The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-01
BEATS THE GOLD BRICK
THOUSANDS OF YANKEES sWINDLED
BY sEAwATER GOLD MYTH.
A Baptist Preacher Who Has just
Sailed with "a Fortune Obtained
from Duped Investors.
New York Herald.

Gus narrative of human creduIity and clever
charlatanry that has been told since the
expose of the famous Electric Sugar
swindle nine years ago. The promoters of
that amusing fraud got about three-quar-
| ters OF a million out of the public. The
| Electrolytic Marine Salts Company is said
to have collected not less than full million.
The Rev. p. F. Jernegan, the vice presi-
dent and general manager of the company,
sailed for Europe last Saturday under an
assumed name, and the facts here narrated
indicate that he carried with him a trunk
full of good negotiable government bonds
| These bonds were bought by his brother
in this city during the preceding ten days.
| The movements of this brother round town
Juggling grip sack filled with thousand
dollar greenbacks, emptying it in payment
for bonds and turning up the next day with
another grip full of money. form one of the
queerest incidents in the story. Where did
he get all this actual cash every day? Read
and you will learn the explanation of the
mystery
l. word or two as to the company will
make clear the statements that follow
Not many years ago the Rev. P. F. Jerne-
| gan, Baptist clergyman, then without oc-
cupation, was reading one day in an ency-
clopedia and learned the fact familiar to
most persons, that the water of the sea
contained certain slight percentage Of
gold, much too small to pay for it's extrac-
ton. The notion of getting gold out of the
countless billions of tons of water caught
his fancy and in company with C. E. Fisher
he organized under the laws of Maine the
company that is the subject of this story,
with a capitalization of S100o00o0 in shares
a dollar each.
| tatons were associated in it. fine office
was opened in Boston and the stock was
| advertised for sale. AS in the case of the
! electric sugar refining concern. the COM
pany was based on secret process" Ad-
ycrtisements and pamphlets scattered
| broadcast told how Messrs. Jernegan and
| Fisher, after years of study and expert
! ment. had discovered and improved this
| process ''for extracting cold and silver from
the sea in large quantities and at a COM
| neroial Profit" and Lubec. on the coast of
Maine. was selected as the site of the
Being secret process of course the two
! discoveries and promoters had to guard the
works and everything connected there
with in impenetrabie mystery. The Rev.
| Mr.. Jernegan became vice president and
! general manager of the company and Mr.
| Fisher assistant general manager. What
! the gentlemen who became associated with
| them know about the business was prob
! ably very little. Al regular intervals the
| Boston office received from Lubec a gold
and silver brick. and one Of thesc-vaued
they say at S2,090-was received on Monday
| last.
REPORT OF HIS SAILING.
The Boston papers yesterday noted the
! existence of an unpleasant rumor tina; the
Rev. F. F. Jernegan was believed to have
| sailed for Europe on Saturday under sus-
picious circumstances, and without proper
notice to his assistants The incidents that
have occurred in New York during the last
ten days show that this rumor was wen
| founded ~ =
operations here in connection with his con-
foderates form the curious chapter which
/ follows
| Frank w Thompson appeared in he Office
| of brokerage firm In Wall street IN july
| 10 and asked them to buy for him st0nd0 in
1 government bonds He had noletter of in
PRODUCTION. but said that he had seen their
advertlser nent and had called to do some
business with them. They bought the bonds
| and h, paid for them in cash A few days
later he bought $1,000 more bonds and paid
for them in cash also, which large cash
! payment excited the establishment of the
brokers. They asked him il he was not
AFRAID to carry SO much money with him:
him why he did not keep a bank account.
and he replied that he did not know where
to open an account, so they recommended
nm to the Fourth National Bank, where
they did business.
He thereupon applied to the Fourth Ma
tional Bank for the privilege Of opening an
II.
he informed the officers talat he was Frank
| w. Thompson. private secretary TO A. 3.
Holt, of Providence. r.. 1. and that his adj
dress was box Goa Bank of North America
safe Deposit Company. His Recommended
ton being satisfactory to the officers. his
account was received and he made a deposit
| or $500. This was made in cash. which
was not satisfactory AZ a draft or check
which would have given some clew to his
| relationship. He supplied so little nforma-
ton about hinsolf that President Simmons
when the account of the new dealer came
under bis observation. at once started an in
! curry to obtain some information as to his
character and standing in Providence
Meanwhile Thompson continued to mako
large deposits in the bank in S1,0o0 bills
| The keenest curiosity was aroused as to his
operations, and every effort was made tc
| trace his movements. One day n prominent
its own npr Sy check f d Ire
and desired TO have It certified Here was
a, clew On inquiry it was learned that the
| check was to paw for United States coupon
bonds which the firm had bought fol
Thompson.
Here was a man. dropped, as it were
from the sky. who turned up with tens OF
| thousands of dollars in bills and who was
turning them into the most readily nego.
table bonds N the world. It was curious
their efforts to find out who and what ht
! was From Providence II was learned thai
20 such man as Frank W. Thompson was
| known there. and that the address given
as well as the name. was fictitious.
MOVEMENTS MYSTERIOUS.
1t WAS soon discovered that this mys
ferrous person had box in a safe deposit
vault in the vicinity of Wall street, and tha
he was in the habit of calling there every
morning. His movements were also very
mysterious. He always arrived in a cal
with another person. The cab would stor
on the opposite side of the street, and, thu
curtains being closely drawn, it was impos
| sibe to see who this person was Thompson
| also carried q travelling bag which h,
seemed either to empty or fill every mornins
| on his visit to the vault
| one day he bought from the Wall stree
mousse already mentioned $25, 600 in govern
| ment bonds, the cost of which at the mar
ket price was about $31 600 1t was Ia te IN
| the afternoon when he called for them He
| stated that as he did NOT have sufficient
| money in the bank, he could not draw I
| the deposit company, and so he rushed tC
| the deposit vaults with his bag in hand The
keen eyes employed by the Fourth Nationa
| were secretly following his movements HI
| entered one OF the booths of the safe deposit
| company. He took no money out of his box
but he opened the bagSand took out stack
| of $500 bills. These he sorted and rear
| ranged. and, replacing them in the bag
| hurried back and handed over the $S1 900 L
| pay for the bonds.
| 1t was so unusual a transaction that the
| banking house was suspicious as to the gen
| uineness of the bills and sent them over Il
| its bank for examination On their beins
| reported as good the bonds were delivered
| These large transactions were kept up foi
several days until an aggregate of abou
| $1Jc.0CG in bonds had been purchased
| Where did he get all these big bills? Al
| the Fourth National the most careful scru
tiny failed to reveal any ciew to where ths
| money came from. and the bills deposited