The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-15
TOURS @FUROPE VERY CHEAP
ARMY AND 1tATY LEFT TO RUN
NEW EXCURSION 60.
q ~OldschnlIdt. WtO Hired Lieut.. Halpine
Rad capt. Bnsset. Departed When a
Post bnlce Inspector Came Around
In1uIrlnE. AMI Now They're Wondering.

the European tNcrrsion Company OF o
Past Thittio eth str eet was no longer TO be
deliveraI |. to the O9ice of the company,
hut to he held in the general delivery until
called for. In the ofice OF the company
yesterday we're omit two men, Lieut. Mich
clas J. HalMne, U.s. n. retired, the mar
tPer. and Nlliam Ii. Basset. late Captain
10 the Mexican army. They are merely
a employees If the ilrm, which has been
offering a six weeks trip through France,
England. Holland, Belgium and Ireland
Tor sl2O, From all appearances they have
nothing at all TO do with some peculiar
circumstances that preceded the issuing
OF the order by Postmaster Wilcox.
Lieut.. Halpine and Capt. Basset are
looking very eagerly for George Gold
schmtit, who left the Office Of the COM
pany on October 81, heday after Inspector
George NJ. Sutton. from the post office,
first visited the place no look into the offer,
which was deemed too cheap, especially
because a deposit OF 500 was asked upon
application for the fhst trip, instalments
Of $40 to come in so that the whole sun
would be paid up before Jun 81, 1907.
Goldschmidt was vioe-president and treas
urer Of the company and Def ore the advent
: Of Lieut.. Halpine as manager he received
] all che applications and deposits.
. Lieut.. H~alpine's story is embodied in a
report semi TO Chief Inspector Walter Mayer
at the Post Office yesterday. Another
o Is to DO sent TO the Navy Department
/ because Lieut., Halpine wishes to set him.
iself right.
He is the son OF tho late Charles G. Hall
pine; better known as Miles 0'Reilly.
Lieut.. Halpine entered Annapolis in 1871
and was graduated in 1877. He served
until 1896, when he retired. He entered
the service again In the Spanish-American
war and was in charge CT a recruiting sta
ton In Portland, Me. He has a son who
hopes soon to enter Annapolis. The Lieu
tenant is named for his grandfather, the
? Rev. Nicholas j. Halpine, and was APP
pointed to Annapolis by the late Robert
Z. Roosevelt, the uncle of the President.
Lieut.. HaIpins said in his report to In
spector Mayer that IN September 70 he
answered an advertisement which said that
a large foreign company wanted a man
ager in it's branch Office in New York. He
was to be Of approved executive ability
and the highest social connections. Lieut..
Halpine gave the company as references
the Right Row. Alexander M~ackay-Smith,
Bishop Coadjutor of Pennsylvania; ex-
Gov. Stewart. l.. Woodford, Thomas C..
Bell OF the Mutual Life Insurnce Company,
John ID. CrimInins of the m Ma
tional Bank, Camille Weidenfeld. Charles
r. Flint of c. r. Flint a Co, Frederick
j. Hall, vice-president and general manager
of the Habirshaw Cable Company; Emile
Phillipson, fnancier, Broad Exchange
Building; Charles H.; Mum, president of
Mum 4 Co.; ID. A. Ball of Harris, Fuller
4 Co., IS Broadway; and Robert Kilby Of
H%apgoods Il Co.
He got back a letter which said that the
board of directors was applying to the four
first named. Apparently from their replies
all was satisfactory, for on October 3 Hal
pine was employed at a salary of 500 a
month. That was raised later to $50 a week.
He met in the Offices Goldschmidt, a French
man, who said that he was a millionaire.
Tn office had been opened about the mid
die of September, and all the time before
Halpine's arrival was used in sending out
the literature, which was got up in elabo-
rate fashion.
1t was planned that by getting 1900 per-
sons to go on the excursion it would be-
possible to make the trip at a cost to the
company of sos. IS per person.
The contract read that all was to he pro-
vided except laundry, theatres and alco-
holic beverages, except in France. where
a pint of wine would be furnished with each
luncheon and dinner free" II was declared
that the company had fine big steamers
tied up in the docks near London simply
waiting until the first excursion was com-
pleted.
-The first of the heavy mail came in
about the time | took charge" said Lieut..
Halplne. "Goldschmidt was not often about
the place. sent the money back. Thought
it was better so. We simply kept the names
and filed them. Goldschmidt was busy most
OF the time answering advertisements for
persons who had small capital to invest
with the idea of increasing it enormously.
He apparently had some money.
AS time went on | learned that he had
come to this country with a letter from the
president OF the Credit LyOnnais, and with
that had opened ar account at the National
Park Bank. which he transferred TO the
Mutual Bank, an uptown branch. He in
troduced me there az an officer of the COM
pany and gave orders that my signature
should be honored on checks for the ex-
pense account. l asked him once where
the European Excursion Company was in
corporated. He told me in South Dakota.
He said that it had been Incorporated In
May and showed me the certificate and the
charter.
THE president was named as Edward
Ralston Devereux of Boston, who Gold
schmidt said was for years the president
Of a steamship company. Philip Law
renee, a financier from Massachusetts, was
vice-president. Goldscbmidt said that Law
renee had q home in South Dakota. As
for himself. he said that he had been in
duoed TO start the company and get it in
profitable shape and then get out. He said
that $4s 500 of the capital stock of $500 900
had been paid in and that the rest was
secured by good notes.
ID said they had no once IN South Da-
kota and told me that the corporation was
enrolled to do business in this State. /
understand o that IL is not registered
here. He said that it had been Incorporated
in South Dakota because the fee was 81 500
or so less than in the States around here.
l understand now that the company never
really was incorporated.
Later he unfolded a plan to reincorporate
with a capital OF $4,000 900. He wanted
an Admiral, a General and a Governor for
his board, and l corresponded with Admiral
George W.. Melville, former engineer in
chief OF the navy, arranging for him TO be a
director. l dropped all that as soon az
Goldschmidt disappeared.
Along about October 20 Goldschmidt
said that he was satisfied that l was able
to run the company and that he would
20 to Boston TO open an Office. | asked
him then as to the inquiries that we're COM
ing in from persons h wanted to make
the trip as to our financial standing. He
said: Refer them TO Dun or Bradstreet,
although as far as l know we had no rating
then. l asked him about the boat that
we had to takeythe eNcursionists over in
and he told me that the boat was the New
Orleans, Of 10000 tons. l could not locate