Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-06-30
PRIVATE STABLE sWINDLERs.
Now Is the Time When They Catch
: II Their Victims.


stable swindlers begin to pluck the fruit
of their carefully nurtured tree. They
have kept 1t growing all winter In one
way and another and now the harvest
Is ready. 4
Prof. Woodward Of Columbia, where
they had such fine lectures last winter
on the evolution of the horse, Is about
the ripest pippin that has been pluck
ed so far this season. But he went bad
on the hands of the grafters. g.
It is an old, old process. the rr'vatf
tatl4 graft. The equipment Is simple
enough. All that Is needed Is the CO.
operation of three or four men who are
quite without consciences or compass
sion for their fellow man, no matter
| how pitifully innocent that fellow may
be; a stable which looks as though 1t
might be the appendage Of a rich mans
establishment, two or three broken-
down horses, and an accommodating
newspaper which doesn't mind printing
crooked advertisements so long" as
the Raines law hotel man said Of his
patrons, las they look NICE" or course
! a sucker Is also desirable; but 1t Is so
easy to catch suckers; they come
a-running as soon as the game Is de-
clared open.
The advertisement says that gen.
tleman going OFT of the country for a
time feels 1t provident to dispose OF
two of his best horses, or Of one horse
or Of his whole stable. Inasmuch as
his object Is to save the keep of the
horses he is willing to sell them at a
great sacrifice. The advertisement al
most always tells how much he paid
for them and intimates that they will
be sold for a quarter of their value.
1t really does sound attractive. that
advertisement, to the man who has just
taken a place in the country and has
figured out that he could keep horse
very nicely, IL only the horse did not
cost too much in the first place. His
only fear is that somebody else will
get at the bargain first. =
He fairly gulps his breakfast and
hurrie, 10 the place mentioned In the
advertisement. He finds that 1t Is a
stable In a quiet street. usually In the
horse market hborhood-some-
where between Madison avenue and
Third avenue and Twenty third street
and Thirtieth. 90
There is a man in charge who ex-
plains that he is the rich mans coach
man. There is usually hostler loafing
around. too. The place has all the
stage settings Of fairly plethoric es-
tablishment. ,. .. ...... ......
The coachman, remarkably intelli-
gent fellow in spite of his livery, ex-
plains that the master was called
abroad a few days ago and left word
to sell out the stable for what could
be got for it. 'Tis a pity to see so
fine a stable go: the honest fellow hates
to have a part in an occurrence so sad.
He doesn't mind telling who the
owner Is; no indeed! He names well
known man who lives somewhere near
the stable, usually on Fifth avenue.
Usually the name is one which Is In
itself guaranty Of respectability; 1t
| is also a name which has appeared on
the passenger list of an outward bound
steamer within a week. But sometimes
the game is varied little.
There was a physician In this town
not long ago who had accumulated a
considerable fortune In various disrep-
utable ways. He traded on his own
difficulties with the law, announcing
that he was selling out his stable be-
cause he was being bounded 80 by the
district attorney: he kept the stable
under his own name and installed the
private stable grafters there to work
the business on the profit sharing plan.
The horses displayed to the sucker
are mighty snowy looking brutes.
They are sleekly groomed,. their hoofs
have been blacked. They are all aquiv-
er with eagerness to be up and doing.
The man who wants to buy cneap
horses is almost invariably man who
knows nothing about horses; the ex-
perienced horse owner knows the gang
and it's methods so thoroughly that
he doesn't answer such advertisements
The fake coachman says to the SUCK
er that 1t Is proper that aV:ry guaranty
of the excellent condition of the
horses shall be made before the pur-
chase goes through. Mr.. Richman's
veterinary is the best man the coach
man knows about, 1t would be well To
call him in to look the animals over.
just as a matter of form and courtesy,
which Mr.. Richman would insist upon
IL he were at home.
BY one Of those strange condolences
which are not beyond the explanation
Of even such pure scientists as the
psychic investigators at Columbia, the
vet comes in just then. He had no.
ticed the advertisement and just drop
ped in as he was passing to learn
whether the horses had been sold and
the name Of the lucky purchaser.
The coachman is so glad to see him.
They were just going to send %. an.
"Mr. Goodthing, this Is DR.. Pushima-
long" They all go out for little drive
behind the horses. The horses show
proper spirit and action-the Oldest OF
broken down plugs can be regenerated
for a time II one knows equine phar-
macopeia.
The Goodthing buys. In week or
two weeks 1t comes over him that there
has been gross deceit practiced upon
him. He gets a real veterinary and
learns the whole horrible truth, the
putty is picked out Of the cracks In
the beautifully blacked hoofs, the drug
frightened eyes grow glazed and sad,