The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-01-08

their polcy-noIdcrs in a company of
which he shall be the head. lie is
splendid actuary, and the way in which
he can juggle insurance figures is sim.
ply surprising"
The next time Mr.. Williams called
] told him bluntly that | wanted
nothing 70 do with him or his
scheme. He foated out into the silent
night. but was obliged to show him
up a few days later when | found that
he was using my name as an introduc-
ton in the various newspaper offices
In looking up his record found that ne
had been engaged in this same sort of
work for seven or eight years.
There is. as a matter of fact, very lit
tie to be exposed in the management
of the large financial corporations.
They are so closely watched by so many
thousands of eyes that any real crook
edness is practically impossible. Of
| course they all, occasionally, make un-
profitable investments-what business
man does not? But in the main they
are wisely and judIciously managed.
Not long ago 4 certain doctor, who
had been more or less familiar with
life insurance matters and who had
made very shady record as medical
director of a large corporation, called
upon one of the big insurance com
| panies and demanded that he should be
made medical director of the company,
His demand was promptly and properly
| refused. and he left threatening to
raise thunder with the company. He
entered into a combination with dis.
charged cmploye of the company and
| another employe on the inside and in
weighed a fat-witted newspaper mar
into the scheme. They began their at.
| taclls, and a series of wild assertions
were made rejecting upon the integrity
of the officers of the company, but the
| proofs were not forthcoming, and the
| newspaper man suddenly found him
self struggling in the turccn, so te
speak. The case will come up in the
courts before long and the newspaper
man will be the victim. 1t is hard, but
it is a warning not tQ fool with thingi
you don't know anything about.
But individuals are bothered even
more than corporations. Jay Gould re.
ceives scores of pleading, begging and
threatening letters every day. Men
write to him asking for tips on the
stock market, and threatening to shoot
him if he does not furnish the tips.
Not long ago one of these fellows be,
came so persistent that Mr.. Gould was
obliged to put the matter in the hands
of a detective and have the fellow ar
rested.
Henry NJ. Flagler, of the Standard
Oil Company, is another conspicuous
target for the letter-writing beggar,
and have not the slightest doubt that
/ Mr.. Flagler has given away thousands
of dollars to plausible swindlers who
have managed to touch his generous
heart with their cunningly-worded sp
peals. Somehow it leaked out that Mr..
| Flagler has an amiable fad for mechan.
/ les and has, at various times, furnished
money to perfect valuable inventions.
/ Since that time his offices at 20 Broad
way have been overrun with in
ventors who have machines of all sorts
4 from an automatic car coupling to the
/ discovery of perpetual motion. In
| justice to Mr.. Flagler it must be said
that he is one of the most patient anG
kindly of men, and even if the man with
the flying machine does not persuade
| the standard oil magnatc to go into
partnership he seldom has reason tC
regret having called. But his collec
ton of models must, by this time, re
semble a section of the patent office.
There is hardly a wealthy man il
/ New York who has not at one time ol
another been 4 victim of the ingeniou.