The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-03-19
Bidwells Convicted of Fraud.

Guilty Of having feloniously
conducted a confidence game"
That was the verdict returned
Saturday evening at Chicago
against Benson and Charles +.
Bidwell because of their manipu-
lation of the company controll-
ing the cold motor" of which
Benson Bidwell, father of the
other defendant was the inventor.
The Bidwell trial began in
Judge Chetlains court Feb. Il,
George NJ. Popham appearing
for the people and James Brady
and Norman \. Beck for the de-
tense. The prosecution was based
on the contention that Benson
and Charles F. Bidwell had
swindled purchasers of stock in
the Bidwell Electric Company
by means OF fraudulent advertise
ments. Oscar H.. Egers of Osh-
kosh, WIS, one of the stockhold-
ers. was the complaining witness
before the grand jury, but there
vas never any concealnlent oi
the fact that Miss Ida Palmer
and the legal firm of Rose & Ed
ridge were the real forces behind
the prosecution.
Benson Bidwell first embarked
in electrical operations in Chi
cage in 1906. organizing the Gil
max Electric Company for the
manufacture OF a cold motor"
which he insisted would not burn
out. In September of that year
his son. Charles +. Bidwell. came
to Chicago from Grand Rapids,
Mich, bringing Ida Palmer with
him. The Bidwell Electric Com
pany was then organized, taking
over the old Climax company and
increasing the capital stock to
81, 800, 1000. Benson Bidwell was
president and treasurer, DR.. Will
mer ). Snow vice president and
Charles +. Bidwell secretary and
general manager, while Ida Pal
mer went to work in the offices
on Clinton street as a sort of con-
hdential secretary. In the spring
OF 1907 the factory was moved to
Chicago Heights. where a 100000
plant. was established, ostensibly
for the manufacture of cold
motors"
An expenditure of $S5 900 was
made for advertisements. and in
newspapers and magazines all
over the country this statement
was blazoned: THE cold motor
or generator is a device guaran-
teed not to burn out. and to- pro-
duce electricity at from % to 50
per cent less cost than by any
other method now known
Much stock was sold and ev-
erything went we'll until Ida Pal
mer had a falling out with
Charles Bidwell, the exact reason
for which has never appeared. al
though it was insisted bv the de-
Tense that "she was indignant be-
cause she was not given a block
of stock" Miss Palmer procured
duplicate keys to the private
drawers OF Charles Bidwell. stole.
by her own admission. the list of
$500 stockholders. and took it to
the legal firm of Eldridge & Rose
Included in this list was the
name of Oscar Fl. Eggers. who
was selected as the most suitable
stakeholder upon whom to rely
to make a case.
The Bidwells caused in the
summer of 1907 the arrest of Ida
Palmer and some of the obiccting
stockholders. charging conspir-
acy. The case was dismissed in
Judge Sadler's court. Miss Pal
mer then preferred a charge Of
ASSAULT against Charles Bidwell.
This also was dismissed. but in
the meantime application had
been made for a receiver for the
company. and in the fall of 1907
Federal Judge Lands appointed
the American Trust and Savings
Bank as receiver. which institu-
ton no wcontrols the physical
properties of the Bidwell Elec-
trio Company. indictments were
found by the grand jury in De-
cember. Only a little more than
a week ago the Bidwells were
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