805 
1911. 
OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. 
Gigantic Fraud Say the Judges. 
The opinion of the court in the Lewis 
creditors’ suit was read by Judge Smith 
McPherson, who sat with Judge Dyer 
in the case. Following is text of the 
opinion: 
We have here a bill in equity brought by 
something like twenty complainants aga^st 
as many individual defendants, joined with 
six or more corporations. 
The contest before us has been between 
the complainants and the Reorganization 
Committee, formed by some of the stock¬ 
holders of one or more of the defendant 
corporations. The bill of complaint is more 
than 130 pages in length. The point is 
made by motion, equivalent to a plea in 
abatement, that the court is without juris¬ 
diction for the appointment of a receiver. 
Most of the complainants are asserting a 
right to a money demand of less than $2,000 
each, but at least two of the complainants 
have claims greater than $2,000: one of 
them, however, has voluntarily withdrawn 
from the case. But he went out of the case 
after the court had acquired jurisdiction. 
\s one complainant has a money demand 
against one of the defendants named, and 
another complainant against another de¬ 
fendant, and other complainants against 
other defendants, it is suggested that the 
bill of complaint is multifarious, and that 
such matters can not be joined in one suit 
in equity. 
Most Gigantic Fraud. 
This lengthy bill of complaint has been 
read with as much care as the time would 
permit, and the bill recites a marvelous 
story. If this bill of complaint recites the 
truth, or if a small per cent, of the recitals 
are the truth, then we have for considera¬ 
tion one of the most gigantic frauds that 
has been perpetrated in many a day. 
Commencing approximately ten years ago, 
the defendant, Edward G. Lewis, utterly in¬ 
solvent, has handled many hundreds of 
thousands of dollars of money and millions 
of dollars of paper in the form of notes, 
bonds, debentures, trust deeds and securi¬ 
ties. If the recitals of this bill are to be 
believed (and as yet they are not contro¬ 
verted), the South Sea bubble, of which 
Washington Irving so beautifully wrote, has 
been well-nigh equaled, if not eclipsed, by 
the schemes during the last decade of the 
defendant, Edward G. Lewis. If this story 
is worthy of credence, the Panama stock 
and bond' scandal of France of fifteen years 
ago has been equaled, if not surpassesd. 
One corporation would be organized, ac¬ 
companied by the most flaming and glitter¬ 
ing bulletins, dodgers, circular letters and 
advertisements, informing the people how 
they could get rich over night, and make 
money in fabulous sums by the investment 
of their meager savings. 
One corporation would progress sometimes 
but for a few months, and in no instance 
for longer than two or three years, when 
something better is announced, investors ad¬ 
vised to have evidence of indebtedness sur¬ 
rendered and changed in form, and another 
corporation would be organized. Magazines 
were brought into being and sold to sub¬ 
scribers at a nominal rate, resulting in 
thousands of tons of such literature being 
carried through the United States mails in 
the City and County of St. Louis free of 
transportation charges, and sent to all parts 
of the United States for a cent a pound. 
The ostensible purpose of these magazines 
and papers was for the purpose of publish¬ 
ing literature of the highest order, but in 
truth and in fact for fhe advertising of the 
schemes of the enterprise of the defendant, 
Lewis. 
At the commencement of his career Lewis 
was not worth a dollar. He has collected 
hundreds of thousands of dollars, a part of 
which was for his own use and benefit, and 
many times that sum for the investment in 
buildings, machinery, real estate and the 
building of additions to the City of St. 
Louis. One of his schemes was for the cre¬ 
ation of a college or university, partly to 
be devoted to oral teaching, but largely to 
teaching by mail. Stock was subscribed by 
persons from all over the country. Some 
stock would be issued, but additional and 
more promises for the issue of stock at some 
future day. 
By the time the stock was to be issued a 
new scheme would be devised and stock or 
bonds in many corporations promised. Some 
of these corporations were organized under 
the laws of the State of Missouri, and were 
organized in utter defiance of the laws and 
constitution of the State. Other corpora¬ 
tions were organized under the laws of the 
State of South Dakota, the purpose thereby 
being to circumvent the laws of the State 
of Missouri. 
The place of business was to be at or ad¬ 
joining the City of St. Louis in the State of 
Missouri. 
All Promises Broken. 
