Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-10-31
SWINDLER TRIES
OLD GAME HERE
Number of Prominent Men Re-.
ceive Letters From Alleged
Counterfeiter.
WAS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYE
Sells $4,000 For $500, Offering Real
Goods, But Satchel is Later
Touched.

An old scheme OF SWindilnS mas come
to light in Rock Island. and number
of leading men are receiving letters
proposing that they become parties
to a counterfeiting money manipula-
ton.
The letters. which are all similar,
purport TO be from an expert engraver
formerly in the government employ, who
explains that he can furnish you with
counterfeit money, provided that you
can arrange TO pass it. He explains
that the money cannot be detected ev-
en- by bank cashiers, and the denom-
nations are in one, five and ten dol
lars. His proposition. he explains. is
that the recipient of the letter tele-
graph to the writer, according to Il
form enclosed, and samples of the
goods will be forwarded. If the recip-
lent is satisfied, a deal is TO be made
whereby the writer will furnish sew
eraI thousand dollars worth of cOun-
terfeits, the local man TO pay $500 for
them.
Genuine Notes Produced.
For some time this scheme has not
been heard of in Rock Island, but
about seven years ago considerable
publicity was given to it. The writer
of the letter, on receiving the reply
telegram. forwards several samples of
bills. generally one dollar notes, TAX
ing great care TO forward the genuine
United States bank notes. Naturally
| the person who receives these is con-
WINGED that they cannot be detected
! from the genuine. for they are genuine.
Letters follow. and arrangements are
made for a meeting. a meeting place
| is selected, and the local respectable
citizen goes there with the $500 ready
| to invest" He is greeted cordially,
and the two soon get down to bust
ness. The swindler will produce genu-
! Ire bank notes, to the amount of sew
eral thousand dollars. and these will
be turned over to the local victim. on
payment of the $500. The swindler.
for fear that some one might hold up
his guest on the way home. places the
goods in a satchel. and perhaps the
! two will then have a little dinner at the
| hotel.
SntchcI Is Touched.
This is the time when the swindier
gets in his fine work, for while the
| NlCtlm Is paying HO dJlSIIlOh, thS val
Use with the $4,000 in it. is exchanged
for one which contains nothing but a
package of paper, similar to the pack
age which contained the money. When
the victim reaches his home he learns
that he has been buncoed, but he can
make no complaint, for he would be
confessing to having been party Ia
a scheme to iefraud the government
by passing counterfeit money. The adj
dress given is John OsgoOd, Pettltts
! hotel, Jamaica, l.. l., and II would be
impossible 10 trace the letters to the
author. or the swindler, for the ad-
dress is merely that of a confederate.
VIII Not Receive Letters.
The author states that all letters will
be refused but that the recipient, in
order to establish business relations,
must telegraph.
AS far as is known. no Rock island
er has been caught by the scheme, but
there is little doubt that many respec-
table citizens have been victims of the
clever plot TO separate them from their
hard cash While the whole swindle
| is plain on the face of the letters. there
are always some people who prove the
| truth of the statement that "a fool and
his money are soon parted"