The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1914-01-08
EXPOSING MAIL
ORDER TAKERS
postoffIcs Department Is Busy
Running Down Swindlers

IA is so easy for mail order sharp
Sam is forced Ia spend thousands Of
,ollors annually. and 10 maintain Il
large force of inspectors and clerks 10
min their fraudulent schemes. Frederic
/ uaskins. the well known journalist.
who has been writing series of arti-
cles for the Chicago Daily News on the
postoffice Department tells about the
mali order falSirs in IA recent article
an Driving ont Frauds" The article
rs as follows:
The postofiice Department has been
6gbriur the fraudulent use OF the
,naus for many years The first effort
n that direction was To issue a fraud
order against the persons or associa-
lion guilty Of fraudulent practices and
deny 10 il the use of the mails either
IN the receipt or dispatch of mail
matter. This helped some, but there
were 50 many ways 10 get around it
that the fraud order method of sup
urpssion was not productive of the
,nost satisfactory results i'm the efforts
If the department to prevent the use
Of the mail service IN the promotion Of
fraud,
Then the department decided To in
stitute system Of prosecution against
those who advertise tempting bait for
suckers and use the mails in their OPP
rrations. All sorls of schemes have
been Matched up To part the unwary
from their coin through the mails. one
of the faVorite schemes Of getting
money is through the advertising of
worthless stocks with high par values
and a cent on the dollar selling value.
The victims in prospect are advised
To remember the story Of Standard Oil
and hear again the story of Mergen-
thaler. are eravely told that there is IA
chance TO plank down an honest dol
lar that ultimately will bring in re-
turns that will make Standard oil in
comes look like starvation dividends in
The stock advertised may he that of
an alleged gold mine, or of Il land
owning lands that seldom
peep above low tide, or of "a company
holding the patent right TO any sort of
DEVICE from one guaranteed To reVo-
mtionizc the art Of transportation to
one that will make diamonds ont of
egg shells
Advertising Medical Nostrums.
al nf
and medical appliances usually finds
himself able to do land office bust
ness until a postal inspector comes
around and finds out what he is doing.
Some Of them advertise remedies
which have about as much therapeu-
ur value as bread pills and red colored
water, while others eXpatiate upon the
virtues of appliances that are about as
useful IA eiiecting cure as u string
lied around the little finger is useful
in sfaving of rheumatism. But they
gel business a-plenty in spite al ii all
rle fraudulent produce commission
house is a swndle that catches thou
Jnds of nnsuSpecting farmers. The
house adverlises for produce Ia he
handled on the commission basis. For
q little while things go along in fine
shape, the farmers getting a good re-
tam in the accounts sales rendered;
such good returns indeed that the eX-
rclenCe of the business of the COM
mission house gets Ia he Il community
household word in divers rural sec
tons But some fine morning. after
thousands of shipments have come in,
The house sells out, and the owners
.Mp with commissions and returns as
well leaving "a thousand farmers in the
mch
Lure in Fictitious Names.
Ordering goods under fictitious
names is another scheme for dcfraud-
ng, and, IN spite of the best that Dun
and Bradstreet can do. thousands of
firms get caught by filling such orders,
he consignee leaves between the set
ing and the rising of the sun. and
goes elsewhere To repeat his perform
nice. other individuals and firms or
Ter goods and fail 10 pay for them. A
''ll INFECT IluflbtE StllU NHt'hS WIN
heir orders; the business houses fill
he orders first and deposits the checks
'ltorward. 4 little later the house iill-
ng the order gets note from it's bank
hat the check in payment therefore
mas been returned marked mo funds
one would think that as completely
as the gold brick swindle and the
Spanish prisoner fraud have been eX-
posed no one would he foolish enough
la bite at either Of them. and that, con-
'equcntly. no one would he likely To try
10 capitalize on either scheme again.
Fat the gold brick man still succeeds,
and the prisoner in Spain still gets
his romittancos. and some OF them have
gone to prison within the last year for
using the mails in plying their nefari-
Gus deception.
Long List Of Frauds.
There is class OF advertisers who
the want nd columns of many
newspapers with the view of making