The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-08-18
HUNDREDS sWIAD[u|
The American Bond and Excliat,S p IS
Company Of St Paul 4 ID D
Great Fraud. sssasSal |zsI
Sale Of Alleged Foreign Bondn 4
That Arc Not Worth U
Picayune. FssIsI
Big Profits Promised ON Small Inveeo
nsnts But tho Buyers Arc BADLY
Taken In. ae "

81. PAUL, Aug. 17.-[Special. 1-TtA
Pioneer Press will tomorrow print % =.
posure Of an extensive swindling ooucssn
which has been operating in this citv fGeI
some time past. II is known as the Aus
tro-American Bond and Exchange Com.
pany," and is said to have officers in other
western cities.
From the circular it appears that tho
scheme OF the Austro- American Bond and
Exchange company is to buy . quantity.
large or small, Of foreign lottery bonds of
little value, most Of them having interest
payable In "drawings' once month or 20.
and then making these bonds up in blocks
of i've, six, eight or ten, to sell them
to men of small means ON the
installment plan. These "bonds'' are,
in short, a lottery scheme and are
described in the prospectus Of the company
- European government and municipal
premium. bonds" Their circular also
afirms that 'these bonds are evidence of
debt Of lawfully issued government cr mu-
nicipal loans, Just as United States bond
i evidence Of the fact that tho United
States owes 10 holder Of that bond the
amount called for in that particular bond.
The European bonds are publicly bouRhf
and sold In all European exchanges; they
are recognized in every business center; are
acknowledged AZ absolutely safe invest
ments OF savings and Of trust moneys, and
can be readily turned into cash.
In the course of subsequent investigations
the reporter found these bonds not recog.
mixed in every business center. They arsnot
oAk~nVw1AArnnA Al ohu 1ukn kn
ments Of savings and of trust moneys, and
cannot be readily turned into cash. There
10 scarcely q bond in the whole list which
they sell which can be found on the ofiicial
list OF any reputable bank IN st. Paul or
Minneapolis. As matter of fact most Of
them are issued by municipalities OF pri-
vate corporations, and there 10 not na-
tional bank In 81. Paul that the reporter
has been able to 6nd that would negotiate
single bond sold BY this concern a. any
rate Of discount whatever. What is more,
the reporter was unable to find banker q
this Ctty who has ever heard Of most Of thu
bonds" named, and certainly not ono in
the city can give current quotation or psice
Ct any Ct than y Europe. The company
for these bonds In full you may give them
back and they will loan You money ut about
half their face value, after which they are At
liberty TO sell bonds again. Same company
will also give you quotations at any time
showing what your bonds are worth in Eu-
rope, all without extra charge. Corres-4
pondence reveals that the Italian consul in
Chicago never heard of italian red GROSS
bonds, which are highly recommended by
the company, and officers of the Italia bank
in that CITY declare there is no such bond
in the official list of the Italian stock ex-
change. All the reputable bankers in the
city who were interviewed declared they
would not touch these bonds at any price.
A close examination reveals that the,ei al-
legged foreign bonds were all printed in this
country during the present year. The vic-
Tins OF this concern are numbered by hum
dreds. II will probably be proceeded
against BY the prosecuting attorney to-.