Chapter IV: Preface (4)

DETECTIVE CLIFTON R. WOOLDRIDGE'S

_"Never-Fail" System_

THE ONLY SURE WAY TO BEAT:

TURF FRAUDS.

WILD CAT INSURANCE.

BOGUS SECURITIES, CONFIDENCE GAMES.

CITY-LOT SWINDLES.

HOME-BUYING SWINDLES.

DISHONEST DEBENTURE BOND COMPANIES.

FRAUDULENT PROMOTERS.

"SALTED" MINING AND OIL WELLS COMPANIES.

BUCKET SHOPS.

BLIND POOLS IN GRAIN AND STOCKS.

PANEL HOUSES.

BOGUS MAIL ORDER HOUSES.

POKER, FARO AND OTHER GAMBLING GAMES.

MATRIMONIAL BUREAUS.

COUNTERFEIT UNDERWRITERS.

FRAUDULENT BOOK CONCERNS.

DISHONEST COLLECTION AGENCIES.

ADULTERATED MEDICINE DEALERS.

WIRE TAPPERS.

FAKE BROKERS.

BOGUS CHARITIES.

SPURIOUS EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES.

SWINDLE PROMOTERS.

MUSHROOM BANKS.

CLAIRVOYANTS.

FORTUNE TELLERS.

PALMISTS.

$1,000 REWARD WILL BE PAID TO ANYONE WHO USES DETECTIVE CLIFTON R. WOOLDRIDGE'S NEVER-FAIL SYSTEM AND FAILS TO BEAT THE ABOVE SWINDLES.

DO NOT RISK YOUR MONEY WITHOUT HAVING FIRST CAREFULLY INVESTIGATED THE CHARACTER OF THE ENTERPRISE IN WHICH YOU ARE INVITED TO BECOME FINANCIALLY INTERESTED.

BE CONVINCED BEYOND ALL REASONABLE DOUBT THAT THE MEN CONNECTED WITH THE ENTERPRISE ARE ABOVE SUSPICION.

IF THEIR PROBITY, INTEGRITY OR RELIABILITY CAN NOT BE ESTABLISHED BY PAST TRANSACTIONS IT IS CERTAIN THEIR HONESTY WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED BY FUTURE DEALINGS.

DO NOT INVEST IN ANY COMPANY, CORPORATION, OR PRIVATE CONCERN UNTIL THE MANAGEMENT HAS FURNISHED INDISPUTABLE PROOF OF ITS ABILITY TO FULFILL EVERY PROMISE.

LEAVE SPECULATION TO THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD TO LOSE.

LARGE GAINS ON SMALL INVESTMENTS USUALLY EXIST ONLY IN THE IMAGINATION OF GULLIBLE INVESTORS AND UNSCRUPULOUS PROMOTERS.

LARGE RISKS INCUR LARGE LOSSES.

NO MAN WILL "LET YOU INTO A GOOD THING;" HE WILL KEEP IT FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FRIENDS.

PROMOTERS ARE NOT IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY FOR YOU, BUT "OUT OF YOU."

CONTENT YOURSELF WITH LEGITIMATE INVESTMENTS AND SMALL BUT SAFE RETURNS.

RATHER THAN SEEK GREAT PROFITS WITHOUT TOIL STRIVE FOR THE DESERVED FRUITS OF INDUSTRY.

NO MAN WILL GIVE YOU A DOLLAR FOR FIFTY CENTS--UNLESS THE DOLLAR IS COUNTERFEIT.

DO NOT PAY OUT YOUR OWN GOOD MONEY FOR ANOTHER MAN'S BOGUS DOLLARS.

IF THE PROMOTER COULD DO ONE-HALF OF WHAT HE CLAIMS, HE WOULD NOT NEED YOUR MONEY, BUT SOON WOULD BE RICH BEYOND THE DREAMS OF AVARICE.

DO NOT INVEST YOUR HARD-WON SAVINGS IN VANISHING AIR CASTLES.

PROMISES WHICH PROCEED FROM A DESIRE TO GET YOUR MONEY ALWAYS MERIT SUSPICION. SUBJECT THEM TO THE MOST CAREFUL AND RIGID EXAMINATION.

ADOPT THE BANKER'S RULE THAT: "ALL MEN SHOULD BE REGARDED AS DISHONEST UNTIL THEIR HONESTY IS PROVED," RATHER THAN THE SUCKER'S THEORY THAT "ALL MEN ARE HONEST."

THE BANKER WILL END LIFE POSSESSED OF WEALTH WHILE THE CREDULOUS OPTIMIST WHOSE FAITH IS UNBOUNDED WILL WIND UP HIS DAYS "A POORER BUT WISER MAN."

WHEN IN DOUBT DO NOTHING.

IF A PROMOTER CAN NOT DISPEL YOUR DOUBTS HE IS NOT WORTHY OF YOUR CONFIDENCE.

DO NOT FOLLOW SIREN CHANCE. SHE WILL LEAD YOU INTO THE ABYSS OF DESPAIR.

BEWARE OF THE DICE; THERE IS BUT ONE GOOD THROW WITH THEM--THROW THEM AWAY. THEY WERE USED TO CAST LOTS FOR THE BLOOD-STAINED GARMENTS OF JESUS CHRIST; THEY ARE USED TO GAMBLE AWAY THE HONOR OF MEN.

PLAY NOTHING, INVEST IN NOTHING, BUY NOTHING, TRUST NO MAN OR WOMAN UNTIL YOU HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THE ENTERPRISE IS LEGITIMATE BEYOND QUESTION.

AVOID THE MISTAKE OF THAT GREATEST FOOL OF ALL FOOLS, THE MAN WHO THINKS HE IS TOO SMART TO BE FOOLED.

YOU ARE NOT SHREWD ENOUGH TO BEAT ANY MAN AT HIS OWN GAME; HE HAS STUDIED ITS MANIPULATIONS; YOU ARE A NOVICE.

