El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-04
Frauds Are Driven Out
Men Who Seek to Rob the People
Find 1t Difficult to Use the
Mails; Move to Canada.
By E1rederie j. Haslzin--
= b Frcderie j. Hnslin-

II 1 ? aoL14ANG 4ONr u. u. Lee. s.
w The postoffice department
has been fighting the fraud
ulent use of the mails for many years.
The first effort in that direction was
to issue a fraud order against the per-
son or association guilty of fraudu-
lent practices, and denying to them
the use of the mails either in the re-
celpt or dispatch of mail matter This
Eelped some, but there were so many
ways to get around it that the fraud
order method of suppression was not
productive of the most satisfactory re-
suits in the efforts of the department
TO prevent the use of the mail service
in the promotion of fraud.
Then the department decided to in
stitute a system of prosecutions
against those who advertise tempting
bait for suckers and use the mails in
their operations. All sorts of schemes
have been Matched up to part the IN
wary from their coin through the
mails. One of the favOrite schemes
of getting money is through the ad-
vertising of worthless stocks with
high par values and a cent on the dol
lar selling value. The victims in pros
pect are advised to remember the story
of Standard Oil, and hear again the
story of Mergenthaler, are gravely
told that here is a chance to plank
down an honest dollar that ultimately
Will bring in returns that will make
Standard Oil incomes look like star
walton dividends in comparison
The stock advertised may be that
Of an alleged gold mine or of a land
company owning lands that seldom
peep above low tide, or of a company
holding the patent rights to any sort
Of device from one guaranteed TO rev.
olutiOniZe the art of transportation to
one that will make diamonds out OF
egg shells.
Postal inspectors Stop Grafters.
ST.
fake medical appliances usually finds
himself able to do a land office bust
ness until a postal inspector comes
around and finds out just what he IS
dies which have Just about as much
therapeutic value as bread pills and
red colOred water, while others eX-
patlate upon the virtues of appliances
that are about as useful in effectinS
a. cure as string tied around the lit
de finger is useful in staving off rheu-
matism. But they get business q
plenty in spite of it all.
The fake produce commission house
is a Swindle that catches thousands
of unsuspecting farmers. The house
advertises for produce to be handled
on the commission basis For lit
tie while things go along in fine shape,
the farmers getting a good return IN
the account sales rendered, such good
returns indeed that the excellence Of
the business of the commission house
gets to be a community household
word in divers rural sections. But
some fine morning, after thousands of
shipments have come in. the hOuss
sells out, and the owners skip with
commissions and returns as we'll, leav-
ing a Thousand farmers in the iurch.
Ordering goods under fictitious
names is another scheme for defraud-
ing and in spite of the best that Dun
and BradStreet can do. thousands Of
firms get caught by filling such or
ders, the consignee leaves between the
setting and the rising of the sun. and
goes elsewhere to repeat his perform
ance- Other individuals and firms or
der goods and fail to pay for them.
A still larger number send checks with
their orders; the business houses fill
the orders first and deposit the checks
afterWard- a little later the house
filling the order gets a note from its
bank that the check in payment there
for has been returned by the bank
upon which it was drawn and that it
bears the legend mo funds"
Gold Brick Still Finds Victims.
One would think that as completely
as the gold brick swindle and the
Spanish prisoner fraud have been eX-
posed that no one would be foolish
enough to bite at either of them. and
that consequently no one would be
likely to try to capitalize on either
scheme again. But the gold brick man
still succeeds, and the prisoner in
Spain still gets his remittanceS. and
within the past year for using the
mails in plying their nefariOus de-
ceptions.
There is a class Of advertisers who
patrOnize the want ad columns Of
many newspapers with the view Of
making capital out of that widespread
idea among the uniformed that a man
can become a newspaper writer by
mail, and that all he has to do is to
take a little course in a correspondence
school, and that thereafter he can
make at least 500 a month during his
spare time writing newspaper stories.
These advertisers catch thousands Of
ambitious people, but sometimes they
get caught in turn. ClairvOyants. as
trologers and palmists who adVer-
tise to tell you anything you want to
know about yourself, or about anyone
else, find almost as many suckers
ready to bite IS the eve will teach
you how to earn 500 a month jour
nalistic scheme, and the government
antifraud net gets many of them in
a years time.
Perhaps one of the worst of the
frauds is the advertisement of work
at home" schemes You are told that
If you order an outfit from the adver-
tiser you can use it and that the ad-
Vert1ser will buy your product in re-
turn Usually the scheme appeals to
poor people who can i'll afford to lose
a cent and yet who hope TO supple
ment an all too meager family in
come by doing some little extra work.
Fake Detective Agencies Thrive.
Fake detective agencies that agree
to make a detective out of you and to
pay good salary to you for your ser
vices as their representative in your
community, catch thousands of poor
chaps who evidence their skill in the
detection of crime by overlooking the
case right before them.
The list of agencies of fraud per-
petrated through the mails is a long
one Impersonating relatives, picture
puzzle schemes, fake fire insurance
policies, advertising for travelling COM
pan1Ons and securing a deposit from
each person answering the ad, adver-
Using for partners and requiring a
little earnest money, advertising that
young hereSs wants to marry and
advising the wOuldbe SWANS who an
SWer that she needs a little money for
her ransportatiOn-these are but a
few of the many kinds of frauds which
use the mails as a medium.
The department finds it rather hard
ID combat these evils because the fed
eral courts fail to realize the nation
wide operations of individuals brought
before them through the work of the
pCstoffice inspectors In a number of
instances persons who have robbed the
people of millions of dollars have re-
ceived jail sentences of only a few
months
Move Over to Canada.
Information received from the Ca