The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-08-16
= ms. ; fsssl a+s. Vs.. Sts fs ~ a =
SCHEMES To1DEFRAup. i
Some Of the Plans to Secure Money
Without Adequate Compensation.

Plans to secure money from the
people without giving adequate re-
turns are numerous. Not alone are
the residents of country districts
made the victims of schemers, but
city people as we'll are now and then
humbugged by shrewd fakirs. Within
the past year or two it was announced
in the columns of magazines and the
farm papers of q seedless apple being
evolved A few months later seedless
apple trees were widely advertised
from different parts of the country.
One concern which started in to op-
crate ION an extensive plan organized
seedless apple companies in different
states of the western country. Within
few months hundreds of thousands
of dollars were taken from the pock-
cts of the people for seedless apple
trees. These trees were just the
ordinary kind, and poor stock at that.
So bold were the operations of the
seedless apple tree schemers that the
secretary of agriculture found it nec-
essary to issue a bulletin warning the
people of the fraud, and later the post
Office department. issued fraud orders
against those engaged in the nefarious
business. There are nurseries located
in nearly every state. 1t is a good
plan for the residents of farming and
fruit growing districts to carefully in
vestigate concerns selling fruit trees
and similar lines before they are
given patronage.
A number of petty gratis have late
~ been worked throughout the coun-
try. One Of the common ones is the
hiring of agents to sell soaps, per-
fumes and other commodities on the
premium plan. The concerns which
operate games of this class generally
have their headquarters in some large
city and through advertising secure
the names of people desiring employ
ment as canvassers and agents. To
such they send letters holding out ex-
traordinary inducements. Those who
agree to act as agents sign a contract
which is an agreement to pay for such
goods as may be sent to them on con-
signment. The sample outfits which
are forwarded, or the small stock of
goods, are billed in such a way as to
allow the concern an exorbitant profit.
II the agent succeeds in selling the
goods and RENTS promptly there is
not likelihood of being any trouble,
but generally the goods are so poor in
quality that they remain dead stock
In the hands Of the canvasser, and
he will find that the agreement he has
signed will hold him to pay for the
goods.
One Of the humbugs that is perpe.
trated upon the people Of many COM
munities is the selling Of stock in CO.
operative mercantile companies. Dur
ing the past three or four years the
residents of many small towns and ag-
r1cultural districts have lost hundreds
OF thousands of dollars, If not mil
lions, through the buying of stock in
alleged cooperative establishments in
large cities. One company with head
quarters in Chicago, doing a mail
order business, sold stock in excess of
81 ,OO0, 900, and when the concern went
into the hands Of a receiver about
year ago there was not ten per cent.
OF assets to return to stockholders.
Other alleged cooperative deals in
volve what is termed a profit sharing
plan. This plan. does not require the
purchase of stock, but the, cooperative
part Is purely a scheme devised for
the securing of trade. .