The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-11-20

~, ,000,0 In the mails of the day
on which Post Office inspector Stuart
of Chicago, enforced the fraud order
against this swindle more than ylo.-
900 in post of5ice money orders alone
was received at the Fund W. once.
The check books Of the concern
showed that this money with that re-
ceivcd in other forms Of remittance
was to be used to pay "dividend
amounting to $4,000 A further ~
animation into the affairs Qf No
swmdle established the fact that t'is
current receipts from victims wfte
used right along to pay divfdebds
without any regard whatever to any
deals on the board or any pronts
tfierefrom----and these "dtvidends'
were put out where they would 90 the
most good IN stimulating those who
received them to increase Their IN
vestments" and to spread the news OF
this quick and easy road to wealth.
among neighbors and friends. Some
Of these so.called monthly dividends
amounted to more than ~ per cent.
Here was actual fulfillment, not
promise! when the victims cashed
those dividend checks" and found
that they were honored. any tnissiv-
ings they had harbored disappeared
and they felt that their financial fti-
ture was more than assured. They
showed these remittance letters TO
the friends they wished to favor and
this process multiplied the Victims IN
cumulative ratio besides drawing u
big increase of investments" from
the original victims. or course the
number of the earlier victims was
very small in comparison with the
crop which this cumulative process
of culture developed when once the
effect of the stimulant was realized
from broad territory. Therefore
II mattered little II the first or orig
inal crop of victims received q total
of dividends amounting to their
original investment with good proht
added So long as new victims mll-
tiplied in numbers with each incom-
ing mail and the older ones added to
their speculative contributions the
dividend" game could he played with
impnnity. o.-
Investors" by the tens OF thou-
sands poured an everincreasing vol
umo OF money into the treasury Of
this infamous getrich-qnick swindle.
and when the postofflce department
shut down the iron gate OF the fraud
order, thousands Of angry letters Of
protest were sent to the head Of
the department at Washington. These
protests demanding the inspectors re.
inoyal were so strong and carried ev-
ldence OF actual profits SO plausible
that the postofilce inspector WAS sum-
TO Washington to explain the
situation. The only explanation
which he made or needed to make
was to produce the proofs that the
concern had been paying "dividends"
from moneys received as Investments.
not from profits actually earned. He
vas told to go back to his work Sub
sequcntly the case was turned over
10 the department Of Justice for Grim.
NAL prosecution and the men In the
swindle--or at least some OF them
we're convicted and sent to the peni.
tentiary. But the work Of these swim
dlers has lived after them in thou.
sands of other schemes fashioned on
he pattern of the Fund W'''in every
feature.
or course variations in almost In
finite number have been devised, and
some Of them possess degree OF re.
hnement which makes their likeness
to the original difficult to distinguish.
tut the possible investor will do well
10 consider that the actual payment
Of or the promise to pay an excessive
rate of return Is sufficient ground for
the suspicion that the scheme IL
and should be sifted to
The bottom before any money is put
INTO 1t.
This nation has enjoyed long pc
'iod OF unexampled prosperity. Asa
result. thousands of men who q few
years ago were either poor or only
wellto-do have become
wealthy and have
made more money than they need In
he operation Of their regular bust
nesses. In fact. there Ia great mul.
.itude of these new capitalists who
rave retired from their former occupa-
ions to live on their money.
This means that everywhere there
$ an accumulation OF capital seeking
Investment at reasonable rates, and
he man who has proposition which
s essentially sound has only To make
,roof of this foct in order to CON.
nand all the money needed whether
he enterprise requires millions or
,nly thousands. He has no need 70
leluge the malls with circulars and
ofm letters making appeals to :.'tfe
ieople" to come In with their savings.
. his isenterprise has real substance and
,ottom he can get the money from
ew capitalists with less trouble tha6nn
S required to writo one set Of circu.
ars and form letters. And he does
lot have to promise big monthly dIv.
dends" or anything OF the kind. Cab.
tai Is not impatient when IL is So
ure; semi.anpual or quarterly alvL
lends will answer its purposes yery
,,au aud a. 10 uav,arayI,, .,,....,.- ~