The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-31
SWindIes of Two Centuries.
The Ever Gullible Public Has Been Badly
Bitten Many and Many a Time.

There are, no doubt, many traits in
mans makeup that are strange and I'M
accountable. Certainly one of the most
fneXplicable of them all is his gullibility,
for it is a fact that he has that bump
developed to an extraordinary degree.
Every little while, there comes to light
some schemeGin which hundreds, nay,
| thousands of men and women have been
mulcted for various amounts through the
sharpness of ssoms clever swindler. 1t
would seem that the explosion of one of
| these schemesi would forever put at rest
the likelihoodsof others being caught in
similar one, but, to the wonderment
of the unlocking world, new schemes
work their victims as easily as the old
ones. Probably it will continue to be so
until the end of the calendar, and shrewd
manlpulators will not cease to prey on
the easy" ones. From first to last, the
incentive that causes the victims to put
themselves in the power of these
sWindlers, is the desire for unheard of
profits, and any promise that offers a
good deal for little money seems almost
without exception to catch some unsus-
pecting persons who are willing to risk
part II not all of their hardwon earnings
HOLLAND BULB MANIA.
In the early part of the seventeenth CEN
tury there arose in Holland an extra
ordinary fever for speculation, of which
advantage was taken by shrewd men. The
commodity in which specuIa lions were
MADE was no more pretentious a thing
than the tulip bulb. In 1887 and 1888 deal
1ngS in tulip bulbs were carried on with
feVerish excitement. Bulbs were sold for
delivery at certain time when there was
not one-half of the quantity in sight A
single bulb was some times sold at a
fabulous price, as high as 5000 forms
being paid for a specimen of one variety.
Several men sometimes held shares in a
single bulb, and new varieties which did
not exist were put on the market For
tunes were made and lost in this absurd
manner and the incident mas come to be
known as the tulip mania
JOHN LAWS SCHEMES.
One of the most gigantic swindles of
history was that which was managed in
France by John Law in the eighteenth
century. Law was Scotchman who was
born in Edinburgh in 1911 His father
was a goldsmith and incidentally carried
on banking business. 1t was here that
young Law got a knowledge of banking
adept gambler and was sentenced to pris-
on Tor killing a man in a duel. He travel
cd ABOUT on the continent for some years
enCeaVorlng to execute various schemes
But 1t was not until the death of To1is
XIV. that he met with any great success
At that time the financial affairs of
France were in a deplorable condition
and Law conceived the idea OF attaching
himself to the French government and
developing some of his monetary concep-
lions He eventually succeeded in beine.
taken under the protection of the minister
OF finance at Paris, where he was per-
mltted to organize the bank of Law &.
Co, and 1t was announced that the notes
issued by the company would be received
for taxes.
The capital Of the company was placed
at six millions of livres, and notes were
issued to an amount far beyond the coin
held for their redemption, With such a
Juror was the idea received that the
shares rose to 10 per cent premium. At
that time there was In the public mind
remarkable conception of the fabulous
wealth of the Mississippi ,country and the
Indies Law was finally authorized to
form a company which was to have the
exclusive right of trading with that
part of the world. Its capital stock was
fixed at the enormous sum of one hun
dred millions of livres. His bank was
made the royal bank of France ana
paper to the amount of one thousand mil
lions OF livreS was issued. Then his
trading company was given the exclusive
right of trading with China, India and
the East Indies and its name was
changed to the Trading Company of In
dia, and $4,000 extra shares were put ON
the market For every share of 500
livres a dividend of 200 livres was offered.
Notes We're taken at far above their real
value, SO that the dividend was in reaii-
ty a profit of 100 per cent. The excite
ment that accompanied these operations
was perhaps never before eQualed in the
worlds history. Enormous crowds wait
ed all night in the vicinity of the COM
ting in their names for a single share
dom begged Law to accept his money
in return for shares in the company. The
regent was so pleased a this easy meth
| cd of making money that he ordered
the issuing of 100000 new shares at 5000
| livres a share. They We're sold in a
| twinkling and twenty times as many
could probably have been disposed of
/ just as easily. This state OF affairs last
! ed for the period of three years with
out any one questioning the absolute
| safety of the adventure The govern
ment issued fifteen hundred millions Of
livres more in paper money, Al equiva-
| lent of sixty millions of pounds. 1t was
only when an aggrieved member of the
nobility, who held a large amount of
! stock, sent several wagon loads of the