The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-06
MILLER,s VICTIMS

Not much sympathy should be wasted
upon the so-called victims of Miller $
Franklin Syndicate" get-rich-quick con-
Germ. They are not looking for sympathy,
and would not appreciate it. The New
York Commercial Advertiser sent report
ers out to interview a number of the "vie-
Tins a few days ago, and what they
learned gives a fresh but not new insight
inio the cup,dity of human nature.
The "depositors" or investors" with
Miller included pretty nearly all classes
of society-lawyers, doctors, politicians,
merchants, laboring men, etc, and women
By the hundreds. 1t is said indeed, that
women were worse than men in seeking
$40 per cent. interest on their money But
the people who went into the scheme were
not simple, contiding folks who regarded
the concern as a legitimate bank in which
to place their savings for safe keeping and
to secure good interest. Had the deposit
ors been of that class, there would have
been a riot when the doors of the concern
were closed.
But there was no riot nor any demon
stration of anger. AS one of the deposit
ors said: THE people who invested their
money were for the most part able to lose
it, and in any event they knew they were
taking chances" Having taken the
chances, they were not going to equeal
if they failed to win. They looked at il
as gamble pure and simple. Il didn't
stopto ask where Miller made his money"
said another depositor; Il didnE care, so
long as l got the interest he promised 1t
looked safer than pool room odds on a
handicap, more certain than Wall street,
and less troublesome than stack of poker
chips. 1t was a good flyer, and 1 went
into it," This man did not get out all
he put in, but he declared he had no I'M
kind feelings towards Miller. His resent
nnent seemed TO be almost entirely against
the newspapers for breaking up the swim
die. IF they had let Miller alone for six
weeks longer 1 should have won OUT he
said. In six weeks Miller would nave had
practically doubled his business, and the
new depositors would have been the ones
to get stuck"
1--WE all knew that the thing would have
to go up sooner or later" said another de-
positor, land our hope was to get in and
get out before the crash came. I'm only
sorry the newspapers killed it so quick"
A woman who lives in quite a respectable
part of Brooklyn said: II did not see any
thing wrong about the business. 1t was
not my business to look. If he CMiler)
had staid a couple of weeks longer
shouldn't have lost anything. It's shame
that the newspapers broke him up. I did
just as other women did, putting what
money 1 could into it and expecting to get
10 per cent. per week interest on it,
don't blame Miller He was all right if
they had only let him alone"
And thus it runs through the whole list
of those questioned by the reporters.
There were no expression of regret on the
ground of the moral obliquity of the
scheme. If 1t was Skin game" the in
vestors were willing to take chances that
il would be 'the other fellows" and not
themselves who would get skinned Sen
ator Depew said the other day that people
in every walk of life in all parts of the
world are gamblers. IL seems that he