Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 April 1912 — SLICK TONGUED PICTURE MAN WORKED VETERANS. [ARTICLE]

SLICK TONGUED PICTURE MAN WORKED VETERANS.

Made Them Think He Was From the Pension Department and Charged Big Price For Poor Pictures. About forty civil war veterans or their widows were induced to give their orders for the enlarging of pictures about three weeks ago to a Slick canvasser who registered at the Jsakeever hotel as “B. E. Tomkins, Chg.” According to a number of the victims Tomkins secured his admission to their homes by indicating that he was a solicitor from the pension department. After asking if “so and so” lived at a house and receiving an affirmative answer, lie would ask if they were honorably discharged fromfhp service and would then ask to see the discharges. Thin would be followed by him making a few notes in his notebook about their company and regiment and he would say that hi* company was going to publish a history of the Civil war and they would receive special mention in the history. He said that the history would bp.' sent to the Post for rent or sale. He then asked them if they had an old time photograph, taken before or during or since the war and offered to make a fine enlarged picture for s3.B;' About forty signed the contract. Tomkins came Tuesday to make the deliveries and put in Wednesday at the work. He met considerable opposition, several veterans claiming thkt he had used all sorts of fraud to induce them to sign the contract and that the pictures were not what he had represented. He made various threats to try to enforce payment and -A. Simpson says he told'him he would have his pension stopped if he did not pay. ; He had the pictures in cheap frames and tried to sell the frames for $2.75 each and succeeded in doing it at several places. At some places he sold the frames for s2.o(\ and at some for $1.50, while at A. J. Abbott's he offered the frame for SI.OO. Investigation showed that a local dealer can sell almost exactly the same frames for 60 cents each. Tomkins refused to tell persons that asked him where his headquarters are. He told some that the pictures were made in Washington and others that they were made in Chicago. The postcards he sent out, advising those who had signed for the pictures that he would be here on a certain day, were mailed on the train and gave no address, not even stating from what place they were from. There was no heading and they were signed “Tomkins Art Co.” The methods Tomkins employs are far from'honorable aridTHs very probable that the pension department would make shqrt work of him if their attention is called to his methods, and it is proposed to report him. On thisrtrip Tojnkins signed on .the hotel register, “B. E: T0m...., W. Chg.” and when asked to explain his action in registering from different places, he refused to do so. He left town today in somewhat of a hurry. Newspapers in other towns should warm their subscribers of this fellow, whose methods are dishonest if not criminal.