Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1900-02-07
BIG BILLS SCHEME.
How He Made Fortune With His
Own Board o.. TRADE.

How He Made Fortune With His
Own Board OF TRADE.
Ae rule, SAID detective az New
York headquarters, crooked people
never save their money. don't care
how Vise or smart they are. icy gen
orally get rid OF II faster than they
get Il. But what was going 70 tell
you about was enc Of the gang that
had more brains than any OF the band
shakers 7 ever knew. I am not going
TO tell you what his name is, and be
IS. on the level now, lives nicely With
his family and stands we'll with the
business community So for story
telling purposes. | will tell you about
Big BIZ and the fortune he made.
Big Bill when a lad served the ladies
with soda water in drug store in this
city. lie was "A good-looking lad and
was a faverite with every one. Among
the patrons of the drug store was a
well-known confidence man, who took
n fancy TO the white-haired lad be.
hind the soda water fountain. The
boy and the con man became fast
friends, and one day the boy failed to
report for duty He was not at home
and no trace of him could be found.
Three years later l ran across him IN
New York and he was the clerk in a
green goods store and the gang told
me he was the greatest kid In his line
that they had ever seen. But he was
only getting a very small part Of the
coin that was being taken Off. and
one day he declared that he was going
out for himself He quit the Job and
did MT hear from him for several
years. BY this time he was o giant in
build and looked to be 80. He was
now the brains Of a confidence gang
and although those connected with
him We're years older in experience
what he said was law. The gang oper-
ated through the south and west and
were is no way identified with any Of
the BED Austins. Tom O'Brien and
Lou Ludlums, whose names are Ia
miliar to the public Consequently.
they had very little trouble with the
law. ....
THE gang made plenty Of money.
But it was the same old storyIwine.
woman and song-eycept as far as
Big Bill was concerned While he
had a good time and held up his end.
yet he was not q drunken sailor with
bis money. All the time the gang was
atwork Big Bill was looking for some
bushes 10 get iuto. While In a small
town In Colorado he dropped into a
bucket shop and at once became in
terested In the Workings The oper-
ntor explained The operations and told
him how all quotations were sent from
the Board of Trade In Chicago. Big
Bill az once grasped the situation. and
decided upon a scheme OF his own.
He had bank roll Of about $4,000,
so he Incorporated stock exchange
! Just the same as the big Board of
Trade in Chicago. Then he opened IN
He had his own stock exchange, with
all the side issues. He had his eleva
tors. clearing house, grain Dit. and
! everything was Just the same as the
big Vayket in Cbicsgo. Then he
opened Offices or bucket shops IN "A
small towns throughout the west
south and southwest The result was
he was doing business just the same
as the Chicago Board Of Trade. ex
cept on small scale But IL was moi
so small as one would think, for IN
months he had cleared $500 900. ~,
continual to do business, and tho las
time ! heard Of him he had retired
from BUSINESS with over $1,000, 600
The business is now operated by
stock company, and Big Bill sits ~
and gets his take on Just as regularl,
{ az he takes his coffee