The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-06-03

lin st. Paul. They were indicted by
a Federal grand jury after the post
'al authorities had prosecuted them
for using the mails for fraudulent
purposes. Their first trial, lasting
five weeks, was brought to an ex-
citing close when the government at
torneys produced conclusive evidence
that the jury had been uampered
with and Sherman Smith, prom
inent Minnesota politician, was con-
victed of 'jury fixing" and sentenced
to serve six months in Jail. This
made it necessary to try the case
over again this June.
Missouri has been not on the trail
Iof the bucloetshops for a long time.
The st. Louis concerns have been
practically put out OF business by
Governor Folk, who insisted upon
enforcing the law passed by the last
| Legislature Of Missouri, providing a
tern of five years in the penitentiary
las a punishment for men convicted
Iof conducting bucketshops. Governor
| Hughes has just signed the bill the
New York assembly recently passed
stringent law on the subject
IOther states are fast falling in line
In Chicago the officials bring the
iDucketshops to judgment OCCASION
Ially. Time was when these fraud
ulent grain and stock marts were as
thick in Chicago as mushrooms in
spring but today it is declared TWEEN
Ity would be fair estimate or the
number and during the last year
only two have been located and
prosecuted Wershing and Rose. a
crusade against the others is impend-
ling. 1t IS claimed by those who
are familiar with the situation that
just now the Chicago bucketsnops
have king who possessed strong
lpolitical pull and exacts heavy
tribute from every concern of this
sort in the city, on penalty of having
them raided and closed up II they
fail to add to his graft pile.
It is estimated by those who have
studied the situation closely that to-
day there are probably one thousand
lbucketshops operating throughout the
! United States, whose business has
been largely controlled by ten or a
dozen concerns, the four principal
ones having their headquarters in
! Cincinnati. These, however, either
are under indictment or have been
forced TO quit business on account of
the recent crusade there. OF these
firms, Morehead & Co., the George
II. Stapely Co and Brown & Co.,
lprobably controlled five hundred Of
fees and ther operations extended
from coast 10 coast and from the
Mexica nto the Canadian lines. More
had Co. are the largest bucketshop
operators in the United States. They
are said TO have almost 300 offices
Iscattered from one side OF the coun-
TRY to the other linked together by
Thousands OF miles OF private wires
IThe George II. Steply Co., which has
gone into the hands OF a receiver
since being indicted, had wires from
the Florida coast to Utah, and had
Iplpanned to reach out 10 the Pacific
coast and to establish a string of Of
Ifices throughout the Northwest be-
fore the approach of the coming
winter. Brown & Co., a younger firm,
had offices extending 10 the NIississ-
Iippi river, with two large places in
Chicago under the names OF Bostedo
& Co. and Daviss & Co. The Odell
Brokerage Co., which has now
ceased to exist, another Cincinnati
firm, had offices throughout the cen
trail, southern and western states.
When the firm went aground on the
financial reefs they were extending
their lines into the Dakotas and Min
nesota The Edwards Wood COM
pany maintained 40 offices, dotted
from Kansas City to Toledo, and
Winnipeg on the North.
With these five firms put out of
commission, something like 500 buck
bishops will be wiped out or exist
ence, The remaining 200 are being
hunted down by the State and city
- ~ ''''' "HNA'-'Ni NiNg are lJuuu 10
exist. The Chicago Board of Trade.
to save itself from SANDER, has been
lrelentless in the pursuit. The Mer-
Ichants Grain and Stock Company and
Christy & Company are conhning
their activities mainly TO Kansas,
Iowa, Missouri and Indian Territory:
the lines are tightening about them.
however and they clnnot hope TO
Iescape attack Christy & Company
have large offices at Burlington,
| IOttumwa, Davenport andS St. Joseph
land, since the other big firms have
been crippled, probably are the
largest bucketshoppers in the Unit
ed States today
! No other form Of gambling has
been more disastrous to the public
than "bucketshopping" because the
likeness Of a bucketshop in every out
ward feature to regular and reputable
commission houses makes II the mos;
Iinsiduous. A bucketshop IS a gam
bling device with all the parapher-
MALTA of a brokerage house. The
transactions are wageIs, mere gam
bling under the guise only OF COM