THE CREDULOUS YANKEE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10963, 4 May 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE CREDULOUS YANKEE.

HOW THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IS SWINDLED.

Once upon time a man advertised that he would sell steel engravings of General George Washington, "reproduced from Government plates," at the very remarkable price of fivepence, and, m a spirit of gracious condescension, signified a Willingness to accept postage stamps m payment. Those who themselves of this 'latter convenience experienced the, pleasing sensation of liaving one of the five penny stamps which they forwarded him returned by the next mail. Clevejr? Decidedly; and the swindler reaped a fortune out of his shrewdness. '

I shall not attempt to detail the story of the miriing swindles that have''besmirched the none too fair name of America i promotion. . At the. present moiri.nt the American newspapers are packed with pages announcing potential Ll Dorado*. The recent discoveries of gold m the de^ serts of Arizona arid m Nevada have [resulted m a swarm of mining companies 1 , all of which purport to possess the most valuable Cikims m history. And not one of these mining companies Out of a hundred can prove that it. "claims are even being worked; can furnish evidence that ore is being taken from the earth or carried to the . smelters. It is incomprehensible that tlie American people, so boastful of tlieir common-sense, assurance, and caution, should potir.intp. the. tills of these financial Jack Shepherdfl and _ick Turpin. a stream of ; treastir.d savings that k. rolling into the'milliohs of pounds. 'Die present status of affairs is only comparable to the oil, crftze that illuminated the North American continent with, "its seductive glare dome h_l_;-do_-n years ago. '".!'.■'' ' RIVER OF PETROLEUM.

The towri of Beaumont, m Texas, was found to be "built over a subterranean fiver of petroleum: A few really genuine wells were sunk. The news was spread. Within a" month every available acre, of t land within a hundred miles of this township ,was . m .the liands of promoters. Enough "gushers" were advertised to Supply illuminating fuel for the whole .worfa m all, the ages to' come' ,' ;* K '-' ; Then for a while Mexican and South American plantations were tlie fashion. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, m the southern part of Mexico, was exploited as tlie most wonderful rubber district m th c world. Statistics setting forth the number of trees that oould be planted within an acre, the .lengjuk of . time it took for a tree to.bear ruhj^er, thef profit that was sure to be. realised ifrpmjß very rubbertree, occupied page alter page m the Press. For a year the stream ot gold . flowed rubberwards. The seamstresseis and the clerks,- .be farmers and the merchants saw before them, visions of fortunes .which would expand with the same capacity as the product m which they were interested. Enough land was > disposed, of to form a dozen Isthmuses of Tehuantepec. One New York , newspaper actually produced' evidence to show that one of the largest companies had sold plantations which, according to surveys, had to be located, under- fourteen feet of water I—a1 — a quarter of a mile from the solid ground. . _ QUACKS. ._■:•",.' .. I have described Uie, "promoters* ; now I turn to the lesser fry— the charlatans, the quacks = and the "tuppenny .robbere.;' First on the; list stands. -Dr Parker-^his degree was one m chiropody — wild ..adver* tised.his wonderful "Hindu lucky charm" at a price approximating- to four sliillings. The lucky charm cured, everything from housemaid's knee to J-be -evil eye. It. aver-; ted holocausts. It oheckmated disaster and combined aU. the telling .attributes of a wen and the hmd -foot of a rabbit gathered at midnight m a graveyard. <. | ■ You were simply vaccinated, against, fate the moment you had one m ybur pos. session. With tlie lucky charm you; could i invade the stock markets, and the systems of finance were as nothing before. your irresistible sweep-rail for' the insigniflcent I Sum. of the American equivalent of three j shillings and elevenpence-half penny. * The Post; Office Department.- was aware tliat the "doctor.- was -selling more • luck than the country could hold m a century, for his mailwas delivered m waggon -loads, ' but under. its limited powers tliere was •] no wiy m whicli they could prohibit the vs c of the mails until suddenly the legal adviser of the Postmaster-General discovered that Parker was .advertising the charms as being "made m. India," where he asserted each one was manufactured under a spell by a famed Hindu adept.- >

INDIA, MASS. India proved to be Lynn, Massachusetts, and a contract was discovered under the terms of which the oharms w?re> manufactured by hard-headed New England working-men at the sornewhati prbfitaible price- of a' penny each.. His mail; was immediately Stopped. His ' advertisementwere ordered out of tlie periodicals, and wiien the letters, which still poured m after liis announcements had ceased, were opened to discover that addresses of the senders; so tliat the Government cotold returri their money, it was found upon'totailing up the remittances' that -something like twenty thousand pounds was contained m the tag-end of the responses. "Doctor" * Parker flourished m Boston? There, too, flourished Frattcis TruthFrancis Truth was a healer— "a kerchief healer," he called himself. His was tlie wireless telegraphy of therapeutics, tie implored you to write to him and tell him your ttxmbles.- In his modesty he was willing to undertake tbe abolition of can. cer or consumption, of a broken back or a blinded eye. Provided yon had sufficient faith, Francis could arrange matters for you.; X

He sent you one of his medicinal handkercluefs (intrinsic Value twopence). The medicinal properties were imparted through a' prayer which he had uttered' over them. You wore tiie magic handkerchief over your afflicted spot, and at a certain hour some days ahead, having con* centrated your mind upon your ailment, 1 he would at that exact moment establish a direct current, with you by also concentrating his mind upon your misfortune. Result— cure. As a mere matter of incident, it may be mentioned that while Francis exacted 1 trust m himself, Iris faith did not extend to his patients.' One pound, m advance was the fee. '''':':'' "SHOW ME.'* • "Doctor" Weltmer lived m Missouri. Out m Missouri folks have a motto "Show ; me.'\ The doctor incorporated the Missouri motto unto his coat of arms.. Healso incorporated a university. He wanted to "show. you." He would teach you how to be a' magnetic healer. He agreed . with you that the mails were being utilised by far. tooSXnany unscrupulous rascals.. He himself had suffered through the had impression- which they had created. The"doct6r" gave you a correspondence course on the "laying on of the hands." He showed you how to develop a battery Within your, veins which would simply coruscate Tyith medicinal sparks. Once you became his alumnus you could go through the world grasping the. infirm, the halt, and the suffering by the hand and leave behind you healed men and women. Various estimates place the doctor's incom© from '. his -noble . enterprise at a figure differing between two hundred thousand and three hundred thousand pounds a year. - Ten cents (fivepence) was" the modest sum upon the payment of which another philanthropist undertook to show the suffering ' farmers of America a sure death for potato pests. Those who availed themselves of the bargain received a post-card upon which the following brief legend, was printed*: "Hit the insect on the head with an axe."

Perhaps you have heard of a sardonic individual who flourished for a while upon the proceeds of an advertisement which promised to disclose a sure path to profit m the mail order business upon receipt of a shilling. To the thousands of ambitious correspondents who remitted their silver hie returned a printed slip: "Advertise for fools, just as I did." . r \"-

The ingenious swindlers who twang their seductive "liayres" m the ears of the credulous Yankees have seen their best days. The future holds out little promise for them. Like the great auk and the mastodon, they are promised quick extinction. At least, so the newiyawakened virtue of Congress would have us think. But who sliall say ?