The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-01-02

and they felt that Their financial fu.
ture was more than assured. They
showed these remittance letters to
the friends they wished to favor and
this process multiplied the victims In
a cumulative ratio besides drawing a
big increase of investments" from
the original victims. OF 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 a broad territory. Therefore
it mattered little if the first or orig
inal crop of victims received total
of dividends amounting to their
original investment with good profit
added. So long as new victims null
tiplied in numbers with each ineom-
ing mail and the older ones added 10
their speculative contributions the
dividend" game could be played with
impunity.
Investors" by the tens of thou
sands poured an ever-increasing vol
ume of money into the treasury OF
this infamous get-rich-quick swindle,
and when the postoffice department
shut down the iron gate of the fraud
order, thousands of angry letters or
protest were sent to the head ct
the department at Washington. These
protests demanding the inspectors re-
moval were so strong and carried eV-
idence uf actual profits so plausible
that the pustofFice inspector was sum-
moned 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 mcneys received as investments,
not from profits actually earned. lie
was told to go back to his work. Sub
sequently the case was turned over
to the department of justice for GRIM
inal prosecution and the men In the
sWindle-or at least some of them
were convicted and sent to the penl-
tentiarv. But the work of these swim
dlers has lived after them in tnou
sands of other schemes fashioned on
the pattern of the Fund w" in every
essential feature.
OF course variations in almost In
finite number have been devised, and
some of them possess a degree OF re-
finement which makes their likeness
tn the original difficult to distinguish
But the possible investor will do well
TO consider that the actual payment
of oNthe promise to pay an excessive
rate of return is sufficient ground foI
the suspicion that the scheme is
questionable and should be sifted tt
the bottom before any money is pu'
| into it.
This nation has enjoyed long pc
riod of unexampled prosperity. AS {
result, thousands of men who few
years ago were either poor or only
! moderately well.to.do have become
comparatively wealthy and have
made more money than they need il
the operation of their regular bust
nesses. In fact, there is great mul
titude of these new capitalists whit
have retired from their former occupa
| tions to live on their money.
This means that everywhere ther'
is an accumulation of capital seeking
| investment at reasonable rates, ant
the man who has a proposition whicl
is essentially sound has only to mak'
! proof of this fact in order to com
mand all the money needed whethe
the enterprise requires millions Of
only thousands. He has no need tt
deluge the mails with circulars ant
form letters making appeals to "the
people" to come in with their savings
If his enterprise has real substance anC
bottom he can get the money from {
few capitalists with less trouble thar
| is required to write one set of circu
lars and form letters. And he doe!
not have to promise big monthly div
| idends" or anything of the kind. Cap
| ital is not impatient when it is Sc
cure; semi-annual or quarterly divi
dends will answer its purposes yer!
well, and it is generally suspicious o
anything which promises an extrava
giant percentage Of return.
In view of these facts there is bu
one conclusion to be drawn. The invest
ment enterprise which has to conduc
a house-to-house campaign, by mean'
of the United States mails, or by so
licitors, or both of them, to collect th'
savings of the working people makes
practical confession that its proposi
ton is not solid enough to command
the confidence of those who are con
stantly looking for places where the.
can put their money and get return
insignificant in comparison with tina
D, omised by this class of financial out
laws.
copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles