New-York tribune., 1903-04-14
A NEW SERVANT SWINDLE
MANY COMPLAINTS MADE.
Tictims GiUe Further Evidence of
Employment Agency Frauds.


agents in swindling their patrons has been
brought to light as result OF The Tribunes
exposure of the various tricks OF the agents
James D. Merriman, deputy chief of the Bureau
of Licenses, said yesterday that since the publ
cation Of The Tribunes story he had received
coumunica tions and personal visits from per
sons living in adjacent cities. who had been
swindled in their efforts TO get servants The
new trick is worked in the following fashion:
A resident of some suburban place desires
servant and sends a fee and carfare to an en-
ploymenJ agency. Then he either gets ser
want employed by the intelligence office TO stay
few days at the homes Of applicants and then
depart or he gets no servant and his money is
not returned. On Saturday the vice president OF
the Connecticut Board Of Agriculture called at
the Bureau Of Licenses and exhibited four dif-
ferent receipts for money in such cases, in each
of which he had been swindled- The fee charged
in these cases is usually So. Concerning the
abuses Of the system Mr.. Merriman said yes
terday:
The trouble Is that when a complaint is made and
fund the fee There is one office in sixth-ave- that
I have especially in mind. That place does tre.
eGmpaints ns nave bs means that there are
make any complaint. and that there are Others
half the fee and tells them he is entitled to the
other half Then there is a small proportion VINO %
company. and they declare the man mas never
faso set and 10 tf' b abe to act in this case now
ever as have affidavis in which evidence Of their
practices is contained
fair sample Of the way people are tricked Is
furnished in the following case. just presented
to the Bureau of Licenses: Two farmhands. who
had worked in Yonkers. applied for a farm 1op.
and were sent TO Vermont the promise OF
good place on a farm, with satisfactory wages
They went to Vermont. and their arrival
were at once put TO work In a lumber camp
After couple of days they quit, as they knew
nothing about the business and were looking
for farm work. Then local constable arrested
them and made them pay S14 40 10 their en-
n1over the amount the agents here had charged
him for fee and railroad fare They reacheo
this city Saturday. bankrupt
The Legal Aid Society has also received evil
dences of the interest created by The Tribune
account of the employment abuses r. c Ring
vaI- the attorney in charge OF the Seaman
Tsrancb said. Yesterday that he had had several
cor1lr,unfca tions referring 70 the exposure and
s,,bstantiating the statements made at that
time The Legal Aid Society has fled charges
against s s. Schwartz, the proprietor OF one OF
those agencies which provides cattle helpers.
The methods of this agency have already been
described in The Tribune. The charges will be
heard by MI Merrtnan next week An aool-
4iona1 af1davft in this case was obtained yes
+erdav and has been added TO those already
fled. The following statement Of Julius Lorentz.
raa1 estate dealer at No % Third-ave.. who
has baen associated with Schwartz. was made
to Mr. Ringwalt, he said:
When people came into the ofice and asked how
much they would have TO pay for passage abroad
Schwartz would tell them SO or 81. according 70
the length of the journey they intended 70 make make
beyond London. II one Of the applicants SAID tnat
he hadn't tbat amount Sc sI9%a[r57 a15 tbe1 TeIo o
get little more?" Then he explained to them that
a,.y ls" carjs on deck He told the Hebrews who
them than of husky. able bodied chaps He said
Wouid have to do depended on what they paid
FheI 6e those hese Who wanted passage to erany
Hungary some other place would receive 2
have retlSn passage This he said often and yet
no one &C them ever came PACK and evsryoqqdy s tq
een told tn m that they would paid for work
on BESIDES S getting ali money he could outright
Schwartz used to extract a little more for taking
6entsIes to the dock All immigrants were told
to his S Se o aTrys e ofGTs @ sns 1ns sns bnn
dies and boxes and for every one, no matter how
Sressags SPesss The passengers were loaded into
Pe wagon & By % s 9gT snv no SJs se
iay in going TO Schwartzs office. l met an Ar
eqn s9Bg nal pd ea m dT sd
+bo v-hen he had reached the vessel Schwartz mad
5aToarded another dollar for carrying his bundles
He said that he had more money TO gfve-that
Schwartz had taken all
Schwartz had a number OF agents or pullers
I'm for the business. and 1t was in thar capacity
~ twice went out for him. he gave
ne cards and told TO go into the park | was
81 for that could induce TO go
aboard | told to represent to them that they
would haze ght ,d say iy, ~95T on f & taat
vices and that on the other side they would re-
Caive free transportation TO their homes
In conclusion I only say that the account
which was printed in The New-York Tribune of
A1rii & To0s contains TO exaggeratiOn Whatever
Even more might be said about Schwartz's method
of trfcking and duping ignorant foreigners II
seems 10 me II would be OF the best things in
the world III such person put out Of business