The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1902-10-30
Affairs of Benedict & Co. Taken in
Charge by Government Officials
and Kenosha People Lose.
MANY "INvESTORS" IN KENOSHA
A Conservative Estimate Places the Losses
of Kenosha Gamblers at Not Less
Than $4,000.


within and worn threadbare from
9 90 without, have again fallen the victims
of get rich concern, and the seizure
of the effects of Benedict & Co., of
Chicago, South Bend and half dozen
other places, by the United States gov
eminent officials, has fixed the hook
20 90 firmly in the mouths of several hun
dred Of Kenosha people who are this
morning figuring up their losses and
making resolves to stick to hard work
in the future and depend upon savings
M banks, poker games and crap shooting
to get even.
1t is the same old story. Benedict &
Co. was company of men engaged in
NJ M turf investments and the money flowed
in from Kenosha like water into the
mains from the new pump at the wa
terworks station. Months ago it was
tipped off to the Kenosha sports that
: 40 Benedict & Co. was good thing and
~ the tip did the work. Every road led
to Benedict's Office and among the
great mass Of correspondence and GER
tilted checks seized by the police are to
be found a large number bearing a
W Kenosha date line. When these checks
and letters are made public, as they
will be in few days, there will be a
little CONSERVATION among the people
w of kenosha, and the secret gambling
of any number of people will come as
great surprise to their friends and
neighbors.
The announcement of the seizure of
S 90 the letters of the ''get rich" concern
was made Wednesday and the Keno
sha sports spent the evening in fgur-
ing up the amount of their losses or
0 90 gains.
For four years the Benedict company
had managed to outwit the agents of
the government and this four years
10 90 seemed to furnish them with pretty
good working capital. The Kenosha
people were on the ground floor and it
is alleged that there were at least 500
10 OCi shareholders of the company in Keno
sha. Their investments are variously
estimated from five to ten thousand
dollars.
The company promised to investors
n M a profit of five per cent week on
their investment and for many weeks
the profits have been paid. In this
manner some of the Kenosha investors
< 10 are ahead of the game and their losses
will consist only of the small amounts
that were left in the hands of the COM
pany at the time of the seizure.
The scheme worked by the company
. - according to the statement of the gov
~ eminent officials is an old one. The
company in question had it's head Of
fees at Hammond, Ind, and all letters
in regard to the business we're sent out
from that city. It offered fabulous re-
w turns to investors and for time the
company paid these profits regularly.
When the proper time came for the
grand coup the company would fail
and then the sorrowing creditors
y w would be left without recourse. Like
an endless chain the lists of suckers
were then turned over to new COM
pany, who proceeded to work the same
% co graft until the government put an end
to the business Or another failure be-
came expedient.
Several reputable people in Kenosha
/ 90 not knowing the exact workings of
the company, acted as agents, and
through these agents all sorts and con-
ditions of men were caught in the
web. Men about town, factory work
ers, shop girls and sa1es1adies and So
/ 90 ciety men alike were caught by the al
Turing proposition and many a girl
who worked all week for small wages
is today bemoaning the loss of her
NJ M savings.
This is the third Of these companies
to be seized in single year and in all
the seizures the Kenosha people have
: 90 played an important part.
Z ~ 1t is to be hoped that this big loss to
the sports will cause them to look
twice at such companies before in
vesting.