Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1894-02-03
RANK SWINDLERS.

a Denberate Scheme to Defraud National
Banks In Various Parts of the Country
Exposed by the Investig cations of Kan
sas City Grand Jury-The Manner Of the
swindie and Its Victims.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-. Jan. 2s.-The
grand jury now in session here has for
several days been investigating what
is said to have been deliberate scheme
to defraud the National Bank of Com
merce out of 100000, and 1t is known
that two indictments have been re
turned, and that the capiases for the
arrest OF the offenders are in the hands
of Marshal Stewart
The fraud, which has caught the
banks in several commercial centers in
the United States, was brought to
light by its Kansas City ramifications.
Its extent, as far as traced. is between
$3.50, 1000 and s4O0, 600.
The parties charged with the swindle
are the lumber firms of j. H. Bemis e
Co., of Jefferson, Tex, and George w.
Howell & Co., of Atchison, Kas. Banks
in Connecticut, Missouri, Tennessee,
Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois are
known to have been defrauded, and
the full extent of the fraud is not yet
fully known. In Kansas City the Ma
tional Bank of Commerce was caught
for $50, 900
The manner in which the swindle
was perpetrated was not complicated
one. Each firm drew accom- moda-
ton drafts on the other, due pripci-
pally in thirty, sixty and ninety days,
respectively. The firm on which the
draft was drawn would accept it.
These drafts were issued several
months ago when the firms had good
credit, but were really in failing cir
cumstances, The next step was to go
to the banks and, under false pre-
lenses, get the drafts cashed. About
the time the drafts came due the firms
failed.
The fact that the drafts were time
drafts and not sight drafts prevented
attaching the bills of lading to the
drafts, as is usual in sight drafts. and
covered up the fraud in regard to the
misrepresentation that the paper was
for accommodation, and not for the
actual sale of lumber.
Among the banks which got some OF
this bad paper were those in Dallas,
Galveston and Houston, Tex; Mem
phis Tenn; Chicago; Atchison, Kas.; !;
ST. Louis, Omaha, and some in Con-
necticut, by rediscounting western
banks paper. 1t is also stated that
some found its way to Boston.
George W. Howell moved here from
Atchison and had an Office in the
Leith & Perry building and home on
the south side of Independence, near
Garfield avenue. He was introduced
| as defendant in criminal prosecution
for violation of the interstate com
merce law and was sentenced to the
penitentiary, but was pardoned by
President Harrison,
Howell's offense consisted in bribing
Edward Tibbitts, railway employe
at Winthrop, Mo-, opposite Atchison,
to make false weight entries on freight
consigned By Howell for shipment
Howell was found guilty in the federal
court at st. Joseph, July al, 1892, and
sentenced to the penitentiary Decem'
ber 81 1892. Tibbitts was also con.
victed and was pardoned by Presiden,
| Harrison.
When Bemis became involved, two
years ago, Howells came to Kansa,
| City from Atchison on the morning
that the reports that Bemis was in
volved came out, took a special train
at the Union depot, which he had
chartered by telegraph, and made a
| flying trip to Texarkana to lend hi,
name to the aid of Bemis.