The Lamp-Explosion Racket at Snoqualmie
Confidence men peddling a miracle powder to stop lamp explosions are run out of town after a local skeptic replicates their 'scientific' trick without the product.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Two well-dressed young fellows went to Snoqualmie last Thursday to catch suckers. The bait was a circular titled 'Death in the Lamp.' They claimed a powder they sold would prevent lamps from exploding, increase light efficiency, and stop chimneys from breaking. The performers would light a wick, stuff the burning wick into the oil, and use chimneys immersed in cold water to prove their 'safety.' At the Mount Si Hotel, a skeptic took a lamp that had not been 'doped' and performed the exact same tricks, exposing the swindle. The fellows left the place in a hurry.
“The fellow left the place in a hurry.”
Snake-oil schemes rely on the same performative 'science' today as they did in the 19th century. The story of a local skeptic dismantling a grifter's display at a hotel lobby is a timeless piece of small-town justice.
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