Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1908-01-04

lure was more than assured. The,
showed these remittance letters tc
the friends they wished to favor and
Athis process multiplied the victims In
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
eject of the stimulant was realized
from broad territory. Therefore
it mattered little if the first or orig
inal crop of victims received a total
OF dividends" amounting to their
original investment with a good profit
added. So long as new victims null
tiplied in numbers with each incom-
ing mail and the older ones added to
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 postofi1ce 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.
moval were so strong and carried ev.
idence of actual profits So plausible
that the postoftice inspector vas 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 moneys received as investments,
not from profits actually earned. He
was told to go back to his work Sub
sequently the case was turned over
to 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-
entiary, But the work of these swim
Hers has lived after them in thou
lands Of other schemes fashioned on
he pattern of the Fund w" in every
essential feature.
OF course variations in almost in
mite number have been devised and ,
ONE of them possess degree of re- {
nement which makes their likeness :
0 the original difficult to distinguish. 7
'ut the possible investor will do well t
D consider that the actual payment v
( or the promise topay an excessive h
ate of return is sufficient ground for t
he suspicion that the scheme Is
fashionable and should be sifted to t
ne bottom before any money is put e
ito it, D
This nation has enjoyed a Ions De. Il
cd Of unexampled prosperity. As II
esult, thousands of men who a few &
ears ago were either poor or only 81
oderately well.to-do have become u
wealthy and have X
ade more money than they need in f
e operation of their regular bust pc
esses. In fact, there is great null, NJ
tude of these new capitalists who III
I'VE retired from their former occupa nc
)ns to live on their money. 10
This means that everywhere there IN
an accumulation of capital seeking a
vestment at reasonable rates. and We
q man who has a proposition which 20
essentially sound has only to make ln'
oof of this fact in order to com. Nv
md all the money needed whether rel
enterprise requires millions or "a
ly thousands. He has no need to
uge the mails with circulars and bu
m letters making appeals to the IN
'ple' to come in with their savings Vi
us enterprise has real substance and RIO
tom he can get the money from a cal
capitalists with less trouble than
required to write one set of clrcu.
and form letters. And he does
nave to promise big monthly div. Fo'
nds' or anything of the kind. Can.
is not impatient when it is se.
e; semi-annual or quarterly divi. /
DIS will answer its purposes very hca
!, and it is generally suspicious of city
thing which promises an extrava. ter
t percentage of return. bar
view of these facts there is bnt r--.
conclusion to be drawn. The invest.
1t enterprise which has to conduct
ouse-to-house campaign, by means
he United States mails, or by 50.
ors, or both of them, to collect the
ngs OF the working people makes
'tcal confession that its pronosi
is not solid enough to command
confidence of those who are con.
tly looking for places where tbev :
put their money and get a return h N
in comparison with that IiiIV
lsed by this class of financial out. III \
Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles) II H