The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-07-23
THE LATEST IN SUIT CLUBS.
Michigan and New York Heard From
Many Mourners In Calumet.

In the Sartorial Art Journal of last
month, we reported that a suit club
was "flourishing" in Calumet, Mich.
June, it is made plain that the club
f1ourishes no longer, and that there
is something like weeping, wailing,
and gnashing of teeth in fair old
Calumet. The tailor who promoted
the suit club idea and established not
one, but two suit clubs, has gone
far away, and many of his old friends
and patrons have a sneaking idea that
they will never see his face again.
His victims, and there are more than
200 of them, would gnash him badly
were he now to appear in their imme
date neighborhood. Beside 1876 suit
club members, the depraved man owes
many local business men as we'll as
several wholesale houses. The cut
ter of the establishment has also
faded away" after jumping" his
board bill and contracting other debts.
which to all appearances will never
be paid. The cutters former landla-
dy has an empty mOuse-colored trunk
which he left behind. She will be
pleased to give it to him if he will
only return in person for it. Alas! it
is not likely that he will ever come
| back to Enthusiastically
The greatest yearners for the miss
| ing tailor's return are the 1855 before
mentioned The two suit clubs had
100 members each. The weekly pay
ment was one dollar, and a $25 suit
| was gambled, ratified or drawn for
IN I-
| fifteen members secured suits in the
suit club lottery, when the promoter
passed away from Calumet, taking
! with him $1,000 as the proceeds Of
| the lottery. Fifteen $25 suits for $1,000
is a very profitable transaction but
not a safe one always. At present
the sheriff is in charge of the shop.
which contains but a few bolts of
cloth that the promoter could not turn
into cash in a hurry. 1t is even re-
ported that he bought ready-made
clothing at a local store and palmed it
off on some of his customers as GUS
| TOM made: No wonder there are lot
of very sore" people in Calumet.
| The suit club is Skin" game in the
eyes of the law, and no one need be
surprised when suit club promoters
use SHINING tactics with others as
well as their patrons.
Il +
A Cohoes tailor advertised late in
May that he would start "one of his
popular suit clubs" in a few days. If
| the CohOeS club is Of the same stripe
| as the ordinary suit club, then the Co
hoes tailor is laying himself liable
every day that his suit lottery is do
! ing business. For sending suit club
matter through the mails, the COhoes
man may be convicted and sentenced
to pay fine of not less than 800 or
more than $500. For breaking the
anti-lOttery laws Of New York state
the COhOes tailor may be convicted
and sentenced to not more than two
years in jail and not more than $1,000
fine or both. For advertising a lot
terry, selling tickets for one. or fol
keeping an office in which one is con-
Quoted, the penalty may be $500 fine
or one years imprisonment or both.
The penal code of this state $500
edition. says that: "A lottery is a
scheme for the distribution of proper
ty by chance, among persons VINO
have paid or agreed to pay valuable
consideration for the chance, whether
called lottery, rattle or gift enterprise
or by some other name" The heavy
type is ours.
If the CohOes tailor has any COM
mon sense left-to say nothing of his
trade pride, morality and respect for
the law-he will drop his suit club
ENTERPRISE in the liva1iaSt kind of a
hurry.