New-York tribune., 1922-10-02
Delay in Action
On Bucketeers
Stir.s Comment
Complaints of Victims Ac-
cu.nulating Since Last
Spring and Little Done
About 1t. Critics Charge
Indictments Dem anded
Case of Butcher Who Lost
$4,000 With Hall & Co.
lis Cited as an Example

The prosecution Of the bucketeers
must be addressed with greater vigor
IL not more ability, than has yet beer
shown by the prosecuting officials OF
New York If proper punishment is to be
visited upon them persons qualified to
speak informed The Tribune yesterday
Ever since last spring, even before
creditors committees, variety of pub
lie body that seems most in demand in
their respective communities just now
have been bringing their complaints
to New York, chiefly from New Eng
land, demanding action--if not their
moneys and stocks. They do not, as
shown by the records and bankruptcy
testimony, always get it.
"The same number of failures in the
1usiness world as have occurred among
stock brokerage houses" an attorney
quoted a bankruptcy referee as say
ing, would attract great attention and
Immediately something would be done
about IL. Indictments would be found
IN the Federal courts if the multiple
fly of failures occurred in almost any
other class of commercial institutions.
II tha testimony given by witnesses at
bankruptcy proceedings, or If the wit
nesses themselves were to be taken TO
Albany, / am sure something would
be done about it,
Action at Home Advocated
'Tt should not be necessary to go
elsewhere for an indictment of this
kind" another referee is reported by a
creditors attorney to have said. "The
crime was committed here and the in
dictment should be found here"
"Am I to understand is the ques-
tion quoted as coming from the referee
in the course of one Of these stock
brokerage bankruptcies few days ago,
that the Consolidated Stock Exchange
says that it can stand sponsor for these
men? ! don't see how it can, and yet
such conditions as existed in the Offices
of this company can continue to exist
in the Offices of firms which are still
members of the exchange, and appa-
rently no corrective measures are be-
ing employed by the exchange"
The case of August F. Grimm, pro-
vision dealer at 358 Park Avenue, and
q creditor of Hall e. Co, which failed
bankruptcy proceedings CT that firm
Two visits from Massachusetts, officials
already have been made to the District
Attorneys Office of New York County
in this case, and tomorrow the third
delegation, headed by a Deputy Attor-
ney General of Massachusetts,, will call
at the Criminal Courts Building.
Butchers Money Missing
Broadway and Ninety-fourth Street last
February. Hall & Co., moving into
Offices already fully equipped near that
corner, which another brokerage con-
cern had just vacated, induced him to
trade with them. The butcher took
twenty-five shares of Southern Pacific,
ten shares of Baldwin LOGON olive and
twenty shares of Union Pacific from
his strongbox and gave them to the
branch manager for sale, the market
having gone up. They were worth
about $4,000.
A runner took the stocks down town
to the Hall Offices, at 80 Broad Street
This was in the morning. The securi-
ties, the evidence shows, were sold
through two other brokerage houses
and the proceeds deposited by Hall &
Co. with the United States Mortgage
and Trust Company. At ii o'clock that
morning, February %, Hall & Co. vol
UNFAIRLY entered bankruptcy. But be-
fore the receiver took charge the ac-
count at the United States Mortgage
and Trust Company was closed out
The money is missing.
ooh. we blew the works." Louis J.
Anastasia. one of the partners, in
formed Edwin J. Hertz, the Ninety
fourth Street manager, when he asked
for Grimms check. Grimm, with his
attorney, Theodore Richter, will be of
the party from Massachusetts and New
Hampshire that is to meet tomorrow
at the Criminal Courts Building, where
the Hall & Co. evidence was sent on
June / last. but upon which no action,
according to a creditors attorney, has
haeo talon