New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-10-14
FRAUD OF A MILLION
DOLLARS IS CHARGED
Manager of RedeemabIe Invest
ment Company. of Boston,
Arrested.
ITS PRESIDENT 4 MINISTER
Police Seek Man Who Had Al
legged Endorsement Of seore-
tary Ballinger and Jus
tice Brewer.


deemable Investment Company. at NO.
s. Devonshire street. to-day ana came
away with the manager Charles H.
Brook. the books OF the company ana
se-er5l thousand dollars in cash, all
taken under d warrant charging the
company with the use Of the mails IN
scheme to defrauC. Accord Eng to fed-
eraI officials nearly $1U100M is involved
under the charges. Police tonight were
hunting for the Rev. Norman Pass. the
president of the company, who had the
alleged Endorsement of Richard a Ball
,ngar Secretary OF the Interior; the late
Justice David J. Brewer of the Unltea
states Supreme Court, Senator Charles
Curtis of kansas. and several local Con +
gregational ministers Mr.. Plass was Tor .
seven wears president Of Washburn Col /
Iege. at Topeka. Kan.
The raid on the elaborately furnlshed
Offices Of the company on the sixth moor
IF the Devcnshire street building was |
Of great interest i thousands OF invest
ors in New England and other sections.
Along with a mass of account BOOKS aHc
circulars the federal officers took away
several bags said TO contain goid co'h /
while six employees of the company "eIe
summoned before United States COM /
missioner Hayes and gave personal
recognizance in 500 each as witnesses
orosnzed as Holding Company
The RedeenabIe Investment Company
was organized three years ago as
holding company. with capital oI SIo'-
600 GOO. Circulars found in the ONCE
say that the company promotes Only |
those properties of which it Is the owner
or Of which il has control and that IIle /
stock is not listed. as the company re-
der1pticn fund furnished market Tor /
the stock on demand at price IN no |
ca Sc less than the price paid the COM |
nsnv. together with al least per cent !
for the time it has been issued. The |
circulars also say that the company con- /
trolls the Santo Domingo Mining Com
many. which is said TO own So per cent !
of the mines of Jalisso. SantO Domingo, |
and a ranch of seventy thousand acres |
in the same state; the Norman Plass |
Lumber Company, which says il owns |
556 GOO 600 feet of timber in British
Columbia; the Boston and Canada
Wheat Land Company. having twenty
thousand acres of land in Canada and
the Okenogan Development Company, OF
Washington.
John P Feeney. counsel for the COM
pany. said tonight that the officers vel !
con'ed the fullest investigation and ex-
animation of the books and we're conf |
dent that the outcome would be favor
hal int hTlr a
those OF the stockholders, who are scat
tered throughout the country and num-
Der several thousand.
The Rev. Mr.. Plass, the president Of
the company. was born at CIaverack,
y. Y. He is a graduate Of Williams
College and the Yale Divinity School.
He has held pastorates at Detroit. Lin
coin, Neb. Media. Ohio: Cincinnati and
harrington, +. I. In 1897 he was state
superintendent of the Rhode Island
Anti-SaIoon League and later agent of
the Congregational Home Missionary
Society. He became president Of Wash
lurn College. Topeka. in 1902, and re-
signed two years ago.
The printed matter of the COMPANY
contains Endorsements of Mr. Plass from
Z a
/ letter purporting TO come from Score
| tary BaIlinger. which reads as follows:
I have known Mr.. Norman Plass for
many years as d gentleman OF high
character and integrity. He possesses
high degree OF energy and ability in
! anything he undertakes. He is worthy
! of confidence and respect and has had
! experience in the West in the investiSa-
ton Of timber lands. | am sure that he
IL 1srI,-
ter untruthfully or unfairly in business
connection.
RICHARD A. BALLTNGER.
Secretary Of the Interior.
Mr.. Brooks was born in Council Bluffs
thirty-nine years ago. According to the
federal officials. he was arrested in st.
Louis six years ago. tried and convicted
IN connection with the land frauds Of the
Rialto Investment Company of St Louis.
and sentenced to eighteen months IN
tail, but was pardoned by President
Roosevelt on the ground that he hal
furnished valuable evidence for the
government in the trial Of United States
Senator Burton.
The officers of the Redeemahie invest
ment Company are as follows: Presi-
dent. Norman Plass. Boston; vice-pres-
dents. J. Austin Pharaoh Worcester;
George a BIauvelt. of New York. and
William II. Bryan. of New York; secre-
tarv. George &. Graft, of Boston; treas
urer. J l. Traphagen. Of Boston.
The directors include the foregoing,
with Charles II. Brooks. of Boston. man
ager; Harry ". Davis of Wilmington.
Del; w. f. Hathaway, of New Bedford.
and Addison H. Hazeltine. Of Montclair.
y. ].
Charles II. Brooks was arraigned late
to-day before United States Commits
sioner Hayes and later released on Civ
ing 5000 bail. He was ordered 10 ap-
pear for hearing on October %
Mr. Plass left Boston two weeks ago
10 go TO Vancouver Island to investi-
gate timber lands in which he is inter-
| ested, according 10 a statement made by
Mrs. Plass tonight at her home in New
! ton.
| George A Blauvelt. one of the vtce-presi-
dents of the Redeemable Investment Com
| many. when seen at his home in Monsey
| RockIand County, n Y. last evening, said
| that he had heard nothing regarding any
| action having been taken by the federal
! authorities He added that he had no state