Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1911-07-06
after CRAFTERS
BY MAIL ORDER
Uncle Sam Checks a Get-rlch.
quick Establishment.
WORKED LOCAL MANAGER FAKE
Chicago Concern For Years Used Post.
cards 40 Bait to Catch unwary
Agents Who Thought They Wsrs
Getting q Good Job-Paid For "out'
ft."

Getting a Good Jeb-Paid For "out'
fit."
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 or
them devise schemes to take advan-
-tage of the fact. BY clever advertis-
Ing methods they sometimes build up
fortunes by plucking the suckers
A case In point IL 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
q dozen years ago in a 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 SO allur-
ing that many Of the unwary ones bi'
and were bitten in turn. The post
cards read something like this:
Dear Strive wish to employ an adver'
tising manager in your locality to dis
tribute circulars. catalogues. etc. your
name having been given US as q suitable
person. we write to Inquire II you are al
liberty to consider an oHer OF $So per
month and expenses, subject to certain
reasonable requirements which we VIII
explain upon hearing from you. III you
cannot give your entire time we can oHer
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. established 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. Ii was only
those who had had TO previous eX'
pcrenre with such bait who bit AT
the bait and got the hook. The piah
Of this concern was to have It's iocal
agents sell hooks emitting the holder
TO buy various kinds of goods AT sup
posedly wholesale prices. The con
cern charged applicants for the posi-
ton" $50 for an outfit. upon when
il made n profit of more than lU per
cent Then all the agent had I" 10
besides distributing circulars. etc. was
to sell the membership book to his
neighborS at $50 per. Ii ne cOuId
induce people to believe that they
were getting the wholesale price privi
leye for $3.50 and plenty OF people
are willing to bite eagerly at Su'n
buit-he got some sort of commission
for his work |, Is alleged thai 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. win
prices jnst as attractive. II not more SO
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. ana
unon 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 it"rature
sent out to the prospective agent II
alluring in every way. Promises held
out of means of earning large commits
sions and contracts were 80 w0rdcd as
to leave no recourse for the agent. In
fact. he was to earn his salary prom
ised, and II would require hustler
indeed who could win on the plan
outlined by the association. During
the dozen years this concern has been
going on It 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 overworkpd In this
country for great many years. and 1t
would seem that by now the people
should beware Of such offers. but the
old saying about the sucker born every
minute still holds geod. 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.