The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-09-16
Pollard's ViIIainy, as Told by Man Who Has
Lost Every Dollar He Had Through
the Sc0undrels Vaccinations.
The Size of the Township Bond Swindle
Growing with Great Rapidity.
Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars of
Center Township, Marion County, Paper
DiscoVered-Judge ElliOtt's Decision.
THE JENNINGS COUNTY BANK.
Enormous Transactions and Heavy Losses Il
the Fraudulent Paper.


the Fraudulent Paper.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
NORTH VERNON, Sept. 15-The Jennings
County Bank, of this place, is wreck because
of r. B. Pollard, and Mr.. c. e. Cook president
and sole owner of the institution, loses every
dollar he has in the world. Pollard, the town
ship bond shark, has been selling warrants to
MIR. Cook for FIVE years. generally in small
amounts; but during the past few months he
thoroughly won Mr.. Cooks confidence and the
latter invested heavily, because he thought he
was sure of his security The Jennings County
Bank did perfectly legitimate business,
and Mr.. Cook had the personal
friendship of every business man in
this paper by the fact that Chicago and Eastern
brokers had whole blocks of it, and everybody
who had money to loan was graspng after In
diana township bonds Not an nvester felt un-
safe, and Mr.. Cook was no exception. He bought
and sold heavily. He bought his paper at
shave of 5, 10 and Is per cent, very seldom the
latter and sold it at substantial
profit, and naturally thought he was
making money. Mr.. Cook told your corre-
spondent, this afternoon, that over $4,000
in township bonds had passed through his hands;
that he had sold them in bona fide faith that he
never indorsed one of them, but purchasers
thereof considered them, without exception as
good as gold.
He was first astonished on Sept 5, at your
correspondents dispatch from Washington, Ind,
to the effect that the three Daviess county
trustees who had fed had swindled their constt-
uents and outraged their trusts. Among other
estimates he saw that his bank was down for
nearly So, 600 in the spurious paper. So far as
Daviess county is concerned, Mr. Cook said
that statement was correct, and that he had
$29 600 altogether various townships of the
State, $500 of which is on Center township,
Marion county, Indiana. He was also offered
81, 900 more on that township. A portion of Mr.
Cooks $1,000 is good. however. but he does not
count on it by any means.
The liabilities of the Jennings County Bank
are $35, 600, including deposits, and
the assets $4,000, including spu-
rious warrants. The assignee Mr.
P. McGannon, says the bank will pay about 60
cents on the dollar, although fair statement
has not yet been made.
Mr. Cook was wofully hoodwinked by the
scheming Pollard. His principal depositors
were Mr.. Amos Thomas, county clerk. who had
in the broken bank $4.5OO and A. j. johnson,
conductor on the Ohio 6 Mississippi railroad,
81, 000. The other depositors lost small amounts
Mr. Cook is a very affable and pleasant gentle
man, who bears his misfortune with becoming
grace but feels the calamity more on account of
his friends and patrons than himself.
MR. COOKS STATEMENT.
"Indiana is loaded down with these bonds
said Mr.. Cook, land it is no wonder put my
foot into it. Right now I could name several
banks which are strained to their uttermost
capacity, and you need not be surprised if you
hear of many other sensational Developments
Capitalists couldn't keep their hands off of these
bonds. They itched and yearned to invest every
dollar they could scrape together in them. and
Pollards villainy is bearing fruit He got $3O 900
of my money, but I am not the
only unfortunate have had this paper showed
at me in great blocks of from So, 900 to $4,000
each. 1t is spread all over the country, even to
Portland, Maine, and Massachusetts, Chicago
is the heaviest loser, however, and should not
estimate her speculations in these bonds at a
dollar less than round million. Cincinnati
and Indianapolis, as well as several banks in the
interior of Ohio, will suffer heavily, and if the
swindie had not been exposed and Polard's
name coupled with it in the Journals
dispatches of week before last.
the State OF Indiana would have
had another half million OF million more on
the market Every one of US who purchased
were sure these bonds were as good. as the State
bonds. One Chicago broker boasted to me that
he held 5000, 600 of them, but laughed when
asked him what discount he would make. He
held them at par. You can buy them cheap
now. One of the leading banks in Chicago
loaned $4,000 in clean cash to
party and holds these bonds to-day as
collateral know this to be
fact. / can also name an Ohio bank which has
500, 900. Here, then, is $27O,OO0 added to the
former estimate, which makes total of 1927
600, and scores of places to hear from"
"Where will it endl"
''God only knows answered Mr.. Cook; "the
fraud is simply sublime in its terrible and ggan-
tic proportions, and the State of In
diana is groaning under the awful weight
of this dreadful burden. Many victims
are suffering to-day from the tremendous pres
sure that is bearing them down. Time will tell
whether they can stand the pressure"
Mr.. Cook lis young man of about thirty FIVE
The people of North Vernon have the utmost
confidence in him, and feel that he has been
simply swindled by infamous rogue who
duped thousands of others in the same way.
The Harrison, o.. Bank, sort of branch of
the North Vernon Bank-Cook g Scoville, pro-
prietors-also closed its doors yesterday. The
assets are $25 O0O and the liabili-
tics 100000. This bank also had
$5, 500 invested in spurious township bonds.
Answering an inquiry about this bank. Mr..