The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-04-16
BOGUS STOCK IS
BEING SHOWED
GOLDFIELD co, THE
VICTIM-WHETH MARKET
OPERATIONS ARE BACK OF
FRAUD OR OTHER CAUSES Is
UNDETERMINED.


UNDETERMINED.
Forgeries of Florence Goldfield
Mining company stock on an extern
sive scale have just been brought to
light by the receipt for transfer at
the company's office of a certificate
for $500 shares which officials of
the company pronounce 10 be spu-
rious, says the Goldfield News.
The certificate bears the number
3,30S, is printed on an exact dup
licate of the stock certificates of the
Goldheld Florence company. and pur
ports to have been issued 10 Arthur
w. Bikker. Jr. at present living at
Redwood, Cal A bungling forgery
of the signature of T. G. Lockhart,
president, and Edw. S. Van Dyck,
assistant secretary of the Florence
company are the most striking fea-
lures of the spurious certificate. but
the seal is also poor imitation of the
official one. Another feature is that
where the genuine certificates are
punched with a safety check showing
the number of shares for which they
are issued. rubber stamp is used
on the forgeries.
This certificate is a companion for
another, numbered 3,399. which
made its appearance in the FLORENCE
Office some time ago. also purport-
ing to have been issued to Bikker
for the same number of shares.
show that the original certificates of
the same numbers were issued for
% shares each, and that they We're
sold by Bikker and finally cancelled
in favor of VIM. Bailey. a resident of
San Francisco, who Is a large share
holder In the Florence company.
The spurious certificates were also
endorsed to Vim. Bailey, showing
that whoever forged the certificates
for $500 shares had in his possession
at that time the originals. even the
name of the witness on the transfer
clause of the original being duplicat-
ed
Certificate number 3.39S was sent
by resident of the state of Wash
ington, but the forgery was immed
was today returned To him. with an
affidavit from President Lockhart and
Assistant Secretary Van Dyck stat
ing that il was not genuine.
When the first spurious certificate
No. 1899 made its appearance re-
Gently, the matter was placed in the
hands of a detective agency to at
tempt to locate the prepetrator but
has thus far proven TO be without sue
cess. Enough seems To have been
determined. however. To show that
neither Bikker nor Bailey were con-
nected with il. but that the forgery
was committed while the originals
were in the hands of some broker
between the time that llikker first en-
dorsed them and the date that Bailey
sent them in for transfer. The mat
ter is still being Investigated, In the
hope of locating the forger.
Ii Is evident that a cleverly laid
conspiracy to flood the market with
spurious Florence Goldfield certiti-
Gates, which can be secured at some
what below the market prices, II nee
essary, has been put into execution
and could be very effectively used in
bearing" the stock on the market
Whether this is just another phase
of the widespread and organized at
tack on the Florence, and a club to
be used in beating down the price
of the stock by placing large
amount on the market AT bargain
counter prices. has not been salts
factorily determined. and the officers
of the Florence company decline to
make any statement along those
lines.
II is fact, nevertheless, that even
with a few spurious. but apparently
good. certificates of this size on the
market, being manipulated as Il gen
uine article, quotations can be held
down or sent tumbling almost at the
pleasure of the eonspirators until the
forgery is discovered.
Even with the cancellation or de-
facing of such spurious certificates
as may find their way into the COM
pany's Office for transfer. the con-
spirators can still have plenty of
them scattered all over the country.
from Los Angeles To San Francisco,
to New York and Boston, TO hold the
market down. The certificates as
printed are an exact duplicate of the
genuine, but their weakness is the
signature of the officials and the safe
ty stamp and the seal. To anyone
unacquainted with these signatures.
however, the certificates could easily
pass current for an almost indefinite
period.
Further Investigations viii he made
in an effort 10 unearth the bogus
certificate factory.