Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-12-31
WASHINGTON NOTES.
Postmaster General Key After Swindling
Option Observation-Disclosures

Postmaster General Key After Swindling
Option Observation-Disclosures
WASHINGTON, Dec. 30.-The postmaster gen.
eral has issued an order directing tho post.
master at New York to refuse payment of post.
letters addressed to the 80 called "bankers and
brokers' firms of Lawrence d Co., which pur-
port to do business on the stock combination
system at 10 Broad street; Adams, Brown l.
Co., 20 Broad street; Allen, Jordan & Co., 81
Wall street, and Barnes, Garrison & Co., Nos.
elsewhere in New York Operators and the
persons conducting these concerns have been
prohibited.
1t appears from the levidence, as set forth in
the report of the department special agent,
that one BENZ. r. Buckwalter is the originator
under tRe apove mentioned sm ns%ea
over which he obtained control by recording,
under the laws of the State of New York, fctiti
Gus articles of copartnership, ETC.. but that
some time ago he effected an arrangement with
w. ID. Duff and 81. E. Lassing, according to
which they have for number of months been
attending to tho practical manage
with the Transcript of their books, show an
enormous amount of profits. Their agreement
was to pay Buckwalter $l2,5Oo Der month
$l50, per year-for the net receipts of the
business during term of five years, under the
single firm of Lawrence & Co.,, and an equal
amount for the prestige of doing business
under two of the other firm names Buckwa1ter's
interests were guarded by his having confiden.
tlal agents to be present at the opening of
letters containing remittances, which
nave poured In ut such rate as to make the
profits of Lawrence & Co. alone from $4,000
to S29, 900 per month from March 1st to Dec.
1at, 1879, after paying all expenses, including
very extensive advertising and salaries of slO0
per week each to Duff and Lansing. The re-
sponses to their advertisements soliciting remit
tances for investment upon the system of
combining capital, or pooling orders for stocks
Into one vast aggregate controlled by capital
lists OF experience, etc., have come from all
parts OF the country, encouraged at the outset,
here and there, by small but actual returns
made to some of the part les investing. But,
in nearly every instance, the sender of O re-
smittance has been informed that, owing to un-
expected fluctuations in the prices of stocks
and unusual stringency in the money market,
the firm has been obliged to close out at loss
the venture in which he was interested. These
notifications were always accompanied, how
ever, with an intimation that the loss might
easily be retrieved by investing in new COM
bination about to be formed, and in an aston
ishing number of cases the same persons have
sent forward additional remittances.
kREFUNDING THE DEBT.
Secretary Sherman has written letter to
Senator Morrill, of the finance committee re-
lating to the refunding of the national debt.
In it Mr.. Sherman expresses the opinion that
Fernando Wood's bill proposing the future
80 per cent. per annum would be fatal to the
refunding of the national debt however desir-
Gus it might be to secure lower rates than those
now paid by the government. Yi