The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1910-12-20
UNCLE SAM RAIDS
q Persons Accused of
Postal Frauds.
ALL PART OF BIG CRUSADE
Government officers Descend on Con
Germs iu Pennsylvania and New
Jersey on Charge of Using
Mails 10 Defraud.

Philadelphia. Dec. l7.-By far the
most important coup ever attempted
by the postal authorities was success
fully accomplished when twenty-one|
persons. including a woman. were ar
rested in various parts Of Pennsylva
mia. charged with a fraudulent use Of
the mails.
Assured Of the strong support OF
the federal administration and carry
ing out the announced policy OF Post
master General Hitchcock. James I.
Cortelyou. chief postal inspector, and
his assistants put an end to number
OF business enterprises which, they
claim. have mulcted hundreds Of per.
sons throughout the state and country
Some Of Those Arrested.
Philadelphia furnished seven vic
tims of the inspectors. They were DR..
/ J. Il. Horinstein and four former Off.
cials of the Chain Shoe Syndicate. A..
| c. Patterson. former vice president;
Lewis L. Rice. former president. Ed
/ gar Pohlig, former treasurer. and G..
/ ii. Brooks. former third vice president;
Robert G. McMorris and Harry f.
/ Stanton, of the Pine Heights company.
A. Scranton. Lewis Conrad. Conrad
Lott and w. Nj. Bingham. OF the Cor
/ respOndence Institute of America,
were arrested.
Palmyra gave up Abraham G. Stauf
/ FER. Abraham 5. Stauffer and Oscar \.
Stauffer
W. S. Ream and j. A. Wetzel were
/ taken into custody at Lancaster.
Charles B. Mckee was captured at
Huntington.
S. Joseph Silvermann and ] II.
/ Iepsch were Pittsburg's quota
Ira Webster and Oscar Gustfalon
we're captured at Newark. n. j.
Mrs. Laura A. Steen. at Penn sta
ton. Pa.
Nature Of the Charges.
The charges against the prisoners
are Of similar nature. but the postal
authorities claim that the methods
pursued were so widely different rs tol
asiOnish even the trained men who
/ followed them. They were amazed. too,
to discover the ease with which dupes
can be obtained and the crude machin-
cry which produces such fruitful re-
suits
Inspector Cortelyou believes that
the results achieved by Dr. Horinstein
were the most profitable to himself
and disastrous to the health and purse
of his patients Il is claimed that he
advertised throughout the state and in
other localities as a specialist in curing
mems diseases. His advertisements
were printed in various languages. and
his patients were exceptionally nu
merous.
He is said to have offered a course
Of treatment for $25, and having found
a victim would send him some cheap
and ineffective remedy. Inspector X. |
K. Cochran. who arrested him claims
TO have evidence that DR.. Hornstein |
sent out as many as 10000 letters at
a time in an effort to angle the unsO-
phisticated. and that these names he |
purchased from firm of name brokers |
who lent willing hands to the enter
prise.
How many answers DR.. HOrnstein !
received to these letters the officials |
are not able to say. but they are con
fident that he reaped a rich harvest |
He was arraigned before United |
States Commissioner Craig and held In
$500 bail.
Case Against Shoe Company.
The charge against the officials OF
the Chain Shoe Stores Syndicate is
based on their letters and circulars |
which describe how they would pur-
chase a chain Of shoe stores through !
out the country and pay substantial |
dividends on any stock which might |
be purchased Inspector Cortelyou and |
District Attorney Thompson assert |
that the company advertised the pur-
chase of a shoe factory for 100000, |
with an output of 300 pairs Of shoes
day and that this factory proved on
investigation to be simply a repair
shop worth not more than 5000. and
that the purchase price was paid in
stock of the company to the amount Of
$50 600. The company was formed in
1909, with capital stock Of 100000 |
authorized and issued in 81 shares.
In the beginning the price Of the /
stock was placed at 20 cents. but Mr..
Cortelyou declares that the price was
arbitrarily increased by the directors |
and was used as a medium for secur-
ing additional funds. 1t is the claim 81
the government that no dividends we're
ever paid and that many shares Of
stock were sold. the returns for which
were put to no practical use.
Gave Away Lots.
An cid scheme is claimed TO have
been worked successfully by Stanton
and McMorris, of the Pine Heights
company. They are said to have given
away between 400 and 500 lots in the
vicinity of Egg Harbor, N. j., charging /
81 for the deed to each and to have
sold about the same number for from
$25 to 800 each. These lots. it is as
serted. are practically valueless. being /
covered with scrub oak, two miles from /
a railroad and without the slightest |
improvement Il is estimated that the /
whole tract of land, comprising hun
dreds of acres. was purchased by the |
company for $1,000.