The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-02-08
ALLEGED GIGANTIC FRAUDS.

| Ray in the matte of several Chicago firms ex-
| clu ed yesterday from the mails, with the in
| dorsement of III Chjef-Inspecto
PosL-0FBICE lNsPt CrOR'S OFFICE,
CHICAGO, January %. 1896
The Hon. David B. Parker, Chief Post-OTce
Inspector:
The accompanying reports Of Inspector Ray
are respectful referred, with the recon-
mendatiOn that firms named be excluded from
the mails as fraudulent, and tuat the action of
ateiy telegraDhed to the Postmaster at Chi
cagO, in advance OF the mail that the fraud
may be stopped at ouce, as large amounts hy
! registered letters and money orders are daily
received. J. Z. STUART,
Post-ohlce Inspector.
RAYS REPORT.
POsT-oFFICE INsPECToR's OFFICE,
CHICAGO. January 70, 1888. I
The Hon J. E. Stuart, POst-ofice InsT ector:
>T: As You are aware. the magnitude of the
extensive fraudulent swindling schemes of
the COZ Germs styled Flcmming & Merriam r
e. kenda / a Co.. Charles }. Henri & Co. and
CudWorth \ Co has long been n subject of in
qui Y by me. These schemes, of men whose
reputation is in almost every case smrched
reached point which is perfectly astonish-
ing. The receipts of the firm of F1emming &
Merriam are simply enormous, as viii be seen
by reference to the statements appended here
to. 1t is estimated, | think with approximate
CorreCthesS' tnat the receipts OF the four con-
Germs naneq ABOVE have had an aggregate
average duly for the last sixty days of not
less than Sl00JJ, including what they have
SGSINeu Dy the various ex p 'eSs companies. Inc
firm of Flemming & Merriam have, in the
twenty days from January !, 1888, to Jan
uary ~ 1888, received through the
Chicago Post Office RS registered let
ters. None of these registered letters
contained less than $40, and very many Of them
conta ned amounts var wing from 500 to $500.
] hey have in the same time received about $50
nohey-orders, aggregating $O4l6. 1t IS OF
course impossible to state accurately the
amO ant received by them by the several ex-
press companies; but, judging from state
ment made by one in position to know some
thing or their business, they received last week
over $4,000 by express. It is presumed that
their receipts by express for the twenty days
were not less than $50 900. Aggregating the
receipts from these sources il would appear
in q pp iuh nOH ~
$4,000 since January L In the same period of
twenty DAYS the firm of II. Z, Kendall & Co.
have had cashed about 625 mOney-orders, for
ceivei n thatfi Al registored Iertrrs none
containing less than SlO and many from 800
to 500. Estimating the business of r. E. Ken
dali Y Go. at twOthirds that of Flemmiug
in thirty days. The other two firms. Charles
J. Henri q Co. and Cudworth & Co, do a
aT7O11t s50 mn i, r1Cl,,I.y- 90 ,Td M sr,l3
tine. Now. as to the character of the business
done by these firms, / append to this report
the certih ate of the Chief Grain Inspector,
that none of these firms are known to the
State Inspection Department " as warehouse
men, grain RECEIVERS, or shippers, nor in any
way connected with the actual grain trade"
The pretense in their circulars that they are
the extent that one of them has done a little
commission busin ana now operates little
of their fraud is this They pretend to
conduct what is termed by them a " Mutual
Investment Club or Mutual Operative
Fund, composed of the money of
suckers" and = 'greenhorns,' who buy
shares at $40 per share and take the chances
that the managers use the aggregate
funds subscribed by the shareholders in spec
ulating in gram, stocks, etc. The managers
every few days or weeks make reports show
IN that they have lost or made so much
money: and if the latter they return to share
holders a pretended profit of so much per
cent. They cannot show that they have ever
made the bro Is or foss.s rhey raport bv anv
reputable proc. What money they re urn as
profits is solely just what they choose and
fhey choose to return lust what fbey think will
10 Ter n # Ia Cral y
In some cases they have, to II investors,
returned as profits a ncttious showing of
iarge percentage of the investment The re-
suit has been that such investors, mostly from
a remote place and in distant States, have
Men starting in with SO or SO have been in
duced, by receiving hattering return, s.
many cases within my knowledge high
1000 to $500. The sole return they cin
ever get is Just what the s" ect will of the fell
lows VINO run the concern are dispoSe1 to
send them. That they are scOun irels and
ought to be in the penltentiary may be judged
by the antecedents of some of them. John |
Flemm ng, of Flemming y Merriam. was
partner in Detroit of Mckinney Mckinney
is now serving q term in the Michigan State |
Prison for "fencing' stolen goods. Flemmiug |
himself was arrested in Letroit for fraud and |
Gus BENZ min Buckwdlter, of New York, now /
been moving spirit in tn organizing of the |
swtndles in Chicago. Frank s. Wa ers and |
Dan Loring, of Chicago, have some cOnneo- |
ton, either open or secret W tn Flemming |
Merriam and r. e. Randall Co. Waters is a |
brOther-in-Iaw of Kendall Waters and Lorfng
were in the Preside ErieIid lottery sw ndIe and |
fraud Il few years ago, and both |
have run as closely to the limits Of criminal |
as they dared ana are known |
as su picious and crooked men in minor |
transactions heretofore. The manager of !
Bradstreets Commercial Agency, Mr. Turn. |
bull who has a better knowledge of the stand
ing and reputation of men Of business in Chi !
cagO, has peremptOrily refused to allow either |
of the firms named to become Sui scribers to |
the agency, and denOminates them frauds and |
swindlers of the worst sort. TIE Hon. Harvey /
d. COlvin, ex-Mayor of Chicago. now Manager
of the United ates Express Company. assures !
me of his willingness and desire to break up
these mOnstrOus schemes, and promises to act |
simultaneously with the PUst-Ofiice Depart |
ment in refusing to deliver any rcmittances to
them. Mr. SeatOn, Manager of the American
EX press Com panY in this city. Will do the same
thing, and says he has no doubt Of the disrcp-
utaDe ana unlawful character or the scheme.
Ex-Governor Shuman, editor Of the Chicago
J0utndl, the Hon w. P Nixon, Manager of the
Chicago IlteT-DceGn, the manager of the Vest
eTn HttTdI, and others present certificates TO
which invite respectful attention stating that /
these ScOundrels print and scatter broadcast |
their circulars and advertisements. which pur-
port to be copies of editorial Inducements from |
newspapers, of their frauds. These
them were paid advertisements, written by |
themsn ives. and then copied for their own
purposes. Hardly a abusiness-hOuse in Chicago |
but is flooded with letters of inquiry and com |
plants from people all over the United States
about one other of these firms They en- |
DtOv large mum berS of employees in addressing |
and mailing their gIarfnR circulars to remote |
pa Is of the Union, getting the names of work
men in factories, coal mines, iron works, etc,
md Also trying to induce postmasters to serve
As their agents. and to invest with them. de-
sire the department to take the earliest possible
moment and exclude these concerns by name |
rom the priv lege of receiving mOney-orders
and registered letters at the Chicago POst-of-
ice. append my own affidavit 10 my belief
IS to the facts. Very respectfully,
y. A. RAY, Post-OfIice Inspector
AFFIDAVIT.
STATE OF ILLINOIS, GO
County of Cook 10