Boards of directors would be elected, or 
rather named on paper, and in some in¬ 
stances boards of directors of some of the 
defendant corporations have never held a 
meeting and yet records were made up as if 
said corporations had been legally organized 
and the business carried on by and through 
regular meetings of the boards of directors 
and other officers. 
People to the number of tens of thou¬ 
sands, and these tens of thousands multi¬ 
plied many times, subscribed for stock and 
bonds and other securities of some of these 
defendant corporations. The comp 1 unants, 
if the allegations of the bill are true, parted 
with their money and have never received a 
farthing in return, either principal or inter¬ 
est. Not one promise made to them has 
been observed. 
The organization of these many corpora¬ 
tions has been for the purpose of creating 
an endless chain to the end that the people 
parting with their money could not tell 
where the chain commenced and where it 
would end. 
The bill recites, in fact, that how much 
indebtedness any one of these defendant 
corporations owes cannot be ascertained 
within a reasonable time. Accountants were 
employed, and after spending much time, 
had to cease their work for lack of money 
to pay them for their work. During the 
oral arguments each of us asked many ques- 
THE F£UR-A-I> 
tions trying to elicit what the indebtedness 
of any' one corporation amounts to, and 
what the assets of such corporations aggre¬ 
gate All of such questions resulted in ac¬ 
quiring no information of a tangible or sub¬ 
stantial character. 
Corporations a Mere Sham. 
One of the defendants, a bank, has a cer¬ 
tificate of deposit of $80,000 which has just 
matured, and it is now claimed that a court 
of equity should construe that certificate of 
deposit into a mere receipt for some bills re¬ 
ceivable, and that there is, by reason there¬ 
of, no money demand. 
One corporation swallows the assets of 
another corporation, and in turn the assets 
of that corporation are swallowed by still 
another. , , , 
The truth is, if this bill is to be believed, 
there is no valid corporation, and has been 
none. Every one of the defendant corpora¬ 
tions has been organized as a mere sham 
and pretense—nothing in the world but a 
cloak to cover the purposes of the defend¬ 
ant, Edward G. Lewis. The matters, of 
course, have not yet been investigated. To 
properly state an account between the so- 
called defendants would require the work 
of accountants and a master in chancery 
for a considerable period of time. 
But one thing is certain, if the allega¬ 
tions of this bill are to be believed—no mat¬ 
ter by what name the defendant may be 
called, in truth and in fact such name is 
but an adopted name given to himself by the 
defendant, Edward G. Lewis, and while it 
is true that some of these claims on paper 
that some one of the defendants had issued 
them might apparently create a cause of 
action in favor of a particular complainant 
against a particular defendant, yet in truth 
and in fact these liabilities are each, all and 
every one, the liability of the defendant, Ed¬ 
ward G. Lewis, by whatever name he may be 
called, covered by whatsoever garb he may 
wear, and regardless of where the legal title 
of certain assets, real or fictitious, may have 
been placed. 
Considering the bill of complaint in this 
light, it is not multifarious, but is a cause 
of action in favor of one plaintiff against 
the defendant, Lewis, and for the uncover¬ 
ing of property, some of which has been 
placed in one name, and other assets or 
other property placed in other defendants’ 
names. 
All Creditors May File Claims. 
Whether all creditors should share pro 
rata in all of the assets now standing in the 
name of all defendants is not as yet a ques¬ 
tion before the court for decision. But the 
power of a court of equity is very great. 
The power of a court of equity is so great 
that it can strip those coverings down and 
expose all assets to the view and inspection 
of the court, so that the court can then de¬ 
termine whether the creditors shall share in 
the recovered property pro rata, or whether 
they shall be distributed among the cred¬ 
itors on some other basis. 
We are of the opinion that the bill of 
complaint states a cause of action which 
places the matter within the power and jur¬ 
isdiction of this court to determine. We 
are of the opinion that there should be a 
master in chancery appointed to investi¬ 
gate these matters, to the end that these 
assets of all these insolvent defendants may 
be collected and disposed of as equity and 
good conscience may require. 
As the assets of one of these corporations 
has already been placed in the hands of a 
receiver appointed by this court, we are of 
the opinion that a receiver should be ap¬ 
pointed to take charge of all the assets of all 
these defendants in any way connected with 
any of these enterprises, and that the same 
be reduced to money. To avoid conflicts; 
to avoid controversies between many re¬ 
ceivers appointed the same receiver appoint¬ 
ed in the one case already should be ap¬ 
pointed as receiver in this case, to the end 
that such conflicts and complexities and con¬ 
fusions may be avoided. And such will be 
the order. 
