davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
THE SALE OF POIsONs.

The number OF medicine concerns engaged iu
the manufacture and sale OF alleged Illegal moss
trums which have been put out OF business by
the department in the last year so would hlt
a good sized book. Seldom. indeed. do the men
who promise to sell poisons for the purpose of
checkmating the workings of nature dare to
make good their pledges. They know too we'll thas
the penitentiary awaits them If they do, but they
frequently reap rich harvest for a time bS
pretending to cater to the evil minded. Whe9
examined by the department their medicines as
a rule ara found TO contain nothing but harLns
less coioring end favOring extracts. which, by
their taste and smell. VIII serve for a time 20
fool the purchasers. The department keeps q
close watch of the newspapers and magazines
for this class of swindlers and launches fraud
orders against them as fast as they make then
apbearance Frequently the operators OK tha
schemes go from town 70 town changing theis
names as well as the names Of their nOstrum5
with each removal Generally the department
is able to keep so closely upon their heels hoV+
ever that the fakirs soon discover they are
travelling at loss and seek other channels o2
endeavor
we cannot hope to put an end 20 all this
frauds BY issuing fraud orders against the men
who conduct them, said Attorney WepSter 70
commenting upon the departments work. "bus
we and do make It Improbable for them
swindIe the public very long at any ons
game II the susceptible representatives Of q, =
public al large would only stop 20 reaEon wiz
themselves a little before Answering alerfng ad.
y-ertfser1en4s thew would save a great deal a
money In the course OF a year They ought
TO know that they cannot get anything for noth@
Ing or purchase for a dollar property or secretS
worth thousands. They probably cften say tdt
themselves I'll just invest little TO see what
is really in this and If 1 lose I won't be out
very much That is just the way 20 keep
svvindIers prosperous. for few thousands o.
such contributions help swell a fat bank ac-
count OF course. I do not mean 70 say thai
all OF the business offers one reads IN the news
pa pers and magazines are sWtndles by any
means Many Of them are undoubtedly inserted
IN good faith by business who will keep
their promises. But I think you can tak4
# as almost sure thing that all the bonanzs
mining schemes so advertised are crooked II
q man has a real KIondiks IN his possession. he
does not need 70 spend money in Advertising fos
Investors All he has 70 do Is 70 show his
proposition to men OF means and they viii s'0o
that he IS provided With means for deveita-"
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
A MODEST PROFESSOR.

.'yftaopathy'' would undoubtedly have proved
q great world force but for the unkind action Of
the department in stopping its sale and the
business Of its promoters last July. Vita
opathy" was the property Of the "New-York
Institute Of Physicians and Surgeons which.
when slmmered down. developed into the per-
son of Professor Thomas F. Adkin. of Roch-
ester" The professor zos nothing If not mod
In his own circulars he admitted: Pro
fessor AdRin is the Edtaou AID = a7rconi OF vital
magnetism and puycs-.c rolcs. 81 SIS turned
the searcnlight OF n:eil"in scioncS up0n the
subtle forces Of nature" End Tn2p the profess
sor's searchlight was turned what else could
the unfortunate subtle forces 10 Hut capitulate
at once? Professor Adkia's c,rcIt-,-s also de-
clared "Nitaopathy IS ne. tcrce one hundred
times powerful thad aIiy form Of
magnetism that has ever before been given"
so II must and VIII cure the worst forms OF the
most dreaded and incurable diseases. All the
ailing. the weak and the despondent were to
have a chance to get in on the ground floor for
treatment. and If Vitaopathy did not just as
advertised, and thousand times more why all
in the world the patient had TO do was 70 ask
for his money back and It would be cheerfully
refunded Several thousand sick persons fell
over another TO get their money into the
hands Of Professor Adkin. alias the New York
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
RAsCALS WHO USE THE MAILS TO DEFRAUD
Really
SEEM Anxiou To BE Money

