The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-07-25

self up. saying ne would rather re
ceive a thousand penitentiary sen
fences than suffer the wear and s@ar
on his nerves While waiting for the
AK which he knew must certainly fall
This man could not post Il letter with
out We were aware Of II He could
not pay his Insurance policies. he
could not make a step nut IT Ms re
ported. The result Was ~ SaN. ~
The Sucker List.
You would be surprised la learn
how well this swindhng yStrm i
organized" continued the cAI.f IN
spector. Il do not know that there *
any fixed combination. but ther" -, ms
70 be a brotherhood by which ia. men
in the business can communlCat" With
one another more quickly tran ~
telegraph. They have their own code.
and il "A man IL arrested N San Fran
cisco today il Is pretty SUR Ia +.
known to all the Swlndlers OYER the
country tomorrow.
All OF these men haN" lists - al
dresses Of people who may he easily
Nictimized. These are called sucker
lists. and they are claSscd ACCORDING 70
the ease With which the men MAY he
swindlcd. one list may he headed
hard suckers. another easy suckers
and a third viii take any FOO! thing.
The biz ~sUindltrS haze their agents
and branch Offices scattered over the
country to whom they send inStruc-
lions NJ sucker lists.
Take. for instance. e =. Mitchell, II
Spokane. Nash. whom We convicted
last MAY. He was an examining neus
paper reporter, lecturer and theatrical
who dealt in FAKE mines. TAX
ing in hundreds Of thousands Of dot
lars tor stock. and paying dividends
out of the funds received. In writing
one Of his agents he said. This IN
cludes all the people Who have ever
bought shares of me. give them
our best propositions and use follow
up letters. | am sending YOU here u
letter | have Just received from Mrs.
Blank. She is not a heavy investor
herself, but has brothers and sisters
who are Well heeled and il is worth
While to cultivate the family In
another letter this man wrote that
he had q wealthy German I'm Iowa
who would taxi $5o.a00 in
American stock if we (Mitchtll)
could answer his questions. He con
tinued: Will IL should say So
We will make SO per cent on this
deal
w ave all sorts Of fake mining
swindles," continued he Inspector
They are backed by men who send
dl agent l - [tltLtIia II ~ ~
some other state of the West We'll
known for its copper silver or gold.
This agent IS instructed to get some
land near The gold mines, and he,
perhaps, sends 500 or so to buy the
side of a mountain. He then has a
fraudulent mining engineer make Il
report on the property, and he may
a few holes and put up u
derrick or so. He takes out a claim.
and onec hran1h all the operations
hat he would with a legitimate en-
terpriSe. There may be some photo
graphs taken and money spent IN
printing. Then the stock is gotten
out at 81 per share, and the adj
yertisements are put in the paper.
Some. such schemes are sold for mil
lions. and then q report is made That
the gold lead has played out.
1t is the same with rubber planta-
ions in Mexico, many Of which are
paid for IN installments until the
time the trees are supposed TO come
into bearing. often the title II no
good to such lands, and the photo
graphs of the plantations are those
of other rubber districts, perhaps far
away.
Not infSquently the man who
handles stock has his office in his
carpet bag. where he carries the seal
of the company, and moves about
from place TO place. one man tried
TO sell me $4,000 worth of stock
in a fake mining scheme. He came
here 10 Washington. ana We after
ward found that he had the seal with
him. and that he signed with his own
hand the names Of both secretary
and president on the certificates. We
had a draft for $4,000 sent to hlm
to Chicago, and he went there
s~traiehtWav to receive it. In the
me9ktime It was. so directed thar
some one else opened IT. You see,
we never open a mans mail except
by mistake. This draft was on a
bank which did not exist IN Chicago,
and we had our men there TO arrest
him. He is now serving a term III the
penitentiaTy.
Side Lights on the Wireless.
1t is impossible to know now