The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-15
INN ENSE FORGERIEs.
'Ehe Junior Partner of u Cotton
Firm Disappears.
His Operations In Cotton.

There has been no little excitement In
commercial circles for some days past,
growing out Of the rumor that MEM
Der of cotton house doing business on
or in the neighborhood of Carondelet
street had disappeared-lef left the city
and that he had taken with him q COM
siderable amount of money, raised by
him in the name Of the firm.
There were many whispered state
pents rs to who the man was, but ii
Mes only yesterday that 1t became
known rs an fait, that 1t was Louis n.
Laun, OF Carr ~ Lpuu, cotton BUYERS.
doing business at No. ri Union street.
The amount OF money taken was va
riously estimated, and with u view of
understanding definitely the sum, and
also OF learning the circumstances at
| tending on the d1sap ppearance Of Laun.
and the transaction by which the money
WAS raised, o DEMoBRAT reporter, last
evening, visited n number Of gentlemen
| who were supposed to know oil about
It,, and interviewed them, with by no
means satisfactory results. He finally
succeeded in seeing Mr. Carr-indeed
that gentleman called at the DEMOCRAT
office, and from him the following par
ticulars were CLEANED:
The firm Of Carr u Laun was started
In September last. Branch houses were
established In Mobile, Ala, and Havre.
| France, and the firm prosDered, and
the prospects for the future were
bright.
Last week Irregularities" were dis
covered In the transactions, or rather
business proceedings or the Mobile
branch, and on Saturday last, Mr.. Carr
states he went over there to examine
the books. He informed Laun on Sat-
urday morning that he was going, and
he saw Laun at II o'clock that day
for the last time.
Nothing particularly wrong was dis
covered In the books at Mobile. The
examination disclosed irregularities In
the mode Of keeping them, and infor-
malities OF no serious nature In the
mode Of conducting the business of the
branch. These informalities and irreg-
ularities were corrected, and Mr.. Carr
returned to this city.
The unexplained absence OF Laun
from the Office excited his suspicious,
and an examination Of the books Of the
house in this city was gone into. The
books OF the Mobile branch were cent
for, and on comparing them ii was
found that cotton shipped from Mobile
had been invoiced twiGe-in that city
and in this-and exchange sold by Laun
on both.
As Mr.. Carr expressed 1t, cotton was
shipped in Mobile and drawn against
and exchange sold and delivered with
genuine bill of lading attached. The
invoice was then sent to New Orleans,
and it was again invoiced, and exchange
| for the same cotton sold here and de-
| livered. Thus for 500 bales he would
deliver exchange for 500 in Mobile, ac-
mpanied with the genuine bills OF
Iading, and the same amount in New
| Orleans with forged bills Of lading.
These peculiar transactions, Mr., Carr
states, have been going on from the
10Th Of January to the 18th OF Febru-
ary, and the amount involved foots up
over two huadred thousand dollars.
The exchange sold in this city on the
forged bills OF lading was purchased
by we'll known firm and prominent
bank, and they will lose heavily by the
transaction, as the capital OF tbs firm,
as shown by the books, was only sew
enty-five thousand dollars, and the as
sets are small.
Yesterday the manager OF the branch
In Mobile, Geo. Laun, brother OF the
missing partner, was arrested In that
city, and the detectives are now look
ported, left the city on Sunday morn
ing on an outgoing steamer.
| Mortimer Carr, the senior member OF
the firm, Is we'll known by reputation
in this city from his previous connec-
ton with politics and the part he took
in the celebrated Carter Warmoth war.
He was at one time Speaker OF the
House under Warmoth. He has sub
mitted the books Of the firm to the par
ties who are sufferers by reason OF their
purchases Of the exchange.