Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-04

building was advertising in japanese
paper.
"The form of receipt given a depos-
itor with the firm is as follows:
Account No. COG.
Los Angeles, Call Feb 1s, 'os.
Received ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
one Hundred ........ Dollars
Harry D. Brown, as deposit for investment
3ll-12-13-14 This money and all profits
UnionTrust Bldg will be returned on one
days notice
S100 (Signed) HARRY u. BROWN.
Il was unable to see Mr. Brown until
Tuesday, Sunday and Monday being
holidays
Tuesday 1 commenced an investiga-
! ton and was informed that Mr.. Brown
had been running small bills and was
slow pay. Inquiries among national
banks OF the city elected the informa-
ton that he was unknown, but that no
one could legitimately pay the profits
which you report Brown had been pay
| ing to Japanese who had trusted him
! with their money. l then called at
Browns office and had an interview
with him. He said that he was brok-
err, had a private wire to New YORK,
had sources of getting accurate in
formation in a very few minutes from
Wall street, New York; that his meth
cd of doing business was for his Gus
toners to pay him their money and
leave 1t to his judgment how to invest
it; that he charged the regular brok-
ers' commission of one-eighth of l per
cent, paying the customer whatever
profits might accrue from the invest
ments. The customer, of course, would
have to stand the loss. He said he
could refer me to $50 people in Los An
geles that would certify to his good
character.
when 1 asked him for references he
referred me to a DR.. Nettie Hammond.
1907 Union Trust building, and Jew
in the O. r. Johnson building by the
name of Rittigstein. The female doc
tor gave Brown very high recon-
mendation, spoke of him as one of the
best men that ever lived, etc. Rittig-
stein was not in, and the third person
referred to was a servant in the Alex
andria hotel. ] then left Browns office
and reported to Mr.. Komai, and rec
commended the placing of two men on
his track to shadow him. He having
stated that he would be in his office
until p. m, two men were detailed
to take up the shadow. Their report
will be rendered later.
Wants to Invest $4,000
"On wednesday, February "a. I called
at Browns office at 10 a.. m. He was
very anxious to have me put some
money in his hands, and told me that
with $4,000 he was confident he could
make me 5000 before noon and $500 be-
fore night / told him that when l
came to giving my money into the
hands of a stranger / wanted better
references than he had given me, and
asked him for bank references. He
said that he banked with the Day and
Night bank and with the Los Angeles
Trust company, and referred me to
these two institutions, but said that his
do no that
times the balance would be $4,000 and
sometimes would run down as low as
500, explaining that he made money by
using it, not by leaving it in the bank.
l went to the Los Angeles Trust COM
pany and was informed that Brown
carried an account there in the name
of II. d. Brown & Co.. and that he
checked out every night all the money
he had in the bank, excepting possibly
a few dollars. He was supposed by
them to be conducting a very precari-
Gus business
IN view Of what has been learned, l
do not hesitate to say that any one
entrusting money with this man as
sumes a very grave risk. In the first
place, you have to trust explicitly to
the honesty of the man, and in the Sec
ond place, to his good judgment, both
of which are very questionable His
advertisement in the japanese paper.
me. is in some vital particulars abso-
lutely false. I have been unable to
confirm his claim that he has a private
wire to New York, and if he had, that
fact would add little to his financial
responsibilitv. 1t is my opinion that he
is not conducting an honest business,
and it is very doubtful if the people
that have entrusted money with him
would be able to get back what they
are already out. Respectfully submit
ted. l. ). HURST"
Submits Second Report
Under date of February % Mr.. Hurst
made another report in which he said
he had made inquiries of the Western
Union Telegraph company, and ascer-
tanned that Harry D. Brown does not
have a leased wire of any kind from
them and never had; that the only