davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

the track of the Chesapeake Beach rail
road and leads south through the lands
of Sunnyside and on to the Mill road, so
called because it leads to Walkers MILL
which is one of the very few oldtime
water mills in the neighborhood of Wash
ington whose great wheels are turning
and whose burr stones are grinding.
A few PAGES beyond the point where
you note the old road leading south
another old road leads away to the
north. This road passes between high
banks. Long use wore it below the
level of the country, and when the
grade of Central avenue was reduced
the grade of the old by-road was made
to conform to it. Bare trees line both
sides of the way. the banks are thick
ly matted with dry vines and the stark
trees are interlaced with honeysuckle
and greenbrier vines, though in their
present -blighted condition they
are far less lovely than in summer.
The road pass down one hill and up
another, and. following it. you come
upon a big frame house, the chimneyS
and timbers of which tell that they
have stood there many winters. Large
sycamore trees stand in the grounds
around the house and a circle or old
box bushes, weighted down with snow,
is in front of the house.
No one was at home when the RAM
bier strayed that way. To the south
east of the house, on high ground,
about 400 yards away. great. dark
cedars are growing. and among those
trees and the deep snow could be made
out marble monuments The clump of
cedars stands in the midst of fields
that last year yielded corn. The little
plot is inclosed by many strands Of
barbed wire and within il there is a tan
gle of dead vines. AT the time of the
Rambler's visit the snow was deep. A
tall marble shaft. rising among the ce-
dars, and above the dead vines and deep
snow, is inscribed:
ITO My Beloved Husband. John f.
Berry. Who Died April Il, 1863. in the
73rd Year of His Age"
square shaft is inscribed this: AL
bert b. Berry. Who Died October -,
1862. in the 43rd Year of His Age"
a marble headstone close by is in
,scribed: ITO the Memory of Our Dear
Frederick r. Berry. Who Died Janu-
AIRY IS, 1859, in the 2lst Year of His
Age
Another monument is inscribed.
Sacred to and in Faithful Memory of
Mrs. Barbara Berry. Who Departed
This Life November 25th, 1865"
Within a few feet of this monument
is a gravestone inscribed: Sacred to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

ciaHst.' with an income of 100000 a
year. gave a legal guaranty also bank
references, that he could do away WIN
spectacles, no matter who wore them
and cure Inflammation of the retina. cat
aractS and diseases of the optic nerve
All these things he did with a tablet
made of baking soda and boric acid
"a bunch of takers against whom we
shut the mails received 1000 letters
day. Their receipts, as the books show
ed, were S350,O00 year. All diseases
they learnedly asserted in their clrcu-
lars. were caused by uric acid.
Another quack. and he also has been
driven out of business. claimed that
every malady. including cancer and
tuberculosis, was the result of an i'll
balanced diet. He began work on vic
tim with a polite request for 10 cents
Then he sent book of testimonials for
which he charged a dollar. So he bait
ed his suffering correspondents along
until he got them interested and alarm =
ed and were willing to pay him fees
ranging from $40 to SIS, depending on
the measure of their means and guilt
bility.
4+
No one can help feeling sorry for a
sick man or woman who has been de-
luded and robbed. l know of cases
where persons in the deepest poverty
have gone into debt and deprived them
selves of food that they might get
money for some swindler who had
promised to cure those whom they
loved. l am not entirely without SYM
pathy for the ignorant men and women
who. for example, pay 81. or little
less, for lucky stones obtained secretly
in India, which will bring their pos
SCISSORS fortune in business and love.
good health and perfect harmony and
peace inside their homes.
There are a great many unfortunate
and unhappy people in the world-wom-
en- whose husbands are unkind and men
who are nearly always out of work
and they, poor wretches. fall easy victims
to the scoundrel who promises them some
of the good things of life. We may smile
at their creduity, but they are to be
pitied none the less. And think of the
agony Of the young fellow whose bound
less love Is not returned. So he pays
81 for little, old moonstone that cost the
faker a few cents and goes whistling to
his work. / can't laugh at him.
Nor did l laugh at the thirty-five
weeping and excited women who sat in
my Office one day and told me how they
had each paid $1,000 to a company that
was manufacturing a little machine to
lessen the drudgery in American homes
they were silly and green and greedy.
too, perhaps, but ! was sorry for them.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

