Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-31

and scientific institutions offer diplomas to
incompetent persons at from s. to So each.
The advertisements will read. the college
has a medical faculty and is an institution
of high standing Its principal faculty is
to extract dollars from the public.
The CHERRY Tree Trick"
What we call the cherry tree trick is
an instance where people who really wish
work are imposed upon without mercy. A
concern will advertise largely that it has
easy and congenial work to do at home
for which it will pay its patrons salary
OF $50 per week This work should never
be undertaken, it is a fraud. The far
mers daughter or the factory girl, or men
wish this work, so they reply to the adver-
tiSement, receiving a reply that all they
nave to do is to write letters to their friends
saying they have the work to do, but they
find they must also become patrons of
the kind, philanthropic firm and send 80
or $40 to purchase some cherry trees, or
apple trees, or some kind of nursery stock.
So tempting is the bait of a weekly salary
to merely write about the work they are
supposed to be doing describing the beau
tlful trees of the firm, or the wonderful
qualities of some alleged magazine, that
thousands of people all over the land read
lily send in their hard-earned money to be-
come patrons receiving back few worth
less shoots of cherry trees, or the maya
"A IL
concern Of this kind can clean up from
$4,000 to 100000 in a few months, and by
the time the post Office authorities get after
them will have moved to another town, and
under new name. begun the operation all
over again. relying upon the faithful adage
that a new crop of fools Is born every
minute
'In reply to the indignant letters from
the swindled as to why the promised sal
ary is not forthcoming, the firm resorts to
all kinds of excuses as to why they do
not pay 1t. In some instances they will
actually pay for a short time few sal
aries, so as to be In the position in case of
arrest to assert that they fulfilled their
contract. You see, these men know that
the issuing of a fraud order stopping
their mall cannot be secured in a day. and
warrant for an arrest as the department
must have in it's possession complaints and
satisfactory evidence of fraud before the
Postmaster General can act. Knowing that
their business can be attacked effectually
only in this way, these men become bold
retain counsel, secure delays, fighting the
case often to the end as In the meantime
the mails are pouring remittances from all
over the country, and will continue to do so
just so long the fraud order is not issued.
Other Tricks of the ''Trade of Fraud"
''The dot counting and the easy puzzle
contests appeal to those who think they
can beat the game, and these smart folks
are, of course, beaten in the end The firm
VIII eiuN SAIiSS usually d IIlOutS prize 10 De
awarded to the person correctly counting
the number of black dots in the circle or
who correctly solve the puzzle both of
which are so easy that the people fall over
themselves in sending in correct answers
These poor, deluded people wonder in their
own hearts why business men will so fool
ishly throw away their money in so reck-
less fashion, and they anXiously await q
reply to their letters.
and now to find the little JOKER as he is
in this fraud. too. They omitted to note
in the advertisement, or noting it, attached
which read in effect that all contestees
shall be members of the firms club of eli
gibes, and they are chagrned to learn later
that to be such a member they must buy
a particular article the firm SELLS perhaps
only at 30 cents or 81; and they also omit
ted to notice line of fine type which read
that in the event of two or more persons
correctly guessing the solution the prize
shall be proportionately divided among the
winners Every contestee is notified that
ne correctly guessed the answer and.
after getting their money, the prize they
may receive Will be 1cent postage stamp
or penny, that being their quota of the
prize as 'proportionately divided
About the hardest instances of fraud the
department has to reach with a fraud or
der are the home knitting machine the
home embroidery making and other home
work schemes. Understand. there are mil
lions of women living in small towns and on
would be a veritable God send. 1t is these
millions of women that these firms seek
and succeed in reaching The words pro-
fitable, steady, easy, home employment at
good wages are very alluring. The nature
OF the employment is usually only limited
at or noted in enticing manner The
victims find that they must buy the par
ticula-' knitting, crocheting or embroidery
machines or outfits the firm makes, which
are sold at several times their actual value
The would-be working woman at home re-
spends and sends her money If she sue
ceeds in making any of the articles and
sends them to the firm in the belief that
they will be purchased she finds them
promptly returned with letter saying that
they are defective in workmanship and
cannot be accepted Perhaps these de-
cefved women will attempt this hide-and-
seek game with the alleged firm a dozen
times before they really learn that there
is no intention of buying her product
Sometimes out of thousands of cases few
cents worth of goods will be purchased
for the same reason in the other cases.
to give them a show to stand upon while
they are fighting the case.
AS general rule concluded the in
spector,' let the public remember that all
that glitters Is not gold, and that they
cannot beat the game these schemers will
play upon them"