Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-01-15
BLOOMFIELD FOR $50
Davis County People Claim to Have
Been Swindled.
MOULToN ALSO MAKES COMPLAINT
Baking Powder Sales Galore to the
South of acknowledgement of
Pictures Was Promised-copy Of
the Receipt Given Purchasers.

Complaint has been made to
Bloomfield and Moulton authorities,
by persons living in territory contigu-
GUS to those places,that gang of bak-
Ing powder and picture swindlers has
been operating there, with the result
that many persons have parted with
honest money for which they receiv-
ed nothing in return. The plan of op-
erations there, SO it is claimed, was
somewhat similar to that employed
by alleged swindlers in and about OF
tumWa some weeks ago.
The idea, SO the Bloomfield authori-
ties, state, was to sell one or more
cans of baking powder to family,
at so much per can, usually so cents,
| and to give the purchaser a slip of
paper, purporting to be a premium
contract or coupon, emitting the per-
son to have one photograph enlarged
for each can of baking powder pur-
chased. In each instance, to make
the bluff good, the agent secured
copies of the photographs which the
purchasers wished to have enlarged
according to contract
The Slip of Paper.
The Courier has in its possession
the premium contract" given by one
OF the agents to the wife of Bloom
fields city marshal The lady, it is
said, thought she would have some
family photograph enlarged as sur
prise for her husband, and for the
reason that the offer was such rea-
sonable one, she accepted it, Some
time afterwards there came to be
some talk regarding the alleged
swindling that had been going on, and
the wife turned the slip of paper over
to her husband, and he went to work
on the case, in an effort to locate the
swindlers. The paper is as follows:
SO y
PREMIUM CONTRACT. &
THE. HOLDER OF THIS COU- =
pom is entitled to one solar enlarge Il
ment, size 16x20 inches, absolute
ly free, as premium on a one =
pound can of Home Baking Pow
der, purchased by them from our y
agent. Customers are not COM
PEELED to purchase frames from y
us. We have large line of the .
latest design in portrait frames y
for your inspection which we will =
sell at astonishingly low prices. =
The above enlargement can be Il
finished in either crayon, water =
color or pastel. Customers can 3
= see proof one week after =
order is taken. We are RESPONSE y
BILE for this contract; no other
agreement recognized. One hun Il
dred dollars will be forfeited to :
the party holding this contract .
who does not receive premium as =
above represented. =
OTTUMWA PREMIUM POR- .
TRAIT STUDIO, y
203 w. Second ST., Ottumwa, Ia. 3
There is no date whatever on the
original slip, and in the first line
where there appears the words, sis
entitled to one solar enlargement, .
the word zone" has been marked out
with lead pencil, and the word
| three" written in it's place. And the
| word home" in the brand of baking
| powder has been changed to Treaty
| In one corner of the slip is written in
| pencil, the word Paid"
Several hundred OF the photographs
said to have been collected by these
alleged swindlers, are now to be
| found in room at the Washington
| hotel, corner of West Second and
Washington streets, where number
| of picture and baking powder agents
| stopped several weeks, while working
| the country about Ottumwa. The
party skipped out without paying
board bills, and left the photographs
to complete the story of the alleged
swindling that had been going on for
some time.
! The Ottumwa officers are making
| efforts to locate the picture people, a
| warrant for their arrest having been
issued by Police Judge Hall, the
charge being beating board BILL"
or words to that effect.