Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-02-08

aCincago, to- the Department. a6 wash
ingffon' ao3 ~ M aes+.od aes
Following Is the report of, Special Agent
Ray in the matter of several Chicago firms exc
| eluded yesterday from the mailsgFWith the, iEa-
| dorsement of the Chief-Inspector:
= as Pos1So FEIcE INsPE0ToR's OFFICE as
CHICAGO, january 25 1888
The Hon: David B. Parker, Chief Postofice
Inspector:
The accompanying reports of TnspectorRay
mendation that firms named be excluded from
| the mails as fraudulent, and that the action of
| the POstmaster-Genera thereon be imme6i-
| ately telegraphed to the Postmaster at Chi
cagO. in advance of the mail, that the fraud
may be stopped at once, as large amounts by
registered letters and money orders are daily
received. }. E STUART,
RAYS REPORT.
/ POsT-oFFICE INspECrOR's OFFICE
The Hon. J. E Stuart Post-otlce Inspector
Sir: AS you are aware the magnitude of the
extensive fraudulent 'swindliRg schemes OF
the concerns styled Flemming & Merriam, r..
E. Kendall s Co., Charles j. henri s. Co. and
CudWorth & Co. has long been a subject of in =
! qui y by me- These schemes, of men whose
! reputation is in almost every case smirched
reached point which is perfectly astonish-
ing. The receipts of the firm of Elemnlingi&
| Merriam are simply enormous as will be seen
| by reference to the statements appended here
| to. 1t is estimated, think with approximate
correctness, that the receipts of the four com
Germs named above have had an. aggregate
average daily for the last sixty days of not
ceived by the various express companies! The
| firm Of Flemnning & Merriam have, in the
5%sPs Gays fS0m se9RRsa FoSs6 ' tRs
Chicago oI Post 20 fbes 77 Te fs Let
| contained less than $40, and very many of them
! contained amounts var wing from 500 to $500.
They have in the same time received abouts2l
mouey-orders, aggregating S2e, 416. 1t is OF
| course Impossible 70 state accurately the
press companies; but, judging from states
! n1ent made by one IN position to know some
i L
| were not less than SS0,o 600. AggregatfIg the
/ receipts from these sources it would appear
| that they have received in the reighbOrhoOd OF
$4,000 since January l, In the same. period of.
| twenty days the firm Of r. e, Kendall & Co.
! have had cashed about 6y5 money-orders, for
the sum of Sl5,SS7. This latter firm has also re-
| ceiVed n that lime 531 registered letters, none
! containing less than SO, and many from 500
/ to $500 Estimating the business Of r. e. KEN
! dali e Co at tFosthirds that of FieDnming
! g. Merriam, it would aggregate about S5SQ80I
! j. Henri g Co. and Cndworth s. Co. do a.
i smaller business, tho two probably aggregating
! tine. Now, as to the Character Of tue business
done by these firms, | append to- this report
that none of these firms are known to the p
/ 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 ares
| commission merchants is fictitious, except TO
/ the extent that one of them has done little 4
| commission business and now operates q little
| for some f.w customers The principal feat
conduct what is termed by them a Mutual
| Investment Club" or Mutual Operative -
''suckers'' and "greenhorns,''l who buy
shares at $40 per share and take the chances
that the managers use the aggregate
funds subscribed by the shareholders in spec
Ilating in gram, stocks, etc. The managers
inZ that they have lost made so much
money; and, if the latter, they return to share
cent. They cannot show that they have ever
made the pro0ts or losses they report by any
TfQfD de hex II
profits is solely just what they choose, and
induce the Shareholder to invest more largely.
In some cases they have, to smYH, investors
returned as profits a fictitious showing of a
| large percentage of the invest ment The re-
suit has been that such investors, mostly from
| a remote place and in distant States, havei
been induced to invest large amounts anew.
n en- starting in with $40 or $40 have been in- Z
duced, by receiving hatter :Id3 -re ETY. mis-
many GASES within my knowledge as high
as $1,000 to 100: The sole return they can
ever get is just what the sweet will of the fell
lows who run the concern are disposed to
send them. That they are scoundrels and
ought to be in the penltentiary may be jEdgedLC
by the antecedents of some of them. John
Flemming, Of Flemming Se1Merriana. was q
IS now serving asterm in the Michigan State
Prison for fencing stolen goods. Flemming
himself was arrested in Betrtiit for fraud, and 9
exposed by the M1chtJtll Farmer. The notori-
GUS Benjanin BueHwalter. of New York now
been moving spirit in the organizing of the
sWinales in Chicago. Frank s. Waters and
ton, either open or secret, with Flemming s.