John W. Williams and his reorganiza¬ 
tion committee are wiped out of exist¬ 
ence by this decree of the court. He 
and the trust company are compelled to 
surrender all assets at once and they 
and their agents and attorney are re¬ 
strained and enjoined. The opinion 
shows what the court thought of the 
reorganization plan. All creditors have 
a right now to demand the papers sent 
to Lewis, Williams or the trust company. 
You can do this through your local at¬ 
torney or through us or through Claud 
D. Hall, 705 Olive street, St. Louis, Mo., 
who is the attorney of all creditors in 
this case. 
A Snap Judgment. 
After reading the above denounce¬ 
ment of the Lewis schemes by the Fed¬ 
eral court in his district, many readers 
will be surprised with the results of 
the previous day in the local court, as 
intimated in the following letter: 
Gentlemen—I have just read of the farce 
in St. Louis in which the Faker is awarded 
$30,000 damages against you. I can hardly 
believe that justice can be so trampled as 
to allow this verdict to stand, but if it does 
I hope I may have the pleasure of helping 
you to pay it. As a citizen who believes 
that, even though the people love to be 
humbugged, they should not be allowed to 
satisfy their craving, I want to protest 
against the seeming prosperity of any such 
gigantic faker as this fellow has proven 
himself to be. 
I hope you will in- no wise be deterred in 
your good work of exposing such men, and 
shall be very glad to contribute my little 
mite to the good work. You deserve the 
heartiest commendation for the work you 
have done in this way, and I trust nothing 
will occur to interfere in any way with this 
feature of The Rural New-Yorker’s mis¬ 
sion. It is a badly needed work that 
most of the periodicals are too cowardly to 
undertake, and your praise should there¬ 
fore be the greater. Yours very truly, 
Illinois. l. e. h. 
For some weeks past the publisher of 
NEW-YORKER 
The R. N.-Y. has been laid up with an 
infected abscess of the inner ear, which 
entirely incapacitated him for business 
of any kind, and has required contin¬ 
uous treatment of a specialist in the 
hope of recovering the lost sense of 
hearing, which fortunately is now prom¬ 
ising. He was the author of the 
alleged libel, and the principal witness 
of the defence, and none of his asso¬ 
ciates was familiar enough with the 
matter to help prepare a trial or to give 
competent testimony. Having discov¬ 
ered this condition, and anticipating the 
verdict in the Federal court, the Lewis 
crowd at St. Louis thought it an op¬ 
portune time to make the most of their 
alleged libel suit. They accordingly 
awoke from their lethargy and de¬ 
manded trial at once. Certificates from 
doctors in attendance were forwarded, 
and it was naturally supposed that the 
matter would be put over until it was 
possible to try it on its merits. Mr. 
Lewis has severely denounced what he 
calls one-sided trials. But they suc¬ 
ceeded in having the motion overruled, 
and not until the one-sided trial was 
all over did we get word that a verdict 
of $30,000 had been returned in their 
favor. It is unthinkable that such a 
judgment should stand, and a new trial 
or an appeal is involved. 
Publishers usually do not print such 
reports in their own papers, but we 
have nothing to withhold from our 
friends. If this practice were to stand 
any exposed crook might sue the pub¬ 
lisher who exposes him, and force, the 
annoyance and expense of a suit in a 
distant State. As in this case, the 
basis of the suit may not be the charge 
of fraud, but some little technicality 
extracted from the discussion of the 
fraud. We confess that such expense 
comes rather high for a paper of The 
R. N.-Y.’s proportions, but while we ap¬ 
preciate more than we can express the 
ready offer of our friends to share them, 
we propose to show that a paper can 
successfully meet them through the na¬ 
tural patronage of the people benefited. 
