Tux time to time we pick up our newspapers and read that a conviction has been recorded for carpet fraud. In some cases the amounts involved are considerable and we wonder what 9n earth could have induced the victim to part with so much money to strangers in exchange for goods of which he has no Tea] understanding.
Some account of the methods adopted by these swindlers may therefore be of interest.
Man's expression of beauty takes many forms, varying with the taste of the artist and the materials at his disposal.
For many _|centuries the craftsmen of the Orient have expressed their love of beauty and order in the carpets they produce on primitive hand-looms. These may be of silk or wool and are wonderful examples of patience and skill, fourteen to eighteen hundred silk knots to the square inch going to make up the finest specimens. A skilled craftsman is able to complete about two thousand knots a day, and it will thus be seen that a fair-sized carpet of good quality) may easily represent the work of many years.
Naturally the best specimens ate of great value, and reproductions are made to bring these beautiful designs within the-reach of people who love beauty but cannot afford to purchase the originals, These reproductions are produced in great quantities in Germany, Italy, Belgium and Czechoslovakia. They are machine-made of mercerized cotton and may be bought at surprisingly low prices. For many years these reproductions have been purchased by carpet hawkers from importers and wholesalers in London and provincial cities and sold legitimately throughout the country.
The hawkers are to a large extent of the caravan-dweller. type. whom the lure of easily acquired money—a profi of many pounds instead of a few shillings—has led to fraudulent practices. In the past this has mainly been accomplished by misrépresenting the quality and value of the goods offered; but during the last few years they have carried on, with astonishing success, clever schemes by which they induce their victims purchase large quantities of carpets for which the purchasers have no use, № must be said that in practically alt eases the success of the dealers is in direct ratio with the cupidity of the purchasers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.