Merriam and r. &. Randall & Co. Waters is5a
were in the FTTestds Friend lottery swindle and
newspaper fraud a few years age. and both
have run as closely to the limits of criminal
interference as they dared, and are known
as suspicious and crooked men m minor
Bradstreets Commercial Agency, Mr.. Turn
, bull, who has a better knowledge of the stand
ing and reputation of men or business In Cn1-
! cago. has peFemptorily refused to allow either
of the firms named to become subscribers to
the egeney, and denominatRs them frauds and
swindlers of the worst sort. The Hon Harvey
| d. COlFin, eX-A1ayor of Chicago, now Manager
of the United States Express Company. assures
me of his willingness and desire to break up
these monstrous schemes, and promises 10 act
, simultaneously with the POstoffee Departs
ment in refusing to del1YeT any remlttances 20
: | thems Mr. SeaIOns Manager. OF the American
Express Company in this city. Will do the same
thing. and says he has no doubt or tne olsTep~
, utable and unlawful character of the scheme
JONI nal, the Hon. w r Nixon Manager OF Ine
Chicago f1teT-OcedTt, the manager OF the vest
eT1l tttLT!It and others present cerllhcsstes "
, which invite respectful attention stating thd6
these scoundrels print and scatter proedcaSg
their circulars and ad vert ents, which plir-
port to be copies of editorial Inducements from
q reputable newspapers, of their fTau'fs. Inese
certificates show that the notices copied by
them were paid advertisements, written Dy
themselves, and then copied for their own
Z purposes. Hardly business-house IN Chicago
piairts from people ali over the United states
about one or other of these firms Ihey en-
pioy large numbers of employees in addressing
. and mailing their glaring circulars to remote
par is of the Union, getting the names OF Work
9 men in factories. coal-mines, iron WORKS, etc.
! and also trying to induce posi- TIastefs 10 serve
as their agents. and to invest with men, 4 sie-
sire the department to take the earliest possloie
3 moment and exclude these concerns by name
Q from the privilege of receiving money! roeIS
. | and registered letters at the Chicago iPost-si-
{. fee. Il append my own affidavit 10 my peIief
: as to the facts. Very respectfully. rlr-r .eBgt
b | 90 70 ID. A. Ray, Post-ofice Inspector.
ANOTHER FIRM. s1l
> -f ~ POSf-OFFICg INSRECTOESS OFFICE.
CFTcAcO January % 1888. 8
The Hon. J. e. Stuart, Post-ofice inspector;
9 Str: 1t has come to my kIloRLeesS stnaI d
l. concern styled Bennett, Hoitznan = 20. LitL 1
: ayers of a Mutual Cooperative CiuD at 100 anu
. i Isl East Washington street. Chtcago,, mas re- re-
Gently commenced a new scheme 70 deI Eau u
using the mails therefor, exaetly SIN Aar 70
d those of Fiemming, Merriam Y %, H. u, Ken
a dali g. Co, Charles j.. Henrg& Co., ana Cuo-
= worth go, which schemes have IN my re7
y port of this date on cases Zl1S4 G. ana 40.
It zi.769 G, fully exposed. recommend IN. lnS
9 case that the Postmaster at Chicago pc dr9ct-
o ed to deliver no registered mfftter nor 20 pay
2 any money-orders to Bennett .holizI2 mar. q
II Co.. as they are frauds. Very respecIIu4ys
o 30 d. A. RAY. Rost-ofhee 4nspecteF'
q --9-S q
n PHILADELPHIA has 3 young woms ms nome
4 on Clinton street Hheh has run suecessililly
], for ten years and now has fOfty-tiye inmates.
b Clerks, telephone operators, cepyists and the
. like live there. pay three doll2rs week OF