Recently Mr. T. O. Nelson of New York was arrested on a charge of obtaining illegally $10,000,000 from the well-known Polish firm which was operating among the Poles, as the "Kosciuszko Oil and Gas Co." Nelson was accused by one of the stockholders of the firm and tried before the courts. He was found guilty and sent to prison.

The particulars of this case are similar to the history of other concerns. Nelson was one of the persons instrumental in the organization of the corporation. A name was chosen that would 2attract those Polish-American citizens who would be willing to invest their capital. It was easy to attract these individuals.

Nelson and his cohorts were aware that immigrants are of a very thrifty nature. They knew that these people tried to put something away for a rainy day; but they were also careless and unwary.

Aware of this situation the professional swindlers planned the sale of their stock accordingly. Their campaign included winning the sympathy of the people in when they were interested by inducing various sham feelings of national and patriotic pride. Mindful of all this, T. O. Nelson availed himself of the name of our Polish hero, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, as a magnet to attract the people 3but primarily to draw their money into his purse.

The growing success of Nelson's enterprise could be seen by the reports in the press. Thousands of Polish people in New York purchased stock. The directors' and officers' positions in this corporation went to well-known Poles, but the virtual controlling power and all finances remained under Nelson's thumb since he was the Secretary and Treasurer. He toured the country, sold shares and collected the money. However, Nelson's ardent enthusiasm for sponsoring a Polish company was unmasked when a general inventory of the company's books was taken. This check-up revealed that there was a shortage of ten million dollars. A charge was entered against Nelson. Arrest followed, and then imprisonment.

Even had there been a closer check-up on the management of this company, failure would still face the investors. But the greedy hand of Nelson overplayed itself; he wanted all the money for himself. He did not wait for the company to start operation on its oil fields and coal mines. This is evidence enough to show that his intentions were those of a swindler from the very beginning.

There is another method used by the professional swindler to obtain money from the innocent and credulous immigrants. The swindlers hire Polish, German, Bohemian, and Italian agents who are proficient in their native language, and send them out among their own people with a proposition that offers the investor the end of the rainbow within a few years. The 5agents are not aware of the 'inside' purpose of the investment company and the plan presented to them is very appealing.

Let these and other examples be a warning and a reminder to those that are not aware of such conditions. They should never invest money in another state, or a concern with which they are not familiar. There is no reason for such investments. Opportunities are offered in the locality of the investor which give him ample return and protection on his investment. Competent advice can be had free on any stock. Why take chances, and be listed among the many 'suckers' who lose $500,000,000 a year on speculative stock?

We have, along with other papers, published reports about the doubtful operations of this allegedly Polish concern. Today we place this company on the long list of others of similar character. It is unfortunate that such things do happen; more so in this case because of the Polish name of the company.

The reader will recall that two weeks ago a list was published of corporations that have failed,or that are in the hands of receivers because of some kind of crooked work. We sincerely hope that the stockholders of this recent investment scandal will be able to put their business in such order that they will be able to get back a good share of their investment.