November 29, 2017
This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
It seems
that scams have always been around. At
the end of November in 1914, local stockmen were warned to go easy when a
stranger came along with his checkbook in hand and wanting to buy thoroughbred
hogs for breeding purposes. After
purchasing the hogs, the stranger would take the animals to a packinghouse and
a few days later the check would be returned as being bogus. It was learned later that this particular con
man had been working all over the United States.
He was described as six feet tall and
weighed 200 pounds. He looked and acted
like a stockman, but clearly was not an honest man. When he arrived in a city, he managed to
visit a few of the well-known stockmen and since he was knowledgeable about the
business, he was readily accepted.
When investigating the case, the
Sheriff found that the hogs purchased for the $62.00 had been shipped to Topeka
and then sold to a packing house. In
less than a week, the Sheriff received word that the con man had been working
his way through the country and it was suspected that he was on his way to find
another gullible Kansas stockman of whom he would take advantage.
We all need to be cautious of scams
and pay close attention to salespersons who offer us something that sounds too
good to be true, because it probably is.
Thanks for reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County
Historical Society.
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