The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-06-18
WAGE WAR ON
BUCKET SHOPS
The Postoffice Department Is
Meeting With Great
Success.
THE FIGHT is NEARLY WON
THIS YEAR SHOWS MARKED RAP
IDiTY IN ENDING THE INSTRu-
MENTs RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS
ES TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.

Washington, June 18.-The Postof-
flee Department, which in 1896 took
hand in the efforts of local and state
authorities to put the bucketshops out
of business, has now an accumulated
batch of information that indicates
that the fight is nearly won. These
concerns are being put out of bust
ness in one way and another this year
very rapidly.
Right under the nose of the Depart
ment one audacious individual, Percy
Wade, continued business until this
Spring, when his doors were shut by
the District authorities and he went
to Jail for 80 days.
In message to Congress by Presi-
dent Roosevelt, he referred to the inn
portance of the bucketshop evil, THE
great bulk of business" he said,
transacted on the exchanges is not
only legitimate, but is necessary to
the working of our modern industrial
system, and extreme care would have
to be taken not to interfere with this
business in doing away with the buck
etshop type of operations
Most of the defaulters and others
have been found to have lost their
money in bucketshops, although they
have used the phrase lost on the
board of trade" being unwilling to be
classed as bucketshop patrons.
The cashier of a national bank al
Aurora, ILL.,, short 100000, lost his
money in a bucketshop in Hammond
Ind, which had been driven out OF
Chicago, but asserted the money went
ION the board of trade"
In Cincinnati recently, thirty-four in
dictments against bucketshops were
returned at one time. One of these
was against firm that controlled III
branches, located in various states,
and reported to have an annual in
come of $2,000,000. Another firm was
doing a business estimated at $1,000,
900 annually, with its wires from Flor
ida to Salt Lake City, and boosted tina
before the next snow it would have
wires to the Pacific coast. Moreheat
& Company, a firm with its ramifica
ton of wires from the Pacific to the
Atlantic Coast, and Brown & Compan,
with offices In Chicago and else
where, and an extended wire service
have been forced to quit. These grea
leaders of the fraternity PRACTICAL.
controlled the entire business of tn
United States.
The fight is now fairly on, and ever,
State in the Union Is opening its bal
teries against these bogus concerns
One of the heaviest blows yet deal
them was that of Governor Folk c
Missouri, when he demanded the Ell
forcement of the State law that fixe
the penalty of five years in the pen
Tertiary. Recently. during a singl
twelve months, seven states, Montan;
Nebraska, Minnesota, Connecticut
Missouri and Alabama, passed stril
gent prohibitory laws against them.
These court decisions, far-raching
they are and valuable as they haV
proven, have in nowise closed til
contest; they have only cleared ava
the rubbish, and exposed the ghouls
the light of their true character. Sue
decisions cannot drive them from tt
commercial field. but they have tor
off the disguise. When the buckle
shop form of thievery is annihilate
as 1t now seems likely to be, it
claimed that the people of this COUNT
will make an annual saving of $40,
()00 600 -