DON'T LET ANYONE STAMPEDE YOU INTO DOING ANYTHING. THE "RUSH" ACT IS A FAVORITE TRICK OF GRAFTERS, FROM THE CHEAP CADGER WHO BORROWS SMALL CHANGE TO THE INVESTMENT BROKER WHO OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RISK A FORTUNE IN "THE CHANCE OF A LIFE-TIME" THAT MUST BE SNAPPED UP IMMEDIATELY OR LOST FOREVER.

WHEN A MAN TRIES TO HURRY YOU INTO SPENDING YOUR MONEY PUT IT BACK IN YOUR POCKET AND KEEP YOUR HAND ON IT.

USE CAUTION, REASON AND COMMON SENSE.

DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU. MOST OTHERS WILL "DO" YOU IF YOU GIVE THEM A CHANCE.

IF YOU ARE MARKED AS ONE OF THE GEESE READY FOR PLUCKING BY GET-RICH-QUICK SWINDLERS THEY WILL SEND YOU LITERATURE THROUGH THE MAILS. SAVE EVERY CIRCULAR, LETTER OR OTHER COMMUNICATION TOGETHER WITH THE ENVELOPES AND SEND THEM TO THE POSTOFFICE INSPECTOR IN THE TOWN FROM WHICH THEY WERE SENT.

BE SURE TO SEND THE ENVELOPES WITH THE LITERATURE AS THE COMMUNICATIONS CANNOT BE ADMITTED AS EVIDENCE UNLESS THE ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OR ENVELOPES IN WHICH THEY WERE MAILED ARE OFFERED WITH THEM. THE POSTMASTER WILL INSTRUCT HOW TO FORWARD THE COMPLAINT.

PROSECUTION OF THE SWINDLERS WILL SURELY FOLLOW.

IF YOU ARE IN DOUBT ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THE CONCERN WHICH INVITES YOU TO INVEST YOUR MONEY, CONSULT A LAWYER, BANKER OR REPUTABLE COMMERCIAL AGENCY.

Intending investors should remember that:

"SURE TIPS" are sure bait for sure fools.

When you hear stocks have gone up and men who bought them cheap have sold them at high prices and gained fortunes suspect your informant. If he seeks to induce you to invest be assured he is a GET-RICH-QUICK grafter.

Many swindlers wear the garb of respectability; they even cloak their rascality with piety. Many men accepted by the world as honorable members of society spend their lives living on the credulity of the ignorant, and when they die go to the grave followed by hordes of dupes who mourn their end.

These swindlers await you at every turn; on the race-track; in the saloon; with the poker deck and the ivory dice; with watered stock and fraudulent bonds; with prayers on their lips and designs in their minds to defraud you.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN HONEST GAMBLER.

Every gambling game is a dishonest scheme. You seek to get the other man's money without giving him anything in return.

You are not entitled to one penny unless you give value in return. If you are in business you know that every promissory note, to be valid, must bear on its face two words, "value received."

INDUSTRY, ENERGY, THRIFT! These are the dice that win. The lesson is hard to learn for the young.

He has anxious days and feverish nights who risks at chance what should be devoted to the nobler ends of life; who "makes throws" on the green cloth; who watches the snake-like tape squirm out of the ticker; or gazes at a bunch of horses running around a ring.

GIVE IT ALL UP AND ADOPT HONEST MEANS OF PROCURING WEALTH!

The Best Rules for Health, Happiness and Success.

THEY ARE WORTH THE ATTENTION AND THOUGHT OF ALL READERS.

1. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.

3. Never spend your money before you have earned it.

4. Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap.

5. Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.

6. We seldom repent of eating too little.

7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.

8. How much pain the evils have cost us that have never
happened.

9. Take things always by the smooth handle.

10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry,
count a hundred.

11. Watch the small things.

12. Laziness is a vice--fight it.

13. Do your honest best--it pays.

14. Without self-respect you cannot gain respect.

15. Trickery's triumph is fleeting.

16. Remember that opportunity waits only on worth.

17. Cultivate love, loyalty and respect for
work--especially your own work.

18. It is not enough to be honest and lazy.

19. Try to keep your mind clean--evil and success will not
mix.

20. If responsibility confronts you, seize it. Do not throw
it aside--responsibility represents opportunity.

Some of these sayings will strike you as very old and lacking in novelty. But, old as these rules are, human beings have not yet learned to follow them. And they won't learn for many a long year.

We shall not moralize about them all today, only one or two we want to emphasize.

"Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly."

If you work willingly, if you make yourself realize that willing effort is easy, AND THE ONLY KIND THAT MAKES YOU GROW AND SUCCEED, you will solve one of your big working problems.

Did you ever see a small boy walking ahead of a band, with the music playing?

And did you ever see the same small boy walking half the distance to get a newspaper for his father? Walking with the band rests him; it doesn't tire him at all, BECAUSE HE DOES IT WILLINGLY. And the other kind of walking takes the very heart out of him and makes him almost too tired to eat his dinner.

It is exactly that way with all the work we do in this world. When you do things willingly, with the heart and the nerves and the brain acting with one another cheerfully, work is easy AND SUCCESS FOLLOWS.

A willing FOOL may lag behind an unwilling man of intelligence. But even a willing fool is happier in the end than an unwilling one, and, all things being even, the employe working WILLINGLY will cease being an employe and have others working for him sooner than the other man.

PRIDE COSTS MORE THAN HUNGER, THIRST AND COLD.

This applies to all kinds of foolish vanity. It applies to the young man who never does anything, BECAUSE HE IS TOO PROUD TO DO WHAT HE HAS THE CHANCE TO DO.

It applies to men and women who squander on dress and show the money that they need for more serious purposes.

It applies to those that in old age have no money saved up, BECAUSE PRIDE SPENT THEIR MONEY AS FAST AS THEY GOT IT.

The pride that keeps men honest, the pride that makes men truthful, never kept a man back or hurt him.

The bad kind of pride is the pride which can be described as "the coward's pride." Men are foolishly and cowardly proud BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID OF WHAT OTHER MEN WILL THINK. Money that they cannot afford they spend helping other men to drink too much, BECAUSE THEY ARE ASHAMED TO BE THOUGHT STINGY OR MEAN.

