The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1919-07-16
GREAT pi>kERrO< SAYS
TIltRE ~ ALWAYS PLENTY
~ stCkt'Rs IN SKIN
THIS SUM DOES NOT
INCLUDE BLUE SKY JOBS
STOCK IORni>C SCHEMES
SEPARATE GAME. nlr
AMOUNT PAM MODERN
siiAnpEi,S ENutStD
FROM ON TRUCKS


New York. JaB ls--The American
public contributed morc than $4,000
600 60 the confidence men last year.
ON top ~ disgorglng unhoard ~
anlounla Tor war loans. war charity
drives. Red Cross support. tobacco
funds aud what not, 10 spite of de-
mands on cash resources such a. have
ncver hcfora been made on ear parre,
wn have stiii had enough left 20 turn
over the price of drrainoaxtA TO
the bunco etcrrer. the green goods
vendor. the fixed race promoter. th~
Fiidcd brick ehove and AL N" gentle
and nsmhle brotherhood % ms come
on. no says wiilMm A rinke~'or
head ~ the detective agency Which
hears hls name II ono person IN
the country "a IN peasllon 20 make an
sailnsa,. flhis wors. pinkarlon " ths
man
IN recent interview the detective
gave ton millions az bin estimate Tor
laat year. and added TINT q did NOT
Include The varioaa stock iobbinx
schemes. which certainly nmict ths
pahlir far greater sums every seaaoi,
~rha con man ~ today le very
different FELLOW from hts anfe,~dent
"A j fnw ynarm asp. satd Mr. psnkors
ton Nowadays th~ suceemsfui rnn-
flaenee ot~rasor hsA winter and a
nammef home, motor eefw educatian.
vel Hownea women ansoelasew. and
every acrrwanrv. lie M longer d~-
Yates his attention ~ lhw poor suha.
but csrfatep aealnal hgnkrrs lawyers
ard business men No uftcn makes
500 no " hsul. where his older
prototype considered y thousand tsw
money Ills mode IL operation II alaa
(, changed
| Came natss From River noass
And thereby hangs i series II YaFna
or Incidents. taken from the records
" rhe New urk g.oisee. from tales told
ma by de,ectIyes criminals and hon-
e#t men.
The con game Ia America probably
has no authentic HISTORY h1youg tha
halcyou days "a the old Mississippi.
Missouri and Ohio river xseamacaia.
Here II took the form ~ Fhrre- card
monte, keno. cold deck 8ok~r and
other crooked gambhns davicea. near"
Iiy always sinctnred with eiemsn'a "
thu come -ou and occasionally convert
cd Indirectly Into eanir@ connected
With tho modern confidence graft
Thnse antique forms of eaay money
getting originated tn she early Part os
last century snd were popular until
long after ths elvtl war. when the gen.
erai reaction agalnst open gambling
forced a change In the methods Of tha
operators.
Mr. pinksrton says that the father OF
modern con men was Tom Brown.
originally Of Detroit. but later head
lauarscred in New York. Brown was
| first a three e-cari monte operator. but
ne later invented shs gold brick. and
still later the green goods game A
Mttle earlier he had been bunco
steerer and operator OF take lotteries.
story Of Tom Brown.
| Mr. Plnkerson adds ths< Brown OPP
Grated about 40 years ago. In fsot.
he performed much more recently be-
fore he cashed his final checks; but
( that lr hardly the point. whise !
think that Brown was only one Of a
I number OF originaiors Of the rscs'ern
con came. Il Il true that be was prob
ably the inventor Of tho sold brick
and green goods games proper" Mf
psnkeron's chronology of Browns life
ard this = the important thing. Efsc~
a fairly clear idea OF the dsvelozmenf
Of thls form OF graft or crime. u
shows that the con game had an evo-
luton and hat each successive staee
had been development forced BY 80