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SHARPERS who sell worthless animals at fabulous prices constitute a class of criminals often exposed. They keep barely within the letter of the law, and so escape punishment. When some one remarked that a man would cheat in a horse trade who would scorn to steal an umbrella, he showed a deep knowledge of the ethics of the human family. Light and trivial though the latter offense may be, judged by the great American race, it is weighty indeed when compared to that of driving a sharp bargain over a roadster or racer. “Trust neither your brother nor your pastor if he is trying to sell you a horse,” is the wisdom of a man of experience who has learned the irresistible temptation which lies in the mouth of the man with a horse to sell.
Dishonest horse dealers flourish in New York. They are the confidence operators of the horse trade, and are· not to be confounded with the dealers who may neglect to point out some of the defects of their living stock in trade. Their purpose is robbery pure and simple, with just enough tinge of trade in it to give it a color of respectability and to keep out of State prison. They conduct their business much after the fashion of the banco men, sending “steerers” out to the railroad stations, the ferries, and the big horse sales, to bring unsuspecting countrymen to their lairs. They also reach victims, like the fortune-telling cheats and many other forms of metropolitan swindlers, through the advertising columns of the daily newspapers.
It is not difficult to pick out the advertisements of the skin dealers, or “gypsies,” from any issue of the newspapers. The favorite dodge is the “death of the owner,” or the “family going to Europe” pretext for selling a magnificent animal for a song. Here is a sample advertisement which may be regarded with suspicion:
“A family going abroad will sacrifice immediately very speedy roadster and stylish, gentle family horse; also quiet pet horse, used by ladies; lady’s phaeton, sidebar top buggy, extension top family phaeton, harness, etc., in superb order. Owner’s private stable.”
The oft-repeated announcement of a firm well known to the police reads as follows:
“A bargain to immediate purchaser—handsome pair coach mares, tender in the feet, suitable for country use, $60 for both; 3 strong young horses, suitable for general business use; price from $50 to $100 each; sold separately; trial allowed. Owner’s private stables.”
It will be seen that great leeway is allowed here for infirmities of almost any character.
Perhaps it is a lady who has a turnout to sell, and who will conduct the negotiations through a trusty “groom” in her own private stables, or a gentleman suddenly called out of town. They may be expected to woo you in some such wise as these:
“A lady offers her turnout for sale; handsome cob, 15 hands, seven years old, warranted sound and kind; elegant top phaeton, harness, etc.; sold separate.”
“A gentleman suddenly called away must sell a beautiful brown horse, 16 1-4 hands high; fast traveler; safe and perfectly sound; suit family, doctor, coupé or business.”
There is nothing suspicious in the language of these offers, and man or woman in search of a bargain will find nothing suspicious in the commodious stable to which he is directed or in the glib-tongued, horsey-looking man he finds there. The rascals simply use the machinery of a reputable business to carry on their nefarious operations, trusting to the always good crop of credulous individuals to furnish them with a supply of victims.
The confidence game, which is often worked in the “skin stables,” is as old as the hills. While the agent of the wealthy owner, gone to heaven or to Europe, is engaged in showing off the “points” of his racer, a confederate rushes in and displays uncommon anxiety to purchase the horse.
“No,” says the agent, “you are a dealer and my principals will not allow me to sell to a dealer. The horse is too valuable. You know very well that they do not care for the money. What they wish is to be assured that the animal falls into good hands.”
Pretty soon the alleged “dealer” gets an opportunity to whisper to the victim a word of temptation.
“I must have that horse,” he says; “if you will buy him for me I will give you $50 commission; but don’t give me away to the agent.”
Tickled to death over this opportunity to make money so easily, Mr. Greenhorn swallows the hook, line, bob and sinker; purchases the horse and leads him away to a specified corner where he is to meet the “dealer.” Needless to say, this worthy does not appear, and the victim finds himself most unwillingly possessed of a piece of rope with something in the shape of a horse at the other end of it. As a party to a little deception he has no case against the man who sold him the worthless animal.
The police wage constant war upon these stables, and often make things very uncomfortable for the owners, but the latter are so well grounded in the law and so careful to keep inside the legal fence in their transactions that the police are heavily handicapped in trying to deal with them.
“Horse sharps,” although frequently arrested, are rarely convicted. The last conviction was on May 28, 1881, when Samuel Watson was sent to Sing Sing prison for two and a half years. Jeremiah W. Strong, a Justice of the Peace of Hartford, Conn., bought an elegant roadster from Watson at a stable on Fifteenth Street, near Sixth Avenue. Strong started to drive away, but the animal, on reaching the corner of Fourteenth Street, dropped dead. Watson was convicted, but his brother swindlers made up a big purse and carried the case to the Court of Appeals. That court finally decided against him.