The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-11-22
There is a New One Born Every Minute Said P.
T. Barnum and Swindlers Find Them
Easy Prey
POSTAL DEPARTMENT Is GETTING BUSY
Dealers in Worthless Stocks are at End of Rope
After Long and Successful Gouging
Of the Public

NEW YORK, Nov. 22.-Postmaster
General Hitchcock led his inspectors
in person in two raids on the oihces
of New York concerns he charges
have swindled the public out of more
than S40,O0O,00 by fraudulent use
of the United States mails. Tne
arrest of four officials of the two
companies is but the opening gun OF
the post office department in a. ma
tion-wide crusade to end, for once
and all, the systematic and wholesale
thefts perpetrated by misrepresenta-
tion through the use of the federal
postal system. Hitchcock stated
/ there would be more and equally as
important arrests In the near future.
The day of the get-rich-quick con-
Germ is past, he declared. The gov
ernment has found the postal fraud
order a failure and will now attempt
to land the men higher up behind
federal prison bars.
4 The first raid was on the office OF
4 Burr Bros, promoters and dealers IN
i stocks, bonds, and other securities,
in the Flatiron building.
Sheldon H. Burr president; Eugene
H. Burr, secretary and treasurer, and
Frank H. Tobey, vice president OF
Burr Bros, were arrested and held
in $4,000 bail each. The government
charges that the firm sold between
SAC, 900, 900 and s50,000,000 of mining
and oil stock worth little or moth
ing.
Charles l.. Vaughan, a director OF
the Continental Wireless Telegraph
!, and Telephone Company. incorporated
In Arizona, was taken In the second
raid and held in $4,000 bail. In
!: . spectors say his company has sold
: stock amounting to at least $1,000,
: 600 which has brought in no return
:, to the investors.
: Vaughan is treasurer of the Columbif
Finance Company, which acts a:
fiscal agent for the Continental Wire
less Telegraph and Telephone Com
]. pany, and had charge of the Continen
J. tai offices in this city.
e The raid on Burr Bros, was plan
l. ned by Warren w. Dickson, chief in
spector of the New York district
formerly of the ST. Louis district
Postmaster General Frank H. Hitch
cock, and Robert S. Sharpe, chic
post Office inspector, were here fror
t. Washington to see that 1t was cal
" ried out successfully.
II Postmaster General Hitchcock dt
clared the promoting concern ha
IS sold stock in oil, copper, lead. zin'
s. gold and other companies, most {
which are either not operating the
n properties or have gone out of e,
y. istence or have become bankrupt
It. addition to the arrests made her
men who have been transacting bus
h ness for Burr Bros, in Michigan an
ht the state of Washington are to
on arrested on Commissioner Shield
d. warrants.
Connecticut Corporation.
Burr Brothers is stock corporate
organized in 1897 under the laws
IN Connecticut G. II. Tobey conduc
at the corporation business In Michigs
w and f. Wesley Preston is its repr
nd sen ative at Seattle, Wash.
is Hundreds of complaints against Il
al company have been lodged with Il
OH post office department by investor
ed who charged they had been swindl
nd through the false representation
tn made to them concerning the prof
that were being realized by tho
he who put their money into stock co
We panies which the corporation h
organized. The Burr Brothers G.
tn poration was sorS of holding co
es- pany, which organized and market
to stock of the mining and oil comp;
lay les.
I.aterly, Burr Brothers have be
exploiting and selling the stock
he Buick Oil Company, which h
ner a capital of s5.ooo,Oo0 according
ear the advertisements. Earlier,
10y firm had organized 3 half dozen
a. companies, the capitals ranging fir
100000 to st,0OO.OOO, in the prospt
uses.
Four mining companies, which hi
a. gone out of existence, have beel
!, source of big profits to the accu
yer. promoters, as we'll as other conce