with They were heartless. however and caused
a fraud order to be issued against the Phil
csophers' IN spite OF all their learning. their
occUltism and their degrees. worth S. each
Of any mans or WOUau.S money soon after
the Philosophers Of the Living Fire we're shut
OUT from use OF the mails. the Philosophers Of
the Temple appeared under the same auspices,
and they too, we're trea ted IN Ike urcharitable
ard irreyereut manner by the cold blocded Post
Office. people. Dr.. r s Clyrer, Jessie r Barton
and Professor RabboRi. the ,.Philomathtan.
constituted the Philosophers" and they opeT-
ated their cult at Union City. Mich. They had
what they admitted 70 5e the most wonderful
system OF healing ever devised by mere man,
and We're il not for The fact that they we're
possessed or all the lore Of the Masous. the
Hindoos the Aztecs and Moses. they could not
accomplish ten:h OF what was 70 them the
Had The department not '.butted IN. Dr.. Cly-
nler told the inspectors the Philosophers Were
preparing to add four more degrees 70 the nitid-
ton all OF y-hfch were IC be given at the same
bargain counter price Of So each. In their
advertisement the Philosophers. said tha II the
receiver Of their circulars wished TO master
those grand secret mysteries which move ard
govern the universe, and to fully understand
man from both material and spiritual stand-
point and 10 be a power and leader among men.
I'd TO be able 10 heal the sick. clothe the naked
and bind UP the wounds Of the afflicted, ne
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
THE GOLD MINE swINDLE.

Il IS not often that gold mice swindles ars
worked from the East and South. but the opera
tions and promises OF the J. L. Frazie Mining
and Development Company made up for ma u
that have not been exploited The Frazie scheme
was for the sale Of stock Of the McCluskey Gold
Mining and Milling Company. which had a fabu-
lousy rich mine three and a haif miles from
Gainesville Ca Frazie rented Offices at No. 412
West 121th-st.. New-york. until June l, whek
the department made his business uuproftabs.
In his circulars soliciting subscriptions Frazis
mentioned, among other strange facts, that the
'mine is located in Il district which has already
produced S40O0O0O0 in gold" He also said,
probably without fear of contradiction. thae
"McCluskey mine has produced more gold thaa
all the other mines In the district combined"
Official investigators for the department found
that q little gold-bearing ore had indeed been
taken out of the MCCluskey mine. but it had
never been found in paying quantities
One OF the biggest moneymakers Of the lass
few years was the Peoples Home Purchasing
Company, which had branches I'm almost every
Western State and in some Of these States ia
almost every town The department first struck
its trail at Paducah. Ky. and after proceeding
against the office there stopped the mail OF its
agents at San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlantas
Augusta. birmingham, Montgomery and az
other places too numerous to mention. ACcordS
ing to the experts. the plan was lottery and
nothing more although on its face il looked liks
a fair. honest. time payment, house buying prOp@
osition. The contributors We're supposed "a
pay in 50 a month until their subscriptions
added to the profits of the business. amounted
to $1,000 when they were to get the last named
sum. Each month there drawing TO de-
termine who should draw out the money that
had accumulated and it shown the entirs
machinery of the lotteries was operated by thd
managers Of the concern TO lend their friends oS
themselves the available funds
Somewhat similar 70 the plan worked by tha
Arnold and Ryan syndicates. but much
smaller scale, the Prudential Turf Advisory
Bureau of Chicago which lasted until June -
pretended TO guarantee it's patrons huge profits
on small investments for use at or about ths
racetracks Investors were solicited to pay SIG
q week for the tips which were to include az
least SIX winners a week money refunded. II
is scarcely necessary 70 say that the money of
the subscribers never refunded under any
ia
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
A TRAP FOR WOMEN.

The Union Drug Company. Of Battle Creek.
Mich. did a business every day rivallins de-
partment store on Bargain Thursday until No
vember Q On that date fraud order was d.
rected against the company because It sold its
customers eight cents worth of cold cream
FOR a dollar bill. and promised In addi-
ton to pay ladies $50 a week for copying let
ters at home" The scheme which was con
Quoted by Mrs Irene Brownel, ably assisted
and abetted by her husband. c. o. BrowneI
consisted in first getting hold OF the sucker by
means Of the $50 a week bait. Then, when the
ladies" answered and signified their willing,
ness 10 write letters at home. the company
re0IIed that the first requirement to secure
the place was for the applicants TO pur-
chase box Of their wonderful skin food and
heautv preparation for 81 The applicants were
then 70 write twenty letters to as many dlt-
ferent friends, asking them to buy the skin
food in their turn. For each reply that the
COMPANY received. the applicants were prom
fsed % cents It would be only a short time.
tbe1, we're assured when their income by this
method would mount up to much more than
500 week The department officials secured
an admission from Mrs. Brownelrs husband that
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
Bring that boy in here "

