The Springfield herald., 1906-01-19
FORCE OF LIFE"
PROMINENT POLITICIANS IN PAT
EMIT MEDICINE SCHEME.
CLAIM TO RAISE THE DEAD
officers Arrested in New York City
investigation Begun on Information
Furnished by President Roosevelt.

New York.-Gen. James r. O'Beirne,
for years more or less prominent in
Republican politics in this city, and
who has held number of Offices
under the government, is given as
president in the literature of the
Force of Life Chemical Company, the
medical director of which, DIR. William
Wallace Hadley, and assistant medical
director, Mrs. Laura NJ. Wilson, were
on Friday arrested by federal authori-
ties and held in $500 bail each for
examination.
The Force of Life Chemical Com
pany for the last three or four years
has maintained elaborate offices in
this city. At present the company is
located at 1855 Broadway 1t has done
an extensive mail business. An official
of the company told the postal au-
thorities that the concern had not less
than 100000 patients.
The investigation leading to the ar
rest had covered period of almost a
year, and has been managed Jointly
by the postoffice authorities. Assistant
United States District Attorney C. S.
Houghton, Champe S. Andrews and
counsel for the New York County Med
ical Society. The federal authorities
started on the trail of the Force of
Life concern on the personal initia.
tive of President Roosevelt.
The power to raise the dead claimed
1t is alleged, by DR.. Hadley. first chal-
lenged the attention of the authorities
year ago, when Postmaster General
Cortelyou received personal letter
from President Roosevelt, inclosing
one of. the Force of Life circulars
which had been sent to the President
by a woman in Springfield, Missouri.
In addition to President James r.
O'Beirne, the literature issued by the
company and the latest corporation
directory, give the following officers of
the Force of Life Chemical Company:
James A. Tedford, vice president;
Arthur H. Williams, treasurer and
Frederick II. Wilson, secretary.
The directors are, besides the
above: Edwin o. Keeler, William f.
Acton, E, Virgil Neal, II. T. Bagley
and Zines F. Pierce.
Mr.. Pierce was formerly snperin.
tendent of insurance OF New York
state.
E. Virgil Neal, with DR.. Hadley and
Miss Wilson, ii is alleged, furnished
the real brains of the concern.
Arthur II. Williams. treasurer and
director, is president of the Bankers
Realty & Security Company, n trustee
of the Washington Savings bank and a
director of the Cooperative Building
bank in this city. He lives in Mount
Vernon.
Frederick II. Wilson is suporintenh
ent of the United States Indian ware
house in this city.
Mr.. Keller is said to be president of
the Fairfield County National bank,
vice president of the South Norwa!k
Trust Company and former lieutenant
governor of the state of Connecticut.
William f. Acton is described as
president OF the Norwalk Securities
Corporation and late secretary and
treasurer and general manager of tho
Norwalk Street Railway Company of
Connecticut. and R. T. Bagley as presi
dent of the Consolidated Hoof Pad
Company of New York.
The concern is a Delaware corpora
ton, organized in 1902. Its capital
stock is given as sl,6CG,cO0.
In the letter from the Springfield
woman to President Roosevelt there
was inclosed one of the stock letters
from the force OF Lie colcelh' IL
started off as follows:
by his mysterious control over dis
ease and death DR.. Wallace Hadley,
the eminent taumatursic ranopathist
of this city, has made the human
heart beat again in the body of n
woman rescued from the grave. And
as a result of his successf = expert.
ment he makes the starth...S state
ment that no disease should caus
death. He claims to have discovered
the vital principle OF life itself, the
dynamic force that creates and main
tains existence. He seems to have alb
solute control over human life and the
diseases that attack it,"
Evidence upon which the com.
plants were based was secured
through correspondence with fictitious