The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-24
A KENTUCKY SWINDLE
INDIANA MERCHANTS WE'RE CAUGHT
BY A CLEVER GANG OF ROGUES.
Postofice Inspector Fletcher, Of h
City, Makes the Arrests POST
master In the Scheme.

Postofice Inspector Fletcher, who recent
ly spent a week among a gang of post
office swindlers in Martin county, Ken
lucky, in the guise of Harry Il. Wilson,
an alleged timber buyer, has arrested three
of the ringleaders of the gang, and they
are now in Jail at Cincinnati. Among them
is Wild Hall, the postmaster at Wells, the
seat Of the gangs operations. 1t was one
of the most dangerous bands OF conspira-
tors that the Postoffice Department has
any knowledge of n their capture has
been a much-desired object for three years.
Many Indiana merchants nave been vic
timized and the list of victims numbers
in the hundreds from New York to Indiana.
The scheme was to order goods in the
drug or grocery trade, or in the liquor
business, on credit, referring either to the
postmaster at Wells, who was Hall himself,
or to some other Of the gang who had es-
tablished a sort of credit, and then never
pay for the goods. They were spirited up
into the mountains of Kentucky and were
disposed of at leisure. The spot was so
inaccessible and the surroundings SO UNI
inviting that creditors seldom cared to fol-
low up their goods. and found it more
profitable to charge the loss up to the
profit and loss account rather than to
throw good money after bad. For this rea-
son Sn the gang has had q great success rSsSsa and n
people who trusted them is estimated at
$4,000. The two others beSides Hall who
gist at PainJsvlle. KY, and Wayne Dam
eron, a wholesale liquor dealer at Catletts-
burg, KY. The number of their victims
will never be fully known, but among them
the postofice authorities have received CONF
plants from many Indiana firms A few
In February, 1893, Hiram Walker & Sons,
of New York, sold w. Hall thirty cases
of Canadian Club whisky at s5 a case on
Wayne Cameron, the wholesale whisky
dealer of Catlettsburg. In October, 1893,
Windisch, Mulhauser & Co, of Cincinnati,
September of the same year the Lawrence
burg Roller Mill Company sold Hall TWEEN
ryIhye barrels csr Of o9ol Sew foa aTn at % a bar r
account against Hall for groceries worth
$500. sold in January of 1894. The Law
Isss' %ag i Bde@las to cof% oraays tn twe 9stoSer:
casks of lager beer on reference 70 the
Bauer Cooperage Company. of Lawrence
twenty-five empty whisky casks. Gustave
Kiel, OF New Albany, has an account of SO
G TOR 5000 at slsf Ps,n ssld on Tsfere nsgi to G. N N.
gan Company, of PIItsburg, contributed
two organs in August, 1893.
The operations were still going on in Au-
gust OF this year. Hall wrote to ]. H.
Rogers & Co., OF Maysville, for two bar
rels of whisky and referred to the post
iiaClCl ~ Nv Ill WIOlt. ~
Hall, postmaster, whose name had not been
given, asking, rs he (HalD good for two
barrels of whisky worth sf20?" and back
came the answer on the same sheet of pa
per, and i'm the same handwriting, SO
tersely worded that the resemblance was
not noticed: 80 K-P. NJ" Other firms
that have suffered are c. l.. Hoover & Son.
druggists. of New Albany, who furnished
a big stock of oils to replenish stock in
Cooper's drug store at Paintsvflle; DIR.
Harter Medicine Company, st. Louis, $50,
September, 1898; Spencer: Barnes & Stew
art, Benton Harbor. Mich, fifteen first
class sets of furniture, October 20, 1893;
]. NJ. Haines Milling Company. New AL
bany, one car of flour, Diamond brand,
and twenty-five barrels other brands, Jan.
%, 1884,; Ariel Bicycle Company. Sandusky,
o.. one bicycle; Engels &c Ludwig, Sandus-
Ky. o.. wine and brandy. billed at sl5s.2A
May, 1893; Alpine Safe Company, Cincin-
natl, three safes. June. 1893: Porter Iron
and Roofing Company. goods billed at
Sl25.SS. Cincinnati, July, 1898; American
Sewing Machine Company, Cincinnati, ma
chimes billed at 800. MAY. 1898; Cincinnati
Cork Company corks billed at 800, Sep
TENDER. 1893; Union Manufacturing Com
iS94; Van Deusen-Tfft Company. Cincin-
natl, one church bell, $751;, which now
hangs over Dameron's blind tiger.