Bring that boy in here
u was q small and ragged product OF tne
streets without any apparent aim IN ne, aliu @
,,,I,.rIv- he could not have told what led him to
peer in at the doors of the Broome-sl. lruahsS
scrooI at that precise moment. But small as ne
Miss Tones. the principal saw him from
tha head Of the stairs where she was pa9Siiis'
and If he was ainlless she was not.
..rsrins him fn!" she ordered, and the Janltor
shot ont from somewhere under the stairs, ana
before the boy quite knew where he was ne
stood before Miss Jones answering her raplo
fire questions.
How old are you2
what is your name
Where do you Nve2"
ro a parlor kindergartner her tone Wou!u nave
sounded very curt But If Miss Jones had PUT
her arm around this urchin and SAID Ny ooS'
IN, sorry 10 see you lettering in the streets
don't yol want 10 come to this pleasant school
Ia would have considered her.'so ana de-
sr,sad her Straight out from the shoulder
methods are what these street boys understand
and answer to-the kind of boys this truancy
school IS designed TO gather IN
II e not though quite exact 70 caAl 1hls
T2-oorne-st school a truancy school II Is not
a. all such in the sense in which the ones IN
91stst and in Brooklyn are tTuancy schools.
To those institutions confirmed truants rom
the various districts Of greater New ork are
committed by order Of court. and mace g al
tend by laws and regulations 10 laws hedge
in the boys at the Broone-st. school and vet Il
is proving success.
Every educator who ever had anything to do
with public schools has had a whack at the
truancy problem. History does not relate what
plan was followed by teachers Il cave dwelling
times perhaps they used lassoes. Here n New
York red tape has been used-a great deal OF
IL Principals. especially o. schools in tbs
crowded tenement quarters, are unanimous IN
declaring that under the present code i takes
so long 10 commit a child 10 truancy school
that his character may be ruined by idIeness
and street life before the thing IS accomplished
Miss Julia Richmond, Of the district
superintendents OF schools. observing these
things resolved TO try a scheme of her own
She got leave from the Board OF Education 20
use the old building in Broome-s st. near Clinton
st, Public School No. I20. for her experiment
shs made Miss oltye ,IRnss RrinGsPsls and placed
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
AILURING ADVERTISEMENTS.

Professor John c Hall of No 81 5th-ave.
Chicago conducted a small mysteries shop until
November :. when the department swooped
down on him and grabbed all the money and
letters ia sight he advertised himself as an
'astrologist. occult scientist. ClairvOyant and
life reader" and represented himself in his cir
cularS TO be in his declining years and very
anxious indeed to pass out the secret OF his long
life for the benefit Of suffering humanity before
he shuffied into his tomb. He charged 50 a Sc
Cret and threw IN lucky belt. which as
every one knows il a certain guard against dis
ease death yitchcraft and the Vaccinations Of
the fellow or the girl who is feloniously striving
TO steal q sweetheart The inspectors found that
the professors declining years number thirty
three. and that his real name was Carson.
Who could have resisted either one OF the fol-
lowing advertisements:
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31

under her nine teachers picked out for their
peculiar gifts OF discipline Then she gathered in
something more than 100 boys from the locality,
which IS one of the most thickly settled and
therefore one of the worst in New York and the
boys selected We're the incorrigibles- those who
were regarded as unnanageable in the schools
they had attended or as confirmed truants. At
least half Of them have been IN some institution
Of correction.
The school has been running since Oc-
tober. and ST the hundred odd boys only one
has really pers1stentIy failed 10 respond to the
treatment for the better. As for. truancy, cases
OF this do not average more than four or FIVE d
day One Of the boys even turned missionary
and brought some other truanzs IN lie had been
a bad truant himself, but had been doing pretty
vel in the matter Of regular attendance at the
Broome-st school. one day. Miss Jones relates he
came to her and told her that two "feIlers" he
knew were not going 10 school at al. Would
she take them if he brought them in2
But YOU can't do II. Tom she said
VIII you take en- if bring en?" he per-
sisted
OF course she told him she would.
The next day. Miss Jones says. 7 heard
great noise IN the vcstibule below am Tom
burst ii At tha doors painting rel tarel. tuc
triumphant with his right hand ArrrIy c-asping
the left ear Of one struggling boy, ana his left
hand hauling the other by the right ear. IN
that manner he bore them upstairs and de-
posted them al my feet. and they are pupils
here to-day fairly good ones. TOO haven't
made up my mind" Miss Jones went on, what
Toms motive was-whether it irked him 70 have
those boys enjoying the freedom OF the streets
while he was shut IN school or whether he
really considered school a privilege and wished
them 10 share il. I'm inclined TO think It was
the 'gans spirit.
The boys hate having visitors come 10 inspect
them As one Of them put il 70 Miss Jones:
I'VE amt no dime museum freaks" And few
visitors are admitted. but those who are find
the school and the methods worth seeing The
classes are small, not more than ffte=r n any
one of them. so that each teacher can know the
boys as individuals, study tns.r psOuliartt!sss
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
THE STOCK SELLING HOAX.

