The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-08-15
Over ST. 5000 Taken from the Rich
and Poor Alike Throughout
the Country.
Arrest of Its Officers. but the King
Bee Gets Away with
$4,000.
A GIGANTIC SwINDLEl
Over $4,000 Taken From the Rich
and Poor of the Country.


CHICAGO, Aug. 10-Alfred Downing,
president, and n. II. Tollman, vice-presi.
dent of The National Capital Savings,
Building and Loan association of North
America" were arrested by Post Office
Inspector Stuart, charged with using
the mails for fraudulent purposes. 1t is
charged that the men who haze been
conducting this association have swim
died thousands of people from every
state in the union and taken in from
100000 to 53J0.0O0 and given nothing in
return. The victims hail from Maine to
California and are numbered among the
rich and the poor alike. From facts
already in possession Of the authorities
the scheme will parallel that
of the great Fund W"
swindle which was broken up about five
years ago. There are still two men at
liberty. they having disappeared several
weeks ago. These two men who are
missing are believed to have got away
with most of the funds.
For six months and more letters have
been received from all parts of the coun-
try by the postotfice and city authorities
protesting that the National Capital
Savings Building n Loan Association of
North America was not what its proiec-
tors represented it to be. and that it was
collecting money and making no loans.
| lnC,.nntAr Stt,nrt lnr Inn,, ,.,,l,... -,
the case four months. He found that
the concern was gigantic in its reach
and had agents in every state
in the union who were selling $4,000
600 Of stock the company was selling.
The scheme was advertised through
these agents who were sent circulars and
documents showing the assertion to be
gilt edged. At the time Capt. Stuart took
charge Of the case Louis +. Mortimer,
general manager and secretary, was APP
parently the responsible man and hand
led cash received in large amounts each
day. Capt. Stuart visited the companys
office frequently disguised as a letter car
rier in order to secure evidence. Several
weeks ago Mortimer disappeared and
today. after waiting in vain for his return.
Capt. Stuart decided to secure the
two visible members of the combination.
George o. Ferguson of Lincoln. Neb..
representing about sixty victims in his
city. was summoned here. With his as
sistance the necessary evidence was com
pleted and the arrests made. Three
young lady clerks were taken into Gus
tody as witnesses. Mr.. Ferguson. in an
interview. said:
The association was represented in
our town by a local firm acting in good
faith. The people of Nebraska are very
much in favor of the building and loan
association plan, and the offers
of this concern were snapped
up quickly. 1t sold shares for
fifty cents each with a payment of S11.O5
each month for M months. at the end of
which time a $1,000 loan would be paid
for. Then there was a membership" fee
OF e3O.an appraisement of so and $40 for
three months payment advance. this
making so. The concern made one 500
loan that was genuine and this was Just
enough to lead others to invest and hun
dreds sent their money to Chicago. and
Oh the strength Of the loans they ex
pected to make stores w'rett. The
money never came. and we wrote on here
to learn what the trouble was and final
" Professor Ellwood of the Wes-
leyan university, who was quite
a heavy investor came to Chicago to in
vestigate. He visited the offices and
Manager Mortimer seemed to be such a
fine business mar and gave such assur-
ances that the loans would be forthcom-
ing that Prof. Ellwood went back salts
fed. But the money never came and
finally | laid the case before the post
office authorities. Inspector Stuart and
District Attorney Gilchrist went over
the books of the concern and found that
seventeen legitimate loans had been
made in as many different states. These,
it would seem, were made to allure other
Investors, as in the Nebraska case. No
record of any other loans could
be found, although the books
show that money has been received from
hundreds OF people from places where a
single loan was placed. A rough esti-
mate of the amount of money received is
$4,000 in a year and a half the a~ssocia-
ton has been in existence.
The books OF the association show
that it had agents in all the states, but
the most active were Omaha, Denver,
Dies Moines, Portland, Ore, Galveston,
Olympia, San Francisco and Minneapo-
lis. These agents transacted hundreds
OF dollars daily in checks, drafts. money
orders and by registered letters. Until
within a few months the concern,
it is said, did a heavy
business in Philadelphia but it
appears that the authorities there
made inquiries which resulted in the
manager leaving. The association was
organized February q, 1890, with the
following as officers: Alfred Downing,
president; N. H. Tollman, vice president;
Louis F. Mortimer, general manager
and secretary. Mortimer seemed to be
the leading spirit in the enterprise and
he at once Incorporated the concern
with the long name with a capital of
S20,OOO,0OO. Mortimer was a good man
ager and DOR had money flowing in at a
ranid rate. EyerYthinn want smoothlx