New Britain herald., 1928-02-24

Cashman. business manager of the seminary, who sought to determine definitely the kinds of swindles to which ministers had proved suscepti- ble. so that the divinity student might be trained to safeguard him. self.
 Tho questionnaire, which was an- swered by clergymen in 24 states covered tho following points: l. Have you ever been swindled by professional crooks? 2. If 50. how. in your present opinion. could the swindle have been prevented7 ,. Do you believe in punishing such crooks? {. How may they be de- tected? 5. Have you any counsel to pass on to other ministers?
 Many Swtndles Reported
 Answers to the nrst question were overwhelmingly in the affirmative. The amounts ranged from . live dollar bill-given to stranger with a plausible. heart-rending tale, after- ward found to be false-to thous- ands of dollars, lifetime savings handed to glib strangers with per- suasive stories of fortunes to be made in oil and mining stocks.
 And yet, there were other view points: A Montana minister wrote that he had never been swindled by any man. Always we have be- lieved that whoever came to our door was sent to us by the father of love, and we have treated him as a friend"
 swindles fell into three classes, MT. Cashman found:
 oil and mining stocks, dubious real estate deals. rabbit and chicken farms.
 Fake church directories. spurious magazine and book subscriptions worthless correspondence courses, advertising schemes. etc.
 Temporary loans" and rubber" checks.
 Replies to the second, fourth and fifth questions provided a wealth of material from which Mir. Cashman and Dr. Davis. moderator of the National Council of Congregational Churches in America. drew up these maxims:
 Make . thorough investigation Of the tale told by the suspected swind- Ter. Check his later with his earlier statements.
 Investigate Before Investing
 Building . reputation for inves- tigating.
 Don't rely too much on your own Judgment. Send tho applicant for aid to the proper charitable organi- Eation. Consult a lawyer on import mt business dealings.
 Be chary of giving your card to strangers or letters of recommenda- lion to men. organizations or plans with which you are not fully con- vsrsant. You may be an innocent lid to . swindler.
 Study people.
 In this last connection, . Wis eonsin minister wrote:
 "Study men. particularly their eyes and their feet. A man may be tble to look you straight in the eye ls he lies: he may be able to man. tge his hands. but he will tend to exhibit nervousness in the way his eet behave"
 Another point was stressed by an Illinois preacher. Beware of the !atterer," he advises. "Time and gain I have had men appear in ny office, mention the names of everal ministers known to me. or raise a sermon I have preached in
 neighboring town. Then comes ne touch or the get-rich- quick roposition. or some scheme that i'll cost me or my church money"
 Only one minister of the hun- reds who answered the question aire was in favor Of punishing rocks; and according to Mir. Cash-
 an. he advocated the punishment nly as a means of protecting other
 inisters.
 Many were concerned more with le spiritual than the material re- .tion to a swindle. They voiced the
 ar that this constant swindling of
 teachers might make them "hard-
 oiled" or distrustful of their fellow
 en.
 "One Michigan minister advised
 s fellows to be hard-headed rather
 an hard-hearted, and believe