The Republican journal., 1910-11-03
FAKES AND THEIR VICTIMS.


hundred million dollars in the last three
years. Thirty millions Of this amount
went into the Golfers of one concern
alone. Another hundred million went to
all of them during the three years pre-
ceding the panic Of 1907. A suckers
list" of the names of 100000 victims,
used by ali the large concerns, is their
most cherished asset, resulting from the
working understanding" between them.
These figures are conservative esti-
mates" furnished to the newspapers by
Post Office Inspector Warren W. Dick
son, in charge of the New York division.
And the figures are said to be on the in
crease. The first named sum ($2O0. 0OO)
represents the average fraudulent opera
tons of today, or total for the year
1910 of $73, 900, OOO New York is said to
be the worlds chief headquarters for
these fraudulent mining promoters,
where they are 1ourishing in the finan-
cial district like weeds in an unkempt
garden. 1t is the business of the post
office inspection department to detect
and check the operation of these concerns
as soon as they begin their "heart- to-
heart" talks for the benefit of investors
through the medium of the mails, and In
spector Dickson, who is credited with bril-
liant work in checking the ''green goods
game, has been placed in charge of the
New York department, his force of in
hos fn1 ha
has instructions to begin drastic cam
paign. One strange thing about this
business, and it is also true locally is that
people will submit to being victimized so
many times. Inspector Dixon says of
these fake promoters: ''The marvellous
part of their insidious advance is that
they use the same old 'bunco talk so
shallow, it would seem to any aver
age intellect, and yet the same vic
Tins are found biting again and
again." In Pine street, in a well-furnish-
ed Office, most conservative in appear
ance, is the Suckers Directory" of the
fraud gang, with a list of names near
the quarter million mark and growing
daily. The list is arranged after the
fashion of Dun's or Bradstreet's direc-
tory. A Brooklyn man who has in
vested in at least thirty mining schemes,
and lost money in all of them, is in the
list of names classified as easiest"
The next grade is the Every easy" the
next, just easy Then comes the
''fair prospects," and finally, the ''good,
if carefully handled" and so on. The
various concerns interested in this list
buy and sell names to their agent in
charge of it, although they have their
own lists; but the rich prizes come
through the Suckers Directory" In
this connection Inspector Dixon says:
":The evil has now grown to unimagin-
able proportions. Branch Offices are
established everywhere and great guam
titles of mining shares not worth the
paper they are printed upon are unloaded
upon a gullible public. They play no
small part in the poor estimation in
which American investments are held
abroad and have much to do with the
serious difficulties now confronting legiti-
mate enterprises.
1.-THE last ten years have been the
great harvest time for all these concerns,
with the exception of a short period fol-
lowing the panic of 1907. In the three
years previous to that time have doc
umentary evidence of concerns since
closed up and others now under investi-
cation to give an estimate of the
amounts they have received, which l
conservatively place at hundred million
dollars. In the last few years the bust
ness has been carried on with redoubled
energy.
The daily papers last week contained
news Of fake mining scheme original
ing in Maine. John A. Delisle of Houlton,
Me-, Theotime Boudreau and Leo Rich
ard of Manchester, N. H., were arrested
in Manchester, October 9th, on COM
plant of postoffice inspectors, charged
with using the U. S. mails in a scheme
to defraud. They were given a prelimi-
nary hearing before U. S. Commissioner
John G. Crawford, who held them in
bonds of $4,000 each, and being unable to
procure bail they were locked up. The
Oxf ord gold mining company is charter
ed under the laws of the State of Maine
and has a capitalization of $500, 1000. 1t
is claimed that residents of Manchester
have invested in the stock of the COM
pany to the extent of between $50, 900
and $4,000, and that residents of Derry,
Suncook and other towns in the vicinity
have also bought literally of the stock.
The par value of the stock is 81 per
share, but the company is said to have
made sales as high as $3.50 recently,
claiming that the mine would show net
returns of 81, 100000 year, and would
pay $50 per cent on the par value. One
dividend is said to have been paid, but it
IS the claim of the authorities that it was
not earned by the mine 1t was alleged
at the hearing Friday that the respond
ents purchased 240 acres where the mine
is located for $1,000, and it was asserted
that they had sold stock from 10 cents
share to So, and altogether had received
sos, 094 from the sale of stock. 1t was
alleged that a sample of ore sent to
SmelterS in New Tarcov cbou,ad II +o h.