Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-25
REDUCING THE HELLO
A Nice Little Money Scheme That
Has Failed in New York.
INFLUENCE THAT DID NOT WORK.
A Lawyers Syndicate That Got Lots of
Dollars for Nothing.
In THE END THEY WERE KNOCKED OUT

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.I
NEW YORK, March 24.-There Is further
news of the little circle of would-be million
aires who set out to make quick fortunes by
raising funds to influence Legislatures in
behalf of low telephone tariffs. G.. Deal
ham. of Baltimore, writes acknowledging
that he was for time engaged in form of
the business conducted in an honorable
way.
He is the man who had his headquarters
and business in the Stewart Building. 1t
was said that there was yet another operator,
called Kaufman, engaged in the same serv-
ice to the public, and that connection be-
tween the two was suspected. Mr. Dealham,
who appears to have nothing to conceal, ac-
knowledges that he was connected with
kaufman, and that their joint work was in
behalf ofthe Roche bill. Not dollar was
TO be asked for till the bill passed out of
committee, and when it was reported ad
versely he says:
How the Scheme Was Worked.
1--WE dropped the entire matter, destroyed
all books, papers, signatures and every
thing" The Hon. A. Worth Spates, who
appears to have originated the scheme, first
worked in Philadelphia with man named
Guise. Spates, the man with name
Dickens would have enjoved using, is the
e1-statesman whose exposures led to the un-
earthing of the entire business. He and
Guise made heavy collections in Philadel-
phia and Pittsburg, but all the return those
communities got for their money was the
mere introduction of a telephone tariff bill
in Harrisburg.
Gnise is understood to have secured the
lions share of the Pennsylvania money.
He and the Hon. A. Worth Spates dis
agreed, ard the Hon. A. Worth Spates hur-
ried to New York ahead of Guise, and be-
gan the work of sending out those subscrip-
tion lists. Up to that time Spates had
carried on his work in New York with a
higher hand than he and Guise did in
Pennsylvania, for he did not cause any bill
to be introduced IN Albany, and only re-
ferred very vaguely to the legislation he
expected to influence in drafting his call
for subscriptions.
Another Who Expected a Fortune.
Still another man who was until very re-
Gently enjoying the hope of amassing a
quick and easy fortune in the same way is
Thomas Fl. Ronayne, of 119 Nassau street.
His plan was to get S. from subscribers as
soon as 100 names were secured, and then to
sCs VAo iIOm cdCH SiBucT dS SODu as u
bill should be introduced in ALBANY.
Ronayne's bait was the promise that he
would have telephone rates reduced from
SIT month to $50 year. He had agents
out, and they boasted of having secured
many signatures, but blight seemssto have
fallen on the business within the past few
days, and it will be long time before it
can be revived in this State.
Mr.. Dealham, who writes concerning his
own connection with prospective telephone
legislation, says he does so ito protect the
New York business community, OF which 1
am one" He adds: 81 will further state
that it is i'm possible to pass any kind of
telephone legislation in the New York
Legislature, or even get bill beyond the
committee chamber, and everyone who sub
scribes anything for that purpose is throw
ing money away. The Roche bill was we'll
drawn up and worked for in every possible
way, and still it was reported adversely"