The Chipley banner. (Chipley, Washington County, Fla.) 1893-1943, 1899-12-23
MANY INDICTED
BY GRAND JURY
United States Court at Savannah
Has Much Work Ahead
SOME STARTLING DISCLOSURES
A Number of People Are Charged
With Committing Fraud
Through the Mails.


grand jury Of the United Statcs court.
which adjourned Tuesday afternoon,
found an Indictment against fourteen
parties, alleged country merchants,
on the charge Of conspiracy in using
the United States mails in the further
ance of o scheme to defraud. Among
the parties indicted were d. A. Tyson,
who is we'll known as the founder OF
the Tyson Long Distance Telephone
company, operating in the southern
part of the state; w. L. Jones, NJ. E.
Hutchinson, j. Il. Hutchinson, G. B.
Reeves and J. T. Hammond.
There were seven or eight others
named in the bill which have not yet
been made public on account of tho
fact that all of tie parties indicted
have not been arrested. Some OF these
parties it is alleged were catspaws for
the others, simply allowing the use OF
their names which were printed on
letter heads.
B. Frank, of the Arm Of Steiner,
Loebman & Frank, Of Montgomery,
Ala, was one of the priucipa witnesses
against some Of the men.
Mr.. Frank is the man who first
brought the dealings Of the men to the
attention OF the United States author
tiles. He shipped a case OF dry goods
to one of their number and when he
went to find what mad become OF it.
discovered that it had been turned
over to another Of the crowd by the
original purchaser without having left
the station to which 1t had been
shipped. In few days he got an or
der for another barrel Of goods from
some one not far away from the point
where the other had been sent, but re.
fused 10 send it. Instead, he reported
the frat case to the authorities, who
moved promptly in the matter.
When it became evident that Mr..
Frank in was earnest in running them
to cover, he was rendered payment for
bis goods but refused it until he could
get those who tried to defraud him
punished. The principal towns in
which these men operated were Dub
lin, Glenwood, Ohopee, Vidalia, Ma.
nasas, Lyons and Rixvillc. They were
strung out over large territory.
Among the witnesses called were ID.
NJ. Bedenbaugh, agent Of the Georgia
and Alabama railway at Glenwood; X.
c. league, agent at Mt. Vernon; Z.
A. Walker, at Vidalia; Agent Luns-
ford, at Manassas; Agent Hyman, at
Claxton, and Agent Tippins, at Belle.
vile. They were armed with the re-
cords OF their various offices to show
what goods had been received by the
men under investigation and what had
become OF them SO far as they knew.
A merchant from Macon was also
one Of the witnesses. Goods have been
ordered from parties in New York,
Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio,
Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Baltimore
and other places. Tysor. who is con-
s;dered by the court officials as one OF
the leaders in the scheme, has twice
before been indicted on the same
charge but for some cause was never
convicted. It is the old and simple
scheme Of using fashy letter heads
and interchanging names.
Tuesday morning Mr.. 8. P. Shooter,
president OF the 8. p. Shooter Co., j.
2. G. Myers, treasurer, and Charles j.
Deloach, secretary OF the same COM
pany, gave bond in the sum Of SO, 600
each to answer charges in the United
States court OF violating the inter
state commerce commission act by
under estimating the cargo OF tank
cars loaded with turpentine aud thus
securing cheap rates.