The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-07-13
AFTER MAIL ORDER GRAFT
Uncle Sam Gets After Get Rich Quick
Swindlers Who Use the Post
w. ..-. -.
office.
HOW THE FAKE IS WORKED

There is an old saying to the effect
that "a sucker is born every minute"
Many shrewd men are aware of the
truth of this statement. and some OF
them devise schemes to take advan-
tage of the fact. BY clever advertis.
ing methods they sometimes build up
fortunes by plucking the suckers.
case in point Is that Of Chicago
mail order concern which the United
States government recently began
prosecuting on the allegation that 1t
had misused the mails. This estab-
lishment. which began business about
a dozen years ago in q small one room
office. but now owns business blocks,
sent through the mails for years to
lists of persons in small towns and
country places postcard offers 60 allur-
ing that many of the unwary ones bit
and were bitten in turn. The post
cards read something like this:
Dear Strive wish to employ an adver.
Using manager in your locality to dis
tribute circulars. catalogues, etc. Your
name having been given US as a suitable
person. we write to inquire If you are at
liberty to consider an offer of $50 per
month and expenses. subject to certain
reasonable requirements which We will
explain upon hearing from you. II you
cannot give your entire time we can offer
you SO for distributing ETC.. which can
be done in spare hours In either case.
please write US promptly for particulars.
We are a mail order catalogue house.
selling everything, esta blished twelve
years. and write you because we believe
you are suitable person for the position.
No previous experience required.
"Previous experience" Of course,
would put upon his guard any person
ambitious to become advertising
manager" in his locality. 1t was only
those who had had no previous ex.
perience with such bait who bit at
the bait and got the hook. The plan
OF this concern was to have its local
agents sell books emitting the holder
to buy various kinds of goods at sup
posedly wholesale prices. The con-
Germ charged applicants for the ''post.
ton" $3.50 for an "outf]t," upon which
it made profit of more than 100 per
cent Then all the agent had to do.
besides distributing circulars. etc., was
to sell the membership book to bis
neighbors at $3.50 per. II he could
induce people to believe that they
were getting the wholesale price privi-
lege for $250-and plenty OF people
are willing to bite eagerly at such
bait-he got some sort Of commission
for his work. 1t is alleged that the
house was ahead Of the game right
from the start. 1t issued large cata-
logue. similar to those put out by the
regular mail order concerns. with
prices just as attractive. If not more 40.
1t is charged that customers Of this
concern were in various ways defraud.
ed; that goods sent out were not al
ways up to representation made. and
upon this condition is based the prose-
cution Of the government
This concern succeeded In getting
hundreds and hundreds Of agents In
each state of the Union. Its literature
sent out to the prospective agent Is
alluring in every way. Promises held
out of means of earning large commits
sions and contracts were so worded az
to leave no recourse for the agent. In
fact. he was to earn his salary prom
ised. and it would require a hustler
indeed who could win on the plan
outlined by the association. During
the dozen years this concern has been
going on 1t Is strange that its peculiar
operations have not until now been OBJ
served by the postal authorities
1t Is very difficult for the government
to convict In cases Of this kind. the de-
PENDANTS usually getting free on the
pretext that they had no intent to de-
fraud. The local agent and outfit"
business has been overworked in this
country for great many years. and it
would seem that by now the people
should beware Of such offers. but the
old saying about the sucker born every
minute still holds good. Citizens who
have the welfare of their community
and neighbors at heart ought to dis
courage such schemes and point out
to the local agents the fake feature of
the plan. Local merchants also would
do well to cooperate with the oppo-
nents of such schemes.
J. NJ. OSBORN.