ington were already twinkling and shin
ing far to the west.
The Rambler recalls many families
living in the country adjacent to the
Berry farm when the Berrys owned
those lands. Along the Benning road
eastward to the Ridge road lived DR..
w. A Manning, r. McClelland. D. A.
Watterston, r. X. hewitt, H. S. Will
liams. Mrs. E. Sheriff, and families
named West, Brown, Tremble, Cater,
Canton. Paine, Harr, Hawley, Warren,
Eastern Branch road, now called Min
nesota avenue. north from the bridge
end hamlet of Uniontown to Benning,
were the lands of a. Garden, Henry
Naylor, J. H. Wilson. S. B. Scaggs, J. H.
Smith, A. Underhill, and families by the
name of Hail and Talbert
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

are still workable Gold bricks contin-
ne to be sold. Tapping the telegraph
wire for race news catches sucker
with money every little while.
The rich Spaniar in prison is reg
ularly writing letters to persons in this
country offering a map of his buried
treasure for moderate sum by mail
He was writing when | was boy and
] see his letters now occasionally, which
is proof that his business is not lam
gushing.
The poor. l am sorry to say. keep
the swindles alive. Their ten-cent
pieces and quarters, thrown away each
year. total a mighty sum. Home work.
a most seductive phrase. suggestive of
privacy and the earning OF goodly
sum each week, once consisted OF adj
dressing envelopes from lists of names
that were never sent An outfit. of
course, had to be purchased in advance.
Home work now in many instances
has taken the form of sewing. But pat
terms, let us say, at 25 cents each,
must first be obtained. If any
sewing is actually done. word comes
back that 1t is not up to the specif1ca-
tons, and therefore must be rejected
At the other extreme of the mail order
game are mines, plantations. factories.
and so on. which do not exist. except in
the circulars sent forth for the perusal
of investors
AN automobile that was to upset the
motor industry and drive the cheapest
and dearest cars and trucks to the
scrap pile looked fine and formidab BILE
on paper. but that is as far as 1t ever
got. Prospective agents were told to
hurry $50 to the manufacturers for ex-
elusive territory if they didn't want to
miss the biggest thing on earth.
THE men back of this fake took in
$4,000 before we could put them out
of business. They would have collect
ed a million dollars. proba bly,, had we
not started after them at once.
But the medical swindlers far out
number all the rest. Their methods
have been perfected by long practice.
Any one who reads their literature
will believe. unless he understands their
game, that he is suffering from dead
ly disease. battling to educated physi-
clans. but easily durable by them
selves.
1.-The fellow who sold n solution OF
water, salt and sugar in ounce bottles.
at a price that brought him 1920 a gall
Ion. employed thirty clerks and stenog-
raphers. His revenues amounted to
$4,000 a. year. He promised to cure
consumption. paralysis. Bright's dis
ease. fits. blindness. cataracts. deafness.
tumors, bad hearts. eczema and the
morphine habit with his drops.
Another eminent and educated spe-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

