The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-05-02
THE. LATEST swINDLE.

Don't Buy Strange Drug Stores in
Western Towns.
For nearly two years past" said a
travelling man who sells soda fountain
ewlndlers have been reaping big har
vest all over the country from a very
peculiar sort Of bunco game, and, as
far as / know, their operations have
never been clearly explained and ex
posed in print They make business
of starting fake drugstores and then
selling them out at an enormous profit,
and by long experience they have re-
| duced the thing to almost an exact sci
ence / can best explain how the game
| is worked by describing a recent case
that came under my personal observa-
| ton.
"A few months ago couple of we'll
dressed, smooth tongued strangers put
in an appearance at a good-sized town
in Kansas and introduced themselves as
the representatives of large drug syn
dictate that was opening a chain of
high-class establishments In different
cities throughout the country. They
said they wished to secure site in the
best residence section, and after look
ing over a number of localities, select
ed corner store-room in a fashionable
ne&ehborhood and signed a long lease.
They paid nothing down, but said that
the general manager of the syndicate
would be on hand in few weeks and
referred the landlord to him. Almost
Immediately after the room was Sc
cured equipments began to arrive, and
in a surprisingly short time the hoom
was fitted UP In snowy and attractive
style. All the work of putting the place
in shape was done on credit. and paint
ers, gasfitters, paper hangers. plumb
ers and others who had assisted in the
job were directed to present their bills
to the general manager as soon as he
arrived Very soon after the store was
opened new man, who seemed to be
an invalid, turned up. and few days
later the neghbors were surprised to
find him in charge as proprietor. The
original couple had disappeared, and
before long it became evident that a
big swindle had been perpetrated.
"The invalid proved to be the chief |
dupe. He came from somewhere In
Iowa and had answered an ad' offering
a fine new drug store for sale. All the |
negotiations had been made while the !
place was being fitted up, and on his ar
rival he had paid over fcei thousand |
dollars for the stock and lease but, as |
everything in the store had been Sc |
cured on time, the creditors swooped |
down at the first alarm, and for several |
weeks affairs were in such tangle and |
confusion that 1t was impossible to
make head or tail out Of them. Even
now there is more or less mystery about
the transaction, and, strange to cay.
the victims have been unable to dis
cover exactly how to proceed legally
against the swinders Most Of the rep
'esentations were verbal and were made
10 adroitly as to just evade the statute
against cheating and swinding.
IT have outlined the case In very
sketchy fashion, for the details would
occupy half day in the telling. but it
substantially as I have de-
,cribed and there Is pretty clear evil
lence that the same people have
worked similar swndles in large num-
ser Of places Frequently they vary
he game by getting possession of some
id stand that has run down. restock-
ng 1t on .credlt and unloading on a
sucker from distant point. Trade is
by fake customers, and the VIC
i'm thinks he has bought fiourishing
business In a general way the
,cheme resembles the famous commits
ZION house swindle, which was worked
or years and only lately broken UP by
he arrest of the gang in New York. 1t
seems incredible that such frauds can
,e perpetrated in the teeth Of modern
commercial methods, but these are the