The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1899-11-29
FRANKLIN SYNDICATE GOES UNDER.
THOUSANDS CAUGHT.
Ten Per Cent Dividends a Week We're offered
and People From All Over the
County Invested

The Franklin Syndicate OF New York
has closed its doors. Thousands OF
people throughout the country lost their
money which they wtre tempted to in
vest by the unusual inducements Of
iercd. w. +. Miller, the manager, has
disappeared. He offered to pay 10 per
cent weekly which he did, always per-
suading the people to rc-nvest the
interest and draw compound interest
Officials became suspicious, invcsti-
gated, and issued a warrant against him
for conspiracy with intent to dcfraud
William f. Miller and his secretary
and chief boomer. Cecil Leslie, OF the
Franklin syndicate. the Io-pcr-ccnt-a-
week concern OF Brooklyn, have not
yet been arrested. The extensive oper-
ations oi the Franklin syndicate and cX-
haustless crcdulity OF the American peo-
pie are shown by the number OF divi-
dend drafts which are held by the dif-
ferent city banks OF Brooklyn. These
drafts were sent through the mails by
Miller to subscribers lying at distant
points and they deposited them in their
local banks for collection The local
banks in turn sent them to the New
York banks, which act as their agents.
These drafts arrived on Saturday.
Many more are expected this week. As
the syndicate has assigned the drafts will
be returned. The National City bank
alone has about 200 OF the drafts sent by
banks in Allegheny. Pa. Portland Me,
Elsie, ILL.,, Amonia, n. V, Grand Lodge,
Mich. Fitchburg. Mass. Wheeling w:
Va, Urbana, O., Elizabeth, n. j., and
two score other towns.
1t was estimated Monday that fully
4 ..n
sections of the country know that Mil
ler is missing and that he is wanted in
Brooklyn. The chiefs OF police at all
ports in Great Britain and the continent
visited by steamers sailing from New
York have also been cablcd to arrest
Miller should he bob up on the other
side.
Nowhere was there any denunciation
OF the vanished Miller His victims
were one and all looking forward TO the
day when they expect him to reappcar
and pay their claims.
The impression OF the police and, in
fact, OF others who have Investigated the
Franklin Syndicate is that the syndicate
as such never earned a dollar in Wall
street, and that the dividends, as they
became due, were actually taken from
the daily receipts
1t is believed by persons who worked
in that office, and have good means OF
knowing that the number OF persons on
the mailing list who were receiving
drafts for their dividends by mail was
nearly 10000.
The average receipts are placed at
somewhere between $4,000 and SS5,o
a day, although Cecil Leslie is said to
have boasted recently that the receipts
in one day had reached SSI 900 and the
disbursements S35ooo There are some
very large deposits in the syndicate.
There were many OF $1,000. One man
who had $1,000 in the bank drew divi-
dcnds long enough to have $4,000 in
profits, but most OF the deposits were
small, ranging from SIS to 500.
There are establishments in Brooklyn,
the employees OF which have placed $G3,
900, $4,000 and as high as 100000 i'll
Miller's hands.
The police department was afflicted
with the craze. 1t is estimated that $50
policemen have risked their money with
Miller and were sharing in the alluring
profits afforded by the ever increasing
amount OF deposits. This is held to ex-
plain the ease with which he got away.
An official OF the Brooklyn postoi-
flee Is authority for the statement that
fully I25 letter carriers were stockhold-
crs in Miller's Klondike