Men squander in keeping up appearances money that should be saved for another day, for a good business opportunity, because they are too cowardly to be guided by their own judgment, and ignore what others may THINK about them.

Self-respect is one thing; foolish pride, vanity, moral cowardice, are very different. Get rid of them.

All the advice from these 20 rules is good advice. The man who can keep his temper while he thinks--whether he count ten or a million--is a lucky man.

A man in a rage is a man whose BRAIN IS NO LONGER WORKING. And the man whose brain isn't working is at the mercy of the man whose brain IS working.

Worry about the FUTURE troubles is a curse with many men. It prevents their working well TODAY.

Overeating, and especially eating at the wrong time, is a great evil in this country. If men would learn to eat heartily only when their day's work is done, WHEN THEIR MINDS MUST NO LONGER BE CONCENTRATED, THEY WILL SAVE THEIR STOMACHS AND ACCOMPLISH TWICE THE AMOUNT OF WORK IN THEIR LIVES.

Read these rules over, and moralize on them for yourselves and for your children.

COINING CUPID'S WILES.

How Matrimonial Agencies Prey on the Public--Their
Degeneration Into the Worst Forms of Crime.

$1,000,000 Secured by These Get-Rich-Quick Schemers
Discovered by Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge, Chicago's
Famous Police Detective.

125 matrimonial agencies in Chicago raided and closed in
the last five years.

4,500,000 matrimonial letters seized and destroyed.

1,500,000 matrimonial agencies' stock letters seized and
destroyed.

1,400,000 matrimonial stock photographs seized and
destroyed.

500,000 photographs sent to the matrimonial agencies by
men and women who were seeking their affinities seized and
destroyed.

40 wagon loads of matrimonial literature seized and
destroyed.

One of the most insidious forms of crime is the Matrimonial Agency. Seemingly harmless, or at most merely foolish, is the Matrimonial Agency at its inception.

But step by step within the past few years we have seen the Matrimonial Agency turned into a volcano belching forth fraud, swindling, bigamy, desertion, and finally ghastly wholesale murder.

We have seen the Matrimonial Agency sweep the whole range of the world of crime from the petty thieving of a Carson to the almost unbelievable horrors of the Gunness Farm.

"He Does Not See All the Rocks Ahead When He Brings Two Young People Together"--Beatrice Fairfax.]

And this monster is hydra-headed. Stamp it out in one place and it immediately reappears in another. Send a "manager" to prison once, twice, ten times, and the minute the prison doors are open he is back at the old stand doing business.

Something of the tremendous efforts being put forth to stamp out this evil may be gained from the headlines of this story, where the strenuous work of Detective Wooldridge of Chicago is summarized.

Chicago has been and is today infested by a formidable community of matrimonial agencies who invade all ranks of life. They promote many specious schemes to lure the elusive dollar from the pockets of unwary victims. These operatives are sharp, smooth and unscrupulous--the most dangerous of criminal perverts.

Were the census enumerators of the United States to compile a list of the "sucker" public the gullible ones would aggregate tens of millions. There is not a township in this great nation that does not contain its portion of confiding persons who are ready to believe anything, from the rankest catch-penny advertisement to a fallacy in theological dogma.

They are willing to open up their hearts to unknown matrimonially inclined correspondents; to accept as gospel the incredible statements of impostors and to pay out money gained by hard toil for something which the reason of a child should tell them it is beyond the power of man to provide.

They are easy prey alike to religious and political impostors and unscrupulous adventurers. Investigations for years past into the innermost secrets of swindlers, and the observations incidental to official experience disclosing how victims are drawn into the net of the grafter, impel the belief that the faith of many persons passes beyond the bounds of credulity into the domain of imbecility.

Men and women who are engaged in promoting matrimonial agencies are guilty of crime. It is opposed to the fundamental principles of society. Such a practice should under no circumstances be tolerated. It is inconsistent with the highest ideals of what should constitute the proper marriage relations.

HUMAN DERELICTS ARE DUPES.

Human derelicts of a low mental caliber are the dupes of these matrimonial agencies. Few people know that such schemes as these are carried out. Few know that advertisements by men of wealth, women of culture and pretty widows who seek matrimonial alliances are merely means by which scoundrels get a revenue.

MATRIMONIAL AGENTS' METHODS.

To describe adequately the technicalities of the marriage agencies and bureau swindlers' methods would be impossible without presenting actual copies of documents necessary to the system. Early in the investigations the discovery was made that the scores of matrimonial agencies, "introduction bureaux" and "marriage clubs" were using practically the same literature. Few departed from the stereotyped plan for "pulling the suckers on." For the most part the prospectuses and "follow-up" letters were identical.

As often happened, however, when a victim was "landed right" and ventured to Chicago from his distant rural retreat prepared to carry out in earnest the game that had been worked upon him in a spirit of mercenary recklessness, the methods of handling him were varied in respect to both finesse and effectiveness.

Any person familiar with the uses of the typewriter easily could have discovered that the "personal" letters received from time to time were nothing more than circulars printed by the thousands. So vast was the number of the gullible that seldom, if ever, was an actual, bona fide letter sent in reply to those from the victims.

Space was left at the top of the stock letters for the insertion of the name of the person to whom it was sent. In their haste the swindlers often begrudged the time necessary to change the "Dear Sir" to "Dear Miss" or "Dear Madam" when a woman was addressed on stationery intended for male clients.

NO TRUST HERE.

The general uniformity of the literature was at first thought by me to indicate that the matrimonial agencies were banded together in a gigantic trust. But later I learned that as they increased in number the newcomers exhibited conscienceless audacity in copying the forms used by their predecessors. It was also found in some cases several matrimonial agencies were operated from one address and one or two men, or a man and his wife would represent half a dozen concerns by changing names and locations every thirty or sixty days. Because of these facts and the added fact that whoever compiled the original forms from which the others copied, realized, he was in an illegitimate business, the plagiarists were never prosecuted. Thus the buncombe administered to the suckers became uniform in phraseology.