The Tbero Plantation Company, Of Boston
which the department put out Of business last
April was one Of the biggest enterprises tackled
IN the year and Il vas also q stock selling hoax
w. D. owen, a former member of Congress and
F. z. Borges who one upon time served time
IN the Joliet IIl1 penitentiary, financed the
company" and, It is believed collected several
hundred thousand dollars from an army OF small
Investors before the department seized all the
letters addressed to them OF to their various
corporations. The Ubero Plantation Company,
the Consolidated UbeTo Plantation Company,
the Tropical Sureties Company and the Ia
Puerta Company, were all shuffed together or
passed out by TO the gulltble cOrre
spondents that owen and Borges found through
out the country by dint Of judictous advertising.
Drink Your own Coffee was one of their neat
little catch phrases which hey placed upon cans
of the bean which they bought in the open
market, but which the investors We're assured
grown the Ubero plantations. "A small
monthly investment in the Tbero Plantations
secures an income for life was another slogan
which netted them lordly returns from the
money they paid newspapers and magazines
The department Investigated the business Of the
owen -Borges outfit thoroughly and found that
they really did have a small tract Of land some
where In Mexico upon Which they held an option
for nurchasa but after sitting the affairs as
carefully as possible IT never found single
pound of coffee that had been shipped to Boston
from the mythical plantations. nor, as far as
that went, any other tropical product and they
advertised large consignments of rubber and
pineapples well
Another huge, well paying land scheme was
the "Outing Beach Resort Company" which K.
B. Neiss conducted at Jackson and Traverse
City (MichD. The department swooped down on
Neiss and stopped the postman.s calls at his
offices on November 4 Nesss plan TO sell
lots for 81 81. After the lot was duly purchased
the sucker would receive a letter from Neiss
informing him that he had better record" the
sale at an additional cost of 81 3d. Quick sales
and small profits evidently his motto and
he did rushing trade for q time The depart
rnent inspectors discovered that Mr.. Neiss really
delivered the goods. The only criticism that
could be made about his lots was that they
were located upon tract OF quicksand lying
adjacent 10 Lake Michigan. One Of the Post
Office inspectors who went TO the scene had
narrow escape from losing himself in the mire
while looking over the Neiss property.
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31

They we're put out By the Allison Information
Agency and Introduction Bureau, which hour
lshed at No. II Eastman-ave., Minneapolis un-
til August. 1905 when the minions OF the de.
pa artnent descended upon the esta bltshment ana
gathered in the American widower the wealthy
maiden and all the other assets Of the of1ce
one G a. Allison vas the agency, the bureau
+ha VidOWer and the maiden all rolled in one.
and charged a fee of SO for introductions to
the desirable helpmeets to all who appled oy
mail In vain the detectives tried to find any
more tangible evidences Of the widOwer and the
maiden than those furnished in the person or
Mr. Allison. When asked for facts the manager
of the concern refused TO have anything 70 do
with such substantial things, ard referred the
detectives TO various mythical personages at va
rious city general deliveries. he was quite Cer-
+atn that both the widower and the maiden were
genuine flesh ana blood subscribers TO his mat
rimonial agency and It was gross injustice
10 a worthy man to suppose for moment that
he would defraud anyone much less other SUD
soribers to his bureau who were kind enough
IN send him $40 money orders.
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31

