The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-05-11
Topeka is EASY.
Smooth Collection Agents Sue
cessfully Work Merchants.
Headquarters Are Now Closed
and Men Have Gone.
A MEM BERSHP FEE.
Charge of $40 Was Made to All
Subscribers.
In Few Cases Did Collections
Amount to That Sum.
Other Fields to Conquer So
They Left Suddenly.

A few months ago two well dressed
men of good manners and conversation
al ability made their appearance in To-
peka and commenced interviewing the
merchants and professional men in ref
erence to a. new collection scheme.
They gave their names as 1. H. Parker
and S. w. Beckley, and said they rep
resented the Horace E. Burt Collection
Agency of Chicago. They further stated
that they were here for the purpose of
establishing a permanent branch office
of the agency and soliciting subscribers
at the rate of $50 per subscriber.
The talk of the two men proved so
strong that 175 of TOpeka's merchants,
lawyers and doctors became subscribers
to the Horace E Burt company and
contributed $50 each for the privilege.
Today the majority of this number con-
slider themselves the victims of the
smooth pair of gentlemen, as they have
just discovered that the branch office
of the collection agency no longer exists
in Topeka.
Some weeks ago Mr.. Beckley went to
Wichita and a few days ago Mr.. Parker
announced that he had sold his inter-
est in the Topeka agency to Beckley and
left here, presumably for Kansas City.
Before his departure he closed up the
office, which he had opened on his ar
rival here in the Office block, and turned
over the books of the company to Mr..
P. Forbes, whom he had previously en-
plOyed as attorney.
AS might be supposed from the num-
Der of subscribers secured in this city,
the two men had a plausible scheme to
unfold to the business men of Topeka.
To each subscriber they agreed to fur
nish a book containing information of
unsettled bills held by all the other sub
Scrfbers, a record of mortgages and as
SignmentS of mOrtga geS, and other mat
ter valuable to creditors. 1t was to be
supplemented from time to time. They
were also to endeavor to collect all
doubtful accounts and in the event of
suit being brought to protect the sub
ScriberS from any expense in litigation,
providing only for a fee of IS per cent
in the event the suit was successful.
In regard to just what was promised
by the representatives of the company
in the prosecution of the accounts as
signed them there seems to be some
question. The merchants who believe
themselves victimized say that the
promise was made that all accounts
unpaid after a reasonable length of
time should be forced to Judgment and
the judgment advertised and sold. The
written agreement, however, entered
into by the company and the merchants
of Topeka did not promise this. 1t sim
ply Promised protection to subscribers
in the event of litigation, and provided
for a fee of 25 per cent if successful.
For this reason it appears that the
representatives of the agency promis-
ed verbally more than they did in writ
ing. But there is no provision in the
contract looking to a collection fee only
in cases where suit was brought on ac-
counts, and in this way it seems to
have been virtually the understanding
that all claims remaining unpaid were
to be forced to judgment.
Not more than one-fOurth of the 175
merchants and professional men who
subscribed to the agency reeeived in
collections an amount equal to their
subscription fee. Others received a few
dollars more than the fee paid Parker
| and BeckIey and a few only received
from 500 to several hundred dollars
from the collection of accounts placed
| in the hands of the two men.
Some of the merchants who went into
: the scheme failed to place a single ac-
count for collection. They became sub
| scribers, believing in the promise held
/ out that a permanent office was to be
maintained in Topeka.
The two men took out of Topeka over