Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-08-14
GREELEY AS A BUSINESS MAN.
HIow He Encouraged wOrLingmen Into n
Colony Swiudle.
e The Warm Springs colony Swindle rs
Told by one OF the Victims.

A very intelligent and honest German,
Mr.. Phillip May, came into the CHRoNI-
Gle office yesterday morning and in earn
est tones narrated the following story,
which we give in his own words
I want to tai the people of this country
something about the way Horace Greeley
has treated me and some of my friends, in
the Warp Springs Colony transaction. /
once had great confidence in him, but the
way he has treated me makes NE feel
s. he is not an honest man and / want the
people of this country to know it before
they vote for him for President of the Uni
ted States.
In the spring of 1871 I came to this coun-
try with some friends bound for the
Rocky Mountains to see if we could find
home in that region, We went to the de-
pot in New York to buy our tickets, but
finding the price higher than we expected
we agreed to wait day and inquire about
it. Soon after we learned that Horace Gree
ley was to lecture that night at No. 240
Bowery, on the subject of a Colony in
North Carolina. l had read n great deal in
Europe during and after the war about Mr.
Greeley, and was always taught to look
upon him as an honest man. We went to
hear him that night There were several
speakers present. The hall was full of in
telligent working men The speakers told us
asbout the great value of the Warm Springs
property. How the springs and hotel coRld
be made q great summer resort for South
erners and n winter resort for Northerners.
Now the water power and timber could he
used for furniture and wooden manufac-
tories, and how the colony could raise
enough from the tillable land to live from,
They told us that saw mills were already
built on the place that everything was
lxy to- rtf 10 III 1AIa
for the colonists to buy the whole proper
ty for $4,000 on a cooperative plan. Then
each man was to buy shares of the stock
and get a lot for home and so much stock
for what he paid in. The men were TO be
paid $40 per month and board for
puttting up rn shOPs fixing u1 taH h0 tSs
factories were built. Then each ma
chinist was to work in the shop upon the
cooperative plan, each one to have a
share of the profits. The speakers who
told us this on the night referred to were
Mr.. Greeley. The president of the colony
was to be Mr.. Lyman, the agricultural
editor of the Tribune. After all these
men told us what they knew,
GREELEY ENDORSED THE COLONY
project in a speech of some length. Ev-
erybody present knew Horace Greeley and
had confidence in him. 1 listened to ev-
cry word he said. | remember as well as
though l heard it yesterday, what he said:
" don't know of better investment for a
" workingman than to invest in this colo
n.y." When he said that it was enough for
me. / would have invested ten thousand
dollars if had had it. On the strength of
this endorsement changed my plans, and
instead of going West went to Warm
Springs.
The property was bought for $4,000
We paid down So, 900. We had regular
officers and a business organization. Most
of the mechanics went to Warm Springs
in the spring of 1871. When we got there
we found things quite different from what
il was represented, but we still thought the
property was good and that we could sue
coed. We picked out our lots and conn
menced building houses. ] bought lumber
and had my house partly built when the
colony was turned out of possession. We
all w orked hard but the business affairs
were not well managed Our officers were
disho nest or incompetent Mr.. Greeley
told us hBTwould come to see us. We all
supp osed from what he said that he had
stock in the colony and was personally in
terest ed in its supervision.
THE COLONY A FAILURE.
The workingmen did their part faith
fully. We worked hard and trusted the
o office rs. But soon the property was adver-
tised for sale for failure to make the Sec
alar med. We wrote to New York to Mr..
Lynn an and the officers, but they paid no
atten ton to us. We wrote to Mr.. greeley
ttnls Elf told him that we had invested in
the colony on his recommendation and
now we wanted him to see us out. He
never answered our letters. Mr.. Henry
With elm who was in Knoxville a
while at the Lamar House, aUrote to Mr.
rGreeley several times. He wrote and 9TH
ers wrote urging him to look into the case,
as we were about to lose all we had, but
that if he would interest himself in the
matter all could be saved. The Tribune
had published long articles about the coll
ony, the valuable property, &c, and on
-sthe faith of Mr., Greeley's word we left our
homes with our families to go to a strange
State. But to all oar letters he never paid
any attention. When he was making his
trip South we thought he would come to
see Us as he promised, but, although he
was once near us, he didn't come.
We here asked Mr.. May if all the Colon
lists understood Mr.. Greeley as endorsing
the project and whether they held him re-
spon sible for their losses.
He said they certainly did. He said
they, one and all felt bitterly towards him
for not writing to them at least when he
found outfit was a swindle. They wrote to
him that they went into 1t on his recon-
-uaend alton, and he ought 10 have explain
ed his innocence if he was innocent. The
speak ers misrepresented the property in
his or essence at the BoWery, "A ter thew