If a person desired to make assurance doubly sure for gaining wealth and marital bliss and he applied to several agencies at the same time, the same mail would bring him letters from each matrimonial agency with which he communicated, worded identically. They would be mimeograph copies, and the only difference in their appearance would be in the printed heading indicating the name of the agency. The name of the recipient would often be written at the top in ink different in color from the body of the letter.

WORKING THE DOUBLE CROSS.

The usual beginning is a small subscription fee paid for a "matrimonial" paper. This paper contains alleged descriptions of men and women, principally the latter, who are claimed by the publisher to be seeking wives or husbands through the matrimonial agency. The subscriber who becomes interested in any of the descriptions is made to pay a fee for more detailed information and alleged record of the financial circumstances of the person. There is sometimes an additional fee for a photograph. This picture may or may not be one of the person described, but that matters little. Almost any old photograph will serve the purpose. In all the raids made on matrimonial agencies collections of photographs have been found.

That tens of thousands of otherwise intelligent men and women should either entrust pictures of themselves to an agency by which it is to be sent out to unknown persons, or should even begin such negotiations as those carried on through the matrimonial agency, is incomprehensible.

The money derived in the aggregate from subscriptions to the matrimonial paper, the fees for particulars and those for photographs and miscellaneous "services" amount to large sums. With many of the agencies the services stop at this point, but many others undertake personal introductions of lonesome maids and widows to the invariably "honest and affectionate" bachelors and widowers, and when this is done there are other fees, depending altogether on how much the victims appear to be willing to stand.

A large number have been found and suppressed in which there was but one lonesome maid or widow and one honest and affectionate bachelor or widower, the former being the woman accomplice of the manager of the agency and the latter the manager himself. They answer love-lorn correspondents of both sexes and select for victims those believed to have the most money. If the assistant to the manager is posing as the possible bride in the case the wife hunter must make satisfactory settlements with the manager for conducting the negotiations, and this amount, with that which the accomplice is able to secure from the victim, amounts often to a considerable sum. After the victim is separated from his money something happens to prevent the happy conclusion of the marriage negotiations.

TWO WELL-DEFINED FORMS.

There are two well-defined forms of the "matrimonial agent." The one is the man who openly runs an agency, who advertises "golden-haired young ladies, worth half a million dollars," "blue-eyed widows of languishing temperaments" and "wealthy farmers." It is through this class of "bureau" that the great crimes of the matrimonial business have been engineered. Hoch, Mrs. Gunness, Holmes and other arch-criminals made good use of this type.

The other type is just the plain swindler. The man who works along the secondary lines, as they may be called, would scorn to be a matrimonial agent. He is either a reverend gentleman of the cloth, a minister to whom some languishing widow is looking for spiritual direction, and he thinks that she "needs she should get married," to quote the East Side phraseology; or he is a lawyer who has a wealthy client, who, not being a business woman, is incapable of running her own affairs, and he again thinks of marriage as a solution; or, again, he is "an employment agency." This secondary type is generally a cheap sort, grafting on the gullible for five or ten dollars, or even as high as $100.

CONCRETE EXAMPLES.

TYPE NO. 1.

September 8, 1905, John H. Harris, 168 Hamlin avenue, editor and publisher of The Pilot, a marriage agency paper, and manager of a cheap mail order house, was raided and arrested by Detective Wooldridge.

Among the letters seized were complaints from his patrons. They received no returns for money paid him, and averred his paper was being used to blackmail men and women. Complaints were also made that many of the names which appeared in the paper were not authorized, and other names attached to the order were forgeries.

The following is the copy of a letter dated September 1, 1906, and is only one among hundreds of others sent out by the thousands by Harris. Many more thousands were sent through the mail to his sub-agents, who worked on a commission. This agent employed other agents, who started an endless chain by copying the letter and having the friends do likewise.

Chicago. Ill., Sept. 1, 1905.

Dear Sir:

We have a very recent application from a brown-eyed widow
of 41, medium size, musical, has no children. She informs
us that she has recently come into possession of a fortune
of over FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, and that she wishes
to marry an honest, affectionate gentleman. We also have
a recent application from a pretty, blue-eyed lady of 20,
who estimates her present means at FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS,
and her inheritance at twenty thousand dollars. Her form is
graceful, her education good, her disposition gentle and
she desires a steady, honest husband. We believe she would
start her husband in business. And to accommodate those
ladies and quickly find a husband for them we make the
following SPECIAL OFFER:

Fill out the coupon at the bottom, and send it to us with
one dollar (and six postage stamps) and enclose a sealed
and stamped letter to either or both of the ladies referred
to above. We will immediately mail your letter to the lady
or ladies, and place your name on our books, and send you a
certificate of membership for six months, and send you the
full names and addresses of the handsome widow of means,
and the handsome blue-eyed maiden of means, and also send
you a list of names and addresses of other ladies of means
and otherwise. And until you are married, or until the
end of six months, we will, on or about the first of each
month, mail you a list of descriptions, names and addresses
of ladies of means and otherwise, without application from
you or any expense to you. We have good reason to believe
that either of the ladies mentioned above would make you a
good wife, but if they do not meet your approval you can
select one who will from the stream of ladies of means
and otherwise who are constantly requesting us to secure
husbands for them, which enables us to introduce you to
those whom you would be pleased to meet with a view to
marriage.

Faithfully yours,
JOHN H. HARRIS.
_Pub. of The Pilot._

JOHN H. HARRIS,
Chicago, Ill.

Dear Sir:

I herewith enclose $1.12 as full payment on the above offer.

Name---- Postoffice----

Street, or Box No---- State----

United States Inspector of Mails at Chicago Postoffice R. W. McAfee compelled John H. Harris to furnish him with the names and addresses of the two women heiresses who were worth $40,000 and $500,000, respectively, who were just dying for the want of a good, kind husband to spend their money for them, and were seeking marriage through his paper and matrimonial agency.

