Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 80, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 January 1911 — “STUNG AGAIN,” BAH JOVE! PURTELLE’S BOND NO GOOD. [ARTICLE]

“STUNG AGAIN,” BAH JOVE! PURTELLE’S BOND NO GOOD.

“The 'Banker’s Surety Company,’ is Unknown in This Office," Says the Secretary of State. IN RESPONSE TO AN INQUIRY OF THE DEMOCRAT

And the $5,000 Bond Put Up Here As a “Guarantee of Good Faith,” Though Forfeited, Is Not Worth a Tinker’s D—. The Democrat Warned the Public More Than a Year Ago, When It Investigated Purtelle’s Financial Standing and Found That He Had None.

bursting of the “IndianaNorthwestern Traction Co.” bubble by the bankruptcy proceedings begun in the federal court at Chicago by Eugene Purtelle, the bubble’s president, who alleges that his liabilities are about SBOO,OOO and his tangible assets less than SI,OOO, is but another evidence that The Democrat is pretty nearly correct in its estimate, and is “always oh the right side.” While Purtelle did not, so far as known, succeed in finding any stock victims here —thanks to The Democrat’s showing up of his financial, or want of financial standing more than a year ago—he did find some people here who are always ready to take up with the oily stranger who has some visionary scheme in view; people who always have their mouths wide open and take the cork clean under as soon as the bait appears before them — and in thfe cork pulling act the fellows handling the line can always count upon the assistance of the Rensselaer Republican, which seems to exist for no other purpose except to aid in such things. When the subsidy election of Dec. 20 was ordered by the county commissioners, to satisfy the incredulous, Purtelle put up a $5,000 “bond” as a guarantee that if the election failed he would pay the expense thereof, and if it carried that he would, within 30 days from the date of holding the. election, begin active work in Marion tp., of constructing the road. The “bond’’ was signed “Bankers Surety Co. W. M. Zom, Attorney in Fact,” but, as pointed out by The Democrat at the time, there was no intimation where the “bonding company” was located or any other information that would lead anyone to believe that it was a valid bond. It was not executed before a notary public at all, but was signed also by Eugene Purtelle as principal, Of, course, and attested by W. F. Brucker (of Monticello) as secre-' tary of the Indiana Northwestern Traction Co.

The county commissioners, with their usual carefullness in looking out for the people’s welfare, made no investigation, but accepted the “bond” and ordered the election. The “bond” was forfeited Thursday, there having been no work whatever done on the proposed road here and the 30 days ending on that day. To ascertain for a certainty whether our contention all along that the “bond” was n. g. was correct we yesterday talked with the Secretary of .State over the telephone, and he informed us that there was no record of the Bankers Surety Co., in his office authorizing them to do business in Indiana; that he knew nothing about any such company and had never heard of it. As it is necessary for such concerns to be registered with the secretary of state and show evidence of their ability to make good before they can do business in Indiana, we may safely conclude that the bond was a fradulent one and the filing of it here was perhaps a criminal act. As usual, Jasper county holds the sack. The expenses of the

election have been paid out of the county treasury, no work of construction has been done on the road, the “bond” Is forfeited, but it isn’t worth a pewter d—. Moral: Don’t bite on every questionable scheme that comes along. Place your trust in The Jasper County Democrat, the true friend of the people, and you will live long and prosper.

The Indianapolis News of Wednesday evening had the following dispatch from Hammond relative to Purtelle and his schemes:

The spectacular career of Eugene Purtelle, the Chicago broker who promoted traction lines as a side issue and his failure for $707,933.11, as shown in the Illinois bankruptcy courts, has struck dismay to hundreds of farmers all along the line from Hammond to Remington, where he did things that would turn Colonel J. Rufus Wallingford green with envy. Purtelle appeared in Indiana a year ago and organized a $5,000,000 company, known as the Northwestern Indiana Traction Company. The interurban line was to enter a virgin field and link together a score of farming communities, such as Munster, Crown Point, Cedar Lake, Lowell, Dyer, St. John, Shelby, Fair Oaks, Rensselaer and Remington.

Purtelle’s stock in trade was a gold tipped walking stick and kid gloves. Purtelle wore the gloves the hottest day in summer and it is declared that the farmers bought more shares on the strength of the gloves and cane than anything else. Purtelle’s entrance into the bankruptcy courts followed a meeting of the Indiana stockholders of the company iu Hammond last week, after the banks had received a quantity of protested paper. issued by him. In Hammond alone a large sum of money was subscribed after Purtelle had introduced franchises in the city council. t The first thing that the newly incorporated town of Dyer in. Lake county did was to give Purtelle a fifty-year franchise through the town and the trustees were so proud of their action that they simply ate up the stock offered by Purtelle.

The promotor, however, tried to make good. He employed an engineering force and graded a spur from Chicago Heights to Dyer, a distance of four miles. s This work was done by the LaSalle Construction and Supply Company of Chicago, another of Purtelle’s pet schemes. His road was eventually to be an air line route between Monticello and Chicago. In one Jasper county township the farmers voted Purtelle a subsidy. Purtelle obtained favors from country newspapers, hotel keepers and liverymen by the score. His kid gloves and cane dazzled the eyes of the people. Qne Lake county farmer said: “It was his gosh darned kid gloves on a hot day that got me.”

.In response to The Democrat’s inquiry, the Secretary of State informed this paper yesterday morning over the long distance telephone that the “Bankers Surety Co.” which is on the Purtel\p subsidy election bond here, is unauthorized to do business in Indiana.