The record-union., 1896-02-28
A CLEAR SWINDLE.
The Fraudulent California Exposition
In New York Exposed.
A Private Enterprise Banking on the
Name of the State Board of
Trade-UnwOrthy Scheme.

Some weeks ago the Record Union
received a bulky package of printed
matter, blanks, circulars and horid in
roductory letters announcing a great
exposition of California products at
Madison Square Garden, New York, in
May next.
Ihere were plans of the hall, the
space allotments, schedules of space
prices, lists of products to be shown,
classification of exhibits, rules and reg
ulations in great detail, and all the
usual preparatory literature of a great
exposition.
There was no statement as to any
california organization back Of it at
all There were two or three names Of
managers and agents, but beyond that
nothing to indicate what interests were
pushing on such a scheme.
1t did not take the Record Union"
long to fathom the thing, whereupon it
denounced it as a fraud and warned
the people to beware of it. The Rec
ofd-Union" was the first paper to issue
this warning, though all the newspaper
or1ces had been flooded with the pros
pectuses Of the fake. The very fact
that there was absence of claim of au-
thority from any reputable organiza-
ton IN California for such an exposi-
uon was enough to arouse the suspi-
cion.
Assuming that the thing was genuine,
and that the State Board of Trade was
promoting the exposition, the New York
Sun" came out in glowing editorial
of commendation of the scheme, in
which it paid many a florid compliment
to this State, all around so fattering
>
temporaries have been publishing and
commenting upon it.
The Sun" was deceived. It's favor
10 California was genuine and honest.
but the scheme of the exposition which
formed the text of its commendatory
chapter was all wrong a thing calcu-
lated to do the State infinite harm, be-
cause no exposition of California pro-
ducts on the scale proposed could be
conducted without substantial back
ing and authority of the State Govern
ment, or some well-known and repre-
sentative body of California business
men and producers.
A paper in the San Francisco "Chron-
tcle" of yesterday now fully exposes
the whole thing. It seems that a Cal
ifornian had his attention drawn to the
exposition" by the Sun" article He
called at the garden at once and found
that all there is of the scheme is locked
up in the muddled wits of two young
men, one of whom had some sort of
clerical relation to the late Chicago
Fair. The manager was interviewed
and confessed that he has never been
in California, knows very little of the
State, has no true conception of it's
area or character and is totally ignorant
of its geography. He said that he would
come out to California in a few days
to look up the State" his idea being
that it is about the size of Delaware.
The whole thing was soon revealed
to the Californian, Mr.. Montaign, as a
fake, a scheme to make gate money.
Perhaps the young men intended well
enough, and really thought they could
gather fine exhibit of California pro-
ducts and conduct an exposition that
would be creditable, but others are not
OF that faith, and all who have had any
thing to do with such matters will look
with suspicion upon schemes Of the
Madison Square Garden stripe
Whether the two young men engi-
neering the thing authorized it
or not, the story got out that
the exposition was backed and
promoted by the California State Board
OF Trade, and this was not publicly de-
MED by them. This led TO the dispatch
Of a letter eastward from Manager
Filcher as follows:
California State Board of Trade,
Crocker Building, San Francisco, Feb.
10, 1S96.-The State Board of Trade has
nothing to do with the Madison Square
Garden fake. as it is known here. No
institution and no representative peo-
pie in this State, so far as can ascer-
tain, have anything to do with the
scheme, and have thus far been unable
to find any one who knows anything
about it. They advertise their head
quarters in the Mills building, this city,
but at the Mills building they are not
known They advertise Wells, Fargo
& Co. as their bankers, but Wells. Fargo
& Co. know nothing about them.
u. A. FILCHER,
Secretary and Manager"
This letter Mr. Montaign sent to the
New York sun" for publication, along
with an extended communication.
in which he warns the East
ern public that the proposed Madi-
son Square affair is not prosecuted
under any other authority than that of
the individuals who have announced
themselves as managers and Secretary
In short, the whole thing, as the Rec
ord Union" promptly pointed out, is
fake
It is through such schemes that Cali
fornia takes infinite harm. Several of
them have been attempted heretofore
and always to the injury of the State
Mr. Fflcher of the State Board of Trade
said to a Chronicle reporter on We'd
nesday:
'I learned to-day from a prominent
man in San Francisco who is conversant
with the goings on ia Eastern cities.
that in Chicago some parties are start
ing up the same sort of a fake
Now we want it distinctly
understood that this board unquali-
fedly refuses to lend any assistance to
parties getting up exhibits as private
enterprises An exhibit at a national
or international exposition is an en-
Sirely different thing, and we take pride
in doing all we can to advertise the
State and increase immigration, but to
such a scheme as the Madison Square
Garden Exposition we pay no attention
whatever. Manager Wicles has beer
informed that he viii receive no assist
e 2 =