Evening star., 1921-01-02
nnng Down. Scheers Who Use Uncle Mails Derau
The Case of the High grade Sewing
Machine" Which Was Toy-An Inter-
esting Letter to Victims-Religious
Faith as a Shining Mark for One
Schemer-When Steel Engravings
of Presidents Turned Out to
Be Postage Stamps.

81 was list of firms doing extensive
advertising, who might want men.
Cat sales and dog sales and the mar
keting of pets by mail are also profit
able for those SO INSCRIPTIONS that
they do not live up to the letter and
spirit of their agreements A fraud
order was issued February 10, 1919,
against concern operating in Maine.
According to the reports on file in the
office of the solicitor of the Post Office
Department, this concern advertised
fine Angora cats for sale through the
mails. whereas the cats actually
shipped to purchasers consisted Of the
so-called coon cats" of Maine, a long
haired, bushy-tailed animal. somewhat
resembling the genuine Angora cat, but
In fact nothing more than a very COM
mon animal in that state. The postal
authorities say that. Furthermore, the
concern did not in all cases ship cats
OF the age. sex and color ordered. The
heavy hand of the postal police stopped
the schemer from getting fancy prices
for "rough-neck" felines when the in
spectors put two and two advertise
ments together. One pair disclosed this
concern offering to buy up any old
Kind of stray cats, and the other pair
OF advertisements showed the concern
dealing only in high-grade Angora cats
and Uncle Sans sleuthS were much
interested in such a cat metamorphos;s.
The inf1rmities that human flesh is
heir to and the natural desire of all
men and women to have good health,
with the inherent reluctance to have
physical weakness or organic troubles
known-has furnished fertile soil for
the constituencies quack. From the
earliest days of the postal service the
patent medicine and worthless rostrum
dispensers have flooded the country
with their purposely fallacious and
&c L11v,
worst feature of this has been that it
delayed those who fell for the knavery
from receiving prompt medical atten-
ton that might have prevented their
ailment from becoming chronic.
An interesting example of the Thau-
maturgi of the mails is found in the
reports that caused a fraud order to
be issued in the case of a healer
and self-styled miracle man" He
was caught operating principa lily
about Pittsburgh. advertising a whole
series of medicines. which he repre-
sented would cure every known dis
ease, Including black plague. His
speciality was cancers. He sent
pledges through the mails that his
medicine would even grow an eve
where one had been removed by oper-
alton. advertising his fourteen sepa-
rate and distinct medicines" sold for
the uniform price $1.56 per six-and-
two thirds ounce bottle. Examina-
tion by the U. s. bureau of chemistry
disclosed that these fourteen sepa.
rate and distinct medicines had as a
common basis one-quarter alcohol
one-quarter water and one-half olive
oil. and differed only in the combi-
nation of a few drops of fayorine
extract, vanilla. Glove, lemon, anise
wintergreen, juniper, etc
The victim was to take the entire
bottle at one dose and a dose every
week. This caused business to keen
up. especially as one of the principal
told the postal authorities that God
instructed him to compound his vari-
GUS medicines" 1t was shown that
between June 10 and August 8. 1920,
his receipts were s290,1s3.31./
x -
TEST letter sent by the post Office
detectives brought some very
amusing correspondence One said
that "Mr. Soandso's medicine No. .
has cured over 1900 cancers" An
other grew enthusiastic about the
medicinal potentialities, saying: Our
medicine No 13 will do the work l
presume you would think it ridiculous
and absurd were 1 to tell you that
medicine has not duly restored sight to
Lne DllnQ ana returned Hedltn TO tne
afflicted eyes of others, but persons
having taken the medicine for some
time 1doses at $1.56 each) have
actually grown new eyes in their
heads where they had run out"
in reply to trap letter purpo-t-
ing to be in the interests of a boy
suffering from insanity the healer"
, or his manager wrote as regards
medicine No. g.: Further. / would
give the boy lots of nuts to eat. 1t
will furnish oil required by the brain.