party of the country their game would
appear extremely coarse. The young fell
low whom they made the unsuccessful at
tempt to defraud was undoubtedly picked
out as a harvest hand and a real
easy victim, but this proved to be only a
dream as their proposition was only half
made when the boy suspected the game
The fraudulent plan adopted by them
was the same old scheme. They claimed
that they were seeking men to go 70 work
in the round house at Eureka. and as
there were plenty of men out of employ
ment they were collecting 81 from every
person whom they employed. One of
them had written order which they in
y. The young man, being once a resi-
dent Of Eureka and knowing that there
were no shops on this side Of Eldorado,
politely refused to enter into negotiations
for work and left to turn them up" to
the authorities.
Detectives Sutton and Cairns were put
to work on the case and the men were
soon arrested on West Douglas and
taken to the holdover One of them had
a watch. They do not appear to be pro-
fessional ICON" workers and it is the
supposition that they only intended to
work the unsophisticated farmers
Numerous complaints have reached the
ears of the authorities during the past
week of similar attempts to defraud, but
no big steals have been reported. The
town has been overrun with tramDs but
they were not molested on the pretext
that they were hunting work in the
wheat fields. The detectives and police
force have about rid the city of them,
but they request all the hands who are
really looking for work to look out for
the sharDers.