The Indianapolis journal., 1897-04-10
VICTIMS OF BUCKET SHOPS.
IOwans Bied for Million Dollars
Small Towns Ruined.

CHICAGO. April 9.-The Record says
John Hill. jr.. chairman of the committee
on gambling of the Civic Federation. re-
turned yesterday morning from Marshall
town. Ia. where he succeeded in getting
indictments against VIM. r. Hennig
Thomas Gibson. Oliver r. Stratton and w.
F. Chandler. respectively president. secre-
tary treasurer and manager of the Chicago
Equitable Produce and Stock Exchange and
the Consolidated Produce and Stock Ex-
change. These concerns are alleged to be
bucket shops. According to Mr. Hill. the
exchanges operate in Iowa, Indiana and
Ohio. and maintain a large number of pri-
vate offices in these States. each office be-
ing connected with the exchanges by leased
telegraph wires. Mr.. Hill claims the ex
changes have taken about s1,O9O,OOO out of
Iowa alone in the last three or four months.
He says:
We have just begun our war in Iowa
These fellows have thirty-eight offices i'm
that state. and in every county where We
can reach them we VIII procure indict-
mentS. They have been literally sapping
the life out of the country towns in Iowa
and now that the people have found out
now they have been swindled they are up
They thought they were trading ON the reg
ular Board of Trade all the time, and were
amazed TO learn the truth.
To indicate the extent of the operations
Oh tnis crowd In Iowa, let me tell you that
they took $4,000 out of Eldora in three
months. In other towns the amount taken
was only a few thousands, while i'm others
II ran TO 100000. The aggregate amount of
money thus taken from the State is at
least 81, ,00o00O.
- AS a result of this thing, about all the
money those people have to do business
with is withdrawn from circulation. and the
bankers and business men and everybody
else is complaining. You can to-day go INTO
a town of 2.5OO nhabitants out there. and
as soon as the sun comes up find hundreds
or men and boys standing about They
no one else has any money to engage in
enterprises that would give them employ
ment. / tell you il is really pitiful And
these are the people these exchange fellows
have been plucking.
We have been hghting these fellows good
and hard. and propose TO keep IL up don I
think will ever get Hennig or any of the
rest of the officers CT his exchanges to stand
trial on the indictments. but we'll get the
and is punishable by fine and Imprisonment
in the county Jail. Extradition is not possi-
bic in such cases. so we will make 1t as hot
as We can for the agents in the thirty-eight
places where the offices are located. would
be very glad to get Mr.. Hennig and his as
sociates into Iowa just to give them an in
timation of how their victims feel toward
them.
The prosecutions. however will do good.
They will warn the people and make fur
ther operations under the present scheme
Improbable. But We'll have hard fight.
These men had four attorneys at MARSHALL
town. with unlimited means. and they kept
tab on all my movements all the time. but
we got the indictments just the same. After
thirty days Iowa will be an awful poor field
for bucket shop operations.
I'VE feel pretty we'll satisfied with our
crusade against bucket shops in this city.
We succeeded i'm reducing the number Of
these institutions from the hundreds to
twelve, and by procuring indictments have
forced a number of fellows 10 leave town.
We also procured forty fraud orders from
the government. thus stopping operations
through the mails There Is more work TO
do. however and we still have our war
paint on.
Mr.. Hennig the president of the ex-
charges was seen AT his office yesterday
afternoon and asked if he desired to say
anything concerning the charges against
himself and associates He replied: Il have
nothing to say This Is a miserable attack
made on me by people who could not get
me indicted here II grieves me very much
to talk about il at all. l have been here
many wears and am well known. L have
friends who know all about my business
and nv methods sIy father was for many
,,aars connected with the educational inter-
esfs of this State ard 1t is very unpleasant
IN have such notoriety as this thrust upon
me / have always tried to be upright and
STRAIGHTFORWARD. / treat people as gentle
man should and for this alone l give You
an audience and not because L want TO de-
fend myself against these attacks. / will
fight them in the courts and show how un-
founded they are.