The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1920-08-11
PONzI DISCLOSES
SOME OF HIS STEPS
Famous Financier Tells Kiwanians of
Rise
POSTAL EXCHANGE DEALS
As 1et ne Has Found No One Who
Will Have to Make Good
Any Loss Sustained

boston, August 1O.-Charlos po,.;
VINO claims to have jumped from CON,
paratlVe poverty to multimilliona;r.s
estate IN few months through DEAL
ings IN international postal COUPONS
to'o members of the Kiwanis Club to,
"'y some OF the steps in the process
by which he claims to have amassod
his fortune.
Ponzl' making his first appearance
as an after-dinner speaker since bo
became one of the most talked If ,,,.n
IN the country, was luncheon ou.s+
OF the club. He was invited so,>,o
time ago, before he was comnelIod -
cease payment in his "ffty per cent
IN 1orty-five days" proposition becauso
OF the orders issued bv the s+,to
pank commissioner to the Hanover,
trust Company yesterday to nav M
more of Ponzis checks.
III opening his remarks Ponzi reit-
Grated his claim that he was solvent
ana expressed confidence that tb;s
would be substantiated by the fod-
eral and State Investigations no,y j.,
progress and that he would be able
10 resume business in few days.
I Small Office to Start.
lie related how he had hired a small,
oiilce, used his small capital in var;-
Gus business schemes, and then with
an international reply coupon always
IN 1ront OF him on his desk, "bepan
TO 90 something" He finally obtained
financial assistance, he said TO do
Velop his idea and spent tbousaods
Oh dollars in foreign correspond
ence.
found out" he said, "that the
postal coupons were being sold in
loreign countries for the equivalent of
slN cents and could be converted into
postage stamps. Then all had to do
was figure how many nicklcs mad a
million
i got in touch with men-that,s
I as lar as III go-who were able to
secure for me large amounts of co,,
pons IN different countries. Thev
bought them with our money and
used them as collateral to he ro.
deemed later.
when conditions were r;pht 7 of-
| 1ered to borrow money from tho
pubic offered fifty per cent in
ninety days and would not promise
10 redeem notes in forty-fve, though
thought that three weeks was
about the right time to bank the
money here, send it abroad, get the
stamps ana convert them into cash.
President and Office Boy.
i started the Securities Exchange
Company | was everything from
president to Office boy.
Il decided that if | redeemed he
stamps in tn United States the teo-
erai government might decide that If
came within its jurisdiction, though
there was no federal or State law
: against it. But the exchange rate was
thc same in Switzerland and NORWAY
and some other countries, SO | de.
cided to redeem them there"
i Someone in the audience asked ,yby
f"''N'i "i'ilolIllcS nd0 Deen un-
able to find any evidence of such
large dealings in reply coupons. Ponzi
replied that foreign governments real
'Zed q profit on the issue of these nos.
tal ccrtlfcateS "and are not going to
, disclose to other governments how
many coupons they have issued"
$ And the international Postal Union
IS not going to do it," he added
Asked if foreign governments had
not stopped this, he replied:
"fcs, they are stoppng-thcy have
stopped the sale Of coupons for pub.
I, he use. But that does not stop NV
business. My money in Europe is,
working today even if it is not here"
In the transactions in coupons he
insisted, nobody suffers a loss.
i buy today" he said, "a dollars
worth of Italian exchange. At the
present rate ] get eighteen lire.
would get five under normal exchange.
with the eighteen lire / buy sixtv
international reply coupons. These
coupons can be sold for SO in Amcri-
can money"
! lie maintained that no government
need lose, but transactions between
governments may be delayed until ex-
change is normal and pointed out