We went into this matter voluntarily 
for the benefit of the country people 
generally. We have no regrets, and 
no reason to change or revise our 
policy of protecting our friends from 
schemers and crooks. When we began to 
show him up, his schemes were in full 
swing. We got back about $2,000 for our 
people before Lewis realized that the 
more he paid, the more demands there 
were for redress. He then refused all pay¬ 
ment. It is estimated that Lewis got from 
eight to ten million dollars from coun¬ 
try people, but no man can tell what 
loss and suffering has been saved 
other innocent people through the show¬ 
ing up of his fraudulent schemes, and 
the assurance of certain loss to anyone 
who parted with money to him. So that 
while the burden is a little heavy, it is 
well worth all it costs. This paper is run 
for the people who make it possible—its 
subscribers. Imperfectly we admit, but 
honestly run for that purpose. It will 
continue to be so run, and it will suc¬ 
ceed. Deception and fraud will not 
permanently triumph over truth and 
justice. If a paper cannot assume some 
risk and expense for the protection of 
its subscribers, when it sees them de¬ 
liberately swindled, we cannot see any 
crying need for its existence. We 
would rather that The R. N.-Y. go out 
of existence than that in the knowledge 
of fraud it remain in silent conspiracy 
with the rogues who plunder the people 
it is pledged to protect. 
DIARY OF FARM WORK. 
A Day in California. 
Tuesday, June 27.—A typical California 
Summer day, clear and sunny, with the 
light, cool trade wind from San Francisco 
Bay tempering the heat that might in the 
middle of the day be oppressive otherwise* 
Arose at 5 o’clock to pick some berries on 
our family rows near the house while it 
was still cool. We have on these family 
rows Phenomenal, Logan, Mammoth black¬ 
berry and Seedless blackberry, also Superla¬ 
tive Herbert and Plum Farmer raspberries. 
At 6 o’clock I built a fire in the cook stove, 
then fed the horses in the corral barley .hay. 
These animals consist of Mrs. Keesling’s 
ponv Dolly (which she or any of the family 
down to our six-year-old granddaughter 
Carol may drive anywhere), a three-year-old 
black colt Dandy, now learning to work, and 
my driving mare Trixie. The span of mules, 
Lize and Daze, and a four-year-old filly 
Beauty, are kept at another barn by the 
house where our hired man Thomas lives. 
After milking the two Jersey cows kept in a 
large corral under two large sycamore trees, 
breakfast was ready. The berries picked 
this morning together with a chest picked, 
vesterday at our Edenvale place ‘‘Five Oaks.” 
were put In the spring wagon and hitching 
up Trixie I delivered these and some lo- 
quats at various places about San Jose. 
While this was going on Thomas was 
hauling two loads of gravel from our pit 
to the blacksmith’s house, about two miles 
away, after which he hauled loam from the 
roadside to the gravel pit, thus improving 
the road and filling our pit with good soil, 
which will make a fine garden by and by. 
After returning from delivering berries I 
worked in the garden and helped Mrs. 
Keesling can some cherries. Thomas quit 
work at the hauling in time to go down to 
our Live Oak place, one mile north, and 
get our spray outfit in readiness to go to 
“Five Oaks” at Edenvale to-morrow to 
spray apple treees. 
At 7 p. m. Trixie was hitched to the sur¬ 
rey and we started to Campbell, 2% miles 
southwest, where on the second and fourth 
Tuesdays of each month Orchard City 
Grange has regular meetings. These meet¬ 
ings are well attended by the best farmers 
and fruit growers, where besides the cul¬ 
tivating of our social natures whereby 
a higher and better manhood and woman¬ 
hood may be grown in us, we have much 
practical talk about our farm business, 
comparing methods of work and prices of 
products. Orchard City Grange will cele¬ 
brate a sane Fourth of July under the oaks 
and elms at “Five Oaks,” passing the time 
with patriotic songs and recitations, thus 
promoting patriotism and good fellowship 
in a quiet and peaceful way. 
HORACE G. KEESLING. 
On a Small Fruit Farm. 
There is one thing in your farm diary 
lacking, that, to my mind, is very essential"; 
that is a short description of the farm 
■where the work is performed and the why 
and wherefore. 
July 3.—Thermometer registering 86 de¬ 
grees in the shade at 7 a. m.; hitched on 
the 10-tooth riding cultivator and finished 
cultivating the grapes; went twice in the 
row and did two acres by 10 a. m. Ther¬ 
mometer up to 96 degrees in the shade, too 
hot for beast and man. The girls have 
been picking red raspberries, but theyalso 
stopped picking when they saw that I was 
stopping work. This is a fruit and flower 
farm consisting of 13 acres and greenhouses 
(10,000 square feet of glass covering 7,500 
square feet of ground). The greenhouses are 
rented at present, I being too old and not 
well enough to attend to them any longer, 
especially in the Winter. The rest of the 
farm is occupied with grapes, red and black 
raspberries, one acre asparagus, 60 sour 
cherries, 18 apples, six pears and 20 sweet 
cherries, pamnies, Narcissus, herbaceous 
flowers. Gladiolus, hardy roses, shrubs, etc. 