Harris gave the name of Mrs. H. R. Adams, at Huntington, Md., as the $40,000 woman and Jennie Ziehler, Lawrence, Mass., as the $500,000 woman. Upon investigation it was found that neither of the women was worth a dollar. The $500,000 woman was in the insane asylum.

This letter, together with The Pilot, marriage paper and its printed advertisements, was plainly intended to draw the unwary and deprive the ignorant of their savings.

John H. Harris then appealed to ex-Mayor Edward F. Dunne of Chicago, under the alias of A. Ingird, taxpayer, citizen and reputable business man, to have Detective Wooldridge stopped from further interfering with him or his business. Men who operate these frauds pretend to be honest and high-minded; by constant practice of their wiles upon others they develop self-deception and come to believe in their own honesty to such an extent that when questioned they assume a good counterfeit of honest indignation.

Mayor Dunne upon investigation learned the large mass of evidence gathered, and ordered the investigation to go forward, which, resulted in the arrest and holding over of John H. Harris to the Grand Jury.

COMMITS SUICIDE.

These complaints and evidence were turned over to Colonel James Stuart, Chief Inspector of the Mails at the Chicago Postoffice, for further investigation. A fraud order was requested. On August 18, 1907, Mr. Harris committed suicide by blowing out his brains at 168 N. Hamlin avenue, Chicago, Illinois, after the mask had been pulled off and his methods exposed.

One is unable to state whether John H. Harris is opening a mail order house, paper and marriage agency in the other world. When he left he did not leave word where he would make his next stop, but if he went to the other world, we are not informed that wireless telegraph or balloon companies have as yet perfected the lines of transportation or communication.

Harris is a fairly representative and concrete expression of the regulation matrimonial agent. It was through such agencies as his that the great crimes eventually were pulled off.

SECONDARY TYPES.

But in the following letters we have an excellent example of the second type, the little grafter who wants anything you can give, from $5 to $100. From the text of the letters it will be observed that this man was operating as a minister, a lawyer and an employment agency at one and the same time, as the letters are all from one source.

In the case of the lawyer this scoundrel was trading upon the name of Edward H. Morris, one of the foremost colored attorneys of the United States, a man universally respected and admired by men in all walks of life. When the fact of this trading on his name was brought to the real attorney's attention he was furious, and he cheerfully gave all the assistance in his power to Detective Wooldridge.

This smooth one was afterward arrested in New Orleans, convicted and sent to prison for a term.

Here follows the text of the letters:

MATRIMONIAL AGENCIES' STOCK LETTERS UNDER THE GUISE OF MINISTRY.

REV. JOSEPH SPENCER,
80 Madison Street.
Manager of American Book Concern.
Dealer in Religious Books.

Chicago, Ill., July 26, 1905.

MR. O. W. ZINK,
Marshall, Mo.

Dear Sir:

For many years I have been a MINISTER of the GOSPEL and
during that time I have not only performed hundreds of
marriages, but have arranged many, and there are at the
present time among my acquaintances some half dozen wealthy
ladies, ranging in age from twenty to forty or fifty years,
one of whom is the handsome widow whose photo I enclose
herewith.

She is worth, in actual cash and negotiable securities,
fully $50,000, inherited from her worthy husband, who
departed this life a year ago and, as she is without
friends, relatives or children, her physician, a friend of
mine, has on account of her utter loneliness advised her
to marry, believing that marriage and change of scene will
prove for her a blessing in disguise, and naturally she has
turned to me, her spiritual adviser, in whom she has the
utmost confidence. I have several times talked the matter
over with her, and, knowing that she is very much averse
to advertising, I have undertaken to introduce to her some
gentleman who would make her a good husband, and to arrange
a marriage for her.

As her physician thinks it advisable for her to reside
elsewhere than Chicago, I have been somewhat perplexed as
to how to secure for her a suitable introduction and in my
dilemma consulted a matrimonial agency and, after several
conferences with them, I have decided to submit for your
kind consideration my proposition and manner of procedure.
I have studied the matter carefully, have gone thoroughly
into your description and instructions as filed with the
agency of which you are a member, and in my mind there is
not the slightest doubt as to you two proving mutually
suitable to each other. Of course, you cannot form the
proper idea of her from the small photo enclosed, but in
age, appearance, circumstances, etc., she is just what you
have been seeking in a wife.

She is in every respect a thoroughly good woman, unusually
bright and intelligent, but knows nothing of business, and
is in absolute need of a husband to look after her affairs,
but, TO BE CANDID WITH YOU, I am getting along in years,
and have a large family to support and as I only arrange
a few marriages at intervals, I must necessarily have
compensation adequate to the service I render.

Now, I can, by recommending you personally, cause her to
enter into a correspondence with you that will undoubtedly
lead to your marriage, if you are still desirous of such
a marriage, as I presume you are, from the fact that you
are registered with a matrimonial agency. I will, for the
consideration of $100, introduce you to her by letter and
after you have exchanged three or four letters, will have
you visit her at her expense, as you may mutually agree, if
you will follow my simple instructions.

I am not making you this proposition on the spur of the
moment, for I have spent much time and thought before
deciding to write you, and all I ask is that, AS AN
EVIDENCE OF YOUR GOOD FAITH and to cover the immediate
expense necessary thereto on my part (such as asking her
to dinner with me a few times in order that I may during
the good cheer that abounds at such times dwell at length
upon the matter without any unnecessary delay), that you
enclose me immediately upon receipt of this letter BANK
DRAFT, REGISTERED LETTER, or EXPRESS MONEY ORDER, for $10;
the balance, $90, you need not pay me until after you have
married her and assumed the management of her affairs.
Upon receipt of this small amount, $10, I will absolutely
guarantee your marriage to her within sixty days and, if
before that time you should feel that you do not care to
pursue the matter to a conclusion, I will positively refund
your money upon my honor as a MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL.

My standing in my profession is such that I could not do
otherwise and, as I have stated before, there are several
ladies to whom I could introduce you, now that I have
really taken the matter up with you, but I consider you two
really suited to each other, so will not go into further
particulars. Trusting to hear from you AT THE VERY EARLIEST
POSSIBLE MOMENT, I am, with assurance of my regards,

Very respectfully,

WANTED A RICH HUSBAND.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
July 15, 1905.

