The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-02-10
BOGUS MONEY ORDERS.
How An Augusta Merchant Was
Worked by Slick Rascal.

40" An Aug uSla -rASA NASNAi> ~ -
Worked by a Slick Rascal.
The Augusta Herald says a negr
operating under the names Of Georg
Moore and Paul Austin, and supplie'
with a number of postotfice money Or
der blanks or checks. made payable a
the Augusta postottice, worked a clev
er tiim-tlam game on c. H. Schneide
on Saturday night, Jan. 80, securing
80 bill of goods and forty dollars il
change, but later, in his attempt t,
work the same game upon I. Silver
lost his goods in his haste to get ava!
from the place when he saw that Mr.
Silver had grown suspicious.
Under the name of George Moor,
the negro entered Mr.. Schneider
store and ordered so worth of goods
which a clerk put up for him, and il
payment for the same the negro pres
ented the postotfce money order is
sued at the Savannah postoftice anC
signed by Postmaster Blount for $40
Together with the order he presented
a letter, which, he said, was from his
father, who lived at Savannah, and the
letter stated that the father had sent
Herewith the money order for The
sum named. Believing the order to be
genuine, Mr.. Schneider accepted it
and gave the negro the goods and S3(
change.
With the money and the goods the
negro then went to Mr.. Silver''s store,
and made purchase. In payment fol
the same he presented money ordel
for $40, made out to Paul Austin.
stating to Mr.. Silver that Austin was
his name. This order was also issued
at the Savannah postof1ice, but ex.
amining the order, Mr.. Silver noticed
that there were two different speci.
mems of handwriting on the order ano
that the words Augusta. Ca, were
written in lead pencil, whereas the
other was in ink. It was also evident
that the amount of the order had been
raised to forty dollars from some
smaller amount.
Telling the negro that he would not
accept the order in payment for the
goods, and also stating that he was
of the opinion that the negro was try
ing to work a flim-ham game, the ne
gro, then operating under the name
of Paul Austin, dropped the bundle
of goods he had secured from Schneid,
er's place and bolted through the door,
losing himself in the crowd that
thronged the streets. Mr.. Schneider
was not aware that he had been
worked until Monday morning
when he presented the order at the
postofice for payment and was told by
the postoffice authorities that he evi,
dently accepted worthless piece Of
paper in exchange for his money and
goods. Upon close examinatlonit was
then discovered that the amount speci-
fed on the order had been changed, as
had also the words: Augusta, Ga. >
Shortly after Mr.. Schneider left the
postotfice Mr.. Silver appeared Will
the order that he had secured from
the negro, and the two checks were
taken in charge by Postmaster Smythe.
The matter has been reported tc
Deputy United States Marshal Stall
maker, who is working up the case
and hopes to land the nearo. It is
not known how the negro came into
possession of the money orders with
Postmaster Blount's signature attach.
ed unless he halls from Savannah ano
secured them at the postottice there.
making them payable to whatever
names he cared to operate under, anc
afterwards altering them to his liking.