The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-12
SWINDLING GAME CUT SHORT.
NO MORE NATL TO RE DELIVERED
TO ISAAC WALTON.

He Is the Manager of One of the
Three Concerns Which Have Been
Dcfrauding Ex-SIaves-PostofIic g
Department Is Investigating All of
Them-They Collected Money From
Negroes on the Promise of Secur-
Ing Pensions for Them.
Washington. Aug. 11.-(Specal.J-At last
the postoffice department has decided .to
put a stop to the systematic robbery Of
ignorant colored people by a gang of
schemers who claim they can secure PEN
sions for all former slaves.
The plan is to exact from every colored
person who was formerly a Save the sum
of 25 cents. for a Registration fee" The
promise is given that the money thus col
lected will be used to promote the passage
OF a pension bill, which will give every
ex-slave several hundred dollars, when
the bill passes (O.
There are at least three Of these asso-
Citations doing business among the colored
people all over the country, and in spite
of the fact that the ignorant colored peo-
pie have been warned against these swnd-
lers, the poor deluded creatures persist in
giving up their hard-eaned quarters. un-
der the impressive eloquence of the pro-
moters of the swindle and their confeder-
ates.
The "Ex-Slave Mutual Benefit and PEN
sion Association" with headquarters at
Nashville, Tenn. was exposed in these
dispatches several months ago, upon in
formation furnished by a United States
senator, who was appealed to by some of
his colored constituents, for information
as 10 the possibility Of the passage of such
a law At that time the attention of
the postofice department was drawn to
the subject and since then careful in
vestigauon of the scheme has been in
progress by postofiice inspectors.
Ordered His Mail stopped.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Bar
rett has made a thorough Investigation Of
one of these organizations, which Is man
aged by Isaac L. Walton of Madison,
Ark and as a result the postofTice depart
ment to-day Issued an order forbidding the
delivery of all mail addressed to Walton
TO the Ex-Slaves' Petitioners Assembly
and to the Ex-Slaves' Assembly. on the
ground that they are operating through
the mails a scheme devised for obtaining
money under false and fraudulent pre-
lenses.
The object Of the Ex-Slaves' Petitioners
Assembly is stated In its circulars to be
to petition Congress to pass a law grant
ing pensions to former slaves. Persons
who desire to become members of this or
ganizati ton are required to make first
remittance of 25 cents and II appears
from the information obtained by the pos
tai authorities, that 1881 former slaves
have RENTED that amount to Walton.
In addition to contributing fees to the
assembly, the members were expected to
subscribe for an alleged newspaper pub
llshed by Walton. called "The Ex-slave
Assembly" which. is the organ Of the
organization, and for which he charged
81 per year.
This Arkansas organization is only one
of three or more similar concerns with
headquarters at various places throughout
the Southern states, and it is the in
tention of the officials of the postofice
department to Investigate all the others.
If Il can be shown, as clearly as IL was
in Walton's case, that the business Is
fraudulent, the mail of all of them will
be stopped.