Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-29

to get rich quick on cheap mining
stock are now looking for John H. Rem
iger. president of J. H. Reniger & Co,
bankers at 262 Washington street, who
disappeared with about million dol
lars of their money six weeks ago
The scarchers also include all the
postoffice inspectors and United States
marShals in the country, as Reniger
has been indicted jointly with Thomas
Fl. Windsor, also formerly of Boston,
for using the mails in scheme to de-
fraud.
Windsor was arrested in the New
Mills hotel in New York on March 10,
after a sudden disappearance from his
offices on the floor above the celebrat-
ed suite occupied by Cardenio F. King
of Charlestown state prison. He was
merely a catspaw, it is said, for Rem
iger, who operated his $1.OO0,0O0 coup
on the purse strings of New England
in the short space of six months. Vol
ublc, plausible, convincing, the renown-
ed Colonel Sellers, in his best days.
could not hold Il candle to this new
wildcat purveyor of financial bub-
bles
Some years ago he was known to
many as the treasurer of the Palace
theater under the Dunn management.
Later he went TO New York, took a
flyer in mining stocks, and ever since
has been associated with various min
ing schemes In addition to the Boston
office in the Journal building, he MAIN
tanned an Office at so Wall street, New
York.
Of T II PaniDar r. co
of Boston he was engaged in promoting
the stock and bonds of the American
Mines Co., Ltd. of Arizona. AS vice
president CT the Observation-Disclosures
Mining, Milling Il Smelling Co. he was
engaged in booming the latter company
in New York. While in Boston he was
also engaged in promoting the Amer
lean Taxicar Co.. Ltd. and in develop
ing a bucket shop business, it is SAID,
along with one MacPeck.
Through the medium of the American
Financial Press, which he published. and
the literature of his various companies.
he flooded the New England States with
get-rich-quick propositions last summer.
According to the postal officials. the re-
Spouse was tremendous. vertable av-
alanche of mail poured into his elegantly
appointed suite of offices on the fifth
floor of the Journal building.
His bait was like this: The tribe of
small investors is increasing as never
before in the history of our country. and
mining, the greatest business on earth,
is doing it. The investing public is get
ting wise. Instead of acting the part of
the proverbial lamb that goes the sham
bles of Wall street as of yore to get it's
fleece sheared. and then invokes the kind
temper of the wind on it's exposed and
sensitive cuticle, it has become bargain
hunter and takes flyers and paws over
the specials with all the avidity and
shrewdness of Mrs. Rummage on double
trading stamp day"
With such bait he coaXed the mite laid
away for rainy day into his strange
grip According to all reports he never
let go once he had his hand on other
folks money.
The American Mines, Ltd, which was
summer creation, blossomed forth as
an Arizona corporation with a capital
stock of 81, 500, 900. The stock sold for 81
a share. According to the prospectuses
the company was operating in Mexico
with many hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of ore on the companys
dump. worth from S. to $125 a ton AS
far as could be learned from other parts
of the literature, there was already 100,
600 tons of this valuable ore in sight
which would net $2,000,0O0.
Although the company started to do
business here in July with branch Of
fees in Portland, Me. and other large
centers and literature describing the Or
ganization Of the company was. sent
broadcast by the ton, the company was
not organized until Oct. g. some time af-
ter Reniger had begun his coup.
Investigation by Postoffice Inspector
Mcleod who was detailed to make an
investigation of the company by Chief
Inspector Letherman, who is in charge Of
New England. disclosed the fact that
the claims of Renger were greatly exag-
gerated and almost mythical. The value
Of the mines and plant in no way, it
is claimed, justified the immense CAPT.
talization.
The hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of ore said to be on the company's
| dump were not in sight, and in the opin-
ion of engineers familiar with mining
properties in that section Of Mexico
where the American Company, Ltd, had
it's mines the value of the entire output
of all the mines in that section would
not exceed 100000.
Further it was learned that the Ameri-
can Company was a new one in that Sec
ton and was by no means possessed of
one of the richest of good veins as ad-
vertised. The properties were acquired
from w. F. Travers. who was made vice.
president of the company.
The government alleges in its indict-
ment that the company offered bonds for
sale behind which there were no mort
cages, the property being in litigation.
After he had disposed Of good number
Of bonds ,he offered stock in the company
in exchange for the bonds, which he
withheld, and finally offered pooling GER
tificates. After waiting for their bonds
and stocks, which never came, investors
grew tired and complained to the postal
authorities.
One of the features of Reniger's
schemes was to employ number Of
agents to sell stock and bonds for the
company on commission among men ~