The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-06
BUSINESS MEN ARE EASY.
Clever sNvindIer Says They Always
Are Eager to Get Something for
Nothing.


Are Eager to Get Something for
Nothing.
From the New York Evening Post
Macmillan Mueller. the bogus DIR.
Colby" rather prides himself upon
the skill and success of his swindling
operations. Mueller related them in de-
tail to the police, laying particular
stress upon the ease with which the
American business man may be swim
died. 1t often made him laugh, he
said. Mueller said that he came to
this country from Germany about ten
years ago and after a time obtained a
job in Bellevue hospital as an order
ly. 1t was while there he learned how
to play the role of doctor so success
fully, he declared, and when he decid-
ed to turn swindler, his old training
proved a value to him. Why" he
added with a smile, Il was frequently
FORCED to laugh at the success of my
game. Americans, and particularly
American business men. are the cas-
lest people in the word to bunco.
learned great deal about the Ameri-
can in the course of my three years at
posed as one. Never in my life did [
ever bunco a poor person. Business
men with money, who thought them
selves shrewd were my prey. l would
study man and learn what | could
about his means and property holdings,
and then perhaps at the end of three or
four days or a week, would call on a
real estate agent in the neighborhood
and inquire If any of his property was
IN the market I NOt1lH
up by going to see the owner himself
and make him a generous offer for his
| home. Generally | preferred to deal
| with men of middle age or older If
they had not been feeling well it was
an easy matter to make them believe
that they were suffering from heart
trouble.
Il would Indicate a few symptoms,
and then the mans wife, whom / took
care should be listening, would step in
and say, That's right, John: you'd
better have the matter attended to by
| the DOCTOR, and of course l was the
| doctor. To get the patient to disrobe
| then became an easy matter. 1 would
carry supply of court plaster with
me and apply it on the back as the
patient lay face down without his
clothing. Whenever l happened to be
out of court plaster l would substitute
ordinary bicycle tape, or passe partout
used by photographers / had diff
Guilty more than once in restraining
myself from laughing aloud. Once,
under such circumstances over in Jer-
sey-I Will not mention any name or
address, took everything / could lay
my hands on. After leaving the
house l remembered there was a fin
ger ring | had overlooked, and / went
back and got it. The patient was
still obeying my instructions to the
letter; to lay still face down and not
even breathe for three or four min
utes, if possible, until l could bring
some bandages from the druggists
you would think that shrewd men
would know better but they did not,
for the reason that they had the Amer
lean desire to get something for moth
ing, and took all sorts of chances on
my free treatment Once. though I
was beaten by a sharp fellow. i won't
give his name for ! don't think he
would care to see il in the newspapers.
He let me down easy, and / will have
consideration for his feeling" Mueller
chuckled at the thought Continuing.
he said: II never would have swindled
q single person or stolen anything. only
/ was driven to early this month by
an immediate need for funds. My
wife had been good to me, and
wanted to provide literally for her.
one ulu not nave any KNOWLEDGE OF
what / was about. believing me to be
an honest sewing machine agent. One
thing is certain, l never could have
worked my schemes off i'm Germany
There the people decline, as a rule,
to deal or talk with strangers, and
the game would be a hard one.
IT had an unlucky experience in
Newark. / had buncoed a business
man out Of his watch and chain, a
diamond pin, and some money. 1 stood
on a trolley car platform on my way
back to New York, and as / took the
chain out of my trousers pocket to
examine II, the diamond pin came out
with il and got lost on the ground.
/ had the car stopped and went back
and searched for the pin, but could
not find it," Mrs. Mueller, the prison.
er's wife, said she had never suspected
her husband of anything wrong, and
had always fairly worshipped him."
my friends were against my marry
ing him fifteen months ago." she add
ed, because he was a German and
/ an Irish girl. When he became Il
machine agent ! took such good care
Of him that / never permitted him to
leave the house on rainy days. | did
not want him to get wet. His arrest
was a terPible blow to me, and 1 hard
ly know what to do" Mueller is
six feet tall. He talked as II fairly
well educated. The police found four
teen pairs Of trousers IN his apartment.
1l3 East Sixty-ninth street. where he
was arrested.