The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-10-18
GOLD BRICKS
ARE HERE AGAIN
REcRUpEsENcE or OLD SWIM
DIE THAT HASN'T BEEN WORK
ED FOR YEARs-DEALERs HARD
TO cATcH-THEY WORK IN
WIDELY SEPARATED DISTRICTS

So the gold brick business isn't dead.
Long comes HI. r. Chafree, millionaire
land and grain man of Armenia, n. D.,
and proves 1t. Leaves his home In
happy expectation of buying two gold
bricks for a whole lot less than they're
worth and incidentally getting a lien
on a suppositious gold mine in Mex
leo: comes down to Minneapolis, buys
the bricks, pays twenty-five $1,000 bills
for them to a new found friend and
possible distant relative. Friend, ex-
cutting himself from table in Nicollet
cafe. where ne and Chaffee are at
dinner, steps out 'for moment or
two" or vanishes. Gold bricks prove
to be gold bricks"-brass.
Interesting. It shows that human
nature remains the same throughout
the wears. Proves, too, that swind-
ling operation which was believed TO
have been killed long ago by exposure
and complete explanation, and by NH
lions OF so-called jokes and pictures in
the comic papers. is susceptible OF
recrudescence.
Once q Popular Sport.
uBSu ~ pUPAle%A 5PoAN
gold bricks. Not always could the
swindler rake in $4,000 with such de-
lightfm ease as in the case Of Mr.
Chaffee. But It was possible to make
UP in quantity what couldn't be made
up in qualbty-the games could be
multiplied.
For there was veT4tHble craze for
the possession OF gold bricks, and all
of the numerous offers OF such, in the
fascinatingly secretive market, found
takers.
"Tnis is a private matter, you know,
Just between you and me, and I'm let
ting you in as a personal favor, cause
you're my friend" So the gold brick
dealer would say.
Who, in that day, could resist? Few
did.
The Game Fully Exposed.
But millions Of newspapers have
been published since then, and thous-
ands have told the results Of such
speculation. Farmers, the principal
victims of the operators, "got wise. y
Or rather, most Of them did.
Perhaps, though, there's no newspa-
per III kAAAtEt1lds vi ~ may NC AAiNS AVA
Chaffee doesn't read any more than
the market page of the paper he gets
Or. again perhaps, he may have
tnought-and this seems most likely
that whereas others had been horn
swoggled, he could beat the game.
And this despite the fact that the
stranger who called at his house had
been looking (as he said for his uncle
who, strangely enough was named
Chaffee. Nothing suspicious about that
Merely a coincidence, probably.
Coincidence a Usual Factor.
Such swindlers as the notorious
Jamie" Bates-if IT was he who die
this smooth job-always have relied
good deal on coincidence and alleged
relationship.
1t was only coincidental that MARY
A, Hansen. alias Klink, met Frederick
BONNET, a wealthy New Yorker, bacl
! in $50, and beat him out of $2,316 which
she said she needed to handle the Iega
end Of her perfectly valid claim to {
| $3.50, 900 estate left by a mythica
uncle.
It was always coincidence, or acct
dent, that led the criminally grea
Larry Summerfield to his victims Il
his almost Incredibly remunerativ
green goods game; or William c
| Woodwork, known all through tn
under world as Big Hanley-he who
posing as Lord Lionel Musgravt
swindled Londoners out Of thousand
of dollars.
And there was AsfTbury Harpendinf
original Of the famous Colorado dia
mond swind1e-he met his chief dup'
Milton s. Latham. manager OF tn
London and San Francisco bank, a
ex- governor OF California, as IL by til
merest chance and letting him in
on the good thing he had, induce
him to become president OF his com
pany-the acceptance OF which ofic
caused Latham to be removed from HI
high financial position. The dupe die
in poor circumstances several year
after that.
Northwest Not q Good Field.
The northwestern states have nevt
been an especially good field for swir
dlers. TO be sure, men in these par
have bought gold bricks before NJ
} Chaffee made his big investment; mir
ing stock agents have taken in thoua
ands on the strength Of pretty pros
pectuses, and then failed TO pay