The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1865-12-20

said:
Here are these wealthy and distiu guished
oil men right there on the ground who are
going to be trustees of my new company.
"You serve too, won't you One thousand
shares for your trouble-fve thousand dol
lars. No money to pay-I will see to all
that. Here are the lands we can buy, -
and he showed his lists. The bride, and the
names of those already bribed, influenced
them, and this secured three more trustees.
Two more were needed, namely the president
and vice president. Rolleum himself was to
be the latter; his next move was to secure
the former.
This, the most critical part of the scheme,
was cunningly delayed until this time. Roll
leum went to the Honorable A. Bee, a gen.
tIeman of a good deal of ability, pretty widely
known, not very rich, believed (perhsps for
that reason) to be honest, no longer young,
and OF a reverend yet agreeable presence
Him the plausibls Rolieum told ali about the
new company; what respectable board of
trustees there was going to be-and he
showed the names all either experienced
aad substantial men of the oil country, or
reputable business mea of New York City.
Aud they have agreed to serve, In part be.
cause they know what a very honest com
pany this is, and still! more because the hope
that the Honorable \. Bee will become pres
ident.
My dear sir" urged Rolleum, sweetly,
this legitimate business enterprise must
succeed, and must secure wealth, reputation
and influence to ali connected with it. We
know that you are above pecuniary consider
ations, ana that you do not need our Infu-
ence, or any body's. We need yours. Aud
you need not do any work. will do that.
We only need your name. And merely as a
matter of form, because the officers are ex.
pected to be interested In their own comp
any, | have set apart two Thousand shares,
being at half par or 50 share, $40 600 Of
stock, to stand IN your name. See how re.
spectacle all these trustees are ~ And he
showed the list and preached upon the items
of il.
This man is worth so many millions, that
man is such al influential editor. Could |
have obtained such names if this were not a
perfectly square thlngY p
Ten thousand dollars will go some ways
towards squaring almost anything, with
many people. even if it il mere matter OF
form and 50 the old gentleman consented.
This fixed the whole official slate"
Now to set up he machine.
In few days of sharp running and talk.
ing RoIleum and Digwell accomplished this,
as follows:
lst. They hired and furnished handsome
ly, paying cash whoueyer they couldn't help
it. a couple of pleasant first floor rooms close
TO Wall street. No dingy desk-room up in
some dark corner Of an attic. for them. Re
spectahility J. the tHIng Tor Roleum.
ID. They hired "a lawyer TO draft the
proper papers. and had the New York aud
Rangoon Petroleum Company Daily iacorp-
GRATED under the mining and statute laws OF
ths state OF New York, with charter, by
i3v gf and ttIas
tiue, new, grand, magnificent impressive.
formal, spectabie AMI bushes, like
Sd They now had every requisite oi q
powerful, en- Jerprising anu highly successful
corporation, except the small trities Of mou-
ey, land and Oil. But what are these, To
such geniuses as Rolleum and Digwell? Sin
gular if having invented and SCI the trap
they could not catch the birds
They bought about three pinss Of oil, i,r
one dollar; and that settled one part f the
question. The bought it ready sorted and
walled and labelled ; some crude and green
some yelowish. some limpid as water. half &
dozen or so of different specimens These, in
their long walls of most respectable appear
ance, they placed casually on the mantel
piece of the outer Office. They were speci.
mems Of the oils which the company's wells
are confidently expected to yield they
get 'em,
Last OF all-laud and money. Subserip-
ti.ae 10 capital stock are to furnish money.
money wiz buy land. And Saying arere got
land viii procure subscriptions.
les not much of a lie. after all, said RUl-
leum confidently, 10 brother Digwell -
When we've sad we've got it for awhile,
We snail get it, It's not lie at all Its
only discounting the truth ut sixty days"'
- he and Digweli went to work and made
& .plendid prospectus and advertisement, the
latter an abridged edition of the former. This
prospectus was great triumph OF business
lying TIZed wlia plums and spices OF truth,
and all set forth with taking dis play lines"
1t began with Il stately row of names -
New 1ork and Bangoon Petroleum Company:
Honorable Abraham Bee, President Potter
Roleum, E-q., Vice President; p!ddle Dig
well, Esq, Secretary AM 90 on. With cool
impudeuce II then gave list headed Lands
apd Property saying ''of the Con. D.
any" tIr fear Of a prosecution for swindling
But the list below began with the words 'the
oil lands TO be conveyed to the Company are
IA follows :" That's exactly it," Qugth
Rolleum-''no lie there, at any rate They
are TO be conveyed to us-if we choose
just as soon "a we Fan pay for them" and
then the list went ca from mo. |" To No
AZ, giving In row all those memoranda
which Rolleum had obtained in Venango
county and the region round about. OF the
descriptions Of The real estate " ich the land
sharks up tner- would be glad to sell ior
what they asked for it,
The prospectus said the capital OF the COM
pauy was one million dollars, in one hundred
thousand shares at ten dollars each But in
order 10 obtain working capital, twenty
thousand shares are offered for limited per
iod at FIVE dollars each not subject to further
assessment
And Ii nddad. lhnnCh with more ,hrnses