New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-27
A GREAT LAND SWlNDLE.
a CHICAGO FIRM ALLEGED TO HAVE OBJ
TANNED NEARLY $1,000, 900 BY FRAUD.
WARRANTS OUT FOR THEIR ARREsT-R1CH AND
POOR ALIKE vIcTIMIZED-How THE
CAME WAS WORKED.


GAME WAS WORKED.
Chicago. Nov. 26.-F d. Cowie. son-ih'la" VI
Ex-Governor Rice of Wisconsin, sworc oaO
rants yesterday against NJ. {. ana " W. w.
erickson, OF the Chicago firm OF g
Col5and w F. Bdgood, bookkeeper oi 'iia' ~ iil'
charging them with conspiracy, piusooU ~
custody but the others e'"ue" 80 -
Fredericksen is said TO have gone " A"iOi"'
80 .oloorans were sent TO the New-Aork ponce
A~ -, him The firm has been In the
80 receiver for several weeks
Is .N,o1d ,hat rbe amount involved in the alleged
edr,.nt transactions will reach sl,ooo,OVV'
rrbe charge is based on alleged crooked transic-
fions in giving mortgages on lands 10 wnch 'ne
Fredericlsens had no title These mortgages
are said to have been pledged as security Tor
loans. Fredericksen N Co. have been dong
large business in Western railroad lands, selling
mainly small tracts of forty or fifty acres on
the instalment plan, the purchasers usually DeihS
immigrants or poor people who wished TO invest
their earnings in farms After certain number
of paynents had been made, FrederlckSen gave
a deed, a mortgage ON the land being taken for
the unpaid portion of the purchase money These
mortgages, it is alleged, were then given as
collateral for loans or sold outright, through the
West.
Among those said TO have been large buyers
are Ex-Governor J. A. Rice of Wisconsin; It,
Nunnemacher, cashier of the Merchants Exchange
Bank Of Milwaukee, and T. u. Comstock, a Mil
waukee LAWYER Ii is now alleged that
many of these mortgages are worthless.
Bidgood was arraigned in police court to-day
Bnd has case continued until Saturday, III
bonds of Sl5, 900. The prisoner declares his en-
tire innocence, and asserts that he never had rea-
son to suppose that the business OF tredenckSch
Il. pif liz Ia n m H.
Mr. Cowie, son-in-law of Ex-Governor Rice, OF
Harland. Wis. who, Mr. Cowie says, is loser TO
the extent of 100000, declares that he Will
secure the arrest of the missing Frederlcksen' II
IT, becomes necessary to follow them TO the end oi
the world "TheIe are about goo servant girls IN
this CITY," said Mr.. COwie, " vino have invested
from $50 to S4OO each in tEese bogus lands, ana
who, of course, have lost all but, aside from
these, there arc bankers IN Chicago who hold l0t
Of alleged mortgages which they mlgnC DIS Woii
throw in the fire, because they are not Worlh q
SOU Where all the money nus gone, can
imagine. There Is from S5OO,OOO 10 StOO, 10
account for, and the only explanation 1 can give
is that the major portion OF II went up AIlI"pukee
way The FredericAsens have not Il cent, ana no
ploperty whatever. Now We have the papers 10
prove IT, and are going to prove 1T, IN open couTl,
that certain MlwduKec man mas hSufed as uic
chief in these crooked transactions, ana that he
Induced hundreds ol people, among them his own
friends TO go into tins swlndle.
The Daily News says: The scheme OF The
,onsnirators was a simple one. Frederlcksen had
Mats OF farm lands in Dakota and all parts OF the
Northwest, and by picking out suitable piece "a
description could be filled out on a blank mort
gage and sent to the clerk of the county WheIcln
the land lay No abstract OF title is required Dy
Minnesota law in recording mortgages, ana the
mortgage bearing all the marks of a genuine docu-
ment similar to those held m gIeab numDIlS si
against farmers was soon PACK ~ te m 20 =, io n
vestors. The real owners OF the properly Knew
nothing of the scheme of course; ana the poor
fellows who bought and partially PAID 1or these
lands, receiving supposed abstracts OF Itle, ecf-
tied upon them and built homes, put III theli seeds
and stocked the places, only to he swoopeo oo"n
upon by the real owners ana driven out.
Helee A. Hangar, the receiver appointed by
Judge Shepard for Fredcricksen u Co., asked leave
of Judge Shepard to-day TO resign his receiver
ship He says that he has been able TO Collect
only $50 80, and that the concern has no as
sets except some apparently worthless papers.
He sees need of a receiver, there being nothing
DR. John A. Rice, of Harland, Wis, one of
the victims Of the swindle, arrived here TINS
afternoon Why. that man Frcdericksen was
the most cold-blooded swindler l ever knew
be said. Il hold Sl50,000 OF MORTGAGES
sold me by Frcdericllsen, and every one OF them
bears written guarantee, signed by FredcilcIiSen,
that the mort cages represent purchaS lana
on which the amount OF the mortgage has been
paid OF the whole $4,000 worth, know
Of number which are absolutely vauelcSs.
Besides myself, has been stated, Cashier Nunne-
macher, of the Merchants Exchange Bank, OF
Milwaukee, is one Of the heavy losers and Z. ID:
Hendricks, a prominent cdl-estate broker OF
Milwaukee,, has lost every cent lie had, and has
been forced TO assign"
How did il happen that men of such expert
ence as Mr.. Nunnemacher. Mr.. Hendricks and
yourself could be so deceived? ?"
' That is one of the peculiar features Of it: We
knew Chicago men had been backing Frederick
sen and il because supposed they had in
vestigated him that trusted him Hendricks,
for instance, is old abstract man, and Is the
last man one would suppose could be taken In
by a manufactured mortgage. but he was"
DR. Rice makes the assertion that SIX weeks
ago Frederick sen confessed that he hired men on
the street at s. apiece TO sign mortgages, and we
Besides the ten men in his Office who were parties
10 the conspiracy, have the addresses OF sev-
enty-ivc men who signed mortgages for land they
never owned. Every one Of these men VIII
be arrested rs Will all of his Office force
DR. Rice added If ever get Fredericksen
back we will prosecute him 10 the fullest extent
of the law. Six weeks ago, when he confessed
TO Mr. Nunnemacher. Mr. Hendricks and myself
that lie had been issuing fraudulent deeds and
mortgages, was in favor of having him ar
nsted, but my associates thought the affair
could be uded over. We let Frederickscn 20
ahead and form stock company with $500 600
10 carry on the business; and we took most Of
the STOCK just at that time news of
other crokKednesS, OF which we knew nothing
was published and Fredericllsen left Since then
we have been IN receipt of dozens of letters daily
from all over The west The exposure has been
complete"
Dr. Rice says n number Of the large dealers in
railroad lands in Chicago hold a great deal If
Frelericksen paper, but are keeping quiet abont
for fear il Will jnlure their credit
TWO swINDLERS OF LOW DECREE.
N,x OC