Show swindling the soldiers THE WATCH AND JEWELRY certificate BUSINESS 1 4 V from roat tho the N Y tribune Tei bune feb 27 J following fallowing fal lowing close upon alic shoil af f tile the gift enterprise there lias has 0 up 2 tin till s city and nd elsewhere mother another business which is 2 more impudent swindle and K wore more danzl ous jus fraud upon the public via ti an tile ormer it seems to be carried an fn y at the expel expense Sc or of the soldiers ind and it is fur for their benfit esp especially eci ally that we undertake to expose it the mangers of it appeal to the credulous by sensation advertisements i in n substance something like this WORTH OP OF WATCHES AND JEWELRY to be sold for one dollar dolla r C each ach without regard 0 ara to val value ue iid and ao not t to 1 bl e p paid 1 aid for r until you know what you ou alato get et A schedule of articles and prices follows allows embracing 0 gold t watches at silver watches biorn 15 tu to 20 rach each gold bracelets and chains cameo meol mosaic coral and eni emerald erald brooches V so diamond pins gold pens and numerous other articles valued at from 3 2 50 to 70 the advertisements say that hat the articles enumerated in the schedule will be sold for 1 each that certificates of ainee the articles are placed in in envelopes scaled sealed mixed and sent by mail as lis ordered without wit holit beg ard to choicer choice 0 that on the receipt of the ate certificate you will see what you yon can have and then it is at your option to bend and take the article or nit certificates 25 cents each five fur for 1 etc agents allowed ten cents on every certificate we have not copied any one advertisement tiso ti ment but compile the above from five which are before us which plo pio fess to be issued by different firms and which though varying 0 slightly are the same in in substance and of often tell in voids any number of such adjei tise merits can call be found in the illuk traced weeklies ce klies and nobody will have leave any difu difficulty culty in identifying then them what we have to gay applies to all of them alike they all watches and jewelry and some of them add to that the prize package 11 stationary business the tha value of which will appear hei cafter r the method of doing this business has been investigated with care and at C considerable onside rable expense by a public ci citizen I 1 and tile the facts have been put in our possession some of the statements we shall make we know of our own knowledge to be some efthem wo we take on the authority of f our jur informant for whose ver veracity acety we vouch and some of them the most and conclusive will appear by an official certificate the investigation was conducted as follows A letter was sent to each one of five se separate firms who advertise i in 11 the manner above set forth each letter contained an order for es of goods according accordia accor dim to the terms of the advertisement and c cadi ach 20 A copy of the letter and the names of tho the firms to which it was addressed and the answers which received from each of the five are before us we fake one answer is as a saw specimen I 1 ned and then state the aggregate 0 aad ak 0 all this answer ono one hundred and thirty certificates of which wo we copy one omitting names on the lefurn of 1 and this certificate with 15 cents in cash or postage stamps to pay for packing and postage we will solid send you a GOLD AT 5 there wore were 14 certificates like the ab above ove promising ng the of viii vai i ous articles at 4 each I 1 11 I 1 cei certificates at 5 38 at 4 11 17 at 7 1 7 at 8 I 1 at 10 and I 1 at in all on the face or of thein good rol for articles alti ai tides cles valued at biorn another urn firso we received a watch as pie junium and JOG certificates of similar furm to tile above representing articles valued at A third aft faim in sent a watch and certificates calling for articles marked from a fourth carne came a package 0 of jewelry invoiced v at 20 at wholesale prices flom the filth fifth packages of station deiy xv and 35 certificates articles of which tile the cah value is marked at in all there were received certificates for the ori originally gi nally invested by the beims of tai the e advertisement and of tile the letters and of the certificates thom themselves seLves it appeared appe a red that on return of these certificates and on tile the further payment of one dollar on oil each cad the applicant would be entitled to receive goods valued at 2153 in other voids for a total in vestment vest of adding 15 pee percent cent those these firms promised to return neaily deally four jimes times that oil the face of it is a swill swindle dle in tile the first place nothing is yet to returned for the money spent the customer has certificates which 1 are worthless woith less unless lie he chooses clio oses to invest moie money undoubtedly this is ono one source of tile the profits a man mail alio Is lias has icee ived wily only a lot ol 01 certify certificates for the money lie first sent becoming to chiow away any ally moie in the beconi place heie is no lottery no distribution of chances between blanks and but an all abao into undertaking by these firms to pa pay y to those who do deal al with them on oil ic tui n of the certificates four times the value of the muney money received that is hs what it amounts to stripped of all the delusive colbia re of the mont ment of course cours e such snell