The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-06-25
OIL PROPERTY is
WORTHLESS, CHARGE
IN j. s. INDICTMENT


NEW YORK, June 25-A dozen or
more of the SO persons caught in a
net spread by postoffice inspectors
for operators suspected OF using the
mails to defraud through the sale OF
worthless oil stocks were expected to
appear in federal court here today for
arraignment on indictments returned
yesterday
The indictments, five in number,
charge four Oil companies, ten broker
age concerns and so individual de-
PENDANTS in various cities with having
used the mails to circulate literature"
which resulted in the purchase OF
valuless stock by hundreds OF Gus
toners. Federal authorities said the
total of sales would run into the mil
lions. Furthe indictments r e
promised.
Lewis C. Van Ripper, formerly secre-
tary to Thomas w. Lawson, was the
only one Of the indicted men who ap-
peared in court yesterday. He ap-
peared voluntarily and was held in
$4,000 bail.
The indictment against Van Ripper
names also the United Securities COM
pany of New York and Boston, in
which he is said to be heavily inter
ested; the Ranger Oil company and
Curtis Backer and company, New York
brokers' All are charged with pro-
noting the sale of Ranger company
stock which, the indictment alleges,
represents no more in assets than
one dry well'.
In one case, the indictments charged,
statesmen disposing Of stock OF the
Crown Oil company falsely represent
ed that a son Of former President
Roosevelt was an officer Of the COM
pany, which, it was claimed, soon
would rival the Standard Oil company
in volume of business.
Shares of this company, according
to one Of the indictments, were sold
to investors in Chicago at 1925 a
share, and to "evade the western Blue
sky law" later was disposed Of here
at So after costing brokers only seven
and half cents a share.
Oil Companies Named
The companies involved are the
Ranger Oil Companies, w. P. Williams
Oil company, Great Western Petro-
leum corporation and Crown Oil com
pany.
The indictment against the Ranger
Oil company and others charges that
Curtis, Packer e Co. by misrepresen-
tation, sold to investors at more than
81 a share, 100000 shares, which they
are said to have bought at 20 cents.
1t also is charged that brokerage
firm, Of which Ashley L. Holbrook was
said to be the president and with
which Louis c. Van Ripper, Charles r.
Morton and John L. Mclean were
connected" represented that new wells
were being drilled on the Ranger prop
erty when efforts to procure oil there
had been abandoned.
The United Securities Company, of
which Van Ripper was said to be prest-
dent, is charged with disposal of $780,.
900 worth of Ranger stock.
According to the indictment George
A. Lamb G. Co. bought Great Western
Petroleum stock for from 81 to 50 a
share and then disposed of it to in.
vestors at SIS on false representation
that the oil company was paying div.
idends of II per cent.
1t was misrepresented, the indict
ment charges, that it's wells at Erie
Kan. were the fourth largest owned
by an Independent corporation in the
United States and that it had pipe
lines. The indictment says it further
was misrepresented that at Burk-Bur
nett, Texas, gusher had been de
veloped yielding 1000 barrels of oil
day. while the company was said tc
have had only a fractional interest in
town lots on which were no oil wells