The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1903-02-19
Offices of Benedict & Co., Turf Invest
ors, Seized by the Chicago Police
Friday Night.
LITTLE HOPE FOR INVESTORS
Thousands of Dollars From This City Are
Caught in the Final Ending of the Rae
ing Track Swindle. No Money Today.

The bubble has bursted and the men
in Kenosha and the surrounding cities
who have interested themselves with
the very fascinating sport of da1lying
with another mans game by investing
with Benedict & Co.. this morning are
beginning to realize that the time to
work has come aga as there is little
reason to believe that the record break
ing dividends that have been paid by
the company will again reach Keno
sha. There is feeling of goneness
in the city and this pervades all
classes.
Hundreds of men and women from
all walks of life professional men,
capitalists, clerks and salesladies and
workingmen have been caught in the
gigantic swindle and the losses to Ke-
nosha people will amount to several
thousand dollars.
The Offices of the company were
taken in charge Friday night by the
police of Chicago acting under the di-
rection of the Chief of Police and it is
probable that the men and women ar
rested will be charged with obtaining
money under false pretenses.
Curtis, the Kenosha man who is al
legged to have directed the formation of
the grand swindle, was not caught in
the police net and it is alleged that he
was at the main Offices of the company
at South Bend-probably busy writing
autographs and couldn't get away.
The Offices of the company were
found beautifully furnished with ma
hogany furniture and expensive rugs
covered the floors. The tables were
covered with circulars and letters de-
handing money back, but before the
coming of the police the money, if
there had been any in the office, had
been carefully concealed, and the load
hauled to the Harrison police station
was of little value beyond its worth as
waste paper.
| Efforts were made today to find the
extent of the losses in kenosha, but
the efforts were futile as the people
| who were caught in the failure of the
companies refuse to make known their
| losses and only estimates can be
secured.
The agent for the company in the
city stated this morning that in the
last two weeks he had sent in Ebut two
remittances from the city and that the
larger portion of the nloneysfrom this
section of the state had 1been sent
from Racine.
A message from Chicago today states
that Benedict & Co. will fight the
effort of the officers to close up their
business but it is probable that the
company will fall under the general
ban and go down to oblivion with the
rest of the companies.
A half hundred other companies
operating in different parts of the
country are trembling on the brink
and Kenosha investors are making an
effort to secure return of their money.
1t is not probable that any of them
will succeed and many seem to think
that the effort to secure investments
would be simply so much money wasted
| in postage.
It is possible that the gigantic fail
! ure of the turf enterprises will leave a
lesson for the gullible people of Keno
sha and in the future they will fight
shy of the easy forms of accommodating
fortunes.