The annexed form had to be filled out each day, for Buckwalter, by his confidential clerks in Lawrence & Co. and similar ones in each office.

The following table shows the receipts, expenses, and what was paid to Buckwalter during the month of October, 1879:

Statement of Monies received by Lawrence & Co. during October, 1879. Showing the Daily Expenses and the Amount deposited to Credit of Buckwalter in his Bank.

The difference between the expenses and Buckwalter's account and receipts is explained by the fact that the clerks were not allowed to keep more than a certain amount in Lawrence & Co.'s expense account in Howe & Co.'s bank, and when it exceeded this amount they were obliged to check it out to Buckwalter.

The following exhibit, taken from the books of Lawrence & Co., shows the number of applicants for their stock certificates per month, during 1879:

Below is the statement of the monthly receipts of Lawrence & Co. for nine months of 1879:

With the exception of a few returns made for the purpose of still farther entrapping their victims, and of the restitution of their investments to a few spunky individuals, who would not be robbed, the only return to the investors individually and collectively, for the $206,189.90 was the "Royal Bounce." And a pretty dear Royal Bounce it was! We have now shown as concisely as possible the manner in which the public was fleeced, the magnitude of the fraud, and how this Buckwalter managed to secure all the booty for his own pocket. We add the following examples of the heartlessness of the man as exhibited in a few cases, gathered from the scores of complaints which were received by myself:

SOME OF THE VICTIMS.

A soldier's widow, in Maine, being sick and confined to her room, happened to see in a newspaper one of the lying "endorsements" of the firm of Lawrence & Co. She had saved about $200, which, except her pension money from the Government, was all she possessed, or had to live upon. She sent down a letter to these men, stating her circumstances, and telling them how anxious she was to increase this sum which she had taken out of the bank where it was earning 6 per cent. ; for she was very desirous of obtaining enough money to pay her doctor's bill,

and at the same time to buy the necessaries of life. She was buoyed up in a few days by receiving the usual notification that she had earned 1 per cent. or $200.00 in addition to the money she had sent. As was natural under such circumstances, she was delighted, and anticipated being able in a few days to pay off her little bills, and secure many things to add to her comfort. This hope, however, was like the flash of the meteor that lights up the heavens at night, only to disappear, leaving the darkness all the more intense. Hopes aroused, were dashed to the ground, and instead of comforts, followed keen anguish and disappointment when the "Royal Bounce" came, announcing that an unfortunate turn in the market had swept away both capital and profit. The fact was, as the reader knows, that no stock had been bought, no investment made, nothing but a barefaced robbery committed.

A gentleman in ill health sent down a $1,000 bond, upon which there was a premium of about $150. This bond went direct in the pockets of Benjamin R. Buckwalter, and the clerk was instructed to write a letter, asking the gentleman to call at the office. He called the next day, and was persuaded to allow the balance to be invested, making in all about 1,150 shares of stock. In a few days afterwards he received the "Royal Bounce." This gentleman was troubled with the form of heart disease that made it dangerous for him to undergo any excitement, and rather than have any publicity to his loss, and fearful of the excitement if the matter was brought into court, he had to give up the entire

amount.

A poor widow, whose husband had been killed in a railroad accident, had a few dollars left her. She was anxious to increase it to a sum sufficient to enable her to pay off a small mortgage on her little home. She sent her money to Lawrence & Co., stating her sad case. It availed nothing; but these wretches, or rather this wretch Buckwalter, appropriated the livelihood of this widow in the most heartless manner.

A man out West, a poor man with a large family of children dependent upon him for support, owning a little house and farm, read one of these newspaper advertisements, sent for their

circular, received it, and became so carried away by what he read, that he borrowed $200 and sent it on to be invested. In a few days he was led to believe that he had made a handsome thing by this investment, then notified, as usual, that principal and profit had all been swept away. Recently he has written a most heartrending letter, begging that something might be done to recover his money, otherwise he must sell his home in order to pay this $200. He says, "I can scarcely support my family even with this little house over their heads, and what will become of me if my home is taken away, I cannot tell."

A lady, old and infirm, having saved up a few dollars for her old age, read these newspaper statements, and forwarded her little earnings of about $100 only to be robbed in the same heartless manner. Her daughter writes me a most pitiful letter, praying that I will do something to recover back this money, and saying that if she had the money herself she would restore it and never have troubled me with this letter of appeal; but being very poor and seeing her aged mother mourning over her loss day after day, she had hoped perhaps something might be done towards recovering this sum.

One man sent 525 shares of mining and other stocks and never heard from it afterwards. A casual examination of the forty thousand letters, seized by the writer in the office of this concern, show that a vast majority of those who lost their money were in moderate circumstances, and many of them, indeed, very poor. The thousands of dollars that went into the pockets of this man Buckwalter, were drawn principally from the savings of the industrious classes. Teachers, seamstresses, clerks and servants are largely represented, while the higher classes of the professions, mercantile life and government departments, contribated their full quota.