Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-12-09
HOTEL men Bite
ON new SWINDLE
Watch" Z o. D., Delivered il
Name of Expected Guest
With Reservations.
S1O.85 Is USUAL OUTLAY
When Package Is Opened 1t Is Found
to Contain Lead or Brick
Number Taken In.

Hotel keepers throughout the middle
west are being worked" fer sums
ranging from SO to $25 through
brand new c. o. D. game that is more
than ordinarily clever. None of the
local bonifaces have yet received their
package" but they may be expected
in the near future-provided the swim
dlers are not apprehended.
Those hotel keepers who did not ac-
cept a c. o. d. express package, sup
posed to contain a watch repaired in
New York city, have cause for self-con-
gratulations. Those who did are out,
in most instances, just S10.S5. The IS
cents represents the express charges
on the parcel and the charges for col
lecting and forwarding the SO to New
York city. The supposed gullibility Of
hotel proprietors, their faith in their
knowledge of human character, their
dealings with commercial men and
their natural anxiety to rent the rooms
in their hostelries. formed the basis
for the carefully laid plan. The mat
ter has been brought to the attention
of the pOstoffice department and an
effort is being made to apprehend the
receivers or easy money.
Letters Neatly WOrded.
Several weeks ago the big hotels in
many cities in the middle west re
ceived letters written on the station
cry of a concern said to be wholesale
dealers and manufacturers of novelties
in New York city. The letters. almost
identical in phraseology. were signed
in q Same hold
green ink, but with different names
Some of the letters bore the name OF
"Rudd," others ingalls," and still 9th
ers Seaman" The letters are address
ed simply to the manager of the
hotels. They begin with the introduc-
ton that the writer was a travelling
man who recently had married and
was making his first trip through the
west to introduce a line of goods that
had not been placed on sale before. 1t
asked that a couple of rooms be re
served and that mail addressed to the
writer be carefully preserved, as the
writer expected several expense
checks.
The next paragraph of the letter con-
tains the statement that the writer re
Gently had dropped very fine Jurgen-
sen watch. and it had been sent to a
jewelry house at 121 Broadway. New
York city, where il had been left for
repairs The letter goes on to say
that instructions had been left that
the watch when repaired should be for
warded to the hotel to which the letter
was written, and that it was possible
that it might arrive there before the
writer did If So the hotel manage
ment is asked to take very good care
of it, as it is valued for its sentimental
as well as it's intrinsic value
Then Comes the ''VVatch."
A few days later letters addressed
to the writer, and bearing the return
address of an eastern house are re-
ceiyed. Other letters, bearing New
York postmarks and of different dates.
follow. Then comes the last letter.
bearing the business address of a New
York jewelry firm, and two days later
comes the expressman with parcel
which appears just large, enough to
contain carefully packed watch It,
too, bears the return address of the
New York concern. 1t comes c. o. D..
and the charges are usually S1O.S5. AS
rule, the hotel keepers pay the ex-
pressman, and of course nothing more
is heard from it.
Several of the hotel keepers who
have been duped received permission
from the postmaster to open the en-
velopes, which were found to contain
blank paper. The express packages
contained different articles, ranging