The Swindled Investor and the 'Silver Mine' Scam
A Seattle real estate dealer is arrested after selling fake claims to a nonexistent silver mine, sparking a heated legal battle and a courtroom confrontation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Last night Charles F. Reed, who has been in the real estate and employment bureau business in this city, was arrested on information laid by John Peterson, charging that Reed unlawfully and designedly obtained $30 from the affiant by falsely representing that he knew where there was a valuable silver mine located. Reed had claimed he could show Peterson the claim, but after a journey lasting three days, it was discovered that no such claim existed. The case was brought before Justice Jones, where it was revealed that Peterson had purchased a stake from Reed for $30, believing he was acquiring a legitimate interest in a mineral deposit. Reed, however, never had any valid claim to convey. The hearing lasted until past midnight, with Reed ultimately offering to take witnesses back out to the woods to show them the location, an offer the prosecution accepted, leading to the case being continued.
“Reed, however, never had any valid claim to convey.”
This 19th-century 'get-rich-quick' silver scheme echoes modern day real estate and investment scams that plague rapidly growing cities like Seattle. The story highlights the tension between the city's frontier-era speculative fever and the legal systems attempting to establish order in a Wild West economy.
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