Fishing for Suckers"

'I I I ;I " i s i n I I I I for l! ll 'I uc ~ers" I il ,I 'I i )+ !Il Q ll I ;I' I G eor«e T h o mas W a t k i n s I 2 0 Fenn o S t r e et, R o x b u r y ll Boston, illassachnsetts ill i, 364 • 163 %33SF DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY F RIEND S O F D IJK E UNI V E R S I T Y LIBRARY rrrr oF ......Louj,se Hall "FISHING FOR SUCKERS" By CARL. H. BROCKHAGEN Advertising Counsel for th e San Francisco Bulletin and President of the Advertising Club of San Francisco HERE has been niore fraud perpetrated Tthrough the classified pages of the Ameri can press than through all other classes of advertising c o mbined. T h r ough f a ke W ant Ads th e g u l l i ble an d u n w ary, t h e weak and the sick, the country yokel and i nnocent maid ar e o f ten l e d t o de n s o f iniquity, and f i nancial, moral o r p h y sical d isaster follows fast i n t h e w ak e o f t h e rotten m e dical, p e rsonal, m assage, clair. voyant, m atrimonial, m i n in g o r thi e v ing business opportunity advertising. [In The Fourth Estate, ofay 27, 1916] [ Easy htoney ] "Fishing for Suckers" ' H A tlvertising S c l t entes T h a t Get Money from the Innocent, Gttlliblc anti Unwary t'.0 g Photos of tlte Nutle "The Kind Men JVant, but Seldom Get" Rich, Rare anti Racy Books "The P'armest Stuff Ever Put in Print" The Mail Or der Mi n t "hIaking Money in the Mail Order hlint Is Easy A~hen You Knotv Hozv" cc $ s0 Boston George Thomas Watkins 1916 Copyright, 1916, by George Thomas Watkins Contettts PREFACE Page 9 " Fishing f o r s u c k ers" — "The schemes i<ark o f the a<is" — "The little pea under t lie l i t tle shell" A VIEW OF THE SUBJECT Page 11 D o grapes grow o n t h o rn s an d f i g s r om e f r o m thistles? — The magic influence of p r i nters' ink Curiosity — Taking things for g ranted — "Books of knowledge" — "H o roscopes" — "Wi n at cards anil <lice" — "Ganiblers' b a nds" — "Lu< ky s t ones" "Skeleton ke y s" — "The g r e a t se c ret" — "Magic neeilles" — "Lovers' sachet" — "The love p u lniotor" PHOTOS OF THE NUDE Page 23 Beauty in <roman — "Bashful Venus undraped" "Real stunners" — "Astonishing poses" — The "eye opener pos es" — "Exquisite del i g h ts" — '"Iniages galantes" — "Shapely girls" — The " nu<le in a r t " Photos of women, "the kinil men i<ant, but seldom get" — Girls in "ri ch, warm poses" — "ii<ien's favorite p oses" — "Female l o v eliness a t bat h " — "Not a stitch on t h em" — "Spicy, peppery, f r ont v i ews" " Bathing g i r ls" — "Red h o t!" — "Girls i n sw i m ming" — "Naughty!" — "Bedroom S cciies" —Et cet. RICH, RARE AiVD RACY BOOKS Page 31 "Re<l hot, c l assy, f u l l-of-ginger" — "Unvarnisheil language" — Naked t r u th" — -'Every sport s h oulil read it" — "Sent securely sealed" — "Greatest vice resort o n ear t h" — "Fascinating d e scriptions" "From the ballroom to h ell" — "Her naked self" 11IAKING MONEY IN TH E M AI L O RDER MINT Page 37 "Dimes and quarters in every mail" — "$100 to $500 a month, experience unnecessary, no capital r e quired" — $10,000 a year in small mail order busi ness" — "Without r i sl-" — "Honest" — "Legitimate" "iblarvelous masterpieces of m o n ey-making ni ail order schenies" — "$650,000 in 1 8 m o n ths" — "No excuse for p o v erty" — "A f o r tune f o r $ 1" — "$50 p rofit g u aranteed o n $1 cap i t al" — "Fill y o u r pockets with gold, silver an<i greenbacks" — "$250 a month with tw o days' work" — "$500 for $100" BI B LI OG RA PHY Page 47 Preface There is an almost universal desire in all of us to liave "lots of nioney." T lie desire to get it easily and quickly lias affor<led the get-rich-quick promoter his chance to "fish for suckers." I n deed, this branch of the