Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-02-12
BUYING "GREENGOODS.a 3
DIFFICULTY IN PREVENTING THIS
FORM OF SWlNDLE.


Perhaps every newspaper readei
Knows what "greeGgoods" man is,
but how many people who think that
they were pretty well acquainted with
the intricacies of metropolitan life
have any idea to what extent, this
particular calling of the powers that
prey is now carried? The trade OF
the "greengoods" man is one of the
most puzzling and mysterious with
which detectives have to deal. And
what is most astonishing of all is that
every day within a radius of a few
miles from New York City hundreds
of daring schemes are being carried
on and brought to full realization.
A New York Tribune reporter was
prompted to make inquiries as to the
extent and workings of this practice
by a Washington dispatch. This dis
patch said that J. L. Bristow, fourth
assistant postmaster general. in his
recent report, had advocated an
amendment to the interstate COM
merce law which would prohibit tele-
graph and express companies or their
employees from aiding and abetting
"greengoods" or lottery swindles, or
any other scheme carried on partly
by mail and partly by common carrier
in violation of the postal laws. The
necessity for such law, together with
the probable difficulty of its enforce
ment. was made evident by Theodore
w. Swift, chief of the New York post
office inspectors. Mr.. Swift said:
The "greengoods" man is one who
promises to give certain amount of
counterfeit money for genuine money.
He is one of the oiliest individuals
with whom detectives have to deal.
lie is difficult to apprehend. and when
he is caught it is almost impossible to
obtain sufficient evidence to secure
his conviction. Every year he robs
innocent, trusting men, of large sums
of money-how large we have no
means of determining. He is a high
wayman, a true freebooter, who
handles his revolver with as easy an
assurance as he does his chief weapon
his tongue. We have fought him
ouD lOod lol ySdlo anu VIC dlO Gum
learning his cunning ways. He is the
trickiest, nerviest, most desperate ruff
fan in good clothes with whom we
deal. l could talk to you for hours of
his Mornings his twisting and his
borrowings, but perhaps description
of only one of a hundred different
methods by which he makes his living
will serve as an illustration.
Practically all the ''greengoods" men
of the country operate from New York.
They work in this city because the
great volume of mailing which goes
on here makes detection more difficult.
If after they receive replies they
could be tracked and watched, and if
We knew from whom their mail comes,
of course we could more readily drive
them out of existence. AS the system
is now worked we have no means of
knowing who send letters to them or
at what point these letters to the
sharpers are really written.
Let's take the simplest case. The
"greengoods" man sends out circu-
lar to a man whose name he finds in
the directory of some town. This cir
cular may state that the writer has a
son who once worked in the treasury
department, who is perfectly familiar
with the process of making money.
The crook adds that further instruc-
tions may be obtained by telegraphing
to- say, -. w. Ellis, Greenville, N.
r - xyb pf is n fntitinnS a IL
dress. The innocent is told not to
use the mails, but to telegraph all
communications to the crook under a
signature, say, for example, "736.'
No. 736 accepts the bait and tele-
graphs as instructed. In short time
a generous pile of messages from
gullible persons, addressed to the
crook, accumulate at Greenville. 1t is
easy for us to find these kilograms at
that office, but we can't find the crook.
BY coluson with the telegraph oper-
ator, copies of these messages are
sent by mail. by express, or by hand
to New York, where the crook has
all along kept himself. This scheme
prevents us from capturing him. 1t
is practically impossible to prove that
the operator, who receives $50 for
his share in the transactions, is an
accessory to the operation.
Each of these copies Of kilograms
represents to the crook a possible
sucker" The greengoods man theD
writes again to No. 736, the weakling,
and sends him a genuine one dollar
bill as specimen of the counter
felt money which is for sale. He adds
that for $500, in good money, $4,000
worth of counterfeit money like the
sample enclosed may be purchased.
The innocent is then instructed to
come to New York, but to first tele-
graph, always in cipher. to the sharp
ers real address in New York tell
ing him when he starts.
A few minutes after No. 1856, the
innocent, goes to room at an ap-
pointed hotel, the "steerer," or as
sociate, of the greengoods man ap-
pears. The "steerer" then pilots the