REV. JOSEPH SPENCER,
80 Madison Street,
Chicago, Ill.

Dear Sir:

You asked me in your letter to give you a description of
the man that I would like to become acquainted with. I wish
him to be as tall as I am, to have dark hair and a very
good disposition. I would like him to be rich. His age to
be about 45 years, also have a good education. I want him
to be a temperate man, and to have a nice appearance, one
who is lovely at home, and does not care for society and
likes music. I do not care what his occupation is if he is
honest.

Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain

Yours truly,
MISS VERNIE ADAMS.

Oshkosh, Wis., July 20, 1905.

REV. JOSEPH SPENCER,
Chicago, Illinois.

Dear Sir:

You asked me in your letter to give you a description of
myself, which I take pleasure in doing: I am a young man 26
years of age, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weigh 140 pounds; blue
eyes, red hair; I am strictly temperate, do not gamble;
kind disposition, a farm hand; have no means; income $15
per month.

I would be delighted to make the acquaintance of several of
your prospective rich women who are seeking a husband. Send
me a list of those who are worth from $50,000 to $75,000,
also their photographs, whereby I can make a selection, and
I will send you your fee of $5. I remain,

Sincerely yours,
THOMAS FLINN.

MATRIMONIAL AGENCY UNDER THE GUISE OF AN ATTORNEY-AT-LAW.

EDWARD MORRIS,
Attorney-at-Law.
82 Madison Street.
Trusts and Estates a Specialty.

Chicago, Ill., Jan. 4, 1905.

MR. GEO. FERLIN,
Los Angeles, Cal.

Dear Sir:

I have during my professional career arranged many
marriages for ladies of means, and at the present time
have among my clients some ten or twelve wealthy ladies,
ranging in age from twenty-five to fifty years, desirous of
marriage, one of whom is the charming widow whose likeness
I herewith enclose.

She is worth $60,000 ($25,000 in ready cash, the balance
in high-class tangible property inherited from her mother,
recently deceased). She is alone and childless and her
physician, on account of her bereavement, has recommended
a marriage and change of scene, and in her dilemma she has
consulted me, her legal adviser, and I, in turn, without
her knowledge, appealed to a matrimonial agency with which
I have for several years had business relations in a
professional way.

Out of the several names submitted to me I have, after much
thought and deliberation, selected yours, and I beg that
you will consider carefully my proposition and the fact
that I am not in business for my health, but for revenue,
together with a desire to please my clients and to give
them value received.

This lady, while unusually bright and intelligent, knows
little of the ways of the world, and nothing of business,
and, to be candid with you, needs a husband to manage her
estates, and I can, by recommending you personally, cause
her, through me as her attorney, to open negotiations with
you for a marriage; so if you desire a wealthy wife, as I
presume you do from the fact that you are registered with a
matrimonial agency, I will, for the consideration of $100
introduce you to her, have you visit her at her expense, as
you may mutually agree, and will absolutely guarantee your
marriage to her within sixty days, if you will follow my
instructions to the letter.

All that I ask is, as an evidence of your good faith and to
cover the immediate clerical expenses necessary thereto,
you enclose me immediately upon receipt of this letter,
BANK DRAFT OR MONEY ORDER for $10, the balance ($90) to be
paid after marriage, and when I have caused her to place in
your hands, or under your control, a goodly portion of her
worldly possessions.

Now, if you wish to accept my proposition, enclose me
immediately the small retaining fee ($10) and promise me
that you will follow carefully my instructions; otherwise
do not write me, as I positively will not enter into
further correspondence until you have engaged me as your
attorney upon the lines I have laid down.

If before the end of sixty days you feel that you do not
care to pursue the matter to a conclusion I will refund
your money. My standing as an attorney is ample evidence
that I will faithfully carry out my contract. Remember that
I have among my clients, as I have stated before, ten or
twelve wealthy ladies to my certain knowledge desirous of
marriage.

Awaiting your immediate reply, I am

Sincerely and professionally yours,

EDWARD MORRIS.

EDWARD MORRIS, Attorney-at-Law.

Chicago. Ill., Jan. 11, 1905.

MR. GEO. FERLIN.
Los Angeles, Cal.

Dear Sir:

Your letter in reply to mine received, and I will say,
that as a leading attorney, and a prominent member of the
bar, I could not act for you until you have first retained
me as your attorney in this matter, and sent me the small
retaining fee of $10, as requested.

AWFUL CONSTERNATION AT PIKES CROSSING! DIRECTORY GOWN IN TOWN. BY JIMMINEDDY!!].

Now, my dear sir, if you really mean business and really
want to marry the charming and wealthy young widow in
question, I see no earthly reason why you should hesitate
for a single instant to retain my services in connection
with this matter. You may give me good references, and I
can give you the same, but that has no bearing on the case
whatever. I cannot, as stated, do any business with you
until you first enclose me this small retaining fee, as I
must be in a position to truthfully state that you are my
friend and client.

You may have had unfortunate dealings with matrimonial
agencies, but as an attorney in high standing, I am not
to be compared with such concerns, and on receipt of your
small retaining fee, I will guarantee to do my part and
arrange a speedy marriage if you adhere strictly to my
instructions.

Trusting to hear favorably from you at once, I am,

Yours very truly,

EDWARD MORRIS.

P. S. I do not ask for the balance of the $100 until after
your marriage, and I have caused the lady to place in your
hands or under your control a goodly portion of her worldly
possessions.

EDWARD MORRIS, Attorney-at-Law.

Chicago, Ill., Jan. 23, 1905.

MR. GEO. FERLIN,
Los Angeles, Cal.

Dear Sir:

Your favor at hand with enclosure accepting my proposition.
Now, I wish to assure you that everything you write to me
will be treated in the strictest confidence, and I will say
that it will be necessary for you to follow to the letter
the instructions which I will from time to time give you.