abu ay business cannot be honestly conducted alicie is fraud somewhere it would be quite sufficient in ill older to wain the public against it if the investigation had stopped here but lie who iad had it in ill charge having t satisfied himself him elf of its rascality co concluded to i make clean of it and to satisfy the public also beyond cavil so the demonstration proceeds having sent for certificates q worthless in themselves and not professing essing ti to be worth anything except by ful ther payment lie he now invested another to test their representative value A certificates were sent for redemption on those ot of the highest nominal value being bahig selected they presented at tale places of bus business incas of phoso firms tit the money was paid and a large number of articles were received kadi each certificate it will w ill be remembered c called it ailed for a certain article und and th the c dealer was vas bound to joliver deliver that article for a dollar the Tho articles now liow called for were gold band at 10 gold hunting watch a 1 15 gold vest chains at agold gold studs at 5 gold pona pens and silver extension cases at 01 4 g gold poll pen pencil and holder it at 5 and many other sir similar ilar articles all gold and silver those we re alia t tile the applicant was entitled to get lie ire did in fact receive pieces pieces or sets set S of jewelry and five watches tile aggregate reate r ea value of which was 11 we inspected those these articles it ayad was evident enough they not lot bortl what they were ae presented plesent ed tl bobs 0 b worth sumo some of th the e t gold p pens on S yia h a ii not a particle of gold in them and could cid not be written with at all som soma of the silver holders were scarcely washed over and so weak that tha on oil pressing the pen on the paper tho holder was ivas immediately split all tho pens and pencils of the cheapest workmanship so poor that they hav havo scarcely a market value the woich r on being wound up lost from gean seven to twenty minutes each in three thre alii hours the jewelry was of an eq equally u a fly w ol 01 li less description alt but was one means of aasc ascer r beyond question the value al of these articles and that means was adopted they were sent to the unita united states assay office in this city an oab or of the two or offices whose certificate or stamp on oil gold or silver is is goettlic gooTt go odthe lic world over they passed through that office by the usual pro cess melted and assayed tile the 1 ar articles weighing go CO ounces and t all sold by these five flims hi ins far goldt and silvery silver were iafe wo worth rth in the aggregate ate according acco iding to their representations five hundred and ninety nine abl dbl dop lars their actual value by bi I 1 tile the cel certificate odthe of the assay office now before us was nine dollars and sixty two cents 9 62 the certificate states the weight lit bo be boic melting at ounces after melting 0 51 45 ounces fineness weight of silver ounces value 5 34 fineness of the golds gold 1 value 7 31 deduct deductions inns for parting i coinage etc 3 00 net value it i ii si signed ned by goo W V edelman for the tr treasurer ca surer of the assay office tile suni sum of the whole statement is that for an actual cash investment of with five flims films according 0 to the terms of omir ants or of watches arid and jewelry to be sold for 1 L each without regal d to value alq and iii nos 1 to be paid for till you know what yon are arc to get there were alf articles of jewelry cry etc represented to fal be worth and actually worth in gold and silver 9 62 if according to a fa familiar I 1 filiar rule you double the valtie of the gold and silver so as to include q tile cost of workmanship then fur for tl the jw 6 paid 19 24 wore were received stationery packages receive received I 1 11 II which ate aie valued at 25 cents and to rc presented to bo be worth 1 we hava only to say that they coit contain tain tha cheapest sol soil f of paper etc and may probably at a liberal estimate bo be worth five or six cents each r tile circular and ancl advel ti of these firms firm cail contain tain the most positive 1 ve assurances of tho the value of oc their goo good d 81 and if the honesty of the business we vo carit cannot tot prolong this article by ex 11 t them thein in detail hut but we remark on ow point paint that if their to editors of well known journals are not like ill all the rest of the statements ft fraudulent andu lent it is id quite time these journals would should understand what sort of awin awl they are arc mado to endorse i continued to poin fourth th page and find fir rally dij W to say bay that this business is probably illegal statutes but that if it ander existing duider evanac illen lliam trie irieta 16 is is rao so managed as to mediate duty of the legislature Legisla tuie is to which will meet the case pa passa alss 1 I W law V the honest bi bu i roen men W who ho now the linds hands of this their advertisements arc fr from 0 gang A all I 1 I 1 pa parts r i 8 of oth th 0 c f I 1 n t ri f P probably r 0 b at ay many of the seemingly in dit different Terent firms are really one the they V all wo we are informed e door sd C 1 ar j tb tec s with the army lu in ono one instance at least cast the puo mar afar ha has abden been called daled a aff it a reps tapa taken to protect the soldiers in our armica similar vigilance ought ifo tZ be exercised |