*Comruener, Cnooxs ano BuscKdent t. Werner Laurie, tea,"
A_modern revision of an old American saw runs to the effect that "there's a sucker born every minute, and two crooks to take him." "The slip-cover of the volume under review rather tactlessly advises the reader that "this book will, if read carefully, enable even simpletons to avoid being duped by rogues."
Mr. Tozer has compiled an impesing list of means whereby fools and their money have been parted, but he omits any generalizing statement which might unite the group and enable the hordes of simpletons to parry the ever-new wiles of the crooks. Since he repeatedly men. tions the ease with which old games are put over on fresh victims (he insists that even fake gold bricks, fare still sold), perhaps he has performed sufficient service in recapitulating some of the best dodges. The unsavory topic of black-mai)—usvally roying on panic for suecess—is also treated.
Tt would appear that most of the games observed by Mr. Tozer have been based on the idea of luring the victim into paying over money for some reason or other, and then leaving him suspended in mid-air. Msny of the amounts involved are surprisingly, small, and fast turnover and a large number of "sales" seem the rule with all but the largest operators. People desiring, jobs, mates, and bargains of all sorts, are induced to make initial payments and then find the deal off and the payment vanished. While this type of swindle seems the most common, there is an infinite variety of others.
There always proves to be a ing" of some sort in these enterprises, and apparently the best safeguard one can devise is to avoid being-Tulled into false security by the melifluous song which the shar-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.