The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-11-25
$4,000 TAKEN FROM A WOMAN
WHO HAD CONCEALED THE MONEY IN
LOUNGE IN HER ROOM.
Millions Taken in by the Syndicate,
Which Had So Much Wealth Bar
rels Were Used as Safes.

NEW YORK, Nov. 24.-william F. Miller,
head OF the Franklin syndicate, which has
accepted the deposits of thousands of per-
| sons in Brooklyn under promise of paying
| dividends of 10 per cent. a week. or $50 per
| cent per annum, and Cecil Leslie, his Sec
| retary, were indicted by the Kings county
grand jury to-day. Bench warrants were
| issued for the arrest of these two men, but
| up to quite a late hour tonight neither had
| been found the police saying they had dis
| appeared in the afternoon. Tonight the po-
| lice raided the premises occupied by the
| Franklin syndicate on Floyd street. There
| was a great crowd OF people around the
| building when the police surrounded 1t. In
| spector Brennan arrested Louis Miller,
| brother Of the head of the syndicate and
| the cashier of the concern, and took pos
session of $1,000 in cash. There were forty
| employees engaged at work in the offices,
and these were allowed TO go. 1t was stated
| by Louis Miller to the police that the offices
were then in the hands of ex-Sherin Daily,
of Richmond. to whom, he said, the concern
| had assigned.
The charge on which Miller was indicted
was that of conspring TO defraud. The
district attorneys office in Brooklyn has
been at work on the case for some weeks,
| so prominent have become Miller's opera
| tions in that time. Miller had been en-
| gagged FOR the past two years or so In offer
| ing his glittering inducements to the people
| to invest their money for him TO make use
| of, but it has been only within the~-last-
month that by extensive advertising In one
! way or another he has managed to at
| tract TO his Office hundreds Of people daily,
who gathered in long line or fought with
each other for the opportunity to hand out
| their savings Even when the place was
raided tonight by the police a number of
those around the offices were waiting to de-
posit money with the Franklin syndicate.
| $1,000 IN CASH FOUND.
| The presence of the police caused great
/ excitement. When they entered the office
they were informed that at o'clock to-
night the concern had made an assignment
in the borough of Manhattan to James
| Daily, ex-sheriff, of Richmond. Chief of
Detectives Reynolds said that the police
were the assignees now and put Daily off
the premises Daily has been in the employ
| of Miller for some time past. OF the $4,000
taken possession of by the police something
more than 5000 in cash was found in the
| syndicate offices. From the record which
the police had made of to-day's deposits
! it was evident that portion of the money
| had been removed from the offices, and
| Louis Miller, the cashier, who was arrested,
| was called on TO make explanation He
| at first refused, but on being threatened
| by the police said that Miss Annie Cory, an
| employe of the concern, who lived in a
| house adjoining the offices, had been given
possession of large sum of money in the
morning by the mead of the firm. The po-
! lice went TO the house adjoining, where they
| placed Miss Cory under arrest, and after
an extended search they found nearly 5000
| concealed in old lounge in her apart
ments. The woman then declared that she
| hal the money in her possession for the
| purpose of paying the employees OF the syn
| dicate. The police, however, took posses
sion of the money and gave Miss Cory her
| liberty.
William f. Miller began the Franklin
syndicate in very small way, locating his
! office among the poorer classes In the corr
ough of Brooklyn and making one feature
of his business the acceptance Of very small
sums of money and the alleged investment
of them for the poor people. He claimed
that by inside tips on the stock market he
was able to reap large and quick profi.s, Of
which he was willing to pay a large per-
centage 10 his clients. He paid the in e. est
On the principal each week, and his business
advertised extensively. and in all parts OF
Brooklyn could be found men who cou.d
tel wonderful stories of the weekly divi-
F, dends. Then some of the official concerns
/ in New York began TO look into the business
| OF the Franklin Syndicate, and not only did
many OF the prominent financfers denounce
as preposterous the offer OF 10 per cent. in
terest on money invested, but some OF the
| banks refused TO accept Miller's account or
to CO business with him.
A BLIND POOL.
1t is claimed that Miller was simply the
representative of a syndicate of men who
had been engaged in conducting blind pools
for years. 1t is asserted that the idea of
paying unusually high rates of interest or
unusually fascinating dividends or ginated
with the blind pool project at Pittsburg sew
eral years ago. After the failure of the
| concern similar operations were commenced
in New York city and vicinity by what was
known as the Dean syndicate. Exposure
| and arrests resulted IN the scattering OF the
| various members OF this syndicate but some
| Of them, II is believed, are still in New
York.
No syndicate has ever attempted to pay
any such wonderful rates OF interest as the
! Franklin syndicate. The very fact that the
| newspapers and official circles began 10
make Investigations aroused the public in
| terest 10 such extent and at the same
time in some quarters the public cupidlty
that il is said. within the last week Miller
has received deposits OF hundreds OF people.
| aggregating a daily amount of from sOo)o
| 10 $1,000 1t Is easy 10 see. under the cir
cumstances, how the Franklin syndicate