The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-11-22
w EEV UB EENH EEEHV
Who Furnished Evidence That
Led Postmaster General to Act
In Suits Brought Against n. 7.
Wireless Concerns.
MIR. WALTER ALTMAN.
Lives on Clay Street and Had
Stock in First Company.
Proposal to Transfer Stock Caus-
ed Him to Write Hitchcock.

Walter N. Altman, a cripple, and
son of Mr.. and Mrs. John L. Altman
of POOL Clay street, furnished the gov
ernment with the first direct evidence
of the fraudulent operation of the
Continental Wireless Telegraph COM
pany. 1t was Altman who gave the
first clue Of the crooked work of the
companies which the Continental con-
trolled; and it was Altman who placed
in the hands of Postmaster General
Hitchcock the first complete list of
circulars and advertising matter the
government received
1t was July 16, 1909. when young
Altman received a block of stock in
the Collins Wireless Telephone COM
pany. The stock was given to the
young man as an investment, the pur-
chasing relatives believing from the
advance notices of the company that
the stock was a gilt edge proposition.
Altman says he was pleased with the
gift and watched closely every circular
sent out by the company. Steadily the
selling price of stock increased; some
times in few pennies, sometimes one
or two dollars share. Suddenly the
stock was listed at SO a share Then
the circulars asked the stockholders to
| exchange their Collins stock for stock
| of equal value in the newly organized
| Continental.
Altman Wrote Postmaster General.
Altman SHE'D at the neatly printed
stationery and the alluring descrip-
| t1ons of the future earning of the new
company. He wrote letter to Post
master General Hitchcock Then a lit
| tie later he received a request for the
| literature. 1t was furnished and the
raid of the concerns which are alleged
| to have swindled the public to the
amount of $40,000,000 followed the in
vestigation of federal authorities.
| The young man is modest in his
statements of the part he played in
| t-inging about one of the biggest raids
| { er made by the postoffice depart
lent. In talking of his connection
with the case, the young Altman said:
Stock Given Him by Relative.
was given to me by a relative, who sail
might some day realize neat in
come from the stock. It was selling
above par at that time, July 16, 1909.
The company sent me great many cir
| cuIars. They promised great returns
and said the stock would rapidly in
crease in value. They told me of the
bright future in store of the company
and its stockholders. They asked me
/ to buy more stock; but I did not have
the money to buy with. I thought that
! if the stock increased as they claimed
| and as it seemed certain to do, that the
stock I already held was good enough
! for me.
THE company never paid me any
dividends, but they told me the mar
ket value of the stock was increasing
! in value. Sometimes the increase was
rather small. Sometimes it went up a
dollar or two dollars a share in a sin
| gle jump. In June this year, the com
pany claimed the stock was $40 a
| share.
Cpriuo consolidation Coharoo
f"Then the company told me the
stockholders in the company were tax
ing stock in the Continental wireless
in exchange for Collins stock. They
said the Collins Wireless Telephone
company, the Pacific Wireless Tele-
graph company, the Clark Wireless
/ aph-Telephone company and the
Massie Wireless Telegraph company
were being merged into the Continental.
The company was capitalized at So
600 and the said that the reorgan-
ization would give the new company
wider territory and greater advantage
for paying large dividends in near fu-
ture.
'I did not like the tone of their let
ter somehow. and / wrote to the post
master general asking If the company
were reliable and good. The letter 7
received said that the federal authori-
ties knew nothing about the compan-
les and asked me to furnish informa-
ton for an investigation. / then sent
the letters and circulars I had receiv-
ed. There was a big package of them,
but 1 sent them all. 1 have heard moth
ing from Mr.. Hitchcock since sending
him the circulars, but 1 am mighty
glad that the raid was successful. The
company certainly must be crooked;
and 1 do not think their quotations as
to the value of the stock were at any
time substantial
Altman said he expected to appear
against the officers of the company
when the case was tried and he hoped
he could aid the government in con-
victing the men, whom he believes tried
to defraud him.
New York. Nov. 22.-The specific
charge against Vaughan, set forth in
the complaint of William B. Robinson,
postal inspector, is that on June 4,
1910, he devised a scheme to defraud
Walter n. Altman of 2001 Clay street,
Topeka, Kansas, land divers other per-
sons" by fraudulent use of the mails.
It is alleged he falsely represented that
the Continental Wireless was to oper-
ate and control other companies and
would be in a position to obtain i'm
mediate revenues.
Carter R. Keene, postal inspector,
told the story of Continental Wireless.
The company was organized, he said,
in Arizona on October /, 1909. with a
capital of $5,000,0 900, but did not begin
operations on large scale until May
of this year
1t obtained control of the Collins
Wireless Telephone company, the Pa
, cific wireless Telegraph company, the
Clark Wireless Telegraph Telephone
company, and the Massie Wireless
| Telegraph company. The Colurnbia
. Finance corporation was organized tC
market the stock, and. an ambitious
selling campaign was carried on al
over the country. In spite of the great
amount of business done, Continenta
Wireless today has no bank accounts