The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-09-13
.SWINDLE IN NAILS
SOAiE OF THE METHODS THAT ARE
EMPLOYED IN CROOKED
-.E@ SCHEMES.
VICTIMS IN RURAL DISTRICTS
fosto'hce inspector Tells OF the Way
In which the Creduzeus Are
PAayed Upon-Buits for the I'm
Wary-How. the Operations Are
Conducted -.n ~


Conducted. "
BY an indirect useans considered hy
TIC PUBIC the opportunities for swindling
ana defrauding the people, especially
those residing in the rural districts. by
the use OF the mails, has been greatly
reaueeo, said an old postoff1ce Inspector
10 q star representative today, 'by the
exclusion OF alleged newspapers and neri .
oolcals from the mails at the pound rate
DIS second-class matter. These frauds
can never be entirely wiped out, but by
checking the mediums for the circulation
OF their advertisements they may be
somewhat curtailed.
AS some of these advertisements are
Aot received In family newspapers of
s'anulhg' the readers of the Star will!
nnd one Or two interesting instances I
have selected if decided novelty and
they Will no doubt wonder why it is that
people are so easily Caught when the
Trap into which they are expected to
aan IS SO thinly veneered. When it is
er general, through the assistant attor-
ney general for this department, re-
CURED eighty-three fraudulent concerns
70 snow cause why they should not
pe barred from the use of the mails
last year, and that sixty-two fraud or
sderS, We're issued against persons or.
concerns operating schemes devised for
Fraudulent purposes, some idea of the
magnitude OF the business: may he oh
tanned -.
HOW They Operate to Defraud.
Hundreds of the fraudulent person..
and concerns used these sheets as A,
means OF getting their schemes directly
before the people. Several of the latter
instances or quilting the public occur to
me, and, in this connection it will prove
OF interest to note how the promoters
OF such schemes rely upon the streak in
human nature that there are myriads of
people who entertain the belief that they
are smarter than their neighbors and
that they can beat the game But they
fall down.
This upsets one popular theory as to
sWlndles and swindlers, and includes tile
gold brick and counterfeit money frauds.
The innocent farmer so often alluded to
IN the press dispatches is not such at
all: but is man, who may, however, be
farmer, living in a rural community,
whose dishonest traits and :self-believed
native shrewdness to defraud makes MIN
a party to the puA chase Of the supposed
counterfeit bills to the end that he may
pass, them off to mis- advantage upon his
innocent 'come-on is therefore as much
of a swindler as arn the men in the cities
whose business it is to sell the so-called
'come-on,' who may have been robbed
of his good money in exchange for rolls
Of green tissue paper, receives scant SYM
from either the EpuDllC4aSOr police
And only Unless degree dc the persons
and concerns engaged in sn fraudulent
business prey upon peoples hungry
value for nothing; their selt-conceit and
smartness, and, on the other hand, as tt
the really unsuspeecting, their innocence,
righteousness and an honest effort to
earn a living or additional spending
money. --.<'
'"These operators secure the names and
addresses of persons by various methods
- t1@ Cto~ he, f<
receive letter like the following let MIN
throw it in the waste basket. This .swiniie
appeals to our vanity, and 1t is good
dodge, for many of US are weak on that
point This letter is sent to ladies prln-
Respected Madam: We have just
published i new sacred song tb re
Quest of endof yours, andas pleasant
surprise to you, has been dedicated TO
YOU and In your honor. Your name ap.
pears on the title page. Full sheet
music size, elegantly gotten up. MOST
THE sLAP-DAsH MUSIC co.
"Of course the above name is given TO:
the sake of illustration. The recipient of
this great honor has her curiosity aroused
at once and she sends the remittance
which may be named in the letter, say
81, for copy of the music so kindly dedl-
Gated to her by the unknown friend, as
it certainly is a surprise. She experiences
a further shock of surprise when she re-
d
word 'dedicated' stamped across its face,
and she learns, to her sorrow, that the
same piece of music is thus dedicated.
to all who will bite at the hook: We
closed one Of these concerns recently:
1.-THE Star not long ago exposed the
method of disposing of fake pawn tickets
in this city, and the methods ;of. con-
Germ we recently put out of business In
Chicago is right in line. BE very wary of
letters like this: = s'
"sDear Friend: My ring deserves a
hoxy ho1
unscrupulous men get it at way below its
actual value I want you to have 1t. |
send the ticket to you, Do get It, as
lasting memory st l gHRd cd T siRsE;
with this letter Is inclosed what pur-
ports to be pawn ticket. So eager are
people to get possession of diamonds at
low prices that they really snap at this
know. The ticket is usually at "a moderate
figure, about $c5 and they are also IN
the price Of the ticket. They forward the
the like, practically without market
value but they got no3,dsr even ss e1
pected. Rather than confess to an ex-
hibition of toolishness ON their part to
their friends they keep silent. Some DO
not; hence we secured evidence to close
out one of these FRANCIS.
Getting Things 4sF,ree:e'
lasting charm to many people, and sharp
ers act upon this known fact Al in-s
geniously tworded advertisement as
ever came under my notice ,; Is the FOL
FREE a FGLL SIZED, HIGH
GRADE SEWING MACHINE - FREE.
cabinet, handsomely finished In carved
oak This machine is made by the larg-
est factory in the world. and has all lar--:
est Improvements, ~ dn ~ to, = GIT ths
land, WE GIVE this liberal offer OF a
hlgh-grade sewing machine to every per-
son who VIII SCI only eight boxes ess 2 s.
you need to do is to- send your names we
SEND the pills POSTPAID When yon seal
us your money we win send YOU at once
our liberal offer of the sewing machine
delivered absolutely FREE, together with
a handsome SILVER PLA- ED SET. We
are reliable, and guarantee the sewing
ali we claim. Why BUY q sewing MAJ
chine when you can get one FsR EE? Nv
pay all express charges You have no
other expense. e AZ IS
est one OF giving a sewing machine free
for introducing certain line of goods,
and thousands of persons have been
caught by 1t, not stopping to find the lit,
lie Joker artfully concealed therein, and
forgetful of the fact that people are NOT
giving. away sewing machines TOT tne
..The Joker in this case Of fraud g
that all the advertisement really states
4 viii be given is an offer of sewing
r1aclncine, quite another matter from Civ
ing the real article. The victim Instead
receives other letters, REQUIRING him 60
nut up several dollars for pills. only 70
he thrown down. In the end. Thousands
have. been caught by lais concern