BEAUTY OFFER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23175, 22 October 1938, Page 15

BEAUTY OFFER

VIENNESE FORMULA IFRAUD CHARGES DENIED (BOOTMAKER BEFORE COURT TWO WOMEN GIVE EVIDENCE How an unemployed bootmaker allegedly posed as a Viannese beauty expert under the name of Reno Valetta and distributed hundreds of circulars around Auckland, offering a Viennese beauty treatment and preparation to tho women of New Zealand in addition to a prizo of up to £IOOO for a name for tho treatment, was revealed in a case before tho 'Police Court yesterday. Two charges of obtaining sums of 2s 6d from women, by falsely representing that on receipt of such money ho would forward a secret beauty preparation, wero denied by Clifford Nelson Doublo, aged ,37 (Mr. Selwyn Clarke). Detective-Sergeant McHugh said that accuse.l bad 1000 circulars printed and started out on a scheme of offering to the ladies of New Zealand a special secret preparation which was credited to givo a perfect skin, free from all blemishes, and a beautiful, healthy body. Accused distributed most of the circulars in the Remuera district, as a result of which ho received two replies containing postal notes for 2s 6d jn each case.

Expected a Preparation "Tho only thing sent out in return Iras a written copy of an article cut out of a newspaper," said Mr. Mc- ' Hugh. "The women concerned expected more than that; in fact, they expected a preparation that would have a desired effect as indicated in the circular. ]What was sent out will not make anyone beautiful." The magistrate, Mr. C. R. Orr JWalker: It ia all right as long as it does not make them otherwise, i Two women witnesses said that by the way tho circulars read they expected to receive a pot of faco cream or a bottle of lotion. A beauty preparation, they said, was usually a face

<cream or lotion. ' The Magistrate: Tho circular does not say what the preparation was to be. It might have been a milk bath. Ono witness said sho received nothing and counted her payment as a loss. She said she had no intention of complaining to the police. 11 Bloom ot Youth " Tho other witness said sho supplied the name "Bloom of Youth" for the preparation and received a letter in reply. "I take it you wanted -something to make yourself more beautiful than you are," said the magistrate to the second witness, and, when she replied in tho affirmative, he added: "That's impossible." The magistrate referred to the letter

pent to the witness, which read: — v "Beauty—first and foremost assume vou are beautiful and you will become it. Hold your head as though you wero a princess and you will be taken for •one. Talk as if you expected people " to listen, and they will. To appear a beautiful woman you must use your '.will power. "Mv skin is like a baby's—no spots or marks at all," the letter continued. "The secret of that is olive oil. I massage olive oil into every inch of my body once every day. This oil has C reserved my skin. That is why it is rantiful. If I' did not take care I would be a fat lady in ,no time, so night and morning I do five or six •exercises, based on ballet technique. "Diet!" the letter stated. "I eat very little meat, much salad, and ■drink the juice of five oranges everyday of my life. Another little beauty hint of my own is to rub in a little «au de Cologne. Finally, I have from ■eight to 10 hours' sleep always." Magistrate's Comment

The letter concluded: "The beautv aecrets of a famous Viennese dancer." The Magistrate: It is excellent adTice if that were all one expected. i After all, beauty is only skin deep. Detective W. Slater produced a statement made by accused that he clipped an article by a Viennese •dancer out of an English newspaper about two years ago. At the time he lad an idea of making an oifer to the , public of New' Zealand, but had no money to do so. It was only recently •that he obtained enough to get circulars printed, and he distributed about 700. Only two replies were addressed to the private postal box he engaged for the purpose. / There was •no one else connected ivith the scheme, the statement added. When sufficient funds became available, accused intended sending the replies to a friend in Australia, who was to act as the sole judge of the /laming competition. It was not his purpose to take the public down, but he proposed to retain 8 per cent of the amounts received for and to cover expensed. Submission by Defence Detective Slater produced the newspaper clipping, headed "Viennese Secrets," from which accused took ins alleged preparation. Witness said that accused had no beauty salon in Auckland, although the circular gave in* ' address as "Bene Valetta, Salon or Beauty, P.O. Box 1504, Auckland. Jt was in consequence of complaints made Tlo the police that a watch was kejit on the postal box. „ „ , Mr. Clarke, for the defence, submitted that it was a border-line case, and that the evidence did not disclose "the offence of. false pretence. Accused's representations were not proved false, he said. The tenor of the •whole circular tended to negative the limited moaning of the word preparation as far as it might refer to a pot of cream or a recipe of ingredients to l>e made up, because "preparation •was mentioned twice and "treatment four times. , The'magistrate suggested that the , offer of the £IOOO prize was only to fill in the circular, and that if a course of treatment had beeh stipulated there could have been no doubt about oc- . cused's intent. However, reference TTa.s made to both treatment and pre- '■ Jinration, and it was not established that accused had any preparation he . ' could forward iu return for payments Xeceived. . ... The magistrate reserved his decision.