Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-28
SW|NOLERS
SKIP OUT
They Made Thousands Out
Of Credulous People.
SCHEME THEY WORKED
Was Similar to That of the Franklin
Syndicate Which Was Exposed a
Few Days Ago Money From All
Parts of the Country.

New York. Nov. 2S.-The Herald says:
Whites bureau, sometimes known as
"Charles Fl. Whites bureau a get rich
quick concern. located in the cotton eX-
change building. vanished with it's man
ayers on Sunday. and it is estimated that
credulous depositors are out of pocket
more than 5000. 900. Whites bureau was
in many aspects similar to the Franklin
syndicate, it offered tremendous divi-
dends to depositors and PROGRESSED to be
legitimate and to be an old established
concern. Like the franklin syndicate,
ii PROGRESSED to have the strongest kind
of recommendations from banks and
bankers. Like the Franklin syndicate,
it managed it's business without any in
Quiries being made by the police. 1t had
in several downtown banks
and drafts from it's customers passed
through the banks without any question
being asked. except in the instance of
one bank. Like the Franklin syndicate
it paid out dividends" to depositors,
presumably from the money placed on
deposit. Finally, like the Franklin syn
! dictate, it's hackers took alarm and dis
appeared with a large quantity Of other
peoples money.
Whites bureau was operated by w
Young men who went under the name
of Hyman. One of them gave the name
of C. H.. Hyman, and he is understood
to have been the G. II. White, whose
bureau the concern purported to be. The
bureau began business in the latter part
! of September. 1t sublet two Dom from
another tenant IN the first floor. The
Offices are very handsomely furnished
and are partitiOned off into smaller
I! rooms MANY tvnaWiitprS were pnnlOVe1
and when the business was first estab-
! lished m enormous quantity of letters
and circulars were sent forth.
The firm inserted advertisements in
all over the country, prom
! Using that Whites bureau would make
money for anybody Who would send his
cash on to New York. The ADVERTISE
ment was as ailurinS as green goods cir
culars. These circulars and ADVERTISE
ments soon began to have the usual eff
feet. Letters began to come in from all
parts of the country. The mail of the
bureau grew to such proportions that
the suspicious of the superintendent of
the cotton exchange building became
aroused and he says he made an inves-
tigation. He could not find out anything
about the busy young man, except that
he professed to be doing Il general in
/ vestment business, SO they were per-
mitted to remain.
The bureau Went IN and the suspicious
Of nobody seemed likely To cause trouble.
But a prominent bank in this city on
/ November IA received a letter from
Louisville, Ky, enclosing one of Whites
circulars and inquiring whether the
scheme was safe. This bank began in
v~estigating. An agent called at the cot
ton exchange building on November IA
and asked to see MIR. White" Mr..
| White" was not in. The agent saw G. H.
! Lyman, whose name was On the door
OF the office. Mr.. Hynnan said that he
was the manage and would answer any
! questions in the absence of Mr.. White.
Mr.. HyInan was asked for references
! as to the financial stability of the estab-
lishment. Instead of producing refer
! ences, he said that the money being
handled by the firm was not theirs. He
was asked if he did not claim some tinan-
cial responsibility OF his own. In reply
he said that MI. White had some means,
but he couid give no definite information
as to the amount. He admitted that Mr..
White was not a member of any of the
exchanges. but said hat he specialized.
TIN agent of the bank pressed Lyman
for information as to how he could make
such wonderful profits for customers.
Mr.. Hyman replied that the bureau did
not guarantee any fixed dividends. The
dividends We're regulated by the loans
that We're made.
This ended the investigation for the
time, but in the meantime drafts had
begun to come in to this bank from far
and near. 1t was ascertained that a
draft for 800 had come from Savannah,
Ga. 1t was on the Banking and Trust
Company of Savannah in favor of c. w.
White. dated November I endorsed by
White and paid by the National Park
bank of this city. Woodstock. Ohio. lit
orally rained drafts. This is a small
town, the inhabitants of which have
gone almost crazy Owe the new specula-
tive scheme, where almost every citizen
and farmer around the place have lost
money to the Franklin syndicate. The
drafts came in from the Savannah Bank
ing and Trust company. Drafts We're
sent from the Public bank of Boston.
Whites bureau was opened as usual on
Saturday. During the time it IA open
Sunday two men who We're understood to
be the managers of the business entered
the offices, took a quantity of money
and papers and disappeared. The office
furniture was intact, but no records or
| money was left. 1t is impossible to
make any estimate, based on reliable
figures las to the amount of business
that Whites bureau did. 1t was very
large. Taking into consideration all the
banks in the city, the business represent
ed by drafts alone would be somewhere
between $4,000 and 500. 900. The bulk
of the business, however, done BY