In many cases the wholesaler, knowing the harm done to the legitimate trade by the misrepresentation of reproduction goods, is only too anxious to assist the Police; but he is often in a difficulty. He has received orders by post, frequently from people unknown to him, for items in his catalogue to be sent ta a railway station. Cash is sent with the order, and in many cases the wholesaler has never seen his customer, In order to stamp out this class of offence Press publicity might be considered, although this may have a boomerang effect, as, in addition to warning likely victims, it may also initiate those carpet hawkers who ere not yet familiar with this method of making easy money.
From a Police point of view this type of fraud presents unusual difficulties. The problem of getting from the victim a good description of the people who have swindled him is a considerable one. If it were possible to obtain evidence connecting the sellers and supposed purchasers, a clear case of conspiracy would be revealed, e.g. in the case of the shopkeeper the "sailors" obviously obtained money and a valuable security by false pretences; but they and the supposed antique buyer might well have been prosecuted for conspiracy to defraud if it had been possible: to prove association. The care taken by the operators of the trick to ensure that their two parties are never seen together and that there is an interval of a few days between their visits has, in nearly all cases, rendered a charge of conspiracy impossible, and all that has been accomplished has been the prosecution of the seflers-for obtaining money or valuable securities by false pretences, thèse consisting of representing that t carpets were of a quality and origin to which they had no title
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.