The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-02-26

tdhe LUIS pd00eI M StdiupS, get Ill u eau
and drive at once to the station and take
the first trainIhome."
Then thei rsteerer" would take the
"come-on" intp the street, would call n
cab standing ssuspiciously near, and the
two would start for the ferry.
The change in the package of stamps
was worked ne the cab. AS the cab turned
into side street on the way to the ferry,
the "steerer" would exclaim with sup
pressed excitement:
'Great Scott, there's Titus, the Chief
of DetectivesL He's on to us as sure as
apples. Here, throw that package under
the seat. quieki''
The buyer rOf bogus stamps In every
case lost his nerve in the cOmbustible in
stantaneousness of his fright, and tossed
the package under the seat of the cab.
Then the green-goods man signaled the
driver, and that member of the combina-
ton with the pressure of his feet upon n
spring dropped upon the package of real
stamps false bottom upon which reposed
a package of brown paper instead of Unit
ed States postage stamps. When the buy
er examined his purchase on the way home
he realized just how he had been deceived,
but would never expose the swindle, ow-
ing to the certainty of losing both reputa-
ton and Office.
Some postal frauds are pathetic in their
hardship. Among the hardest are the
"home-knitting machine" the ''home en-
broidery making" and other 'home work
schemes. There are millions of women liv-
ing in small towns and on farms to whom
real home employment would be verita-
BILE boon. 1t is such women these firms
succeed in reaching. The words ''profita-
bic, steady, easy, home employment at
good wages" are very alluring. The ma
ture of the employment is usually only
limited at in an enticing manner. The vic
tins find that they must buy knitting,
crOcheting or embroidery machines or
''outfits," which are sold at several times
their actual value. The would-be working
woman at home responds and sends her
money. If she succeeds in making" any
of the articles and sends them in the be-
lief that they will be purchased" she
finds them promptly returned with let
ter saying that they are defective in work
manship; and cannot be accepted" Per-
haps these deceived women will attempt
this hide-and-seek game with the alleged
firm dozen times before they learn that
there is no intention of buying the product
Sometimes out of thousands of cases a few
cents worth of goods will be purchased"
in order that the beetle-browed miracle of
mendacity behind the swindle may have a
shadow of defense when brought into
court by the postal authorities.
A hundred or more citizens of West
ern town received by mail what purported
to be gold rings. There was no explana-
ton accompanying the rings, but the adj
dress of the firm shipping was on each
package. Some of the recipients refused
the packages On examining them, while
others were more careless and accepted
them. The rings were plainly imitation.
Some were thrown away, others given
away, and the matter forgotten. Now
comes the firm shipping them with the
claim that it received orders in good faith
from canvassers, that the orders were
filled, and that the acceptance of the goods
concluded the, agreements. A bill for
considerable sum for one gold ring has
been sent to- each recipient who retained
the goods, and the Department issues
fraud order..'
The scheme, of one fraudulent concern
was begun by advertising in newspapers
that it had for sale an article called
whisky taMets," which. when dissolved
in water, made a substitute for whisky
not distinguishable from the real article.
The advertisement is, in part, as follows:
whisky men alarmed over the discOy-
cry of Whisky Tablets. Have they found
a way of extracting oil out of corn or rye,
or do they Use other ingredients? That is
the secret ofitbe Whisky Tablet Company.
Any1O one sending name and adj
dress will receive d sample package abso-
lutely free" s9
When the name and address were re-
ceived a few tablets were sent with a cir
cular explaining that the free tablets con-
tanned ''Only age and coloring,' and that
they were put up simply to show how
tablets can be used. The excuse given for
not sending the genuine tablets was that
too many send for the free article; because
the profits We're too small, and because
young boys might send for them and cause
trouble. The circular was such as to lead
the patron to believe that good whisky
could be made from the tablets.
Finally the whisky tablets" were sent
when money was RENTED, but they were
not as represented. The whisky tablets"
genuine whisky, and none of the ingre-
dents of pure whisky.
The "dot-counting" and the "easy puzzle
contents" appeal to many, who are, of
course, beaten in the end. A firm will adj
vertise money prizes to be awarded to the
person, correctly counting the number of
black dots in a circle, or who solves a
puzzle, both of which are so easy that
send in correct answers. The
deluded people wonder why business men
will throw away money in SO reckless a
fashion, and anxiously await reply to
their letters. They omitted to note in the
or, noting it, attached no
importance to fine line of type which
stated that all contestants shall be members
of the firms club of eligibles, and they are
chagrined to learn later that to be n men,
Der they must buy particular article the
firm sells, perhaps for so cents or 81.
They also omitted to notice line of fine
type which read that in "the event of two
or more persons sending the correct solu-
ton, the prize shall be prOpOrtionately di
vided among the winners" Every confess
ant is notified that he correctly guessed
the answer, and after getting his money,
the prize he receives will be a One-cent
postage stamp or penny, that being his
share Of the prize as prOpOrtionately di-
to be deceived by this fraud would be
qualified to enter n competition for first
prize in the next baby show.
Postal authorities not long ago cleaned
up Boston man who advertised through
out the country that he had secured lot
Of "lucky stones" on his travels through
India, which he was willing to send by
mail on the receipt of 81 per stone. The
money he received was fabulous in amount
The dollars were still raining in when the
Inspectors raided his office and closed him
out. He didn't care whether he was wiped
out Or not. He had gathered in the
money.
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