The Indianapolis journal., 1894-02-01
MANY WERE CAUGHT
Western Land Bubbles i'm Which
Much Money Was Sunk.
Operations of an Investment Company
Arrest Of Its President on Charge
of False Representations.

NEW YORK, Jan. 31.-Humphrey B.
Chamberlin, president OF the Chamberlin
Investment Company, of Denver, Col,
which failed last July, has been arrested
and held in 5000 bail on an order of JUS
tice Lawrence, of the Supreme Court, in an
action brought by Joseph E. Paisley, of the
shoe firm Of j. Paisley & Sons, of Sixth
avenue. TO recover 5000 for alleged false
representations. Paisley was one of the
many church people who claim to have
been nipped by Chamberlin's representa-
tfons. He says that Chamberlin said that
the Fort Worth Park Place Land Com
pany, of which the Chamberlin Investment
Company had a large holding of stock
had about 400 acres near Fort Worth, Tex
Chamberlin let him have one hundred
shares of the Fort Worth Park Place Land
Company at $50 each, par value slOO. He
told him he would get his morfey back in
three years and still have his investment
Paisley says he went down TO Texas and
found the company never owned the tract
Of land represented. He says he got no
dividend and has been unable TO get any of
his 5000. Chamberlin gave bail and was
released.
H. b Chamberlin, president of the
Chamberlin Investment Company, is one
of the most prominent figures interested
in land and real estate in the West. After
a comparatively few years of rapid sue
cess in Denver at a time when values were
rising in that city at an almost unprece-
dented rate he was elected president of
the Chamber of Commerce OF that city, and
has recently spent most OF his time in Eu-
rope and the East of this country, enlist
ing capital for the numerous heavy pro-
iects in which his company was involved.
nf ca 81
erty at Fort WORTH in which the company
was principally interested, comprises a
large tract of land four miles from the
city, reached by an electric line kept up
by the company at the terminus or which
was the famous Arlington Inn, a political
hotel, built as resort and TO establish the
locality as a fashionable neighborhood The
hotel was run for some time at a loss, and
finally closed. The boom which struck Fort
Worth was short lived. and the company
found themselves in the possession OF a
white elephant of the most burdensOme
character. Other properties in the South
west although not of such an ambitious
that the small companies which the Cham
berlin company had created and was hold
Denver, which eliminated last fall when
the price of silver went down with run,
finally swamped the larger concern.
business has been personally supervised
by w. a. Chamberlin, a younger brother
of the partner, against whom proceedings
money was cleared by dealings in inside
town property and Capitol Hill invest
ments, lots in the latter district jumping
from $500 to $1,000 in the course OF a few
years. this upper portion of the town being
now entirely occupied with the mansions
of the wealthy mining operators of the
State and successful citizens of the city.
More than one extensive speculation in
outside property followed these successes,
and these not only proved failures, but the
burial ground of capital mostly subscribed
by smaller investors. who had been in
duced to place their money with the COM
pany on the reputation it had won in its
earlier enterprises.
taken care of by the company, a large pro-
portion of it's clients being individuals con-
nected with the Methodist Episcopal
Church, of which the ChamberlainS ere
prominent members. II. B. Chamberlin
has also been intimately ASSOCIATED with the
Young Mems Christian Association, and
has lectured in Exeter Hail. London, the
headquarters of the society, during his
trips across the ocean The arrest will
naturally cause a great sensation