Year: 1871

celpt OF his purchase; and he still waits,
for the circular swindler could write
letters, but made it a rule never to reply
to any. Since the closing of the mails
against the business, the metropolitan


outlaw has still remained superior to fate


and his bucolic brother. The business be-
ing done by express, two methods are


adopted, the first being for the victim to
send his money with his order as before,


in which case he gets precisely what he


did in the mail days. But the more Sc


ductive and general way is to have the


order come unaccompanied by any money,
whereupon the "queer" is " forwarded @.
o. ID. by express, packed in small boxes


so as to defy detection" Every business


man can see without further explanation


how easily the fraud is managed. The box
is duly sent, and on this point the opera


tors fully deserve all their encomiums on


themselves for promptitude. When it


arrives at its destination the intending
! knave, who has already cast upa thousand


times the profits he is to secure by cheat


ing his friends and neighbors, is equally


prompt to demand it, and of course must


pay all charges, including the price of the


"queer," before delivery. Having obtained


his treasure, he steals off to a secret place


to examine it, having done which he finds


he is the possessor of a small and exceed


ingly fiimsy box filled with saw-dust and


little scraps of old iron, to give weight,


the whole thing worth upon a liberal cal


culaiion perhaps small fraction of cent.


The remainder of his natural life will


probably be spent in pouring forth silent


anathemas upon the knaves who have out


witted him. But he must take very good


care that his wrath is silent, for there


never comes moment when he can bleat


his sorrows in the public ear. He may be


as stupid dolt as ever fell prey to the


sharper, but yet has sense enough 10


known that his is only case of the bitter


very savagely bitten, and that so far as in


tention is concernd he is many degrees


more depraved than his city confederate


His mind was fully made up to do all in


his power to commit the meanest of all


crimes, by uttering counterfeit money;


whereas the city rascal had never intended


to do anything more or worse than swindle


the scoundrel who intended to commit


that mean offense. He knows further,


that for him to ask the return of his money


from the tempter is only to subject him


self to derision, for he can make no legal


demand, and these fellows have never been


known to make any restitution, except


upon the urgent solicitation of Sheriff
or Marshal. Therefore the poor bitten
rogue must nurse his anguish in secret
his money has gone to the dogs, and he
has only to mention the fact to throw his
reputation after it


An average of fifty of these circulars
are returned every day to Superintendent
kelso, as they had been for many months
to his predecessors in office They come |
from all parts of the Union, and in nearly |
every case the sender, supposing he is |
dealing with a fraud which is what it pur- |
ports to be, believes that he is giving the |
first clue to nest of counterfeiters which |
is invaluable to the authorities Every |
writer calls upon the Superintendent in |
the most positive terms to stop the villainy |
and punish the villains; some even going |
to the length of advising how they may
be discovered and entrapped by the law
Very many receive the assertions of the |
circulars as literal truth, and some are in
dignant thereat.


All of the letters returning circulars 90
al once to the waste basket at Mr.. KelsO's
feet, for the reason that none of them are
of the slightest use and tel him nothing
that he did not already know. In fact,
every intelligent police officer has long
known all about these swindlers, except
how to battle them. Their names and
haunts are matters of police record but
Kelso, like Kennedy and Jourdan before
him, is powerless to interfere with them.
They offer indeed to commit crime, but
really commit none except that of obtain-
ing money by trick and device; but no
one can afford to come forward and prove
it, so they are entirely safe. They abso-
lutely refuse to do business except by the
express, and therefore the extreme but ef-
fective method of placing policemen be-
fore their doors to warn away the unwary
cannot be adopted in their case, as it has
been in those of mock auctions, panel
houses, and places of similar peril. The
United States are equally powerless to in
terfere; for it is perfectly well known
these fellows have no counterfeit money,
and their arrest would only be time and
trouble thrown away There is no case
upon record where any of these knaves
were brought to justice


1t amazing that by so bold device as
this dozen men in the garrets Of New
York can swindle thousands all over the
but it is true. Let me hope that this plain
narration of perfectly well authenticated
facts will help to create q public senti-
ment which will compel every recipient of
these counterfeit circulars to promptly
cast them into the fire By the creation
Of this sentiment, and in no other way, can
this scandal be removed from the American
people, and these hundred of thousands of
dollars saved from these knaves.


Compared with this particular fraud the
circular swindles are annoyance rather
than dangers. OF late the most virulent
and the meanest of these smaller swindles
is that of 81. f. Williams 81 Co., sole
manufacturers of aluminium gold iewelry
in the United States. Office and show
ROOMS 561 Broadway" whose particular
variety is embodied in an advertisement
found in nearly all rural newspapers,
offering for $3 each their great eureka
aluminium gold watches, of which they
say: -- 49,.


The watch we guarantee to be the best and
cheapest timekeeper that is now in use In any part
Of the globe. The works are in double cases.
ladies' and gents size and are beautifully chased
The cases made of the metal now so widely
known in Europe as aluminium gold 1t has the
exact color Of gold lCkich dLlCayS retains 1t will
stand the test of the strongest acids; no one can
gold being one-fourth lighter. The wsrks are all
made by machinery, the same as the well-known
American watch. We pack the watch safely in
small box and send it by mail 10 any part OF the
United States on receipt of $3.50; fifty cents for
packing and postage A key is sent free with
each watch. Money should be sent by Post Ofice
money order or in a registered letter.


The victims of this knavery deserve
rather than censure To the
average uncultured intellect a good time
piece in cases as good as gold is a desira-
bic possibility at So, and in sending the
money to the swindlers who advertise
such articles they intend and do no wrong
to the community. Thousands do send
themoney, and either get nothing whatever
in return or a small toy watch which can be
bought anywhere for five cents. This fact
is so perfectly well known that in many
cases where the thing is sent by express
G. o. D., the express agents kindly tell the
consignee the true character of the pack
age, and advise its return to the shipper
Sometimes this sensible advice
is acted upon, but instances are not rare
where faith has triumphed over reason,
and the box taken and paid for, in spite of
the warning. If ]. F. Williams & Co. at.
tempted to do city trade upon the princi-
pie that governs their out-of-town busi-
ness they would find themselves in jail as
,f ho.- |