Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-05-21

ana TOBACCO landS, which he proposed
to colonize. He could demonstrate on
paper that an acre OF Central American
coffee land, even II located on the
shores of Lake Yohoa. would yield o.
1921 grains of coffee, three times a
year. rain or no rain, soil or no soil
| simply because he said so.
Ironically the people called him Far
mer" Nelly. He started the Georgia
1 Co-operative Fruit Land Company, and
lust as glibly eNpatiated on the marvel-:
Gus fruitfulness of Georgia red SOIL,
demonstrating that peach growing
upon his own soil must of a certainty
develop a size and richness three times
greater than that on the soil of the men
| adjoining. One Of the beauties of all
\ this was that Farmer" Nicely believed
all he said. II might be malicious to
4 quote those who now say that .le ap-s
peared to believe his own Statements"
| But, loaded as he was With job print
! ;iis, coffee plantations and fruit lands
to conquer. His job printing house need
| ed new feeder. He organized the.
Merry World Show Company,a theat-
jrical organization that was to bring to
the Nicely concern all the showbill print
ing of the. middle west.
is He put the company on the road,
printed its paper, and threatened with.
competitive annihilation the other big:
show bill printing houses of the coun-
I try.
Still money did not come rapidly to
\ him; his vast scheme did not Yield mill
lions. On the contrary. debts accumu-
lated, creditors grew importunate the
81 "a
4 up and finally disaster threatened.
He did not lose his nerve He was
giving Muncie one Kind of advertising
and he was dreaming dreaming. While.
Icreditors swore. He demoralized the.
JOB printing and Advertising rates of.
T his competitors here. he left investors.
i who trusted in him. Wondering when.
his alchemy would Yield them return;
! he slipped Backward and forward in.
/ the business World.
1T Mas at this time that Cuba doomed
ION the horizon and offered 10 him one
last field in which his talents might
I5Well be employed and he be made a
master of finance of the Pearl of the
Antilles.
I lis tosbe noticed that his schemes
isup to the time of his leaving Muncie
We're operative" That Was a favor-5
| lite term With Col. Sellers. Ii was COO
Operative fruit company .eo-opera
tive coffee lands, .;co-operat iNes
natural gas company with Neely.
NNhen The government was prepared 10
Eestabiish IA civil form Of government
in Cuba Indiana politicians made sharp
demand for important positions. Estes
70. Rathbone had been5Inade director Of
posts on the island, and TO him an In
iuential party leader said:
II want Nicely taken care of. He Is
up against it financially, is clever, and
i Want him placed
This was almost in the form of :,
command and was obeyed. Nelly was
speedily selected as treasurer of the
postal department. of The island. About
The same time +. r Thompson former
postmaster Of Indianapolis. was made
Ipostmaster of Havana c'orydoa NJ.
Rich; a young college graduate Of Mum
Epartment. as was also Harry Richey,
II young man of this city.
Nicely closed up the Hat he was liv-
Iing#in here, sent his wife 10 California.
/ gave "a $4,000 mortgage on his printing
.Icago, ostensibiy placed the plant in the
icontrol5 OF Ross GoMan former
printer, and departed for Cuban shores
He had not been absent two months.
Before reports began to reach Munciei
that he had struck it rich. /. and was
making money fist over hand People
tsWere incredulous a i first. They knew
/ his salary was not of that magnitude
/ that ii would yield him rich returns.
and they began to ask questions. Then
Isit developed that he Was supposed to
/ be heavily Interested in schemes To
pave every important town in Cuba
with brick.
a private letter from Havana re-
ceiNed by a citizen Of Muncie con-
tained this reference TO Nicely:
He and Rathbone are the highest
birds in the speculative field here Get
your briekyards open. Nicely says he
has contract to pave every city in
/ Cuba With brick"
Report also came that he had gone
Into extensive coffee and tobacco deals
4 that We're already Yielding rich reve-
4 nues. He was said to be the favorite of
4 Glaj. Rathbone. the director OF posts.
4 and that Corydon Rich was kept close
4 TO both of them as Il convenient repre-
l8sentative of their affairs.
4 4 was shown that NeelY had the nur-
i iiasiils VI the postal supplies OF Cuba
land this it was supposed also gave hin
] pres ige and new wealth. All thru last
j summer and the winter stories came
4 from Havana of the big money that
i Nicely and Rathbone We're making OUT
4 side OF their legitimate duties.
/, a good many residents OF Muncie be-
4 gan to wish that they had not so Sc
yerely criticised Mr.. Neely's dreams of
the past.
But certain old time residents grew
1 Ia trifie suspicious when they quietly
i learned that Nicely had devised the plan
II of making his Cor the Cowan) printing
4 establishment of Afuncie the central
point for postal printing for the Cuban
Il government.
4 How he could do that and have the
i government bear the long haul, the
4 heavy express charges and the posi-
bility of receiving inferior work Gn-
y ferior when compared with the eastern
a engraving companies work) was more
Y than they could figure out Yet postal
Il printing did come to the Nelly plant.
and Nicely printers began to talk Of
\ some queer things that were going on
4 around the establishment.
fall CIT JaI II