Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-25

A dispatch to the Chicago Tribune re-
ports that another crusade against fraud
ulent "get-rich- quick" concerns will be
instituted Immediately by the Postofice
department. The companies involved are
the oil, copper and gold mine corporations
and similar concerns which publish allur-
ing advertisements and make representa-
tions which manifestly are fraudulent. This
crusade by the department undoubtedly
will sound the death knell Of these COM
panies, which have fattened on the gullible
people who give UP their money in the
hope of securing from 30 to 100 per cent
on their investments.
Complaint has been received by the Post
Office department against some Of the cop
per corporations doing business in Mon
tana. The charge is made that these COM
panies are fraudulent on their faces, as
making promises impossible to redeem and
obtaining money on false pretenses. OIL
and gold mining companies also are in
volved In these charges, and II is antici-
pated that when the public becomes aware
of the fact that these corporations will be
Investigated the Postofice department will
be flooded with communications contain
ing complaints OF correspondents who have
been swindled and who will demand the
return of their money. AS soon as COM
plants are received Investigations will be
ordered, and the chief inspectors OF the
division Of the detective force Of the Post
office department will be busily engaged
during the next few weeks in obtaining
evidence against questionable enterprises.
II sufficient evidence is secured by the
| department detectives to Justify such
| action the postmaster general Will bar
these copper, gold mining and oil COM
panies from the use of the mails. With
this valuable privilege taken away It is
predicted that many Of these fraudulent
concerns will retire from business forth
with. Those persons who have already
invested money in these questionable COM
panles will undoubtedly lose portion Of
It, as from what is already known the
officers Of these companies pay themselves
| large salaries and spend enormous sums
in advertising. For years corporations
which are outrageously over-capitalized
have been doing big business and reap
| ing rich harvests. Prospectuses containing
| statements of notorious misrepresentation
are circulated through the country and mil
| lions of dollars have been poured into the
Golfers of these get-rich-quick corpora
tions. Many of them have failed and the
investors have suffered q total loss.
Colonel Moses @. Wetmore of st. Louis,
the famous trust buster had an experience
in Washington few days ago which con-
vinced him that even the most astute trust
buster" of the west must be on his guard
when he visits the east. The colonel came
! to Washington to witness the installation
in the senate Of his presidential candidate,
William Joel Stone. After observing the
minutest detail of the event Colonel Wet
more returned to his hotel in happier
frame Of mind than he enjoyed even when
he gave the first fierce jab to the octopus
by selling his big tobacco factory at
| st. Louis to the tobacco trust. He was
approached by a soft-voiced and pleasant
featured young man in the hotel corridor,
who reminded the colonel that he had met
1 him in ST. Louis few months ago.
The young man conndentially informed
Colonel Wetmore that he had expected to
meet a mutual friend in the hotel who
was to accommodate him for a few hours
with the small loan of 325. and since the
mutual friend had not shown UP. would