Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-02-11
MAIL ORDER MATRIMoNY.
How swindlers Profit BY Affections Of
Love lorn,

How Swindlers Profit BY Affections OF
| Love lorn.
Matchmaking by mail-order was a
fourishing business when the postof-
flee department undertook, several
years ago. to break it up.
There's lots Of it yet, fraudulent,
of course" remarked a postoffice in
spector recently, "but it's we'll in
hand. The frauds we catch we run in
Jail; those we suspect, we discourage"
The twinkle in his eye told the story
back of the euphemistic word 'dis-
courage" even better than words could
have told it.
Why some people will make love by
| mail-and fall deeply in love with
nothing but chirography and photo
graph--is no doubt deep problem in
psych ology. But whatever the explain
alton Is, whether 1t Is because the gull
lible one Is old, ugly, uncouth. or what
not, the fact remains that they do it.
Not long ago. for instance, in yellow
newspapers advice to the Lovelorn"
appeared letter that bore all the deep
despair of dodo, but ended:
II am deeply in love with him, al
though have never seen him, but we
have exchanged photos"
She was n Tilted mail-order sweet
heart. The sublimity Of such faith in
things unseen would do credit to an
q, nft ,tft rlty
sublime that it will pay out real money
to the object Of it's affections. Thereby
hangs the tale.
Sometimes it is the man that is vic
and the matrimonial bureaus" have a
way Of victimizing both, so that they
get the lovers, going and coming.
One Of the best frauds that have
ever been perpetuated on men was
that of Grover Cleveland Arnold, who
wrote his love letters under the beau
tiful name Of LEILA Sinclair" This Is
the way his ads" read:
Young lady, striking brunette, viva
cious, "a years, $4,000 business in
small Western town, desires to meet
young man, TALL handsome, educated,
property preferred. Object matrimony.
Send photograph. No trihers.
Leila Sinclair.
Picture Leila to yourself-a dashing
young girl of the golden middle West,
with a thriving business, probably a
fine dresser n brilliant conversational
ist, a resourceful woman, on whom n
man could rely as q partner to help
along his ambitions-and with resour-
ces, too. ten thousand dollars as good
as cash!
Picture the young farm hand who
reads this advertisement, to whom
print is gospel and photography in
fallible. All spruced up, he looks into
the glass and asks himself II he is not
young, and tall, and handsome, and
educated, and well-to-do enough for
any woman-too good, indeed, for the
lassies of Podunk who have set their
caps for him. He replies.
After a decent time, this is what he
gets from the village postoffice
My dearest Hiram:
"Ah, knew would find you, you
who have always known lived some
where in this world for me. AS I gazed
for the first time into your true noble
eyes, it seemed to me as II had known
you in another existence-who can
tell? / said to myself: Here is the
man have always pictured to myself
as the father Of my children, and now,
sweetheart. that we will have no
friends who are not lovers, but keep
our own sweet secret to ourselves
Hiram never before received let
ter like this-probably never will
again. If he does, he will be old enough
to suspect that young ladies do not
picture even their real sweethearts as
the fathers Of their children" per-
haps old enough to know that. 1--WE
will have no friends who are not
lovers" Is a plagarized classic.
But if Hiram is the right sort Of Hi
ram. he has already kissed the silver
print in the letter about seventy-six
times. A Fifth avenue photographer
with a Gibson model could not have
done better work. Lelas picture al
most makes Hiram forget about the
ten thousand dollars. When he re-
members it, he makes the kisses an
even hundred at least. No French
cunt could serenade American securi-
ties more sweetly.
So, the billing and cooling by mail
goes On-working up to the time when
Leila will do the billing for a trousseau.
1t is not as sudden as that however.
They arrange to meet in Chicago on a
certain date to get married. and Leila
announces that she has at last found a
purchaser for her dress-making busi-
ness. and finally sends joyful word that
she has the cash. Then she is having
her dresses made-and, better yet,
paid fOr-and meanwhile, has entrust-
ed the money to her rich uncle in the
real estate business.
The happy day approaches. Hiram
has about thrown up his job, and
drawn his money out of the First Ma
tional" bank without causing a serious
run on the institution.
Then comes the sorrowful letter. The
rich uncle i'm the real estate business
has tied the money up in a piece of
land, immensely valuable, indeed; but
twenty thousand dollars to be real
lied two weeks hence will not pay a
fare to Chicago day after tomorrow.
Couldn't her loving future husband,
to whom she is bringing all, just pay
her fare to their Gretna Green and a
few dollars more to satisfy clamOrous
| tradespeople?
So clever is this letter that the
swain-already gallantry personified-
has reached a point where he would
marry the Gibson girl, If the money
melted away like n chocolate sundae in
July One hundred and fifty dollars
sent-and love turns to ashes.
Several complaints to the Postofiice
department sent an inspector by the
next train to the little Illinois town