Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-14
SUCKER SEASON
NEVER CLOSES
AFFORDS PERMANENT FOOD
FOR LAND SHARKS
REALTY PIRATES ROB WOMAN
BY MISREPRESENTATION
Loose Laws Have LoophoIes Through
Which scoundrels Squirm-Rich
Offices MisIead Ignorant
Investors
ny JAMES WYNKOOP
Real Estate Editor The Herald

BY JAMES WYNKO0P
Real Estate Editor The Herald
There is in California a closed or pro
tective season for most varieties OF hsIl'
as we'll as of game, but for one species
the season is always open, and it pltes
voraciously at even lump OF earth.
Possibly the inclusion of this species
in the pisicultural family may be crltl-
cised. But reference is made TO the
common sucker" and especially 70 the
real estate investment variety, Whlch,
Judging from recent disclosures, is par
ticularly abundant in Los Angeles.
When L. E. Jones of the late cor
poration of Jones & Ryder forfelteu ms
bail on a charge of false pretenses, ne
left behind a large number OF allegea
victims Women had bought from MN,
or his concern, mortgages on prop1rey
that he did not own-or, rather, they
had paid him for houses to find, too
late, that he could not deliver the lot
and that the house was encumpereu
with liens; again, others had loaned
him money, supposing that they hao
security, or had given him mortgages
on their property, presuming tnat me-.
or the corporation, would in return pay
off prior membranes, which, they
assert. he failed to do. And today
others are, apparently, doing the same
thing with, as yet unexposed, agents
of the same stripe. The sale of worth
less farm land is favorite with
many of them.
When the Realty Board took up the
complaints against Jones, and finally
induced the district attorney to prose-
cute him, it's office was the recipient
of large number of new Complaints
not alone about Jones. Newcomers
who had bought dubious eucalyptus
stock or poor farms, glowingly adver-
tised as capable of earning an 1nde-
pendent living for any payer of small
instaliments, realized that they had
been misled.
Woman Is Robbed Of Furniture
Only few days ago a woman com
plained to the secretary of the board OF
a firm, which she said had obtained
from her quantity of valuable furnl-
ture. ostensibly in exchange for con-
siderable equity in certain mousse anu
lot According to her story, the nrn
introduced her to the owner VINO sent
stenographer to show her the mouse,
But when they arrived at the lot some
excuse was made to avoid entering the
house Despite this, she gave blll
of sale for her furniture ana received
in return a peculiarly Worded deed,
without any certificate of title. Sne
found too late, she declares that the
property was not worth more than the
held by another party.
The point about this is that tins Wo-
man, like countless others, was attract
ed by an advertisement to the office of
a firm of which she knew nothing.
Without making any inquiry OF the lat-
ter organization. or of any other au-
thoritative institution, she parted with
her property upon the representations
of persons who might or might not
have the agency for or own the prop
erty they offered her and without even
investigating the value of what they
offered.
There are a great many sharks lying
in wait for the suckers, and some OF
them surround their bait with fine OF
fees such as Jones & Ryder'S, ana an
appearance of substantial prosperity
These people are advised by crlninal
lawyers just how far they can go With
out overstepping the criminal line. They
are profuse in their promises and pre-
dictions. They are liberal in the mat
ter of loans upon lesser security than
would be accepted by reliable lenders.
Conduct Cruel Business
And they are conducting as cruel and
despicable a business as can exist un-
der a mask of business at ALL They
take very few chances and are morally
rather worse than the highway robber,
while the amount of injury done by
the latter or by the burglar is IN
finitesimal in comparison Old mems
savings, the income of widows. the
support of children, is taken without
scruple by these heartless villains, and
it is a reflection upon the legal pro-
fession that no way has been found of
Furnishing them. 1t is only occasional
1y, as in the case of Jones' that one of
them overreaches himself and comes
within even the shadow of the criminal
- sA1...N Ns.,..v "a ID.
because of this that real estate men OF
high standing, ability and integrity
have formed organizations in nearly all
the large cities and in many of the
smaller towns throughout the country.
one of whose principal objects is TO
draw the line between the takers, or
sharks, and the honorable agents or
dealers.
Los Angeles Realty Board is famed
for the particular care that it exercises
in this respect and most of the SINH
lar organizations insist upon absolute
uprightness and fair dealing on the
part of their members.
Complaint and arbitration committees
exist, and conviction of anything like
''shady'' conduct is punished by eXpul-
sion and attendant publicity.
In consequence, agents who are not
above sharp practice generally refrain
from applying for membership. Any
reputable agent however, can become
a member, and if some fail to do so
they should not complain If they are
sometimes classed with the "undesir-
abIes."
The Realty Board offers and adver-
tises to protect those who deal with it's |
members. There is no recourse for J
the person wronged by an outside |
agent, save the law, and the fact that
Jones & Ryder Company flourished as
long as it did and that Jones got away
with the amount that complainants
say he did shows that the law is not |
very effective.
Mccarthy Tract Sales
The Mccarthy company reports increasing