The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-02-20
BUNCOING THE BUSINESS MAN
By JOHN NJ GLENN,
Secretary Illinois Manufacturer Association

sNtFEtlSNl. nN Joseph Ii. BOWleS.i
Often the inference is drawn that
only the wage-worker, the unprotected
woman and the man without business
experience monupOlize the space in the
| swindlers' list of victims. This I'M
preston is tar from warranted by the
facts. The truth. as gained from the
records of hundI eds of swindles which
| the federal, state and city authorities
have run to earth, is decidedly unflat.
tering to the shrewdness of the av-
erage business man-the merchant.
the manufacturer. the contractor aud
the man who gains his livelihood by
barter and sale
OF late the business man has TO,
ceived special attention from the pro-
! gressivc ana up-tO-date swindler and
! several special and adroit schemes
have been prepared to divorce him
from his money. An important feature
of several of these devices is an ele-
ment of potential blackmail introduced
for the purpose of silcnCing any victim
who may be inclined TO put up fight
after he has parted with his money
and it becomes apparent to him that
he is to get nothing in return for his
investment.
Hundreds of ambitious business men
throughout the country have been
caught in the snare of the swindler
who poses as a capitalist with an
abundance of money with which to
finance manufacturing and merchan-
dizing enterprises. These sharpers,
claiming to furnish capital to business
concerns, get hold of their victims in
two ways: 1t is a common practice for
men who wish to secure capital for an
enterprise to advertise to that effect
and in good faith. These advertise
mcnts are Immediately clipped and
answered by the fake capital-furnish-
ing concerns. The letter is craftily
and conscrvatively written and con
tains the plain inference that the capt.
tai will not be forthcoming until the
proposition has been carefully sitted
He is also told, in the original letter,
that a personal interview will be nee
essary and is invited to come to the
offices Of the company. The other
method for getting in touch with pros
pective victims is for the concern al
laging to have the capital to advertise
to that effect. Those answering the
advertisement are also sent the same
letter already described. 1t should he
noted that the one thing insisted upon
in every letter is a personal interview
in the offices of the company.
When the man who is doing a pros
porous little manufacturing business
reads this letter he sees bright visions
of the future and hastens to the office
loaded with the best arguments and
evidences of the present and pros
pective success Of his business which.
he can muster. He generally finds the
capitalist in a well-furnishcd office.
He is taken out to luncheon or dinner
and is treated handsomely but con-
servatively, for conservatism is the
essence of the methods by which this
class of swindler works.
After the man who is looking for
capital carefully explains the nature
and condition Of business and of the
field of it's operation he is carefully
questioned by the capitalist. The in
terrogations are shrewd and pointed
and such as would be asked by bank
er or the credit man Of a big mGr-
chandising house.
Finally the capitalist admits that
the business has really remarkable
prospects and should be fOated on
oasis sufficient to provide for and in
cure the wonderful expansion Of which
il is capable He then suggests that
1t could be readily bonded for a figure
much beyond the amount of capital
asked by the manufacturer. The Offer
IS then made by the capitalist that Re
will agree to place the bonds to tt at
amount on commission basis, and do
so at once There will be no trouble
about that, as he has a man looking
Tor just such an investment. The pa
p-Ys are drawn up and the manufaC-
turer is correspondence elated.
Suddenly, in a purely incidental way,
the capitalist looks up from the blank
contract which he is filling out and
asks the name of the company which
is to guarantee the bonds. The manu-
facturer is astonished and asks an ex-
PLANTATION. He is told that in these
days bond which is not guaranteed
has 10 chance whatever on the mar
ket; that this precaution is invariably
demanded by the up-tO-date bond pur-
chaser. But" adds the capitalist, you
will have no difficulty on that score.
There are a half-dozen reliable s;uar-
Gntee companies within block of
here which will be glad to act on so
substantial a proposition as yours.
There is the Impregnable in this
building. the InvinCible in the next
block, and the Prudential in the Pru
Dental Bank block. Go to any one
of them, talk it over and if there is
any trouble about getting the guaran-
tee call me up on the phone"
Probably the manufacturer says he
will 90 to the Prudential, because it is
In the Prudential Bank building, and
he draws the inference that there is
some connection between the bank
and the guarantee company. When.
ever it is possible these companies 10
cate in bank buildings in order to
create this inference. He finds the
Offices of the guarantee company re.
splendCnt in plate glass and mahog
any, and in the elegant private Office
of the president he tells about his
business and the offer of the capital.
ist. The president contrives, if posi-.
BILE, incidentally to learn how much
money he has on his person or in
bank in the city or near the city. If
he succeeds in drawing out this infor-
nation and learns that the sum is, say.
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