Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-02
Gang of sharpers Working
Smooth Game on Dubuque
County Farmers
SIGN TWO PAPERS AT ONCE
A Note Deity Placed Under the Al
legged Contract Which Is Written on
a Particular Kind Of Paper and
Which Proves Very Effective - Bad
~ Scared by One Victim.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Dubuque, June "A gang of swind-
lers have been working rather sharp
game OH farmers in Dubuque county
during the past two or three weeks.
They were men of good address and
well dressed, and their graft was to
make it q point to call at the houses
Of farmers where members Of the fam
lily were sick with some chronic dis
ease, representing that they We're con-
nected with a large hospital in New
York, with q large branch hospital In
Chicago. They made 1t point to call
also at the homes Of other farmers, to
whom they talked about the excellen,
virtues of their remedies, and they sue
ceeded in inducing quite a number OF
these and Il large number of farmers
who had sickness In their families to
sign Contracts" In several instances
these contracts were from $50 to $3.50,
and there were several that went down
as low as $50.
The sharpers had such smooth way
of doing business" and were such good
takers that the farmers were thrown
completely Off their guard. After all
the preliminaries had been arranged the
only thing remaining to be done was
the affixing by the guiieless granger of
his signature to the contract The pa
per was placed on the table in very
careful manner by one of the doctors"
~ hat a
farmer would have no trouble in sign
ing it. Then the doctor would take the
paper, fold 1t UP very carefully and put
it In a small grip, which he carried for
that purpose. The farmer of course,
was entirely unconscious of the fact
that the paper on which the contract
was written was of a particular kind,
nor did he know that while signing his
name to the contract he was also sign
Ing 1t on note. which had been very
deftly placed under the alleged con-
tract. The smiling doctors We're 50
anxious to introduce their remedies
they said they would not ask cent un-
til the farmer signing the contract was
satisfied that the remedies were all that
they Were represented to be, but they
forgot to tell them that they intended
to sell their notes at bank.
One OF the grangers who signed a
contract became suspicious. 1t began to
dawn on him there was something
wrong, and about half an hour after the
swindiers had started for Epworth he
jumped on a horse with revolver In
his pocket and hurried after them. He
caught up with them on the outskirts
OF town, and then, pulling his gun, he
told them that he would put holes thru
them IL they did not return the con-
tract 1t was returned without any
parleying. He also told them they
must return any other paper in their
possession that bore his signature. He
did not know that there was any other
paper that bore his signature, but
thought he would see If there was any,
and was surprised when one Of them
handed note to him for $3.50. They
We're badly frightened and were glad to
get away from him. He then returned
to his home in Vernon township.
"A farmer who was in Dubuque last
Saturday says that doctors have been
swindling farmers thruout the county
for several weeks. and he is of the opin-
ion that they must have secured $4,000
or $4,000 in notes. Farmers should be
careful about dealing with strangers.