probably stood on or near the site Of
the Corcoran house, but il is specuia-
ton, although the nearness of the
graves is an indication.
To a church historian who compiled
a volume containing a report of the
centennial services of the First Pres
byterian Church, the Rambler is in
debted for the information that on June
"a, 1885, an order was taken for the
ordination and installation of Mr.
Breckenridge as pastor. In 1901 certain
irregularities having been reported to
the presbytery Mr.. Breckenridge was
cited to appear and furnish satisfactory
reasons for the same, but failing to ap-
pear he was again cited before meet
ing held in Georgetown. ID. c.. April.
1902. At this meeting he appeared and
pleaded ill health as the cause of mis-
understanding and requested the DISCO
luton of his pastoral relation.
The congregation was cited to appear
before the presbytery to show reason.
if any. why the request should not be
granted; no reason appearing at a
meeting, April IS. 1892. the relation
was dissolved. In 1909 the presbytery.
at meeting held October 81. in Alex
andria, appointed Mr. Breckenridge to
labor as a missionary for three months
city, and in 1910 he was appointed sup
ply of Bladensburg and Washington.
In 1872, at the request of the First
Church. Washington. ID. c., Mr.. Brack-
enridge wrote a sketch of the rise and
progress of the church, but omitted all
the foregoing facts, which had they
been known would have settled the
question of priority raised by Rev. DR..
Laurie after his congregation had
Joined the presbytery of the District of
Columbia. DIR. Laurie's congregation
erected the first building, but Mr..
Breckenridge had the first organiza-
ton.
When steps were taken for the cree
ton of church building the following
persons were appointed a committee to
have the matter under their care:
Messrs. George Blagden. Elias B. Cald-
well. John Coyle, John McClelland and
Daniel Rapine.
The new house of worship was occu-
pied for the first time June 20, 1912.
the dedication sermon being preached
by Rev. Mr.. Breckenridge from Luke.
1873. At a meeting of the congregation.
held January, 1873. Mr. Breckenridge
was called and July 4. 1914, was in
stalled pastor of the church. contin-
uing as such until May, 1878 Mr..
Breckenridge died in 1874, in the sew
enty fifth year of his age. The church
was supplied successfully by Rev.
John Mcknight and Rev John Clark.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

the Memory of Our Dear Boy, Allen
Preston. son of \. +. and NJ II. Bowie,
Who Died January 2lst. 1S4S, aged I
Years"
There were some tombstones in the
lot so nearly covered with snow that
the inscriptions could not be made out
without considerable difficulty, and no
doubt there were sravestoncs covered
with the snow.
The old Berry place for about quar-
ter of a century has been the home of
John w. Collins, and he has reared
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

H. the
Efforts Now Takers Women and
Physicians er-On
$500 Gallon the
Postal Authorities Him Prison.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23
BY JAMES B. MORROW.


M( 'ie 'oooe'S u"co'-
WNW "''. '''p''
wv -
pa
INV
'"e -" an
ga
say 'hat S-''''oo'V"'
mas been taken from gullible Ameri-
cans during the last four wears by
x.,,, .,,.,. -, .- J., -,
no anu "ii' SCH '"eii ms
trums and. do their cheating by mail.
Four hundred and twenty post office
ipsnec,ors ,re s,srdi,, ,ood ,sr, ~
~ e %
thelr time In trying to protect the pub
lie from being defrauded by scamps
whose tricks in would seen, sbo,1d he
pdiPaoie ana even rlulculously CRUDE 10
any person having the most ordinary
degree of common sense I, ba. been
81 -
'A'"' man ID" oe iooieo d
least once. There are soloists, how
ever. whose continuous perforuances
~ uea'"
..Vbs, nar,ic,,i.r h,t, do, ,h.
IL.
o' at must 'oi aeiouSiy
asked Judge William H. Lamar, solic-
itor OF the Post Office DEPARTMENT
IT. -. =, =,
Inc jung" Is TAN aniapIe' KIND
hearted and seasoned philosopher.
When the mails are closed 10 a ropue
he h.. bo.rd ~ 60. ,o,,.,,..,, :,
u H.
anu 50 II" - competent 70 give an oplh-
Ion as to the kinds of swindles which
fbe peonle IiLe hos, Nv ipcuiry
caused him 10 smile
WHY" he answered in the rne,odioue
drawl Of the far south "th. puhIic will
bite al anything that is offered IL the
language conveying the tender is care
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

