The Laundry Cashier Who Outsmarted the Bunko Gang
Laundry cashier Julia Folsom foiled four men's short-change scam, snatching back the money before they could take it.
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.
A gang of 'flimflammers' thought they had an easy victim Wednesday afternoon in the person of Mrs. Julia Folsom, cashier at the Cascade laundry office, on Front street, but to their surprise they were most effectually checkmated. Three well-dressed men came into the office at 1:30 o'clock and inquired for laundry. One of them had a package which was tagged '63 cents.' Mrs. Folsom handed it to him and he immediately commenced to talk about how he expected the check to have been 80 cents. Then a fourth man came in and asked for a laundry slip. The man with the washing threw down a $10 bill and received in return a $5 gold piece and remainder in change. Quick as a flash he pocketed the $5 gold piece, and just then one of his associates threw down 64 cents. The man with the laundry gathered up the coins and pushed it toward Mrs. Folsom, asking her to give him $5 in gold. She took a $5 gold piece out of the drawer and placed it on the counter. The man with the laundry took it, put it with the silver and pushed the whole amount toward Mrs. Folsom, reaching for the money, but she was too quick for him and jerked the money away.
“Quick as a flash he pocketed the $5 gold piece, and just then one of his associates threw down 64 cents.”
This account of a 'quick-change' scam illustrates how retail workers have historically served as the primary line of defense against organized retail theft, a role that remains central to their duties over a century later.
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