Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 175, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1912 — Gullible Public Gives Millions to Fake Promoters. [ARTICLE]

Gullible Public Gives Millions to Fake Promoters.

X ’ According to the old adage that a “sucker is born every minute,” 525,600 of them come to this earth during each year. : Edch of the crop which ripened to the plucking stage netted a profit of the swindlers of 1228.30 thjs season. . At least that was their per capita loss, as the statement of Postmaster General Hitchcock, made public Memday, shows that the American people were filched of 1120,000,000 during the fiscal year. This is an incerase of 150,000,000 over the aggregate of last year. The number of those who reaped the profits of the crop is not known, but 1,063 of them were caught while, gathering the harvest. During the year, which ended June 30 last, 452 of these harvesters were convicted , and sentenced. Neither the suckers nor their despoilers come from any one‘walk of life. The swindlers now face lean and hungry years, as the recent orders to postofflee inspectors will make their business both less profitable and more perilous to them. Postmaster General Hitchcock’s order to collect evidence that would warrant criminal prosecution of the swindlers gradually is building a Wall bf protection around the suckers. Before that the punishment was only a fraud order forbidding the delivery of mail to such operators, who worried but little. They merely changed their names, addresses, and title of their “business,” continuing their operations until another fraud order caught up with them.