Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1902-12-17

York. Many Of the dupes Of these bogus mapagert
never dream that they have been the victims OF con
fdence game but attrbte their failure OF bad luck
and promise themselves a change Of fortune later.
After the dramatic iakir or CRATER, the most pre-
tentiOus and dangerous pirates OF these pleasant
waters is the broker CRATER.
Within the last decade the number Of women who
have broken away old traditions and become opera
tors on ''the street" is phenomenal It does moi
take woman long either to learn the trick of the
trade or to become shOrn lamb, but there are "ten-
deriee feeling their way into the mysteries Of Wall
street every day. These woman are the grafter'C
prey, and have furnished the material for many
subsequent exposure and hasty fight 10 bOurnes un
known.
The men who carry on this class of fraud are the
most adrOit scOundrels in tre profession have prob
ably done larger things in their time than swindle
women. They have been in stock deals where mil
lions were involved and when dirty had to be done
for the kings Of finance who would never soil theia
own regulations by appearing in the role that had
These men are astute, polished men OF the world.
10 be played.
They have nice homes near the park or ON River
side Drive II not on Murray Hill. They are, more
or less, insoeiety, and the victim s often admitted
to the circle Of stylish acquaintances. Theater par.
ties are arranged and their cOn6deQce is gradually
won. Meanwhile the CRATER has his book carefully
made mp, and the victim is led on to the point OF
putting up few hundreds on sugar, oil. or any OF
the stocks that vary frequently and considerably in
value.
There is q month or two of alternate successes
and failure, during which the investments grow
larger and larger to cover margins, and finally the
end comes, the victim s informed that all her
gin has been wiped out, and, sadder and wiser
woman she returns to her pet amusements, II luck
lily she is not shOrn OF her last dollar and has to
Cept position, probably that Of servant to some
social sn6b who makes her life martyrdOm. The
Snera aa
The most dangerous class OF grafters in eOnuec-
tiOn with the plnndering Of women are the men who
manage to get themselves appointed executors or
guardians for women who have been left fortunes.
The fees OF these Offices should be sufficient to guar
antee the honesty Of the men so entrusted with the
care Of the money Of Others but they do not prove
so, and the average wOman's prOverbial incOmpe-
tence In hnanCiaI affairs makes it easy to take ad.
vantage Of her.
A favOrite method Of working this graft is to in
duce the victim to change the character OF her in
vestment A widow, who for instance has
been left 3 snug fortune in government bonds,
or 10 good railway stock will be TEMPT
ed by her guardian on the ground Of making
twice the interest, to sell this stock and reinvest
OF course the guardian" is financially interested
in this new stock and the chances are that about
half the total OF the Widows fortune becomes his
through the transfer. Sometimes the result is much
more ruinous to her. Often the guardian has
AAeeo "a MS uWu III WHICH ne lnuuC-
es her to invest and generally with the final result
that she ultimately has the choice of taking what
small amounts he can dole out to her in the way Of
an allowance or OF having him locked up, and TINS
putting an end to any supplies at all.
know woman today who is scrubbing floors
for living, whose husband died ten years ago leav.
ing her 3 fortune Of 800, 900 in United States
bonds.
She commenced her experiences as oangel' to q
theatrical company, expecting to become another
Mrs. Leslie Carter. A year or two of this amuse.
ment, ending with her disgust Of stage lif on
account OF the unwelcOme advances made to her BY
her manager, resulted in reducing her funds con.
siderably.
Her remaining Thousands went at the advice Of
her executors, into we'll known speculative stock
boosted By politicians, which is now worth about
as much as Confederate bonds.
Compared with the CRATER who preys on his own
sex, or the poor illiterRte who defOrms himself to
win few pennies from the sympathetic East Slider,
these heartless scOundrels who prey upon the
credulity Of the weaker sex are q nameless
abOminatiOn, and should be hunted down remorse-
lessly BY the strong arm Of the law.