The San Francisco call., 1910-11-26
DENTIST JAILED
FOR BIG FRAUDS
IN OIL STOCK
DIR. c. Howard Merritt Accused
of Capitalizing Land Owned
by Government
Secretary of Haiwee Pacific
Is Said to Have Profted
$4,000 by Swindles
Especial Dispotch 10 The Call

Especial Dspdtch 10 The Call
OAKLAND, Nov. 26.-The Lucrative
career OF the Haiwee Pacific oil COM
pany, Incorporated for $1,000. 900. was
checked this afternoon by the Califor-
MIA state mining bureau. which caused
the arrest OF DR.. C. Howard Merritt,
secretary of the company. He is
charged with circulating literature
which fraudulently represents the cor
poration as owning fabulously rich but
undeveloped oil properties in Inyo
county near the Owens river. The
state authorities say the company act
ually owns nothing in Inyo county.
The prospectuses, however, as issued
by Merritt contain photographs of Inyo
territory, captioned as the property of
the Haiwee company. In reality the
pictures are of government land. ac-
off1cials
Shares One Dollar Each
The Haiwee company did nothing, it
is charged, but sell stock. Shares were
secured by the prospectuses became SO
great that Doctor Merritt is credited
with having made $4,000 himself.
What the other officers in the company
made is not known.
According to H. w. Gray, agent for
the state mining bureau, who caused
Doctor Merritt's arrest, the company's
entire operations were a swindle. The
business procedure was such that to
bring the secretary to the bar OF JUS
tice the authorities were compelled to
take advantage of statute on the law
books of California, which makes the
circulation of false and fraudulent
prospeotuses a felony. Such is the
charge filed against Doctor Merritt in
the police court
1t is probable, according to the au-
thorities. that similar action will be
taken against other. officers in the Hal
wee company. The prospectus gives
them as follows:
Arthur G. Holland, New York, presi-
dent; j. E. Fox, Oakland, vice presi-
dent; w A Noyes AMI A. c. Rich,
Auburn, Me-; A. C. Daley, San Fran
cisco, and F. Lehman, Napa, directors.
Land Owned by United States
The expose of the stock operation is
linked through the state mining bu-
reau with the sensational action by the
postoff1ce authorities at Washington
against Burr brothers. The glaring
representations of the literature sent
out by that company, as well as others,
put the state bureau to Investigating.
The Haiwee company fell under sus-
picion with the others and the agents
representing the mining bureau pro-
cured evidence that the corporation
was selling stock on land that had
never passed from the ownership of
the federal government.
Merritt appears in the prospectuses
as a dentist, well known in Oakland
He lives in franklin street. Holland,
the New York president. is described
as q big retail shoe merchant with es-
tabIishments at New York and Detroit.
J. E. Fox is one of the owners of the
Glrard piano company, Odkidnd. Noyes
is member Of the manufacturing COM
pany of Ash, Noyes & Small, Auburn,
Me. In that city Rich is said to be a.
prominent businessman. Lehman is a
businessman OF Napa, while Daley is
an employe of the Southern Pacific
across the bay.
Detective Kyle took the dentist into
custody in his Office at room 300 Union
Savings Bank building. Doctor Mer-
ritt's bail was set at $4,000.