Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-04-30
HIGH COST OF DISHONESTY
TOLD OF BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by frederic j. Haskiu

WASHINGTON, d. c., April 30
The high cost of dishonesty is a
problem to cause concern to the AM
erican people. Last year an army
Of burglars, robbers, embezzlers,
forgers, confidence men, bueketshop
operators, and thieves lev
led a tax on the United States that
is estimated by one of the large sur
ETY. companies to aggregate the sum
OF $S,S25,0 900, 000.
This is approximately equal to the
entire internal revenue receipts OF
the Federal government for the last
fiscal year and is the equivalent of
a per capita tax on the entire popu-
lation Of the country of more than
$50.
And 1t does not include the tribute
that has been exacted by bootleggers
from those who persist in defying
the prohibition amendment!
The items in this appalling bill
which crooks collected in one year
in the United States are: Stock
frauds, land frauds, and confidence
games, 100000 600, GOO: burglary and
theft, $525,000, 600; embezzlement or
defalcation, $125, 900. 900; fraudulent
bankruptcy and credit swindles,
300, 900, 600; bad debts owing
wholesale and retail merchants,
S150,000,000; worthless checks
eashed by merchants, 500. 000, 900;
forgery, $4,000, 900; graft, looting
OF the public domain and conversion
OF public property, $500, 000. 1000.
The expert who made the estimate
says he makes no claim of accuracy
except as TO the minimums and says
that the total is probably nearer s4.-
600. 900 900. Another authority fix
es the first item in the list at S3,-
600, 900 600 instead of 81, 600, 100000
and insists that he is conservative.
The individual who has not bought
any worthless stocks, whose home
has not been b~urslarized, whose au-
tomobile has not been stolen, or
whose pocket has not been picked,
may think he is not paying any part
of this crime budget, but he is mis-
taken. When the merchants of the
country marked off $3.50, 000,0 600 in
bad accounts they charged this loss
to operating expenses and the hon
est consumers pay the bill. and if
the average citizen lodged his crime
assessment everywhere else he would
still have to pay a share of it in the
taxes that go to support and main
tain the agencies of the law that
combat the forces of dishonesty.
we Even Have Pirates
Included in the army that preys
on honest people w even have pir-
ates who operate in and about the
harbors of the country. In New
York harbor alone piracy amounted
to $780, 600, 900 in one year and in the
other seaports it was probably al
least half that sum.
Closely akin to these depredstions
is the stealing OF freight from rail-
roads. In q twelve-month period
the railroads of the United States
paid claims totalling o than $50
900, 900 for thefts of freight, and this
could not be said to represent the
actual losses in this direction.
Automobile thefts run into the
startling figures of 800. 900, 600. In
five cities, New York, Chicago, De
troit, Cleveland and Los Angeles
S,420 stolen automobiles were moi
| recovered, and in one city, Philadel-
phia, of 1852 stolen almost a third
were not recovered. In New Yorli
b4hu6 were StOltis u Nlltli oiob
were not recovered. Automobile
theft insurance which was some
thing less than / per cent of the val,
uation of automobiles ten years aSC
Is now 5 or 6 per cent.
Bradstreet's records for 1922 SHOW
that of the failures of business firm.
throughout the United STATES So.
We're directly due to fraud and spec.
ulatioh. In these cases the liabili
ties exceeded the assets by NOR
than 100000, 900. but this does no
tell the story of what the creditor
! actually realized from the assets ant
hence is not truly indicative of TIL
total loss. Also these records do no
cover bucket shop failures and case
| of dishonest individuals who so init
bankruptcy to escape paying thei
debts.
There are more than GOO, 600 retail
stores Of various kinds in the coun
try and according to the figures o
the United states Chamber of Com
merce the retail sales of consumption
of goods last year Nas $4,000 900,
900. This excludes such items a
locomotives, farm machinery, build
ing materials, tools, ct %cetera, tina
will probably total mn equal sum
Thus 1t Is apparent that the possibil
tiles and probabilities of lossei
through bad accounts and thr5ugl