The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-04-11
CROOKS GET 500
MiLLIONS YEARLY
Immigrants and Other For
eigners Victims of Get
Rich-Quick Men.

/ uiCItu ny lTduuuleHt IHu HOpeles
schemes from the American peopl
each year, the Importance of protect
ing the immigrants who seek lives o
usefulness on our shores from becom
ing dupes In weird swindles cannot b,
overestimated, writes Lew Wallace
Jr,. director of United States govern
ment savings system.
Not only are new arrivals TO thi:
country exploited by men with wild
cat schemes, but thousands of foreign
born citizens in our cities, In mines
and on farms are the victims of dis
honest schemers who separate then
from their hard-earned money.
+ l have had better opportunity
perhaps, than many other citizens to
observe graphically the toll fraudu-
flent schemes have wrested from
| Americas foreign-born, and especially
among the poorer classes of the peo-
| pie. AS director of the governments
! savings system 1t has been my I'M
| fortunate duty to examine the dis
tressing letters written by deluded
men and women from cities and ham
lets all over the United States, and
| want TO take this opportunity to give
you instances of such frauds, as well
as constructive advice on how to save
your money with the utmost security.
The foreign-born man with a fam
lily has an innate longing for home.
1t is his first desire, as soon as he
gets settled in this country, to pro-
vide a little place for his wife and
children Knowing this. the real es-
tate shark preys upon the man with
this appeal.
Grand Larceny Law Avoided.
For instance, large tracts of land
in New York's metropolitan area,
WITHIN. say, 50-mle radius of New
York, have been sold as lots to for
eigners | heard of cases where lots
purported to be worth 5000 were sold
at the ridicfilously low price of $37
to S4950 This latter price, you will
note is just half dollar under the
limit needed to prosecute under the
grand larceny law.
But behold, when the immigrant and
his happy little family went out to the
lot and began to build a small house
they usually found that the property
was burdened heavily by a mortgage
which was part of blanket, and also
by liens in the form of judgments
against the men who sold the lots.
Other tragic cases brought to my
a.. t.-..n zfesl
had purchased lots on the installment
plan, paying from $500 TO $700--their
life's savings-only to- find that the
lots were not worth $50.
In various parts of the country
where the population is composed of !
large settlements of foreigners, many |
of whom have taken out citizenship |
papers, the schemers employ agents |
speaking the languages of the for
eigners. Then by lrrid promises of |
large profits, the gullible workers are
persuaded by their countrymen TO. buy
quantities of worthless stocks in oil,
mine and corporation COM
,anies.
These linguistic salesmeni talk the
oreign workers into buying mortgages
lot worth the paper they are written
m. They lure them on with promises
# 20 per cent interest or even more
IN rainbow investments. And they
Invariably charge high rate of inter
st. 1t is the common practice to sell
hese thousands of foreigners shares
1t from 81 to S. apiece. Often sew
raj fat dividends" are Immediately
laid-and the happy purchasers, see
ng rosy visions of lettering their con-
Iition, turn over more of their wages
ach week to get more shares of the
took, which in the end proves worth
ess.
At a recent meeting of the legisla-
i've committee on exploitation of i'm
Migrants In New York, James J. Will
on, deputy assistant district attorney,
eclared that more than S12,000.000
lone had been obtained from immi
rants by the under water lot swim
le." Mr.. Wilson for the past two
ears has specialized in prosecuting
uses of the exploitation of foreigners.
chemers sold property to persons In
he foreign population, and later, on
lvestigation, the new owners discov-
ed they had bought residence lots
lat were buried under the waters of
ong Island sound or mired, in the
arshes of New Jersey.
That is a disgrace which all loyal ;
mericans must wipe out. How can
e expect these immigrants to have 9
~ love for their adopted country
they are to be the prey of dishonest 4
hemers? Why, in New York state {
one 80 per cent Of the population .
e aliens. We expect them to de-
lop into good, decent, patriotic clti- 8
ms. shed their blood for our coun- e
7, be true to the principles of Amer a
we allow sharpers to 9
b them of their savings which have II
en- slowly boarded after many a
Dnths of arduous toll. IL
A Practical Remedy.
There is, right now. practical rem ..
v. and It behooves you. as loyal =
izen to spread the work whenever y