piscatorial art l ias so large a fo l lowing of t h ese "anglers" tliat the government is compelled to einploy consi<lerable "machinery" ii i o r de r t o k ee p th e s e covetous "fishermen" f ro m m a k in g " suckers" where none were before. T h e classified advertising columns of newspapers and niagazincs have been the medium through whicli much of the glittering "bait" has been cast to catch the unwary and innocent "fish." But the "love of money" is only one among many forms in which the "average liuman" shows his like ness in gullibility to his fin~iiy brother. Another lure which attracts the attention of many is "photos (of wonien) — the kind men <cant, but seldom get." In the same class is the "rich, rare and racy book." The following pages contain the amusing expert ences of one who has been curious to kn ow some of the "schemes back o f t he ad s" — curious to see the "kind of photos men want, but seldom get"; to read some of the books, so-called, that are "rich, rare and racy"; to l earn the "naked" truth about wliat happened to Estelle; to l earn what wa s t h c "warmest stuff' ever put in p r int" by reading "Fast Life in Chicago," with the story of "how Olga got broke in" and "Kittie's thrilling experiences with a rounder"; to learn the " moral" from the startling trutlis revealed in "From the Ballroom to Hell"; why only men should read "Cousin <laud," "A Woman' s Blighted Life," " The Pace That K i l ls" and heed the warning in "A Bad Woinan's Influence," and — others! how any i n t elligent p erson, without ex perience, iii 10 "FISHING FOR SUCKERS" spare time, may earn $15 to$25 a week corresponding f or newspapers and magazines; ho w t o " g o o n t h e stage"; how to learn a trade in a few hours that will net 85 and more a day; h o w t o l earn to paint pi c t ures in one lesson with oi l p a i n ts; h o w t o " m a k e $2000 easy money quick" f o r t w o o n e-cent stamps; h ow to write "song poems" for publ ication; h o w t o get a life job w ith U n cle Sam, with sure work, big pay, easy hours, long vacations and steady atlvance m ent; h o w t o m ak e m oney in gr ain ; h o w t o w i n a t cards and dice; how to be a movie actor and draw a large salary, have pleasant work and travel; how $15 investetl in some "great oil fi eld" ma y m ake $1500; how 810 a day may be made tacking signs; how to obtain a 835 watch for 55 cents; how to get 25 cents apiece for names and adtlresses; how to be a detec t ive at $300 a month and tr avel all over the worl d ; how to be a p r ospector (with a 850 "dip" n eedle); h ow to make a steady income knitting at home; h o w to get a big ntail every day of samples, circulars anti advertising matter; h o w to make 8100 a month mail i ng postcartls, without capital or h artl work ; h o w t o get a wife with $50,000 in the bank ; h o w t o r a i se ginseng, mushrooms and Belgian hares in the back yartl, and last, but not l east, how a " f o r t une can be made in the mail ortler business," without capital and at hoine during spare moments in the evening! In plain view a l i t tle pea is rolled under one of three little shells. H e w h o i s v ain of h i s eyesight, but ignorant of t h e g ame, is sure he k n ows under w hich little shell th e l i t tle pea is r olled. I t lo o k s like "easy money." I f he w h o r e ads this book be n ot as vain of h i s r easoning powers as one who i s vain of his eyesight, this contribution to the literature of advertising w il l n o t b e w it h ou t i n t erest, and amusement. G. T. W. A V iew o f th e S t t b j c et S it safe to say iio one believes «rapes can grow on t thorns or ligs conic froni t l i i stles.

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