should write to the society asking for inforTna-
ton OF the deputy grand rabboni." When ne
wrote. the would-be disciple was Informed by
the deputy grand rabbonl that ne couid ocodA
into the inner circle Of the inner circle at 81 a
break The brutal inspectors went into The
most holy Or the philosophers sanctuarles
without knocking. counted the money orders
they were gathering mail by msn and haled
them before the matter-of-fact Assistant Attor-
ney General. who. il seems. has not the shShtest
consideration for genuine occult mysteries.
Or. Clyupr. who was the founder OF the con-
Germ admitted that all he knew about secrets,
mysteries ana rites was gained from the Old
Testament and E,liphas Lewis TransContinental
Magic Miss Burton was a srenographer in
the Office OF the society. and Professor Raobom
maintained hts mystic name and flowing
whskers in the vicinity 10 impress the transient
-I-isitn,. 1.ith lis truly nccult hearing
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31
PART Y.
EIGHT PAGES.
III IL rribnne nu-sar. ]

washington. pee. S0-when P. T. Barnum
wrote "Iiunbuzs Of the World" re did not have
access to the records OF the Postofice Depart
men. Had he been able to spend few hours
IN the Office u. the Assistant Attorney Genera.
1ooli17g over the Fraud order cases. he would
probably have produced q volume beside which
his little ca ssc would have looked Ike primer
on a shelf with Websters Unabridged At the
40 the great Snowman created his Sacred
yI.niTe riephan,> and gathered in barrels or
real money from gullthe Americans who We're
anxious TO see that product Of pale paint. ne
broke the known record for taking but that
achievement was crude and Improbable as
compared with rlle modern get-rich-quick opera
tions Of the "I-bera Plantation or the Inyslc
rnanipuIations Of the sharpers who worked their
dupes through the society Of the philosophers
If the Living Fire" Like everything else the
business Of defraudlng the public improves with
the age The only thing that seems TO remain
stationary IS the perception OF the fool who Is
anxious 10 lose hts money. He bites greedlly
at every new swindle invented, and were i
not for the Postofflce Departments Fraud Order
Bureau would be bled oftener and more copi-
ously than he is now.
Russell p Goodwin who holds the position
Of Assistant Attorney General at the Postoffice
Department is the gullible investors best
friend Assisted BY Richard NJ. Webster.
bright Young lawyer. who IS deeply versed in
this kind Of practice. Mr.. Goodwin gets after
the various concerns which promise much and
give nothing in return for hard earned cash,
end. as d rule the result Of each little cruz
sade e : For Rent' sign on the company's Of
fee and 4 bundle of mail returned to the
senders The detectives of the Division Of Post
office Inspectors and Mail Depredations, com
nlonly called Postoffice Inspectors work up most
of the fraud order cases. and i does not take
them very long to stop the operation Of the
frauds for they have become expert in ferret
ing out such schemes and can recognize them
usually no matter how cieVery they are dis
etIised The operations of the Arnold and Ryan
turf investment swinders would have been
brought to a close long before they We're stopped
had there been no chicanery within the Attorney
Generals Office to stay the hand Of justice. The
history of those cases is too widely known to
require repetition Johnny Ryan escaped scot
free from the tolls Of the law, and even to this
day talks occa sionalIy Of making restitution for
the benefit Of Tho thousands who sunk their
savings in his impossible scheme.
7 do not intend that any one shall lose money
intrusted 10 me-" said Ryan not long ago to
one Of the attorneys in the Postortice Depart
ment But just at present can't do anything.
for m dead fiat oroke" Three minutes after
ward, the subject having been changed, Ryan
remarked: well I cleaned up a few good
things at the track last week and took this away
with me- pulling from his trousers pocket, as
he spoke a roll Of bills large enough to stuff
q small sofa pillow.
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31

they argue invest your money tn .Nutriola
and get rich IN your turn. a gentleman named
Edward f. Hanson promoted the Nutttoia@
scheme from No 142 West Madison-st.. Ghi-
cago. and did a tremendous money order busi-
ness untiI the malls were closed to him
New-York tribune., 1905-12-31

AMERICAN wIDOwER. age s.. no children.
no relatives wealthy healthy and liberal.
wants good companiona6le wife.
WEALTHY Maiden. disfgured BY an acoi-
dent healthy. perfect form. apect!onate ard
rbsrsl, wants sood, kind husband