In order to break the ice, I would suggest that you address
a letter to Mrs. Lucy Kline, in my care, briefly setting
forth the fact that you are a friend and client of mine,
and that as you are matrimonially inclined. I have advised
you to open a correspondence with her. You can say to her
that I have favored you with her photograph, and that same
meets your approval, and that you would very much desire
her acquaintance and what it may lead to. I have already
taken up the matter with her, and she is expecting a letter
from you, and in reply will send you her private address.

I would advise you, after receiving her reply, not to
write too often or too long letters. In other words, do
not appear to be too anxious, for it must devolve upon me
to bring you two together. The correspondence you may have
with her is simply a preliminary introduction leading to
the establishment of congenial relations and eventually,
marriage.

Important business prevents my writing a longer letter to
you today, and in order that I may be prepared to take the
matter up, I suggest that you write your letter so that it
will reach my office in about one week from today.

Yours truly,

EDWARD MORRIS.

MATRIMONIAL AGENCY UNDER THE GUISE OF EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE.

Positions for Men and Women. Commercial, Technical, Educational, Professional. Those Hardest to Find and Hardest to Fill.

G. H. CANNON, Manager,
Ohio Block.

Chicago, Ill., Sept. 21, 1905.

MRS. A. A. BURROWS,
San Fran. Cal.

Dear Madam:

I am directed by a client for whom we transact much
business, to submit you a proposition, which both he and
I sincerely hope you will accept. He is a bachelor of
middle age, of fine appearance, and is the owner of a large
manufacturing plant, as well as of a magnificent residence,
in which he lived until recently with his aged mother, who,
greatly to his regret, departed this life some six months
ago. Since her death he has felt the need of a woman's
guiding hand in the management of his household affairs,
and it is to offer you a position as his housekeeper that I
am addressing you personally.

I beg to state that attached to the position is a salary
of $75 per month, your board, and an allowance of $25 per
month for your clothing, and you will have full charge
of his household expenses, including the employment
and discharge of servants, consisting of a butler, two
housemaids, driver, cook, etc.

If you accept the position his carriage will be at your
disposal at all times, and you will be the actual head of
his household, with no restrains of any kind upon you. As I
have stated, this client is a bachelor, and on account of
his mother's determined opposition to his marriage during
her lifetime, he has gone little in society, but since her
death he has never ceased to feel the need of a woman's
hand and presence in his home.

His first thought was marriage, but after a lengthy talk
with me he very cheerfully acquiesced in the suggestion
that has led to the writing of this letter, and now to the
point.

I suggested that he allow me to secure for him a
housekeeper who might possess the qualities he most desires
in a wife, and then I consulted a matrimonial agency with
that end in view. Your description seemed to fit so exactly
his idea of true womanhood and appealed to him so strongly
that his first impulse was to address you directly, but
being of a sensitive and retiring disposition, he came to
the conclusion that he should become thoroughly acquainted
with you, and could not do better than allow me to carry
out my original plan to make your acquaintance.

To be candid with you, this position is a very lucrative
one, and will undoubtedly lead to your marriage with this
gentleman, if you see fit to accept the proposition, and
for that reason I trust you will give it the consideration
it deserves.

As he secures the help necessary to the running of his
large factory through this firm, of which I happen to be
the manager, you cannot but understand that I am thoroughly
acquainted with him, and am in a position to arrange this
matter to your mutual satisfaction.

It is a custom to charge a fee of $5, but in this instance
we would make no charge at all, only our client, insists
that we require our usual fee simply as an evidence of good
faith, and that there may be no misunderstanding. If you
accept the proposition I have submitted kindly fill out the
enclosed form and return to us with EXPRESS MONEY ORDER or
BANK DRAFT for $5, which amount will be returned to you
as soon as you have taken charge of his household affairs,
as your good faith will have then been proved.

As soon as you can start for Chicago I will send you
expense, free railroad transportation, and if, after your
arrival here, you do not care to accept the position, a
return ticket, etc., will be furnished you so that you will
not be out one dollar of expense.

This offer is made to you in the strictest confidence, and
I sincerely trust you will so regard it, and not discuss it
with any one, at least not until all the details have been
arranged.

No matrimonial agency in the world can do this for you,
nor do I think such an opportunity will ever occur to you
again, so kindly sign the enclosed form and return it to me
immediately with the small fee necessary, or do not write
me at all. No harm will have been done by having submitted
the proposition to you, but if you cannot take immediate
advantage of it, I simply will not correspond further in
the matter. Trusting that you will see your way clear, and
wishing you well, I am,

Very sincerely,

G. H. CANNON.

The above are illustrations of the method. Cannon, Rev. Spencer and Attorney Edwards are all one and the same man. We now turn to a few special examples of differences of procedure among the various bureaux.

A PERSISTENT OFFENDER.

One of the most successful operators who ever invaded Chicago with matrimonial schemes was one John Carson, who, on April 8, 1908, was fined $1,000 and costs for misuse of the United States mails after he had plead guilty to the charge, which was preferred by Inspector Ketcham.

Carson, at one time or another, operated no less than eighteen concerns of this nature. He was first discovered in 1902 in Chicago by Detective Wooldridge, operating no less than five matrimonial and fake concerns simultaneously. These concerns were:

The Loretta Matrimonial Publishing Co., 98 Ogden Ave.

The Unida Matrimonial Publishing Co., 408 Ogden Ave.

Mr. John's Matrimonial Publishing Co., 565 West Madison St.

Mr. J. C. Hills Matrimonial Agency, 565 West Madison St.

The Chicago Mutual Securities Co., a Chicago Medicine
concern, 567 W. Madison St.

Carson evaded arrest and fled to St. Louis, where he was shortly afterward arrested by the postal authorities and sentenced to eighteen months in the State Penitentiary at Jefferson City, in addition to a fine of $500.

BOBS UP AGAIN.

In 1904 Carson bobbed up again in Chicago. Since that time his record is best given from a report made to Chief of Police John M. Collins by Detective Wooldridge, who repeatedly broke up Carson's games. The report, in part, is as follows:

Feb. 9, J. H. Carson Woods' Advertising Agency, 62 Ada St.
Goods confiscated; fined $25.