My wife, two daughters and myself, with 
one horse, cultivate and market the product, 
and we calculate and intend not to work 
more than eight hours a day, and by doing 
so six days every week we can do it with¬ 
out hurry. Of course, at the grape har¬ 
vest we have to have additional pickers. 
The time when we worked from 12 to 15 
hours a day is past, but we did it and 
know what it means. 
At 3 p. m. I went out again and drew 
two loads of well composted manure and 
spread the same in four furrows for the 
purpose of planting eucvimber pickles. This 
was a three-year-old strawberry bed, from 
which we had gathered two crops. The 
plants were set in rows four feet apart, 
the rows were allowed to grow two feet 
wide. By plowing it we split the row and 
throwing the furrows in the alley we get 
four open furrows. After the manure Is 
drawn in, we take the Acme harrow, go up 
and down as often as necessary. This fills 
the furrow with fine soil; then take culti¬ 
vator, mix the soil and manure, and plant 
the cucumbers in a row, thinning out after 
the bugs to 18 inches, and usually get the 
cucumbers. g. schoenfeld. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. 
An Alfalfa Farm in Alabama. 
July 14.—As the sun is just well up the 
negroes go to the field. I am giving cot¬ 
ton its last working. I feed the 60 Spring 
pigs their soaked corn. They are happy 10 
months of the year on Alfalfa pasture. The 
darkies have breakfast in the field about 
7.30 o’clock. Taking off 200 sections of 
Sweet clover honey and returning the su¬ 
pers keeps me busy most of the morning. 
At 9.30 one hand begins raking Alfalfa 
cut the day before. These long days we 
take two hours for dinner. At noon two 
negroes come for their “advances.” Many 
negro renters prefer to pay the customary 
25 per cent rather than be “carried” by 
local merchants. After noon we begin bal¬ 
ing Alfalfa. One team brings the hay 
directly from the windrow to the press 
with a “push” rake. One team and three 
men work the press, while one team con¬ 
tinues raking. This is the third cutting 
for this season, with two more to follow. 
Alfalfa is to be the leading crop, in time, 
on this strong limestone soil, as it thrives 
wonderfully and markets are good. Al¬ 
ready over 100 cars have been shipped this 
year, while three years ago there was none. 
At five p. m. team finishes raking and 
hauls baled hay to barn. r. b. h. 
Dancy, Ala. 
A Gardener in Tennessee. 
July 15.—About five a. m. I built the 
kitchen fire, got water, cut the meat for 
the madam, fed three horses, 16 hogs and 
a few chickens, about 30. Breakfast at 
6.30. After breakfast cut weeds for hogs, 
about an hour, got roasting ears for din¬ 
ner. went to hoeing at 8.30. Hoed till 
11.30, got onions and tomatoes for dinner. 
After dinner hoeing tomatoes till three, 
then picked tomatoes till six p. m. After 
supper watered and fed the horses, also cut 
more weeds for hogs, watered and fed them 
corn; at 7.30 took bath, at eight p. m. 
was ready for bed. As you will see from 
the above statement I am more of a mar¬ 
ket gardener than a grain farmer, al¬ 
though I raise corn and hay. Our son was 
plowing tomatoes, as we have them all 
staked and tied up; cultivate and pick for 
market at the same time as we like to 
have them well cultivated. H. L. M. 
A Nebraska Day. 
Report of this day’s doings on our Lake- 
view farm : 5 o’clock a. m., time of rising; 
5.15, starting to milk; 5.40, separate the 
milk ; 6.10, feeding horses and other stock; 
6.20, getting horses ready for workmen; 
6.40, breakfast; 7.10. hitching horses to 
cultivators and starting for the field; 9.30, 
lunch and lemonade in the field ; 11.20, 
going home for dinner; 11.35, enjoying a 
square meal at dinner; 12 noon, arrival 
of U. S. mail by carrier; 12.10 p. m„ read¬ 
ing news; 1.30, starting for the cornfield; 
4 p. m., lunch and lemonade; 6, starting for 
home from the field; 6.30. eating supper; 
7 milking • 7.30, separating the milk; 8, 
finishing feeding stock; 8.30, visiting a near¬ 
by neighbor; 9.30, arrived home; enjoying 
end of a strenuous Summer day. 
Pierce Co., Neb. chas. lederer, sr. 
