The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-13
Frederick Haskin's Letter
Bargain Loving NeuO York.

lilly convinced that they are get,i,.
a great bargain. In one wasL
sold three Queen Anne desks
I desk for so more than il 49,
have costsin certain large dsna..
ment store" t'''' 4
Taking advantage of the n,,h1,
in this way is, indeed, so very o.rS
and profitable that there are ~.
concerns who are willing TO spnD,'
merchandise, on a credit basis S y
private individuals who will sg,o.
to advertise and sell it. One 90
| these concerns recently advertise
| for home workers" who wera l ls-sI
circularized in the following frsDL
manner: ala
If man puts an ad in the M.
per like those we mention aboyo
and the people rush to his hons.
and buy him out just because tbeC
believe he is really selling SOM
of his personal apparel or furnisb
ings, and they think they are gat
ting a wonderful bargain, the nsTt,
selling the goods is justified sr5
you cannot blame him if he is 20
ing to advertise like that rigS,
along and build up a big bank AZ,
count because he knows how 70
take advantage of the ordinary nso-
pies credulity. To make big mon.
ey in this world you have to stn5,,
human nature and take ADVANTAGE
of what you learn. We are Writ-
ing to you just as plainly as thonqb
we were talking to you face h
face
We buy up large jobs Of goods
from bankrupt concerns. from as
tates which are being settled. from
the biggest jobbers in the country
What we buy we buy at such ride.
ulously low prices that you would
not believe it. We have bought
goods under the hammer in some
of the big auction houses Of New
York at such low prices that The
owner of the goods who was forced
to sell because he needed the cash.
and who happened to he standing
by watching the sale of his goods
actually had tears in his ewes. But
this is business. If we didn't buv.
someone else would. This mer
chandise we ship to our clients who
advertise in their daily papers Just
as we advertise them. We coach
them. We train them. We practic.
ally lead them by the hand We
show them for the first time in
their lives how to make big money
in q smart way, and, what is more.
they do not have to give up their
employment. because they can eth
er have people come to them in the
evening, or else there is always
someone at home during the day
to take care of them"
Fraud Laws EVaded.
This is only part of the letter
but it is enough to show that the
men who wrote it are wholly aware
that they are urging the perpetra-
ton of a fraud But by their Verl
impudence in thus acknowledging |
it. they place themselves beyond
the reach of the law. At the Unit
ed States district attorneys Office
to which copy of the letter was
recently submitted, it was asserted |
that the concern could not be
reached through the postal regu-
lations, because it was merely sug-
costing fraud to others and was
perfectly candid concerning its own
methods. Anyone who entered into
negotiations with it could not pos
sibly be deceived as TO the unscru-
Of its character.
In the case of those who accept
ed the contract and who actually
did misrepresent their merchan-
disc to the public, 1t was said, there
might be ground for criminal &C.
ton. They could probably be pos
ecuted both for fraudulent adEer-
Using and for using the mails TO
QefTaud
But how is this to be brought
about? The newspapers cannot in
vestigate the character and real IN
tentions of every person who places
a small 30-cent ad in their columns
In some cases, where the same
kind of ads are printed by the same
person for a considerable length OF
time. it is true, their suspicious
may become aroused and in sumo
New York dailies such ads have
been carefully marked with the
title Dealers. vet the chances OF
are obviously slight
AS for the public, it has seldom
any reason to complain. because IL
does not know IT, has been deceH-
ed. The people who are taken Id
by schemes of this kind rarely as
cover their own gullibility. Inef
are the same people who buy Iac-
tory-made antiques. who purchase
neckties from street peddlers d.
prices double those prevailing IN
the stores. and who buy oil |eI5
in the Cobb desert. New YORK is
full of them