The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-23
TO CORNER COTTON.
That, Cunningham Said, Was the
Gates COmpany's scheme.

/
Gates COmpany's scheme.
Athens, Ca, Aug. pa man who is
/ evidently a smooth swindler has been
operating in Athens and the surround
! ing country the past few days, claim
| ing to represent the Gates Company
of New York city, and claiming that
his company was engaged in cornering
the cotton crop.
1t seems that he has been using diff
| ferent names at different places, and
working different schemes. While here
| he operated under the name of Rich
ard Cunningham.
| He walked up to Mr.. Collins store
| on Wednesday afternoon, and after
! standing around for a while stated to
Mr.. Collins that he was waiting for a
| buggy to call for him. He said he
had been driving through this section
| of the state buying up the cotton crop,
and that while his horse was being fed
he decided to walk down in that por-
| ton of the city, and he had given in
structions for his driver to call at Col
| Inns store for him. After a few pre-
liminary remarks, Cunningham inter-
ested Mr.. Collins in his cotton scheme,
or he thought he did.
He told Mr.. Collins that he was rep
resenting the Gates Company of New
York, a company, according to Cum
ningham, worth 800, 100000. He stated
that it was his part of the business
to buy up the cotton crop of the South
| ern States, and that he was travelling
about through this section looking at
| the crop and appointing agents to rep
resent the company here and here, at
| good salaries and a very liberal COM
mis- Ell of asked
Mr.. Collins how he would like to have
such a job.
Cunningham agreed to pay Mr. Col
! Inns 500 per month and allow him the
profits on all cotton he bought under
| 1917 cents per pound.
He explained to Mr.. Collins that in
| order for him to carry on the work or
the agency it would be necessary to in
vest $50 in stationery, such as blank
contract forms, drafts and the like, but
the nearest Mr.. Collins would back up
to this proposition was to agree to let
that amount come out of his first
months salary. This was not what
Cunningham wanted, and about this
| stage of the game he saw that Mr..
| Collins had not fallen into the scheme
as fully as he had thought. Cunning
| ham then agreed to pay for the sta
| tionery and allow his proposition to
stand to pay Mr.. Collins 800 per month
salary and what profit he could make
buying cotton at less than 121z cents
per pound, the Gates Company to take
| all the cotton at 121a cents per pound
and pay for it as Mr. Collins bought
| it. Mr.. Collins wanted a contract
| drawn up, which Cunningham stated
would be done at the New York office,
| but when Mr.. Collins refused to go into
| the business without some showing,
| Cunningham drew from his pocket a
"A xyV-nNo
! tract, which he signed himself, but
which he did not ask Mr.. Collins to
sign.
After the signing of the above agree
ment by Cunningham and his turning
it over to Mr.. Collins, he stated that
| 1t was customary for the company to
require a $4,000 bond, but he would
waive this slight condition in the case
of Mr.. Collins, as he could tell from
| his face that he was thoroughly hon
est. And just at this point Cunning
ham was reminded that the man who
had been travelling with him in the
| interest of the Gates Company, and the
| best friend he had in the world, was
named George Collins, and it came per-
| fectly natural to Cunningham to say,
| George, so-and-so." Mr.. Collins made
mental note of that statement just
| as Cunningham reminded him that his
| seal of authority from the Gates Com
pany would cost him $2.5U; that the at
| torney's fee for drawing up the salary
contract would be $3.50, and that he
had written a fifty-eight word tele-
| gram to the Gates Company, which
he exhibited, addressed to 'E. Rigsby,
manager, the Gates Company, New
! York" informing Rigsby of the APP
pointment of Mr.. Collins as agent for
this territory, advising Rigsby to for
ward by express at once the seal of
authority, salary contract and other
| stationery necessary to conduct the
| agency. To send this telegram would
| cost $3.50, which would make total
of $3.50, which Cunningham asked Mr..
| Collins to advance.
| Mr. Collins thought the New York at
! torneys worked for small fees, accord
| ing to Cunningham's statement, but
| he asked Cunningham to also take that
| amount out of his first months salary.
| This fioored Cunningham for the time
| being, but he recovered sufficiently to
| tell Mr. Collins that he was going out
| to the home of Judge John r. White,
| one of the wealthiest men in this Sec
| ton of Georgia, and a large cotton
| producer and manufacturer, the next
| day, and that he would return Friday,
and by that time the papers would ar
| rive from New York, and they would
begin business bright and early this
morning.