The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1910-07-15
HOW WIRELESS
. MAGNATE WORKED
Scheme to Defraud the Public
Was Defeated by the Arrest
of Principals.


was to be king, was learned last week
Facts were also made public concern
ing the geyser like career Of Mr.. Bur
lingame from the time he was a re-
porter of an upstate newspaper to the
stage where he was handling the stocks
of a chain of companies with a total
capitalization Of $75,000,000.
The wireless trust was to be known
as the 'Universal Wireless Company.
1t was to take over the following cor
porations: The United Wireless Tele-
graph Company, capitalization $20.0O0,-
600; the North American Wireless Tele-
graph Company, capitalization 100000
900; the Continental Wireless TIE egraph
and Telephone Company, capitalization
$5,000,000; the American Marconi Com
pany, capitalization $6500,000. The
great bubble was burst by the arrest of
Christopher @. Wilson, president, and
Samuel s. Bogart, vice president, of the
United Wireless, and VIM. M. Temp
kins, former president of the now de-
funct New York selling agency of wire
less stock.
Methods Remarkable.
Since the exposure of Mr.. Burlin-
game IS $10,000,000 group of wireless
telephones and his $5.000000 Sun Elec.
trio Generator Company, which boast
ed of an invention to transform solar
heat into unlimited light and power, a
number of men have come forward with
information concerning the remarkable
promotion methods of this man.
W. A. Patten, former employe of
Burlingame, stated in the presence of
three witnesses that the storage bat
terry of the Sun Electric Generator
Company's plant in Maiden Lane was
charged from wires of the Edison Com
pany. Hundreds of investors in Sun
Electric stock have been told that the
machine on the roof of the company IS
laboratory furnished The power used in
the demonstrators. 1t was because of
these apparently successful tests that
they bought stock.
1t was learned that prominent actor
who at one time starred with Ada
Rehan, purchased $1,000 of Burlin-
game IS wireless telephone stock. Hav-
ing decided that the stock was worth
less he placed his case in the hands
of an attorney, Another investor in
the stock is said to be an assistant
SeCTeIdTy OI Ine navy.
According to Mr.. Patterns figuring
it would take at least 10000 square
feet of plugs, numbering 100000
plugs, to attract enough heat from the
sun to light five incandescent lamps
of 16-candle power. The company
claims to be able to do this with the
forty eight square feet of anthony
and zinc plugs which it has on the
roof of No. 100 Maiden Lane The cost
to light these five lamps, according to
Mr.. Patten IS estimate, would be $24,-
242.33.
To understand how Burlingame be
lieved himself able to float $4,000.
900 wireless trust, it is necessary tt
follow his career since 1887, when he
left the Elmira Telegram, where, be
sides reporting, he had charge of 6
chess column and Juvenile page.
After quitting newspaper work hi
was next heard from in 1890 in tht
Granite State Provident Association, {
building and loan company of New
Hampshire. He had the position o.
secretary, with salary of $4,000 {
year. He also received considerable
sum in addition to bonuses on stocl
sales. After brilliant start the com
pany landed in the hands of a receiver
The collapse of this company temporari
ly checked Burlingame s rise.
Other Big Schemes.
G. P. Stewart, the organizer of tn
Granite State Provident Association
was arrested Later Stewart starte,
string of "get rich quick concerns
among which the best known wa
1.-THE American Investors Trust,
which had offices in Pittsburg. In 1S9
ne became vice-president of the Allan
tie & Pacific Railway Tunnel Company
of which Mark n. Pomeroy of Bosto
was chief promoter. The scheme was t
tunnel the Rocky Mountains and exca
vate enough gold and silver from tn
diggings to pay the cost of the raj
road. Then came the Polaris Company
based on claims almost as pretentiou.
Stock was sold on the promise that re
frigeration would be furnished at S
small cost that the profits of the col
poration would be over 100 per cent.
Two other Arabian Night enter
prises in which Burlingame becam
most active before he left Boston wer
The "Heel Cushion Company" an
"The Right Remedy Company Afte
much sensational advertising, these col
porations were taken in charge by tn
! sheriff. Bnrlingame went into inso
vency in October, 1897. During the las
five years Burlngame has been buildin
financial cloud castles in New York wit
such little show of his own hand that h
has almost entirely escaped attention
He has worked through other men,
So successful was Mr.. Burlingame
sales in disposing of the stocks of tn
wireless telephone companies that h
obtained control of multitude of il
ventlons of a spectacular type and the
organized string of million dollar con
panies to finance them. AS in the cas-
of the Sun Electric Generator Compan,
nothing was sold to the public bu
stock.
lCT NtIEC lIlInTc E00T Aktn