March 9, 1904, J. H. Carson, Mill's Advertising Agency, 71
W. Lake St. Fined $15.

May 4, 1904, J. H. Carson, alias J. H. Hayes, 408 Ogden
Ave., raided. Literature seized and destroyed by order of
court.

May 4, 1904, J. H. Carson, alias J. H. Hayes, 255 Madison
St., raided. Literature seized and destroyed by order of
court.

Nov. 15, 1904, J. H. Carson, alias J. W. Bessie, 480 Ogden
Ave., raided. Arrested; released; writ of habeas corpus.

Nov. 15, 1904, J. H. Carson, alias J. W. Bessie, 67
Flournoy St., raided. Arrested; released; writ of habeas
corpus.

Jan. 4, 1905, J. H. Carson and Oscar Wells, promoted and
run the J. H. Hunter Matrimonial Agency, 164 East Randolph
St. Oscar Wells was arrested and fined $50 by Justice John
K. Prindiville.

April 19, 1905, J. H. Carson and J. R. Ferguson, conducted
the Jesse H. Lee Matrimonial Agency, 84 Washington St.
Ferguson was arrested and fined $15 by Caverley. The
literature seized and destroyed.

TURNS CLAIRVOYANT.

May 27, 1905, J. H. Carson conducted the Clay's American Bureau of Correspondence, 62 Ada St. He was arrested and fined $25 by Justice John K. Prindiville. The literature seized and destroyed.

Aug. 21, 1905, J. H. Carson and J. R. Ferguson conduced the Ferguson Directory, a Matrimonial agency at 171 Washington St. This place was raided and Jesse R. Ferguson was arrested and fined $25 by Justice John K. Prindiville.

May 27, 1905, J. H. Carson conducted the Jesse Lee Matrimonial Agency, 84 Washington St. He was arrested and fined $25 by Justice John K. Prindiville.

Aug. 19, 1905, J. H. Carson was arrested for conducting a Chicago Matrimonial Agency at 171 Washington St. and 95 Fifth Ave., under the name of Prof. John C. Hall, Astrologist, Occult, Scientist, Clairvoyant, Medium, and Lifereader.

With this record behind him this rascal actually had the nerve to bring suit for false arrest against Detective Wooldridge, but quite naturally, he failed to appear when the suit came up for trial.

He has not been heard from since the fine imposed on April 8, 1908, by the Federal authorities.

AGENTS OF THE UNDERWORLD A NEST OF POLE-CATS.

But crime is not the only long suit of the Matrimonial Agency. Some of these miserable frauds have descended into the depths and wallowed in the slime of the ultimate shame.

With unbelievable effrontery they have attempted to trade upon the basest instincts in human nature; they have attempted to coin the most abominable of the brute passions of men.

Nothing can exceed the turpitude, the brazen shamelessness of the Matrimonial Agency, when it decides to go the limit.

Attest the following from the literature of the New Era Advertising Agency and Introduction Bureau, Curtis, Clark & Co., Props., formerly located at 112 Clark street, Chicago. This abomination was raided by Detective Wooldridge and the following sample from one of the circulars seized shows the nature of the concern:

"If you are willing to give your name and protection to
one who has fallen and wishes again to enter the ranks of
respectability, we have some young women who have led fast
lives and accumulated considerable money, and want to marry
some respectable man, settle down in a new place and be
respected and respectable. THEY ARE HANDSOME, STYLISH,
LIVELY AND FULL OF FUN: HAVE MONEY ENOUGH FOR BOTH. They
will no doubt make good, loving and true wives for some
good-natured fellow who is not particular about their
past. Through our efforts several wealthy ladies of the
demi-monde have married very poor men in return for their
name and protection, given them a life of ease and luxury,
and the opportunities are greater today than in the past,
considering the fact that the world in general is anxious
to lend a helping hand to those who have erred and wish to
become respectable again."

This pole-cat literature was being sent broadcast through the United States mails. In some way it evaded the inspectors until the 23rd of September, 1902, when Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge descended upon the nest of pole-cats, seized the literature, chased "Curtis, Clark & Co." out of Chicago, and made further evil-smelling operations impossible.

These abominations are now practically impossible, thanks to the activity of the great police detective. But the above illustrations shows to what depths the marriage bureaus can descend, once they have become started on their infamous careers.

November 26, 1902, Detective Wooldridge raided the Climax Matrimonial Agency, located at 418 LaSalle avenue, which is situated on the North Side, in one of the most fashionable places in Chicago.

It was run not only as a matrimonial agency, but a matrimonial paper and mail order house. Among the literature seized was a circular containing a picture of the manager's wife, and of which he sent out over 300,000. which gave the description of her, which read as follows:

SHERIFF DUPED--ATTEMPTS ROLE OF LOTHARIO.

"I am 23 years of age, 5 feet 2 inches in height, weigh 120
pounds, have a turn-up nose, plain-looking and worth about
$147,000. I desire to marry a good, honest, affectionate
man. On our wedding day I will give my husband $5,500 in
cash, and one year later, if we are still living together,
I will make over to him $25,000 more. No milk-and-water man
need answer."

One letter from a Mississippi sheriff shows that the officer of the law is willing to forsake bachelorhood for a woman who, though plain, advertises that on her wedding day she will give her husband $5,500. This is the gay Lothario's letter:

Miss Ot--I take pleasure in answering your "ad" in the
"Hour at Home." You stated in your "ad" you were worth
$147,000, and would give the man that married you $5,500 on
his wedding day. You say you are plain.

I am good looking, so the people tell me, and if you
correspond with me we may come to an understanding. I am
willing to marry you if you give me proof you have the
money, and will do all that you say in the "ad."

I will do my best to make your life happy. Awaiting your
reply, I remain.

Yours truly,

W. M. M., Sheriff.

BIGAMY AND THE BUREAU.

Where the Professional Bigamists Find Wives.

The matrimonial agencies that have been investigated and suppressed by Detective Wooldridge and the postoffice authorities have disclosed an almost incredible phase of woman's nature.