Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-05
Is the Charge on Which Six Attaches Of the
American Suit Club Company
Are Arrested.
WEALTH HAsBEEN ROLLING THEIR WAY.
Superintendent Weir Says he Has Sure Case Against
the Defendants


Irons and Ad Bottenfeld. They are
charged with "setting up and conducting
an illegal lottery" and will have hearing
before Magistrate Gripp this morning. Sew
eral days ago Superintendent Weir an
nounced his intention of prosecuting these
people The manager of this company was
notified that he would be arrested if he con-
tinued his business. No attention was paid
to the warning and the police, with the
sanction of excellent legal authority, will
push the case. 1t is in measure a test,
and if successful will be followed by other
prosecutions
The American Suit Club Company has
headquarters in rooms 26 and q,
Schmidt building, No. 95 Fifth avenue. B.
T. Hatton is manager. Under him are. 81
agents who canvass all parts of Allegheny
county for new members.
AN EXTENSIVE CLERICAL FORCE
At the Office five ladies have been en-
ployed mailing circulars and attending to
correspondence, etc The company has
been operating since April, and during the
intervening time has done business
amounting to about $4,000 The venture
was proving decidedly successful and the
members of the company were IN fair
way to become millionaires when the police
put sudden stop to operations. The plan
of procedure can best be explained by the
following extract from circular sent broad.
! cast over the county:
We have a contract whereby So persons
! agree to cooperate together for the purpose
of NM has sing
| to paw 81 per week for 3S weeks unless they
| are released from the payment of any part
of it by reason of having suit or overcoat
| delivered to them When IS persons have
signed said contract and each pay 81, then
we place the 3S contracts together and dis
interested party draws one contract from
the lot, and whosever name appears on the
contract he is notified by postal, if he is not
present, and invited to come to Urllngs
large tailoring departments and have
selection of all the latest patterns on the
market. After the suit or overcoat is made
up by our most skIllful mechanics, the goods
are delivered, together with his original con-
tract and a receipt paid in full, making the
suit cost only 81. The remaining 81 persons
are notified by our collector informing them
of the party's name and address who re-
ceived said suit. We give each person 81
chances Ia suit being delivered to one of the
IS persons each week for3s weeks) to get q
suit for less than SIS. But if q person should
pay S3s, we deliver to MIN s. suit such as he
may select Every person is sure to get
We treat every person fair and square.
We could not be benefited by doing other
wise. as We receive profit on every suit
given out regardless of what it costs the
party who receives it. When person re-
ceives a suit and drops out of the combina-
tiOn, we place q new contract in the COM
bination, always making it 3S, and still give
q chance to each to- get a suit for less than
S3S. When a contract is drawn out the per
son bearing the name on said contract is en-
titled to nything in the store valued at $Ss,
either overcoats or suitings.
BIG BUSINESS TRANSACTED.
The circular also states as an evidence of
the amount of business done that 100 suits
are being given out every week It con-
tains long list of names of well-known
Pittsburgers who have secured suits at from
81 to 50. Among them are the following
with the amounts for which they secured
suits: t ,,
Mrs. E. Quigg, 123 Rebecca street, Ale
gheny, 81; L. A. Mitchell, us Forty-second
street, 81; =. B: Clements, 81 Twelfth street,
of Customs. Wheeling, 81; G. s. Otte, Secre-
tary State Fair. 81; A. J. Brush, Chief Clerk
Postoffice, Pittsburg, S5 Theo. Wright, Ben
nett, Allegheny county, 81; Charles Oneil,
Elroy, Pittsburg and Lake Erie depot
Southside, So; John Bird, Diamond square,
So: F. J. Adams, Mansfield, CHARTERS Post
office, 81: Joseph G. Harper, Beaver avenue
and Bayard street, "a: Frank E. Roll 50 Wash
ington street, ST. II. J. Ulane, Central Hotel, 50;
W. S. Weeden, % Palo Alto street, Ale
gheny, 81; Frank Magraw, Carnegie's Twen-
ty-ninth street mill, 81; Martin Cain, 69s
Fifth avenue, mill man, 81; Jacob Walter "a
Juniata street Allegheny, Sc; w. j. Young,
Beaver Falls, P. & L. E. baggage room, So;
Roy, 3S5 Fifth avenue, milliner, S. George
w. Richards, 1l4I Penn avenue, SO: Thomas
O'Brien, Citizens Traction Company, s5;
j. Heinzman, 10Y Smithfeld street. book
keeper, 81; F. o. Reeves, Coraopolis, 81 F. P
Confer conductor on p, V. & c. R. B., 81: D.
S. Mahoney, "a Fifth avenue, 81. J. c. Hutch
inson; mail carrier, Pittsburg Postoffice, 81;
tieth street. S.: E. J. Carey, 167 Mcclure ave-
nue. Allegheny, So; B. F. Bodders, 81: NJ H.
Manning, ll9 Rebecca street. Allegheny, 81:
j. B Caskey, 20 Seventeenth street, 81; E. r.
Williams, Mansfield, Pa, Pittsburg, Cincin-
natl and st. Louis Railroad, So; j. a. Shane,
Coraopolis, Pa, g; j, B. Wood, City Engi-
neer's Office, City Hall, "a; G. P. Norris, Cfti-
zens' Traction Company, East Liberty, s6; h.
S. Ogden, California avenue sheds, Pleasant
Valley Railway Company, 81; T. H. King,
postofice, 81: r. w. Mclaughlin, 2s5 Pennsyi,
vania avenue, Allegheny, S. Miss Ella Jen-
kins, Wheeling, W. Va, 81
ARGUMENTS OF THE OFFICIALS
The police argue that this system of con-
Quoting business is just as much lottery as
the famous Louisiana combination.
''It is a clear violation of the lottery
law" said Superintendent Weir. 'These
folks have justified their action in this
matter by claiming they were acting fair
and square, but even admitting that they
did so, which 1 am not prepared to believe,
they have been clearly violating the law
against lotteries Their business is not
legitimate on the face of it, even supposing
they did all they claim to do: but there is
no reason to suppose they do this. AsI
understand it they have a drawing each
week in each club of 3S members, there be-
ing only one member allowed to witness
the drawing. How can he tell whether that
drawing is made from club of 3S or from
among 250 names? How can he tell when
he paws in his money, whether he is to get
one chance out of So, or one chance out of
800 orss40O? The very element of chance in
the matter disqualifes the business from
legitimacy.
''It's really astonishing the number and
good character of the people who have in
vested in this scheme. More than half the
postofice employees, a great many from
around City Hall and large number from
the Court House and prominent officials and
business men from both cities are down on
the contracts we turned up in this COM
panv's Office to-day. OF course, they had
no idea of wrong doing or aiding others in
doing so.''
THE COMPANY NOT A LOSER.
Inspector McAleese said: s'sIt does not
take mathematician to see that where one
man gets a S3S suit for 81, somebody else
loses S37. Now you may rest assured the
company is not the loser, SO it must be
some of its customers"
H. V. Hatton, one of the men arrested, is