The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-15
MCDONALD LEAVES TOWN
CREDITORS ARE MOURNING THE DE-
PARTURE OF THIS BROKER.
He Promoted All Sorts of "Get-Rich-
Quick" COncerns-Hfs Expen-
sive Living.

Patrick A. Mcdonald, broker, promoter
and general hustler, has left the city and
his effects were yesterday seized by the
sheriff upon replevin proceedings McDon-
I'D acquired not little notoriety during
the recent campaign by breaking into the
newspapers with communications and inter-
views declaring that the gas company
spoken Of by Mr.. Harding as ready to sell
gas at 20 cents if a franchise could be Sc
cured, was one of which he himself was
the representative. Mr. Harding had in
mind different people, but Mcdonald got
plenty of advertising out of the incident.
Mcdonald came here last May from Chi
cagO and opened an office on the eleventh
floor of the Stevenson building as soon as
1t was ready for occupancy. He had evil
IDENTIFY read the career of Mr. Montague
Iigg and his Anglo-Bengalee Assurance
Company. He rented handsome house on
North Pennsylvania street, built some time
ago by H. y. Pierce, and furnished it in
style BETTING his high position in the finan-
cial world. The carpets and draperies he
purchased of WATSON & Co. and the furni-
ture of W. L. Elder. He paid for neither,
though in time he paid something on ac-
count He rented piano at Parsons. He
represented that he had purchased the
property in which he resided and succeeded
in impressing each tradesman with the no
ton that he was the only one he honored
with his confidence enough to ask credit.
With all others he was supposed to be deal
ing on cash basis.
He fitted up his offices in the Stevenson
right handsomely and began to make
deals" He had a connection with the
brokerage concerns o. Richard Oliver and
Jones 81 Co., in Chicago. Oliver wired to
this city yesterday afternoon that he had
never done any business with Mcdonald,
but the papers among the latter's effects
show that Oliver did much business with
him. Mcdonald sent out circulars and be-
gan running pools" upon the most ap-
proved ''get-rich-quick'' plan. He sold
shares in these pools at $40 each and de-
clared dividends upon them, with occasional
losses. He solicited subscribers to these
pools personally and employed a few So
licitors. In his Office he employed three
young men, his brothers-in-Iaw. William
and Charles Thomas, and John Mullen. Will
liam Thomas was kept going about the
State trying to pick up telephone franchises
and that sort of thing. Charles Thomas
was employed as bookkeeper and Mullen
looked after the circulars and other forms
OF advertising, He employed two stenog-
Mcdonald talked much about a gas COM
pany he was organizing and declared that
his hackers were Church 81 Co. in New
York. He got o telephone franchise in An
derson and made efforts to get others in
various cities of the state. His idea was
to form corporations to operate them after
he got the franchises. He endeavOred to in
terest local capital in these telephone
schemes without much success.
But his principal business was that of
operating pools" He had investors in all
walks of life, some of them very well-to-do
offices, but none of them were very heavy
investors. Nine-tenths of his patrons were
people who had been "bit by the E. s.
Dean concern. He declared profits every
few days and to those whom he could not
persuade to permit their profits to ac-
cumulate, he paid these dividends. He also
declared an occasional loss which he would
deduct from the profits. He had only six
or seven women among his investors. All
his own employees were investors and some
parture. His brother-in-law Charles
Thomas, left for Canada with Mrs. McDon-
aid Tuesday evening.
The last profits he paid were settled
Sept. IA and since that time his creditors
and investors had been pressing him very
looking for a draft from his Chicago con-
nections and when it did not come Wednes-
day afternoon he went to pieces and got
away, confiding in q personal friend his
fear that some of his investors would kill
him. He told his stenographers and Mullen
return yesterday. but he never came back
Yesterday morning WATSON Co. began
replevin proceedings TO secure a claim of
5000 and the sheriff seized his effects All
the assets found. aside from his furniture
consisted of an old necktie.