New-York tribune., 1919-10-12
Oil Man and Wife
Coupled in Charges
OF Stock Frauds
Federal Trade Commission
Issues Formal Complaint
Against Texas Promoters:
Must Answer by Nov. %
Ne1c York Tribune
WGShinOton Bureau


Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11.-Charging
fraud in numerous forms in the sale
OF Texas oil stocks and the promotion
of Oil companies, the Federal Trade
Commission to-day issued formal
complaint of unfair competition against
5. +. j. Cox and his wife, Mrs. N. E.
Cox, of Houston, Tex; Napoleon Hill,
OF Chicago, employed by Cox at $4,000
year as advertising agent, and the
Prudential Trust and Securities Com
pany, the Prudential Oil and Refining
company and the General Oil Com
Fany--now being promoted-all OF
Houston. Cox is president. of the two
organized companies and is to be presi-
dent of the General Oil Company. The
parties we're directed to file answer
with the commission by November IS.
Among the practices alleged to have
been employed by the parties as out
ilhed oy the commission in a statement
to-day, were.
"Circulation of false, misleading and
unfair statements concerning the as
sets, resources, financial standing and
responsibility, business, progress and
good will of the oil companies named
IN the complaint, and suppression of
other facts relating to the companies.
"Publication in HIPS Golden Rule a
magazine published in Chicago by Ma
poleon Hill, in the April, 1919, issue, of
an editorial entitled An Interesting
Man and His Wife Who Have Made
$1,000 600 for Other People, which
contained numerous false and mislead-
ing statements, known by the respond
ents to be false and misleading, and
published by them for the purpose of
furthering their plans and purposes.
rs. E. j. Cox informed parties in
quiring as to stock of the Prudential
on and Refining Company that that
stock had been withdrawn from the
market, using language to mislead his
inquirers to believe the stock had been
withdrawn because of its value, when
he knew at the time that the stock was
withdrawn because Of the warning of
the Capital Issues Committee against
the information so given be recon-
mended and urged such inquirers that
they invest in the stock of the General
Oil Company
"Pubications in Houston by Cox. his
wife and Napoleon Hill of a magazine
called TRUTH in which they greatly
exaggerated fortunes to be made out Of
Oil stocks
"Circulation of advertising fraudu-
lently guaranteeing that the General
company would pay purchasers of it's
stock subscriptions per cent divi-
dends monthly on earnings on its oil
production.
False representation to the public
by S. +. j. Cox that he was holding in
trust checks amounting to more than
81 .025000 to be used for the payment
of scholarships for worthy and needy
boys and returned soldiers, and that
the said checks represented dividends
received by himself from the earnings
Of the General Oil Company.
fraudulent representation that the
Prudential Trust and Securities Com
pany had. in the year 1918, paid a stock
dividend of 200 per cent, and that from
then on the company would pay out of
it's earnings a dividend of 5 Dor cent
per month, with the prospect that these
dividends would increase shortly to 10
or 20 per cent per month";