Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-08-23
Government Postal Authorities
Raid Offices of Two Chi
cago Concerns
CLAIMED TO DEAL IN COFFEE
Failure Of Companies to Pay Dividends
and Salary to One of the Investors
Results in investigation Which un-
earths Steal of ss5o,ooo During the
Last Five Years.

NulCdSO, aug. DIV WI -
tai officials put a check yesterday to
the operations of what they declare
has been an enormous swindle by
which investors have been fleeced out
of $S5O00O in the last five years. Two
arrests were made yesterday, and gov
eminent officials are searching for
three other persons for whom warrants
have beer sworn out before Judge
Humphrey of the United States circuit
court.
Two concerns, operated by the same
people, tie Tabasco- Chiapas Trading
and Transportation Company, and the
Lu-ha Mills Company, the latter
subsidiary company of the former, with
joint offices at 1920 River street, were
raided by Postoffice Inspector Ketcham
and Deputy United States Marshal
Middleton, who arrested Henry D.
Bushnell and I. H. Miller, president
and secretary respectively of the con-
Germs. The prisoners were arraigned
before United States Commissioner
Foote, and held in default of bail for
$4,000 fer hearing August 81.
What Concerns Promise.
According to the prospectus issued.
the basis of the operations conducted
by the companies is tract of land in
Frontiers, Mexico, where coffee is said
to be raised, and where is supposed to
be located a shipyard with the COM
pany's own vessels plying on Mexican
rivers and doing a trading and trans
portation business. Attractive pic
lures of the boats are shown In the
prospectus.
In the offices of the company, which
occupy the entire building at 1920
River street. visitors are shown large
sacks of coffee as part of the product
of the company's enterprise. The piled
UP sacks of coffee the government Of
ficers say, never came from Mexico
but were purchased from some local
wholesaler and are used simply to i'm
press those who have money to invest.
The Tabasco- Chinese Company was
organized five years ago under the law
of New Jersey and the Lu-me-ha Mills
concern less than year ago. Together
they are capitalized for $5,000,000, and
the directors are said to be Judge Ed
win IT, Carpenter, Of GAINESVILLE, Wis;
jacob j. Schreiner, Dubuque, Iowa;
George II. B. Martin, Camden, N. j.;
C. F. Cooley, Madison, Wis, and DR..
James II. Prothero of Chicago. The
latter, the only Chicogo director. could
not he reached last night.
Dividends are Suspected.
The company, it is claimed, has beer
paying dividend of 10 per cent on in
vestnents, and the first three years the
dividends were paid in cash, but the
last two years, according to stockhold-
ers, they have had to take their divi-
dends in stock. The 100000 alleged
| to have been paid out in dividends was
according to Inspector ketcham, paic
I out of the money furnished by inves
| tors and not out of any earnings of the
company.
The Lu-me-1la company. is said by
| the officers to have Melted the opera
tors of the concern $4,000 within {
| few months. This company was sup
posed to handle the products of thu
Tabasca Chiapas company, and inves-
| tors were advertised for, who, on con.
dition of purchasing, $1,000 worth o
stock, were to be established in bus
| mess in branch houses for selling cot
fee For this the company promised
| to pay them 5000 month and commits
I! sions on the sales they made. Th'
company, according to it's advertise.
ment claimed to own it's own coffee
and spice mills.
Doesn't Like Systems.
Roy Gaines, of Evansville, Ind, wa:
one of the investirs in the Lu-me-h h;
proposition He came up to Chicago
respected the piles of sacked coffe
and invested $1,000. Then he Wen
home and waited to be established IL
business at salary of 5000 a month
When two months had passed ant
neither coffee nor salary had arrived
he resigned the nonlucrative position
and demanded his money back. III
declares he got only 1854 out of tn
81, 900 he invested Finally he wrot
q letter to the postoffice authorities
The postal authorities also have
letter from w. S. Sinclair of Boston
Mass, a stakeholder who was dissatis
fled because he did not receive his an
nual dividend in cash as promised. III