1.-TWO weeks ago the Rambler told
part of the history of sunny
side and other lands that lie
q eastward of the east angle of
the District In the course of that ram
bic it was written:
Sunnyside was carved out of the estate OF DR..
John f Berry. who was the holder of a large
tract of land eastward Of the District and within
fhe District of Columbia eastward of tho Ana
custia river. Most Of the settlements and pine
Topped hills and sei-e-gruwn fields which the
Kamhlrr has noted on this trip from Bennins TO
SunnvSide were the lands of DR. Berry.
The Rambler was under the belief
that the home of DIR. Berry was called
Seat Pleasant, and that the large east
ern suburb of Washington and the
eighteenth election district of Prince
Georges county, adjoining the District
of Columbia. took the name Seat
Pleasant from the home of DIR. Berry.
but further inquiry throws some doubt
upon the accuracy of that statement,
though there is no doubt that one of
the Berry homes in that region bore
the name Seat Pleasant, but on a visit
few days ago to the old home of DIR.
Berry the present owners told the
Rambler that that portion of the Berry
estate was CdlleU independence ana ndn
been so called time out of mind. One
should remember that the original
Berry tract was divided into number
of large farms for sons and daughters
of DIR. Berry, and that each of these
farms had a name. Seat Pleasant was
probably the name of one of these
tracts
The belief of the Rambler is that
Seat Pleasant was the farm and home
of Edward Berry, son of DR.. berry,
and that this farm later came in pos
session of Miss Polly Berry, sister of
Edward. The original Seat Pleasant
was long ago destroyed by fire.
The Rambler started on this walk
from the District line at the village of
Seat Pleasant and followed the track
of the Chesapeake Beach railroad for
about half mile to the point where that
now highly improved automobile road
Central avenue. or the state road
crosses the steam tracks. There the
railroad passes through deep cut and
the automobile road crosses the rail
road on a high bridge of stout timbers
Climbing out of the railroad cut by a
path which many men had followed
before him. the Rambler turned east
ward on Central-avenue.
This road is really continuation in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

there a large and interesting family.
Collins children and grandchildren are
living on neighboring tracts carved out
of the Berry farm. There were several
owners between the Berrys and Mr..
Collins, and two of these were John
Gregory and John Schultz.
Miss Rebecca Berry, one of the Ber-
rvs of Prince Georges, is living at Con-
cord. two miles east of the Berry
Collins farm, and the Rambler would
have gone on. but the day was SO
nearly spent that the lights of WASH
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

doctors can't be deceived by the
medical Quacks who say they can cure
cancer, tuberculosis and the infirmities
of old age, but-don't ask me why
they fall for almost any kind of min
ing or real estate proposition | am
not talking of obscure and unSucCess-
full doctors. understand but of doctors
as a class, big ones and little ones,
those who are rich and those who are
poor. There is something connected
with the practice of medicine, il would
appear. that opens the pores for the
entrance of mining and real estate
germs.
so far. | have not mentioned the
large and expectant army of bald
pated men who still hope for thump-
ing crops of hair. nor the hobbling
procession of old men who believe that
some stranger will sell them a bottle
of the elixir of youth for SO Nor have
l spoken of the thousands of our fell
low -sovereigns within the electorate
who. having listened all their lives,
think they hear at last the loud and
commanding rappings OF fortune on
their doors.
Dealing with the subject generally
and not in detail, ] would say that
only an expert psychologist, after care
ful study of specimens and facts.
many human beings eager to ac-
maany human beings are eager to ac-
ccpt all they hear and to open their
pocketbooks to every vagrant who
writes them a letter or sends them d
circular containing pictures of men,
bought for the occasion. and testimo-
malls which were manufactured by the
vagrant himself.
"One can understand the mental
processes of Il man tortured and twist
ed by rheumatism who, failing to get
relief from his own doctor. is willing
TO try anything that promises to free
him of pain. He reads the literature
of the quacks and concludes that he has
an oversupply of uric acid or that the
rheumatism microbe has got into his
blood
"a mysterious medicine. he is assured.
when dropped into his eyes will pene-
trate into every nook and corner of
his aching body and drive the rheuma
tism away Therefore. he sends his
money and gets an ounce of common
water in which have been dissolved a
little sugar and salt. He pays IS an
ounce for mixture that costs the
quack S cents "A gallon to make, bottles
and abels included This man, l say,
can be understood.
But what diagnosis fits the manu-
facturer who, reading call for mer-
chandise, sends a consignment of goods
heard of. or of the lumber dealer who
ships a carload of boards or shingles to
swindler temporarily located in a
town out west? Costa Rican got
thousands of dollars worth of shoes
cottons, machinery and on from
business men In the United States. sold
what he received at bargain prices. put
the money in his pocket and vanished.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

so it goes. Both the ignorant and
the intelligent are freely contributing
to the swindlers who walk up and down
the earth. I said walk. Well, I'll sub
stitute the word ride, inasmuch as most
swindlers own automobiles.
The oldest and commonest cheats
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

