The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-21
SWINDLERS Use MAILS
SOME SCHEMES THAT HAVE BEEN
WORKED SUCCESSFULLY.
People Who Do Not Read Newspapers
Seem to he Numer0us-Victims
Easy to Find.
Washington Star.

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Washington Star.
Notwithstanding the fact that we are
generally credited with being a newspaper
reading nation. 1 am often tempted to be-
lieve that there must be many millions OF
intelligent persons in the United States who
never so much as glance at the headlines or
a newspaper remarked an official of the
Postoffice Department. "At any rate, IL
these millions to whom / refer ever actu-
ally do read the newspapers, their gullibil-
ity must be so profound as to be unfathom-
able. The Postoffice Department is con-
stantly issuing fraud orders against indi-
viduals and alleged firms engaged in getting
rich in the operation of schemes that it
would seem any shrewd child of ten ought
TO be able to see through without the least
bother.
1.-The other day, for example, the depart
ment got after a chap out in Cincinnati
whe for some months had been conducting
what he called a Turf Bureau He alleged
in his really admirably written circular that
he had private and absolutely certain meth
DDS of obtaining information as TO the
horses that were slated to win races on
tracks all over the United States, and he
guaranteed returns of tremendous proper
tions. Well. when we looked this fellow up
he promptly skipped. and his incoming mail
was seized. 1t seems incredible, but every
days mail brought in thousands of dollars,
in amounts ranging from s. actually up to
$500. and the letters inclosing cash and
checks were nearly all of them apparently
written by persons of education. The book
IN Uhiah tho Lapt hfc cfmnla account
of cash received showed that since he put
his scheme into operation he had taken in
no less a sum than s465. 900, almost out of
the question. as it may appear. He has
got away, but, even if he is captured, ]
very much doubt if any very heavy punish
ment can be visited upon him. These slip
perry chaps who work their lodges Dy
means of the mails AVE the money TO en-
ploy firstrate lawyers, and these lawyers
can generally successfully construe their
clients circulars as not having really prom
Used anything to the gulls, after all.
ENDLESS-CHAIN SCHEMES.
THE endless-chain schemes that the de-
partment runs down year after year are all
of them money makers for their operators.
1t would actually seem as If all a busted
individual had to do to get rich is to get a
lot of circulars printed and send them out,
borrowing the money for postage, and there
will always be enough gulls to start him on
his way. The cherry-tree scheme worked
by a gang Of Southern men, one Of them a
clergyman, WIGS a colossal success for it's
promoters, and yet not a man In the crowd
had a coin to bless himself with when they
started the endless-chain scheme in mo-
u0n. Tne more recent fountaln-pen fraud,
worked by a couple of Pennsylvanians.
yielded returns that went into the thou
sands every day, and 1 haven't a doubt in
life that any number of similar endless
chain, schemes are being worked this very
day that We shall have TO go after later on.
1.-THE people who bite on these endless
Hnai for sc netbiSg an lor op IiffIe Sr want nni5,n a wn ane
this, combined with their strange SIM
plicity, is at the bottom of the success of
the fellows who attempt to make their
fortunes through the use of the mails.
You would naturally suppose that per-
sons sufficiently intelligent to possess an
interest In stock speculation would be able
to steer clear of investment agents whom
they only know of through circulars. would
you not? And yet the department is con-
stantly In receipt Of tales of woe from in
dividuals who nave invested stable sums
of money with New York and Chicago
swindlers claiming to CONDUCT speculative
businesses, who operate entirely through
the mails. These outfits are broken up by
the United States postoffice authorities as
soon as their fraudulent character is clear
ly established, but 1t seems impossible to
drive these fellows who run the alleged in
3NAAO4 oCAAS nllOll OAI VI lii
The games too easy for them, and they
are fully aware of the great difficulty found
In convicting them. AS soon as one broker
age firm that carries on it's business en-
tirely by mail is smashed the men who
have been successfully conducting it simply
move down to another block and open up
another brokerage office under another
firm name. The shift only involves their
getting out another batch OF literature. The
thousands and thousands of dollars which
these sharpers take in year in and year out
II frOD nQnnIn h rynu " nvnrnnof~.
themselves on paper make it appear that
they are educated men and women is a per-
petual source Of establishment to me.
TRANSPARENT FRAUDS.
1.-THE smaller fry Of the mail swindlers
are the fellows VINO advertise that they will
send solid gold watches and all tina sort
of thing upon the receipt of 81. Now, does
it seem reasonable to imagine that any
man or woman sane enough to run loose
in a civilized community ought to know
perfectly well that a solid gold watch, or
whatever other article it may be. perhaps
a genuine diamond ring cannot be bought
for the sum of 81? And yet there are re-
sponses to these ads. reaching literally in
the millions, and the promoters of these
aodges nearly always get rich: Last year
vertised In a very elaborate and splurgy
fashion throughout the country that he had
got nold or a lot OF lucky stones on his
travels through India, which he was will
ing to purvey by mail upon the receipt of
81 per stone. The money that chap got was
something fabulous. The dollars were Just
raining In when the inspectors swooped
down on his office and cleaned him out. He
didn't care then whether he was cleaned
out or not. He had got the money.
something over a year ago the depart
ment nailed a clever woman, who was
operating her little dodge down in Florida
"a woman OF tremendous shrewdness this
one was sure enough. She advertised and
sent out circulars TO the effect that she was
a natural born healer of any old disease
that was ever included in a medical book,
mental or physical, and she set forth the
fact that, If anything, she was some bet
ter as an absent healer than she was as
a contact healer. All the person afflicted
with any sort of disease had to do was to
spend five minutes at a certain hour of the
hitting the money. Thus the afflicted one
would be made whole. If / remember cor
rectly, this little woman pulled In some
thing like 500. coo with her scheme, and, il
she had really devoted five minutes OF
thought each day to each Of her sub
scri5ers. the day would have had to be
about two months long. The beauty of the
situation In her case was that absolutely
nothing could be done in the way of pun
ishment TO her. She chung to IL When
nailed that she really was an absent healer
all right-although there was a merry
twinkle In her eye as she said it-and the
government hadn't any way of provine
that she wasn't what she claimed TO be