1t was an endless chain proposition. An
agent paid $1,000 and received 1,7O0 ma :
chines-and they were good machines all
right-which could be peddled from door
to door for So apiece.
Besides. the agent had authority to sell
the peddling right to subagents at the
same price. The subAgents in turn could
dispose of the selling rights to other
agents further down the line. 1t was a
tumble wherein the machines became
merely an incident in wild speculation
that was beside the mark in a legitimate
manufacturing business.
1--WE threw forty-tive swindlne con-
Germs out of the mails last year-that is,
we stopped all their letters and, stamp
ing them with the word fraudulent, re-
turned them to the writer's. We investi-
gate hundreds of complaints every week.
Nevertheless, the robbery goes on. Halted
at one game, the cheat may change his
name and exploit some other trick that
he has had in mind.
Indeed the experienced mail swindler
often has three schemes going at the
same time-one that he is just getting
under way, another that is in the midst
of its success as money-maker ana sun
another that is rapidly going into de-
cline. Each is managed under its own
name and one sucker list does for all
Sucker lists. by the way, are Valu.
able assets. There are brokers who sell
or rent them to quacks and other cheats.
A certain list. l was told, was valued at
$4,000. Once name is on list, the
person having it is exploited py one
swindler and another until the weak spot
in his armor is found.
"If he isn't sick or doesn't want
lucky stone or shares in mine OF
plantation, he may bite at a loan on
some real estate that he owns. He is
worked with until he walks into one
of the traps that has been set for ms
undoing. A notorious medical quack
had $4,000 letters which he offered FOR
sale to a brother faker. Each letter
SO the writer had been given to upder-
stand in advance, was to be strictly
CONFIDENTIAL The secrets you tell me,
the ouack assured his correspondents.
shall be forever locked within my own
breast
But to go back to the practice that
swindlers have of operating three
man who was selling an anti-fat rem
edy, conducting correspondence
school in craftsmanship by means or
the mails and running n protection as
so-called obesity cures Another fax
er taught hypnotism = by letter.. OF
course increased ones stature from
three to six inches, also by mail. and
sold an eye water, the use or winch
would ruin every spectacle dealer in
the world.
Some takers have been engaged in
defrauding the public for years. One
man began as a hypnotist and travelled
over the country giving exhibitions.
Next. he opened a school of palmistry.
81
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

Some takers have been engaged in
defrauding the public for years. One
man began as hypnotist and travelled
over the country giving exhibitions.
Next. he opened a school of palmistry.
Then he turned doctor and sold beauty
treatments, wrinkle eradicators, su-
perf1uous hair removers. bust develop
ers, hair restorers and so on.
''One Of his friends in fakerdom got
$I,500,0O0 from the public by such
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-23

M 0HEN the robbery was uncov-
MANI cred. proved and stopped, a
WV single group of swindlers,
" working together as mart
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-08-29

fresh currant Jelly. Currant jelly is
all right when there is something to
go with ii, but one tires Of il faster
than he does of oatmeal or self-raising
pancakes. The reason why so many
feel poorly during the summer and
have to go away for a rest at some
trout stream is no doubt due to being
fed continuously on new-mown currant
jelly and the leather-faced watermelon
pickle.
There was q time when there was
some excuse for the canning season, as
it was cheaper to can than to buy, but
it is not so today. Here and there, all
over the land, have sprung up canning
factories backed by hopeful stock COM
panies. which furnish canned corn for
almost nothing and throw in a large
part of the ear. Then why should
woman litter up the kitchen and de-
prive her husband of the sustenance
promised him underneath the wedding
bell By trying TO preserve for genera
tons yet unborn a collection of canned
articles that when opened will as like
as not be found covered with mould as
lar down as the knees2
Men would have more respect for the
canning season il their wives would
observe it along about the middle OF
January. instead of picking out some
month that runs mostly to prickIy
heat.
Copyright by George Matthew Adams).